Hary Gahtoe

This should have been a breeze. I tried for >2hrs to get the external connector plug off of the Conductor plate socket.
The plug is very close to Catalytic Converter and the tunnel. I was able to loosen the pinch collar and wiggle it a little but I can't get my hand between the tunnel and the exhaust to free it up.
I don't want to break the conductor plate by getting overly zealous either.
To those who haven't done this, its a lot more difficult than it should be and believe me, i mean i tried. My last resort is going to be water pump pliers
So if those who have done this (while in the car)feel free please, to share some pearls of wisdom before I break something

Thanks for any replies

Hary

Plutoe

To double check for tricks post the VIN!

Hary Gahtoe

It's not that specific. 722.9's are everywhere. It's more 230 specific than vin

Rudeney

I don't think you will break the conductor plate. It's socket is pretty tight in the transmission housing and comes out form the inside, so you are really pulling against the housing. Would it help to remove the exhaust? It's really not that hard. Just spray the bolts with some PB Blaster so you don't break them.

Hary Gahtoe

Thanks for the post Rudeney.
After a much needed rest, I pulled the passenger side exhaust and got my hand in position to pull it out. Took < 15 sec.
I am cleaning the valve body and prepping the plate.
The plate looks fine. The difficult part going to be resoldering the the replacement sensors

Rudeney

The only advice I can give you is to use the lowest heat possible to prevent melting the Mylar ribbon cable.

Hary Gahtoe

Boy, you must've read my mind!
I was so frustrated that I couldn't pull a simple plug I had to leave it alone before I broke it. After coming back with a fresh perspective I did remove the exhaust pipe enough to get my hand in there.
I bought an electronic pencil type soldering gun and if I practice a couple times a very small amount of solder placed in a small contact point on the ribbon wire after I pre solder the connection points on the sensors make it work.
I bought the electronic solder wire which melts at < temps to reduce heat on the ribbon wire as well

Rudeney

I can't wait to here how this turns out!

Hary Gahtoe

Well, I had everything in line to repair the conductor plate until I pulled the Internal Speed Sensor that was (wait for it) hard wired. So when the Sensor finally came out the tip of the head was still impregnated in the board.
Apperantly my 04 was not designed to have the sensor swapped out.
Too bad. My solder connections on the Turbine were solid and usable.

What I have learned is that judging on the effective life of Plastics from my car I'm not sure it's good idea to replace the board with another aged unit. The round off-white disc that measures fluid levels; came loose while performing the sensor extraction, hit another plastic tray I was storing parts in breaking off a 1/2" chunk.
I have called several Companies who specialize in trans circuit repair. After talking at length I believe for my situation a new board is the route I'll be taking. An owner can perform a Canbus offline SCN sequence of the TCU to the chassis.

Rudeney

Dang! I hate to hear that didn't work out. I was really hoping for you that it would! Keep us posted on how you finally get it fixed, especially if you do an offline SCN coding.