Need opinions on power tranny flush

Can I please have opinions on the risk of a power tranny flush? There
is a reputable Volvo service company in Dallas that does the power
flush. All they do is Volvo. They want $160 for the job, which I think
is steep.

Money aside, can I please have feedback on my risk of leaks or cons
that outweigh the pros? I have 200,000 miles and my thoughts are that
this may give me a few more thousand miles. I don't have any major
problems other than early shifting.

Thoughts????

 

Thanks!
I may do this. The only difference is that the Volvo guys said they use
a detergent also. That's what I wasn't sure of.

 

several years ago, when I first got my '89 240, I flushed the tranny using
the procedure below. I believe I found it thru this newsgroup. The only
thing I did differently was to use one quart of synthetic fluid at the end.
Car has shifted perfectly ever since... I've got 230,000 miles on it.

m9876c at yahoo dot com
====================================
The transmission could be flushed/refilled by you at home using new, clean
transmission fluid, meeting DEXRON III G specifications. (Total volume needs
to be at least16 liters) Check your owners manual to make sure of the type
of fluid you should be using.
Remove the battery and battery shelf. Remove the return hose on the control
system (valve body). Install a plastic plug in the connection on the cover
(valve body) and a transparent plastic hose on the oil return hose
connection. Position a container for the oil with markings for the volume
under the hose. Temporarily reinstall the battery shelf and the battery.

Apply the parking brake, gear selector in park, start the engine and allow
the engine to idle. Switch the engine off when 2 quarts of oil have been
pumped out or when air bubbles become visible in the hose. Top up with 2
quarts of oil. repeat this procedure 7 times. Check the color of the oil,
when the color of the oil is clear red (as new oil), switch off the engine
and connect the return hose to the control system (valve body) cover. Check
and adjust the oil level.
The above procedure is the official Volvo procedure for flushing the
transmission. It is a bit simpler to disconnect the top connector at the
radiator, you can do this just know that you will not be flushing the cooler
when you do this. Transmission Fluid should last forever, but driving
conditions and time have shown that things don't always turn out in real
life like they do on paper. The newer transmissions with lock up in the
lower gears as well as some transmissions even go into neutral at a stop
should make the fluid last longer, keep your eye on the fluid condition and
change it when needed. (your mileage may vary)

Transmission Line Removal

To remove the transmission line pry open in the direction of the yellow
arrows to open the clip, and then pull in the direction of the blue arrow.
This is the top connector and it is the one we disconnect at the shop. The
top hose is the fluid coming from the transmission, the connection down at
the bottom (Green arrow) is the fluid returning to the transmission after
passing through the radiator for cooling.

 

I would never do the detergent thing. It is popular (i.e. profitable)
in the shops, but IMO a bad idea.

The best thing to do is to drop the pan so you can thoroughly clean the
residue out of it. You will be surprised how much black gunk has
settled to the bottom of the pan. Next refill the transmission to
replace whatever came out with the pan drop.

Then do the manual flush as described in the prior posters listing. I
remove the top connector at the radiator, which avoids messing with the
battery, etc. Be carefull to put a second wrench on the radiator side
of the connection to provide counter torque or you can make a real mess.
Also, get decent quality flare nut wrenches and don't just use an open
end wrench. You really don't want to bugger up the transmission line
fitting.

For hose I use regular clear PVC from the local hardware store. I use
two length of hose, one with an OD sufficient to make a snug fit into
the radiator and another with an ID which fits snuggly over the end of
the removed transmission line. Different vehicles have different
directions of flow through the tranny cooler in the radiator, so this
way I don't have to figure out which way it is going. In use one hose
will fill with fluid and the other will not. Put both hoses into your
catch container. I buy the new ATF in gallon bottles (Pennzoil Dexron
is sold that way at our local Wally World) and keep an old bottle one or
two on hand. Clean gallon milk jugs work as well. I use these as the
catch for the old fluid so I can keep track of how much has been pumped
out. When I can get a friend to help I have him sit in the car and man
the ignition switch so I can pour fresh fluid in at about the rate the
old is coming out. When the refill gets behind I have him shut the car
off. Also, shutting down to change catch bottles is a good thing .
Keep your wits about you and be careful. By all means don't pump the
tranny dry.

Finally, by all means use a well known brand of fluid. I would not
cheap out with some store brand or off-brand stuff. Sure they all
"meet specs", but it is one thing to just barely make spec and another
to produce a quality product. Look for bottles marked "Meets
Specification H", which is a tighter standard for Dexron III released a
few years ago. All recent manufacture fluid should meet this spec, but
some places still have old stuff in stock.

John

PS Recycle the used ATF anywhere used motor oil is recycled. Kragen,
many Autozones and Wall Mart are some of the places which take used oil
around here.