Automatic Transmission Valve Body Functions and Failure Symptoms

When using a car, someone may have ignored some symptoms that they think are not serious. But these may signal that your car could be critical and need you to act as quickly as possible. And the automatic transmission valve body symptoms are not an exception.

In this post, we will discover what is a transmission valve body, an automatic transmission valve body, and the symptoms of bad valve body. Therefore, you can recognize the transmission valve body problems and fix them to maintain the best condition of your vehicle.

What Is A Transmission Valve Body?

First of all, let’s find out what is a valve body. The valve body is the control center of the automatic transmission. It includes a maze of channels and passages that guide hydraulic fluid to the various valves. 

Then they activate the appropriate clutch pack or band servo for each driving situation to switch smoothly to the appropriate gear. Like a hydraulic fluid hose, each of those channels performs, somehow, the same job. 

It was much easier to mill out passages in a metal block instead of making a hundred horses run all over the place, thus keeping everything tidy as well as more reliable. 

Each of the many valves has a particular role in the valve body and has a name for that feature. The most important part of the valve body is the manual valve. Connected to the gear stick handle, it instructs the right passage for hydraulic fluid to pass through.

Recently, the modern automatic transmission valve body has sensors to monitor the speed, brake pedal position, throttle position, and engine load to perform a soft and firm gear shift. The sensors send vital information to the onboard engine management computer.

It further directs the electrically controlled solenoid that redirects the hydraulic fluid to the right clutch pack. Therefore, it will ensure a soft and seamless change between gears.

Now that you know about the auto transmission valve body, it is time to know transmission valve body symptoms.

Failure Symptoms Of Automatic Transmission Valve Body

Although modern automatic gearboxes are strong and enduring, the overall reliability takes effect from the added complex structure of these systems. Therefore, the sooner we notice the abnormal signals of the engine, the longer we can maintain the use of it.

There are a few valve body transmission symptoms that keep you aware of the failure activity of the engine. Most of them are quite noticeable. 

It is recommended that you should fix these problems as soon as possible. Then, your driving ability will be protected and gear changing will be smooth as usual. 

Here are the automatic transmission valve body symptoms that you must not ignore

1. Knocking Noise

One symptom of a bad valve body is strange knocking noises. You will notice the clunking or knocking noise coming from the gearbox when you brake, change the gears, or when accelerating. 

Chances are that you may hear some awkward noises when putting the car in reverse and driving backward. The reason for this can be anything from inappropriate oil pressure to actual physical damage to the transmission valve body. 

Anyways, as soon as you hear strange sounds from the gearbox you should get your car a check.

2. Gears In Troublesome

Late gear shifts or general issues with gear changes are common transmission valve body symptoms. When the gearbox prepares to change gears, it will drop the RPM slightly. 

A bad transmission valve body probably makes the RPM spike for a moment. Whenever you experience these problems, contact your mechanic for a check immediately

3. Difficulty In Downshift

Similar to shifting gears, you might have difficulty downshifting as one of the symptoms of a bad valve body. 

This explains that hydraulic fluid is unable to enter the valve body transmission properly. Once this starts happening, the gears will not function properly, thus degrading the performance of the vehicle.

4. Delay In Shifting

Are you facing problems while changing your gears to reverse or drive? If you have ever had a long pause between going in reverse and being able to slide into drive, then you understand the pain of a delayed shift. 

Most often, it is because of the transmission valve body that is working improperly. Thus, the shifting of the transmission experiences a great delay. Be ready! Due to this, it may cause the car to be stuck in neutral.

SEE MORE:

• Reasons For Transmission Shifting Hard From 1st To 2nd Gear
• Where Is Valve Train Noise Coming From And Ways To Fix It?

Replacements

When it comes to replacing a transmission valve body, the cost is something to take into account, as it will depend on the labor and model of your vehicle.

An average transmission valve body will cost between $200 to $500. In addition, the labor costs tend to be quite intense as the process of replacing can take around 2 to 4 hours to finish. 

It is important to note that the hourly rate of a mechanic costs between $60 to $100. So you will pay between $120 and $400 for labor costs before taxes and fees. 

Therefore, the total valve body replacement cost will vary between $320 and $900.

If there are transmission valve body symptoms that are serious, you will need to take into consideration if you need to replace the whole valve body or fix the transmission system.

Tips For A Long-Lasting Valve Body

Because the cost of either replacing or fixing the automatic transmission valve body is relatively high. You should take care of the vehicle daily and keep track of the car’s condition.

The top advice to prevent transmission valve body symptoms is proper maintenance. Frequent maintenance appointments will let you know if there is any strange condition of your vehicle to fix it quickly and prevent further damage.

Also, you should use good transmission oil. Because using low-quality oils will lead to sub-par lubrication and cooling of the whole body. 

Later, that will make the key components’ lifespan shorter. In terms of economics, it will be cheaper if you use good oil than to rebuild the gearbox.

Last but not least, the easiest way is to always check the warning lights on your vehicle’s dashboard. Nowadays, cars are equipped with smart and clear dashboards for you to notice any abnormal behavior inside them. 

But in case you do not have them, a frequent maintenance check is always the best option to prevent transmission valve body symptoms or further damage to your car.

FAQs On Transmission Valve Body

1. What is the valve body repair cost?

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the typical cost of a complete gearbox valve body replacement is between $300 and $1000.

In addition, if this part has any less severe issue, the typical cost to repair on most common small vehicles and sedans will be between $250 and $500.

2. Is it possible to repair the valve body without removing the transmission?

It is rather simple to replace some valve bodies, especially when the transmission is still in the car.

3. Is it possible to clean the transmission valve body?

To eliminate mineral build-up, gently scrape the interior walls of the valve body using a nylon bristle brush. 

4. What is the optimal way to clean a transmission valve body?

The best method is to disassemble everything and thoroughly clean the valves and bores using acetone and nylon brushes.

Sum Up

As mentioned above, the detection of a bad transmission valve body is relatively easy even with or without the help of an engine management computer. The best tip is to never ignore any unusual signs in your vehicle.

Keep up with your pages for more useful information and maintenance tips that will help you know your car better.