sfkoldun

After searching around for a good DIY, plus I had to work on my C class tranny before, I decided to post a DIY on removal/replacement for conductor plate or valve body or solenoids, since they are "married" together. Plus it is sort of DIY for transmission fluid, filter change tips.
This is the first part, I am going to ship out my conductor plate to some shop near LA that does some work on them to fix my 2767 error code, faulty speed sensor.
After the part is back will go over putting things back together and oil fill up.
"A no no process only dealer" per some members and other "paid" folks.

sfkoldun

Just take your time, no rush

sfkoldun

it would be nice, if someone will post me all torque specs

sfkoldun

I should have my conductor plate back in a week, will go over on putting things back in place, oil fill and hopefully error code is gone.

alx

unfortunately my experience (and the consensus) is that the fixes most of the time dont last and only postpone a bit the inevitable. the culprit is overall electrical design rather than the actual sensor so the only true fix is a new updated plate. you have been warned

sfkoldun

Hi Alx
I have a good experience with electronics, and most of the time it is a simple fix. I have 2003 rav4 with over 220k miles it never been to dealership since I bought in 2006 with 46k miles on it. Fluid changes, oil changes, tranny fluid I did on my own. This model/year had week ecu unit, the problem was circuit board that had ground connector over time (heat/cold) loosing control over transmission , applying more soldering, fix the problem, when dealer fix around $1000
I do not want this thread go wrong way, it is DIY about removal of valve body, conductor plate, etc.
As always money talks, dealer wants around $1500 or $400 DIY , plus you get experience and confidence and bonding with your car

alx

You missed my point. How much you know about electronics is irrelevant in this case. Your plate is doomed. It will get patched up by one of the few vendors out there that do that just so it fails again in 6-12 months or thereabouts. So the $500-750 you will spend will be money down the drain.

I am a somewhat knowledgable on the innings of the Mercedes lineup and tranny work is prolly the only work I firmly believe is not worth tackling on your own. Just my to cents. Carry on

stappin

Fair play love the detailed pics must have taken sometime to put together.

I too have a Rav4 on an 06 plate so understand the need to tinker, although the Rav is more kind to a spanner I feel.

Let us know if your conductor plate fix works or if we are all doomed.

mike278

Good start with the pics. Just a couple of notes on the project- make sure you replace any aluminum bolts, they are a one time use. Make sure you put the little pipe with the o-rings on it (in front of the trans module on top of the valve body) back in when you reassemble, if you don't the car won't move. Last pointer is for the next time you do one- when you remove the drain plug, you can use a punch that just fits the hole to knock the plastic standoff loose from the oil pan to drain more oil out.

sfkoldun

thanks, good tip to knock the plastic standoff

sfkoldun

Good news. Got the tcm back. Put it back. No problem so far, will add picks and comments later

sfkoldun

it has been a week so far, not problems, I can tell the tranny shifts much better, especially in the morning when the car is cold, I give it couple of minutes anyway, but in the past it I could fill the shifting from 1st to 2nd, now it is smooth. While I was waiting for my TCM, I put oil pan back in place, so be carefull it collected about 0.5L of oil, I did not expect that much, so spilled some. There is no back pressure from oil drain hole, so I would recommend keeping existing fill up setup or use some clip on the fill up tube to hold the oil inside the pan while waiting for 45C degrees. In my case I had to lay down for almost 30 min and wait for temperature to rise, not fun at all with my finger holding the hole.

sfkoldun

new pan gasket, new bolts ( will reuse them next time, to pricy $5 a peace )
No leaks so far, will update in a month or so.

sfkoldun

so far so good

fireman1073

thanks sfkoldun...i am about to do a fluid change and will remove the valve body to clean the solenoids at the same time (it shifts a little funny)

this post puts eyeballs on the subject

Steve

alx

bad shifting is most often caused by old fluid and corresponding learned bad tcu adaptations.

drain pan, drain tq, reset adaptations and you will have a much better shifting experience.

also, in my experience if you remove the valve body and the solenoids and you find material in the screens... you can clean it, but it is a downhill for that tranny. i have seen quite a few high mileage trannys and all that were in good order had their solenoids pretty much spotless. so.. junk there is bad news.

eric_in_sd

It's been a couple of months. Any update on your tranny adventure?

Captincvmn

I'm curious as well.
With no dipstick to add fluid through, do you have to pump all 6L up into the transmission? What an awkward PITA.

alx

Yes. 6 liters if dropping the pan and valve body. 9 liters if you do the job thoroughly and drain the tq too.

Captincvmn

Can you drain the torque converter without removing it from the vehicle?

alx

Yes. There is an oval rubber plug on the bottom of the tq housing. It has a hole in it. Remove plug and look inside. You will need an assistant to turn the engine crank over with a suitable wrench/ socket. Turn slowly and look inside. Once you find the drain plug it requires a long reach hex (usually a t-handle) to remove. It will take a while for the tq to drain- 15-30 minutes is not atypical.

Captincvmn

Thanks you ALX

sfkoldun

I was busy a bit , sorry did not have time .
So far, things are good, but as ALX said your experience may very, in my case things are good.
Working on oil catch can, and got some poly bushings for lower control arms , will post new thread later