Just bought a 1986 240 with 34,000 miles... I've been reading a lotof old posts, but they all refer to manual gearboxes, not automatic.There's no service records, so I'm going to to be renewing all fluidsin the car. I'm wondering if I should put synthetic oil in theautomatic gearbox?I was considering synthetic engine oil. But a search turned uppopular opinion is, there's not much benefit compared to the risk ofdeveloping leaks.What about brake fluid... Is there anything I should avoid/be awareof? (I'll be going to mechanic who just uses the same brand on everycar he services. Is there something I should be buying for thetransmission/brakes that he wouldn't have?)

Forgot to ask two other things:I'm in Australia and we can only get unleaded fuel with ethanol now.I've been running my 1978 on the cheapest unleaded for years with noproblem. Will the cheap stuff hurt the 1986, or should I be switchingto premium unleaded?Any recommendations for radiator coolant?

1986 240 34,000 miles - synthetic oil for auto transmission?

Jul 18, 2011 24 Replies

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rwlangbauer 15 years ago

i just use a piece of vinyl hose. to change ATF: warm the engine! drain the fluid! crank the engine/drivedrain w/ the starter -- disconnect something in the ignition so it won't fire. let cool! close all the valves/stopcocks/etc.... fill w/ the specified amount of ATF. run to the nearest transmission rebuild shop!

transmissions are tricky. i have rebuilt more engines than i can remember, but only one tranny by myself (a mistake). feel free to baby it. having the ATF analyzed is never a bad idea.

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thefamilyman 15 years ago

Thanks, but don't you have to actually have the engine running in D, to drain the oil that's in the torque converter?

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rwlangbauer 14 years ago

the torque converter drains to the sump. the engine does not need to be on to drain. in fact it is dangerous. i forget which yr we are talking about. i just gave basic at instructions. the geartronic is weird. the friend who helps me has a masters from Stanford in mechanical engineering & we don't want to touch the geartronic. we'll just do an r & r. oh the " run to the nearest transmission rebuild shop!" was just a joke. if you have the BW it is bulletproof.

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rwlangbauer 14 years ago

why do i bother? oh, right beacause my neice cares & i will get punched in the gonads. i have her this weekend, so ----. the BW's on

240's used type F. newer Volvos use Mercon (Dextron II, III, IV). i race so i just use what my suppliers/owners give me. ok, wrong again. i tend to use Castrol (they are a little company based in Long Island) products. i also prefer gas from Shell. i doubt it matters much. ATF does expand, but only in comparision to oil & brake fluid. i use -5/90 oil (find that if you can) & dot 5.3. 10/40 & dot 3 will be fine if you keep it below 100 mph. changing ATF can get boring. it's why we have children. yes i would change the coolant. not because it has any value, but it is a fun way to spend a weekend w/ friends. i do many purposeless things.

you have a fine car

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Leftie 14 years ago

Coming in a bit late here, but don't discount stories about synthetic oil causing leaks - in cases where the car had lots of miles with non-synthetic oil in it. We had it happen with our 240 - with synthetic *blend* no less. If the engine has no crud in it you're probably ok.

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