Volvo M66

Volvo's six-speed manual — Volvo's designation for a gearbox Getrag built, which is why the catalogue's own rows name it three different ways (Volvo M66, Getrag M66, Volvo/Getrag M66) and all three mean the same unit. In the S40, V40, V50, C30, C70, S60, V60, S80, V70, XC60 and XC90.

It is the transverse box behind the five-cylinder engines, which is what makes it interesting: a five-cylinder turbo puts a great deal of torque through a front-drive transaxle, and the M66 was built for it.

Its one well-known weakness is the input shaft bearing, and it announces itself long before it fails. The noise is a whine or growl present in neutral with the clutch out, which disappears when the clutch pedal is pressed — that combination is close to diagnostic, because pressing the pedal unloads exactly that bearing. A noise that is present in gear and absent in neutral is a different fault entirely.

The shift feel complaint — vague, long, occasionally refusing second on a cold morning — is very often the cables and their bushes rather than the gearbox. It is a fraction of the cost and it is worth eliminating before anything is opened.

The five-speed M56 and M58 are not this gearbox and cannot be told apart from the outside. The tell is the ratio count on the lever, and a listing that says only manual on a P1 or P2 Volvo covers both.