Installing a factory transmission cooler + Stat + Magnefine

[CNGBiFuel]

Installing a factory transmission cooler + Stat + Magnefine filter

Coolers, filter and stats have never been covered. With these cars getting on a bit, the penny seems to have dropped. Thus it's been done ten-fold - an ATF flush is a minimum.

More detail here:
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=259661

It's been my hobby-horse for too long, and with the impetus pushed further, I've always gone way further because experience of the miles I do rather forced my hand. At 420K my set-up is a proven test-bed.

I've had a exchanges with RobertDIY over this, and we're in agreement - for real miles these cars are under-cooled. Here we stress, most of you will get by on flushes and if it's borderline a Magenfine too.
Robert does miles and prefers to do manual-conversions these days, but then a manual is a bit of novelty Yankside. So why not? And whilst - if I say so myself, the traffic on my stuff can't be sniffed at, our Robert does rather pull in more. I suspect his words have had a great deal to do with the current passion for flushes. Good on ya' Robert...


The Yanks reading this will, unlike my fellow Brits, often be found doing galactic miles. What we have here is for you. These boxes will do 400K 'if' looked after and kept cool, but you'll need lots of flushes or a set-up like below.

I likes a good Yank

And yes, for most of you, and the blokes flouncing around with remaps / big disc kits, 'noizzee zhorsts' and all the other 'no miles paraphernalia', what you see here is overkill....

[CNGBiFuel]

What you're looking at here...

Is the factory cooler as fitted some of the go-faster variants, and late C70 + a Magnefine inline filter + Derale Transmission Cooler stat.
Stat and filter nailed-down under the battery tray.

You see it now because this set-up is mid-swap from my last 'shed' and onto the next. Overkil for most, this is a 'must' if you drive the thing. The only things that will differ from one car to the next is the sizing for the Magnefine. I know there is difference, frankly I can't remember the details - More info on that later.

This will be an on-going thread. This mod is proven, I've done this myself three times. Unless you've done similar and can add info to this conversion, can we ask you to 'leave be' until we're done. Most of this has been done-to-death, thus.... Save the "I've got a car and I shan't tell you what it is, what ATF does it require?" threads for another day.

More soon...

[CNGBiFuel]

In short, heat is the enemy of an auto box.

That's hardly a revelation, they like good fluid. If it is pink it is ATF. Rose red is fine. If it is brown it is not ATF. It's burnt. Do not pass go do not collect £200. Yet, some seem to struggle with this concept, however.... ATF when cool stays pink. ATF does not go brown on its own. £500 says if your vehicle has no cooler, and has more than 30-40K on it, it's brown. By 90K a drop on the end of the dipstick is not pink, it's black.

Thus good enough for Volvo and their 'lifetime fluid' yet not much more.
Lifetime of the warranty.


1) To prevent your ATF going brown requires frequent flushes or a cooler.
2) To prevent the crud that comes off the friction rings blah clogging the valve-body, and causing flares, you'll need a filter.
3) A stat is probably over-kill for 98% of you, but if you can...

Points 1-3 don't apply if you either:

a) Flush lots
b) Have a low miler and intend keeping it that way.
c) Aren't worried when your box starts flaring.
d) You intend to keep to the miles Volvo expect within the warranty period.


Of course there's always going to be some lucky sod with 250K on his odometer running original fluid - but from what the rest of us have seen that'll be the exception. The rest of us should flush by 90K.

And pound-to-a-penny hte bloke that says "It runs fine on original at 250K" has a car with a box that feels more like a 1983 Renault auto. He's simply 'forgotten' how it is supposed to be.

More later.

[CNGBiFuel]

And listen up....

Here's the Brucey-bonus. It's a trick I've pulled off twice. Found with cars at 140K and 170Kish respectively, both should have been flushed long since. Both were showing mild flaring 'after' a flush.

Fitting a cooler and filter in both cases saved them. I suspect fresh fluid dislodged the crud in the valve-bodies, the fliter prevented return. The cooler kept the temperature-dependent flaring at bay. Thus the lesson is, catch it in time and this stuff works.

[CNGBiFuel]

More pix... I've put these up before, but now harm done, again.

The factory cooler hangs on the same bolts that hold the main radiator

[CNGBiFuel]

Factory blurb.... the differnence in the rads is the hose sizing. From memory you'll want a 1/2" Magnefine for four-speed boxes, 3/8" for five. I'm working on mine today - I'll verify later.