03 XC70 transmission or valve body?

bte · Post by **bte** » 16 Mar 2016, 15:07

I have a XC70 that has shift flares (1st & 2nd, and downshifts to 1st) once its warmed up (15-20min of driving)
When cold, it shifts fine.
I see lots of guy say it the valve body. Whats the consensus, will the valve body fix the problem or does it require a new/rebuild trans.
Honestly, since it's a 03, with a few other smaller problems I'm debating on how much to spend to get it running correctly. It's been this way for the last few years, lucky for me it's not a every day drive (and hasn't been for a few years)
It has a bit of sentimental value to me but even that has a price for a car that's not used that much.

Thanks,
Brian

Post by **JRL** » 18 Mar 2016, 13:26

Mileage?

bte · Post by **bte** » 18 Mar 2016, 19:27

jenkinskg · Post by **jenkinskg** » 19 Mar 2016, 06:50

10K on my valve body, after flushing improved it but downshift flairs still happened and got worse when warmer.
After research found out the solenoids bushings expand with heat and until changed, will cont, dirt gets trapped.
I could of and you could just swap the 3 shift solenoids, I chose not to because I needed to drive car next day and need a known good dyno tested valve body that needed no adjustments after install.
I would also make sure you have a good sealer for pan, very tight space and hard to use RTV.
If I were to do it today would use this http://www.hisco.com/Catalog/Adhesives- ... gQodoOoISA

I have used it many times seals well, does not create small pieces that can go inside trans, and never hardens

bte · Post by **bte** » 21 Mar 2016, 12:56

Thanks for the info.
Sounds like it may be worth a try...
I have the DIM out for repair now and just ordered the solenoids, also I need to replace the wheel bearings.
If I can throw 1k and get it running well, it's worth it.
If it takes $3-5K with a new trans... I'm just not sure it's worth throwing the money at it.

I'll report back in a week or 2 on how it goes!

badcadman · Post by **badcadman** » 31 Mar 2016, 20:26

Might want to read through my 2003 saga before getting in deep like I did. Valve Body Builders is a good source for a new oem assembly.

bte · Post by **bte** » 06 Apr 2016, 09:41

So, a quick update.
After a bit more reading and searching... I ended up just changing out the 3 solenoids with Rostra solenoid.
There is no doubt it's a tight space to work and I had to get a little creative to pry the subframe down.
But as it sits right now, with a few test drives everything is shifting correctly.
I plan to flush the transmission a couple time this weekend and then wait and see how it progresses over the next few weeks.
Big thumbs up to the advice on the Permatex 80017-38794. It's messy as crap but I had zero leaking. I'm not sure that would have been the case with my typical RTV.
Thanks for the advice!

Now.. on to the timing belt.