2001 T5: Let's talk valve bodies and tranmissions

carboncow · Post by **carboncow** » 13 Mar 2014, 10:03

Our T5 wagon has about 180K miles on it. It got the software update for the neutral stop issue pretty late in life.

THe last year has been full of minor flairs and hard shifts between 2/3 and 3/4 (I think 3/4 the most). I've now noticed that the car drives will in sub 30F weather but as we get warmer weather in Ohio (or warmer days this winter) the flaring and hard shifts are more apparent. The tranny fluid is about 1.5 years and 20K miles old...so that is on the the todo this spring as annual changes seem to smooth out shifts.

I've seen bits and pieces of DIY valve body discussion. Lots of research to figure out which one and how to. Anyone have any experience with this? Is this my concern or a roll of the dice as a solution? ANy other thoughts to consider?

Car is in good shape (body and engine) and other then a randomly hissing brake booster I don't have many concerns. It's a 100 mile a day highway cruiser that sees very little in town driving but when I do on a warmer day or if the car has been working hard all day the mentioned flares/hard shifts show up.

I think when it starts to flare/shift hard putting it in manual mode eases the concerns. I don't mind it so much but I don't trust my wife with the car!

ChiNorm · Post by **ChiNorm** » 13 Mar 2014, 14:07

Your first step is a IPD method tranmission flush, which may fix the problem on its own. Avoid a power flush.

Good luck.

Post by **precopster** » 13 Mar 2014, 14:15

The above won't hurt though 20K miles of freeway driving is hardly deteriorating the fluid

Transmission serial number check to see if B4 cover replacement may be applicable. Serials beginning between 01C and 01L are candidates.

carboncow · Post by **carboncow** » 13 Mar 2014, 14:58

I believe the last time I researched this it was not a B4 cover replacement candidate but I'll have a look again tonight.

I'll also see what's so good about the IPD method but my method is usually to empty (half gets out) and then drive it for a day and then do it again thus getting about 75% of the fluid out. Does the IPD go beyond that w/o the flush?

I'm still interested in any comments on the more extreme value body swap as I have a re-look at the B4 possibility.

hcritz · Post by **hcritz** » 13 Mar 2014, 18:35

I Just did the valve body service on a 2002 V70. It was quite a bit of labor but the tranny is shifting great now. Per Precopsters info I used the combo kit from CTpowertrains. It's a bit time consuming but seems to cure the shift problems.

carboncow · Post by **carboncow** » 13 Mar 2014, 19:19

hcritz wrote:I Just did the valve body service on a 2002 V70. It was quite a bit of labor but the tranny is shifting great now. Per Precopsters info I used the combo kit from CTpowertrains. It's a bit time consuming but seems to cure the shift problems.

That's the info I'm prob going to be looking for.

What was the time consuming part...getting the engine up enough to get to the valve body or was it more with getting stuff out w/o damage? How much time did you have involved? What is Precopsters info...is there a page or write up? Still looking! Thanks Again.

EDIT: Or are we still talking the B4 servo kit fix?

Post by **precopster** » 14 Mar 2014, 03:17

This thread: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=62140

hcritz · Post by **hcritz** » 14 Mar 2014, 07:31

Hey Carboncow.
I dropped the entire sub-frame as I was doing some other work as well. It's not that difficult to do other than getting the pressure side of the power steering hose routed in and out when you pull the sub-frame. It definitely gives you more room to work. I had a bit of a hard time getting the electrical connectors off the three main solenoids I'm not sure why, maybe just being a bit too cautious trying not to break the plastic parts. Once the valve body is out it's just a matter of taking your time and being very careful that everything is in it's correct position. There are a lot of little small parts that tend to fall out when you separate the valve body plates. I agree with Mike that it would be nice to blow up the instruction sheet that comes with the kit. It shows the locations of all the check valves and valve retainers. I also had the same issue with the gaskets on the main valve body plate. I used the wire brush on my bench grinder to remove them. I worked slowly not to get the plate too hot. It took about 5 min per side to get the plate clean. It needs to be carefully cleaned and check all the small holes for any debris afterwards. Follow the instructions on cleaning the main solenoids. You will need a good Micrometer to check the armature shaft diameters. I have a digital one from Harbor Freight that works really well and is very inexpensive. My Bifocals and the old mechanical ones don't get along very well any more! LOL
Just be very meticulous with your reassembly...double check your check valves and retainers. If it's not 100% correct you will be going back into it for sure!!!
I probably had 10 hours invested in doing the project.

carboncow · Post by **carboncow** » 14 Mar 2014, 09:36

Great info 10 hours is understandable for this type of job and being methodical.

Can you show me which kit you were referring too? I went to the website and only (via my search skills) came up with one volvo kit (about $160 which seems cheap) which may in fact be the B4 fix.

So if the armature shaft diameter is out of spec, then what? Or is this just about getting it back into spec from cleaning?
What technique did you use for dropping the sub-frame?

I'm a solid DIY but have never dropped or opened a tranny, so this is a new world for me.

ibaralf · Post by **ibaralf** » 14 Mar 2014, 10:02

I had the same problem as you have described. Basically transmission shift is rough going from 2-3 or 3-4, engine races between down shifting especially 4-3 (I think), and going from reverse to drive causes a huge engine revving and then transmission would engage resulting in the car jerking forward (really hard). There are lots of information if you google this problem since it seems to be a very common problem. From what I gathered, I did the following things:
1) Checked B4 servo if needs replacement (DIY relacement can be as quick as 30 minutes, if you can easily remove the snap ring - $28)
2) Clean Mass Air Flow sensor (use a MAF cleaner)
3) Clean or replace ETM (Electronic throttle module) - an older type is known to break down and I read that XeModex has a better replacement. Take note of software requirements.
This is a 1-2 hour job since you need to remove the radiator fan to access the ETM.
4) Flushed automatic transmission fluid
5) Replaced lower torque mount

=> From my experience, cleaning the MAF, fixed the jerking for a few days then problems came back. Cleaning the ETM was a big help especially the reverse-drive jerking. I also feel the difference when flushing the ATF. Bottom line, after doing all these fixes, the transmission shifting improved dramatically. Reverse-drive jerking is gone, up shifting from 2-3 and 3-4 is smoother. HOWEVER, once in a while I still get the engine revving up when down shifting from 3-2.
=> I would love to do the actual solenoid fix, but this might be beyond my capabilities.

I understand it now when some people say they have a love hate relationship with their Volvos.