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M47 fluid change

Racing-duck

New member
Joined
Jul 29, 2015
Location
Colorado
Im planning on doing a fluid change on my M47 trans (if it has already been done and no longer has the lifetime fluid that is) but I was told a while back that you need to do it on an incline to ensure that fluid gets to the 5th gear. I was wondering if this were true and if there's anything else that I need to make sure I do so I don't mess up my trans.
 
Putting your tranny at an angle won't be necessary. After everything is buttoned up and you crank her up the input shafts will start spinning, even in neutral, which will begin to pick up fluid and disburse it around. All you should have to do is jack up ur whip nice and level, drain the fluid, and put enough back in through the filler plug to cause oil to come flowing back out that hole. That's how you know u have enough fluid on many manual transmissions. Don't overfill your tranny. It's just like over oil-ing an engine...... unless that's what your in to
 
Putting your tranny at an angle won't be necessary. After everything is buttoned up and you crank her up the input shafts will start spinning, even in neutral, which will begin to pick up fluid and disburse it around. All you should have to do is jack up ur whip nice and level, drain the fluid, and put enough back in through the filler plug to cause oil to come flowing back out that hole. That's how you know u have enough fluid on many manual transmissions. Don't overfill your tranny. It's just like over oil-ing an engine...... unless that's what your in to

Wrong. It?s nothing like overfilling an engine. Overfilling an engine leads to aerating your oil which cannot properly be pumped and lubricate bearings.

Overfilling an m47 helps keep 5th gear happy below like 45mph. They claim to have fixed this with the M47II which is all the US got but who knows.
 
And there ya have it! Finally some correct answers for the guy lol. And I'm learning something new everyday! So now if I ever get an M47, i'll know what to do. My info is just general experiences over a variety of vehicles.
 
I've filled my M47 on a lift (car level). It won't be the reason your trans dies.

I've also had an M47 fail while climbing a hill in 5th. There was very little oil left in the trans after it had leaked out slowly over time.

I noticed slightly different positions of the plugs on the M47 out of my '87 240 vs. one from a '91 240 I pulled at the junkyard. I believe the fill plug is higher, but I didn't get precise and measure. I still would overfill if possible by jacking up the car.

I use Type F ATF and try to remember to change it every year or two. I've used Redline MTL and that also works.
 
Over fill but don't go much over two quarts. There is a vent at the top of the trans and you don't want to fill it so much that it will leak out of the vent. On my 93 M47 Volvo used the lower fill hole. It would have been nice to at least use the upper one. Oh well.
 
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