Im thinkin about puttin a valve body in my tranny, i know i will have to up shift and all that manually but will i have to manually downshift too?

 

Can someone please explain this to me. I hate when I have no clue.

 

+1

Man, this is the second thread today where I had no clue about what is being talked about.

 

I'm pretty sure that he's talking about the auto tranny. It should make the shifts crisper/quicker (and jerkier), but I never knew that they would prohibit the tranny from shifting by itself. I don't see much use for it, unless you're also beefing up the torque converter.

 

u mean u wana replace the valve body? the valvebody should be fine for normal driving. replacing it alone wouldnt make much sense. valve bodys are very complex and i doubt u can just change it. however, it would be interesting to see add a manual valve control to each of the gear valves. might be an easy way to break the tranny, tho.

for anyone who wants to know about the valve body or other auto tranny stuff, this is a good link: http://www.familycar.com/transmission.htm

 

Thanks. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.

 

The auto trans is computer controlled with solenoids, I don't even think it has traditional fluid valves in it. Anyhow, you don't want to change it. You can get crisper/jerkier shifts with a PCM change/reflash. The PCM controls the fluid pressure used for shifting (it's the fluid pressure acting on the bands and clutches in the trans that makes shifts hard or soft). It's also the fluid pressure on the bands/clutches that allows an auto to handle as much as 600 horsepower or as little as 150 horsepower.
BTW, the manual guys will have no clue what the bands and clutches are

 

This was taken from the shop manual for the INVECS-II for 2.4L autos. Also I don't have a clue what most of this means just posting it for informative purposes.

This automatic transaxle is made up of the following main parts.
The torque converter employs a 3 element, 1 step, 2 phase lock-up clutch.
The gear train is made up of 3 multi-plate clutches, 2 multi-plate brakes and 2 planetary gears made up of a sun gear, carrier, pinion gear and annulus gear.
The cases consist of a converter housing, transaxle case, rear cover and a valve body cover.

Parts related to oil pressure regulation are the oil pump, which pressurizes the oil; the regulator, which controls the pressure setting; the solenoid valves, which change the oil pressure with electrical signals; the pressure control valve, which controls the oil pressure coming from the solenoid valve that affects each clutch and brake; valves, which retain the oil pressure through the lines; and finally the valve body, which houses all the valves.

The annulus gear worries me a little but thats why I don't have a auto j/k

 

captain150
Where can we get a reflash done? I didn't (don't) know of anyone working on these.
I would be interested.

 

There isn't one yet, unless the Puerto Ricans have done it (they've done about everything else to the RA). RRM just obtained an auto RA, you could give them a call and they may have some insight for you on the issue.

 

He wants a manual valve body. Not too uncommon in the muscle car world, my uncle's Challenger has an auto trans with manual valve body. Yes, you would have to up and downshift manually, but trust me, it's not worth the hassle on a daily driver, and FAR from worthwhile on an auto with more than 3 gears. It's a track mod, pure and simple.

You risk a reduction in transmission life, as the auto tranny wasn't meant to be shifted except at the pre-learned shift points. If you want the car to shift harder, reset the ECU and beat on it for 30 minutes or so, or put the car in low and upshift manually.

 

Like Otter said, I know of no one that does them yet. But someone specializing in car computer systems might be able to work something out for you (it will be ultra expensive though, probably).
So you want to do this to make your shifts firmer? I wouldn't mind that, but the money isn't worth it, IMO. If I do go turbo later on (like 5 years from now, lol), a PCM upgrade/mod is something I would want. The main point for that is to raise the fluid pressure enough to ensure that the clutches/bands will not slip at WOT in any gear. But there is no point in looking for a valve body for this transmission, you will never see one (mostly because it doesn't have a valve body, lol).
Even with the PCM mod, getting a company to provide one will be slow and expensive, since there aren't many auto RA's out there and the ones that are aren't usually driven by people looking for mods

 

You don't have to reset the ECU, beating on it for awhile is enough to make it learn. Does it actually shift harder when you upshift manually? I pretty much always shift from 2-3-4 manually. Something else I noticed is that when I am in 3 instead of D, the torque converter locks up in 3rd, but if i'm in 3rd with the shifter at D, the TC doesn't lock up in 3rd. So when I shift from 3rd-D manually, the RPM goes higher by about 2-400 for a second, then it shifts, then the TC locks up again. Jesus, autos are too complicated

 

In the mountains, many people downshift in order to preserve their brakes. Sometimes manufacturers give 3rd gear a "lock-up" so that the tranny fluid isn't overstressed and theirfore overheated.