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Manual transmission with overdrive (M46)
Capacity: 2.4 US qts (2.3 liters)
Fluid type: Automatic Transmission Fluid Type F or G(FLM). Engine oil (SAE 10W/40 or 10W/30) is recommended for use in areas where the temperature seldom drops below 14?F (-10?C).
Note! Do not mix ATF and engine oil.
Replace: at 600-1,200 mile (1,000-2,000 km)service only.
The oil level should be up to the filler plug. Drain the oil immediately after driving, while it is still hot, by removing plug.
Transmission and overdrive are lubricated by the same oil. Therefore, when the oil is drained through the drain plug, also remove cover on the overdrive and clean strainer.
going to start now, and don?t no yet witch on can i put damn
It has anyway been said, so we cant help you any more?
OK, I'll try to explain what oil is needed and why. Basically, the 4 first gears ie. the tranny itself could do fine with the (Api) GL-4 75-90 oil, or even motor oil. But the OD unit causes the issues, as it is a planetary gear-type, it has the hydraulic operated clutch(for the fifth gear), which is similar to the ones in automatic transmissions. It "requires" some sort of ATF oil to operate correctly. The problem is, that todays automatic trannies are made so that they slip "controlled" just a bit when it changes gear. To make this work, they make these Dexron xxx ATF, which has some additives that cause that "controlled" slip. But when you put that oil in the manual tranny, it causes your synchro rings to slip, which causes them to wear out in no-time, and then your tranny becomes a Fuller, which most of us dont want. So basically you need ATF, but cant use Dexron type ATF, which leaves us with a few options: a: Find F-type or G-Type ATF, here it can be found quite easily(old Ford spec oil, dont remember exactly what). Or b: ignore the construction of the OD unit, use synthetic GL-4 transmission oil and engage the OD carefully enough. The 4 first gears should work better with option b, but I still have not tested how the OD works with it so on your own risk.
E: sorry for unclear expressions, writing that kind of text in a foreign language aint that easy. Try to get the idea.
I don't understand why you don't just use regular 10w40 motor oil, since Volvo recommends it for the transmission they designed, and many people have been running M46s that way for decades without problems.
I'm curious about the source for this info. The 200-series Greenbook says nothing about motor oil for the tranny, I've heard that it does say that in M40s, but not for the 45/46/47. Other interesting test would be synthetic gl-4, lets say VS200 or some similar oil, it seems to work very well in M47, but I dont know anyone testing it in M46
Now that is interesting, eu model manual only says the ATF, at least the 2 that I have.I quoted word for word the factory glovebox manual for my 740 Turbo above:
Fluid type: Automatic Transmission Fluid Type F or G(FLM). Engine oil (SAE 10W/40 or 10W/30) is recommended for use in areas where the temperature seldom drops below 14?F (-10?C).
Basically, unless you live in an extremely cold climate, Volvo recommends engine oil over the ATF!