For everyone with Trans issues - tried cleaning the valve assembly?

[jst2878]

I wonder where one can swap their valve body and get a refurbished one. Would love to get this done. Now I'm wondering if a fluid change will accomplish minimal results

[CharlieHustleX5]

Originally Posted by jst2878

I wonder where one can swap their valve body and get a refurbished one. Would love to get this done. Now I'm wondering if a fluid change will accomplish minimal results

Here's one place for the GM transmission valve body : Europeantransmissions*and...

[Zulu95]

I actually bought the manual for my transmission (3.0L) from ATSG. I believe they also do the manual for the ZF box as well.
Once I read through the procedures I realized it's not for the faint of heart. So I guess I'll be paying for a professionally rebuilt tranny when and if I need one.

[bcb1]

Slightly off-topic but related: My 2000 Yukon with the 4L60E transmission started having a very hard 1-2 shift after running at highway speeds in hot weather. Definitely valve body related.

If I would have been smart (I'm not), I would have purchased a brand new valve body from the GM dealership. I ended up buying a rebuilt/refurbished unit from a very reputable seller on ebay, but it did not fix the problem, in fact it made things worse. I fully expect a new GM valve body would have fixed the problem.

At that point I bought a brand new GM Goodwrench transmission (in other words, refurbished but done by GM). Since my wife gets the GM employee discount it cost $1495 for the transmission and another $500 for my mechanic to install.

So a word to the wise: buying refurb valve bodies that have been rebuilt by someone that knows what they're doing ~should~ work fine, but I can attest to the fact they don't always work.

[X5 Meister]

Slightly more off topic. My powerboat started having rough 3-4 upshift issues so I obviously thought it must be valve body related. So I bought a new valve body from Famous Joe's Marine Valve Body and Sandwich Shop and went to church to pray it would fix the problem. I'll admit I screwed up and cut some corners... the valve body wasn't new, it was used, and it wasn't from a powerboat, but a Miata, but since Joe is my uncle's third cousin's wife's brother's boss he gave me a pretty good deal so long as I stood watch as he removed it from a car that was parked outside while the owner was inside with diarrhea after eating one of Famous Joe's sandwiches.

So I guess the moral of the story is don't buy a used valve body or one of Famous Joe's sun-dried bean and mayo sandwiches.

[jst2878]

Originally Posted by X5 Meister

Slightly more off topic. My powerboat started having rough 3-4 upshift issues so I obviously thought it must be valve body related. So I bought a new valve body from Famous Joe's Marine Valve Body and Sandwich Shop and went to church to pray it would fix the problem. I'll admit I screwed up and cut some corners... the valve body wasn't new, it was used, and it wasn't from a powerboat, but a Miata, but since Joe is my uncle's third cousin's wife's brother's boss he gave me a pretty good deal so long as I stood watch as he removed it from a car that was parked outside while the owner was inside with diarrhea after eating one of Famous Joe's sandwiches.

So I guess the moral of the story is don't buy a used valve body or one of Famous Joe's sun-dried bean and mayo sandwiches.

point taken. I need a zf affiliated shop that knows the ins and outs of these tranny's on the m62.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by bcb1

Slightly off-topic but related: My 2000 Yukon with the 4L60E transmission started having a very hard 1-2 shift after running at highway speeds in hot weather. Definitely valve body related.

If I would have been smart (I'm not), I would have purchased a brand new valve body from the GM dealership. I ended up buying a rebuilt/refurbished unit from a very reputable seller on ebay, but it did not fix the problem, in fact it made things worse. I fully expect a new GM valve body would have fixed the problem.

At that point I bought a brand new GM Goodwrench transmission (in other words, refurbished but done by GM). Since my wife gets the GM employee discount it cost $1495 for the transmission and another $500 for my mechanic to install.

So a word to the wise: buying refurb valve bodies that have been rebuilt by someone that knows what they're doing ~should~ work fine, but I can attest to the fact they don't always work.

How do you know that the valve body was the original problem? Since a replacement valve body didn't fix it, it seems more likely in hindsight that it was an actuator failing (what the valve body is controlling).

I don't disagree with your point about only buying from reputable sellers (ie not on eBay), but perhaps the first point should be to diagnose the problem prior to replacing any parts. Many of the posts above are talking about valve body servicing, but not planning on going into the transmission to see what else needs attention. Nothing, absolutely nothing, beats doing the diagnosis right the first time.

[Clockwork]

I have to ask... I've been reading a LOT lately about Tranny software updates/reflashes, adaption resets and valve body flushes/removal to clean thoroughly as I am now experiencing myself more often the "kick" when vehicle shifts from 2 down to 1st and sometimes during a rolling stop then accel from a roll I get the "rear ended" feeling...

I just spoke with a major tranny chain repair manager here and he asked/told me a few things...
Why are the valve bodies becoming dirty? the fluid is too dark from friction materials or something in the fluid is gunking up the valve body... then a valve body cleaning will clean the current problems out but WHY is it getting dirty in the first place is the question he proposed to me... he said the big picture here is not valve bodies being dirty but what is wearing down to cause dirty in the fluid. And as soon as you replace the fluid it will start to dirty right away again. AKA you are just prolonging the inevitable.
Its known that tranny's adapt to driving/time/kms driven (tranny brain adapts because it learns to drive the most optimal way with parts the tranny expects to be wearing over time)
As for people performing the tranny adaption reset he said that the vehicle resets its "learnings" from the drivers behaviour/amount of wear and tear on tranny parts and now the tranny thinks all parts are new and therefore will exert more hydraulic pressure/forces on parts that are in fact worn down (hence dirty fluid and potentially dirtied valve bodies) and the degradation of the tranny parts will be even FASTER now since the tranny has been reset.

So from speaking with him (and I'm not saying he is correct) I have to ask, for people who have done the valve body rebuilds, have you ever noticed symptoms again shortly (within a year or two) after the cleaning performed? If so that confirms the cleaning is just a band-aid to a larger problem (what is causing it to become dirty).
just thinking out loud...

[upallnight]

Isn't it obvious why valve bodies are getting dirty? The BMW lifetime trans fluid is probably 99% why the fluid get dirty which in turn gums up the valve body. The fluid becomes contaminated with friction material, and a normal service with new fluid will remove 75% of the contaminated fluid. But since BMW doesn't recommend any type of fluid change the fluid just stay contaminated.

[thrillcat]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

I have to ask... I've been reading a LOT lately about Tranny software updates/reflashes, adaption resets and valve body flushes/removal to clean thoroughly as I am now experiencing myself more often the "kick" when vehicle shifts from 2 down to 1st and sometimes during a rolling stop then accel from a roll I get the "rear ended" feeling...

Mine is in the shop today trying to find a leak in the rear air suspension - pressure testing air lines and compressor, new Arnott bags last week didn't solve my leak.

While they have it in there I told them to reflash the transmission software. For $100 it's worth a shot. I've got an issue where when accelerating, if I'm not really getting on it, it feels like it's shifting from 3-4 too soon and then it just feels like there's nothing there until the RPMs get back up. If I'm driving more aggressively it doesn't do it. If I slip it over into sport shifting, it doesn't do it, but in sport shifting, I get the rough 2-1, which doesn't happen in the normal mode.

So, like I said, I have the software but I'd hate to brick my transmission. For $100 I'll let them handle it with their AutoLogic.

I'll post back if I notice any difference.