4R44E - is it that easy? And question.

[JerEazy]

Morning! First post here - but I have been lurking around and used quite a bit of the info to tear the engine apart and replace the heads, head gaskets and oil pan gasket, and everything on the way in and out on the 2000 3.0. (Speaking of that… that oil pan sucks). Bought the truck knowing it needed engine work so I could wrench it out and give it to my nephew for his first car.

So here’s the question: now that the truck runs well the transmission seems to “slip” from a stop. Like I hit the gas and it revs and moves a bit, I take foot off the gas and it kinda chunks into gear and off she goes.

Reading around says the valve gasket in the tranny is the most likely culprit. So, here I am planning to drop the pan, pull the valve body and check those gaskets. I have never touched a transmission before. So despite pulling an engine apart, it spooks me a bit. But it seems pretty straight forward unless I’m missing something?

Second; I see these “new” valve bodies with a shift correcting/improvement kit already installed. If I’m pulling it out, is it worth it to swap out?

lastly: I can shift the trans as long as the key is on between all gears without using the brake. Isn’t the brake required to shift? If so, where do I check/fix to repair that issue?

Thanks! More posts to come.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Things to consider would be how many miles are already on the transmission. You will get a good idea of the condition of the transmission when you drop the pan.

I know many have had good results with the shift kits but it really isn't a fix if the transmission is already worn out.

There is a known issue on some of these with the valve body gasket... just understand it isn't always the fix for transmission issues.

Good luck...

 

[JerEazy]

Things to consider would be how many miles are already on the transmission. You will get a good idea of the condition of the transmission when you drop the pan.

I know many have had good results with the shift kits but it really isn't a fix if the transmission is already worn out.

There is a known issue on some of these with the valve body gasket... just understand it isn't always the fix for transmission issues.

Good luck...

thanks - so the gasket swap should be pretty straight forward. But I’ll know if it’s the issue or not once I get the valve body down?

 

[Uncle Gump]

I think it should be straight forward...

 

[rubydist]

If it has been having mushy shifts for very long, the internal clutch packs will be worn out so a full rebuild will be required. If you caught it right away, changing the valve body may be all that is needed.

 

[Josh B]

thanks - so the gasket swap should be pretty straight forward. But I’ll know if it’s the issue or not once I get the valve body down?

Once you get the valve body down it will be too late to do it right, because there are many different length screws involved

 

[JerEazy]

Not sure I understand what you mean? I have read you need to make sure you keep the screws organized… but how would that mean it’s too late to do it right?

 

[JerEazy]

Circling back here. Pan is down, all the black bolts are removed and organized… I was under the impression the brass colored ones stay in to hold the solenoids - am I wrong there? I don’t want to start pulling this thing if those bolts should come out.

this is my first attempt at anything on a tranny, so please excuse the hesitancy to just start pulling stuff off.

 

[JerEazy]

Second, there’s 4 in the passenger side corner that hold a plunger like object in. It doesn’t seem attached to the body, so I’ve left them in. Do those need to come out?

 

[DILLARD000]

Thats the reverse piston. You can easily replace those 2 ORings & that smaller gasket. Your option.

 

[JerEazy]

My kit didn’t come with a new gasket sadly.
So I put it back up there as clean as I could. There were two gasket failures inside

 

[DILLARD000]

Looks like you found the problem.

 

[JerEazy]

Fingers crossed. After it was all buttoned up and pan back on and torqued and I was filling I saw a piece of paper and bolt in the filter box that said to use the new bolt when reinstalling the filter. I used the one off the old filter.

am I good? It torqued down?

 

[JerEazy]

Heard from a few that it was ok in the 99+ to reuse bolt.

holy hell what a difference! Instant reverse engagement, no slip from a stop.

glad I took on the job

 

[DILLARD000]

Great work & inspiration+info for others!