Well, I was surprised to have problems with the VB that I
installed a few months back, but last night my tranny went
into "limp" mode and this morning the guys at the garage says
it's the solenoids in the valve body. It won't shift down into
lower gear when taking off in drive, and the slippage is pretty
bad when you manually take off.

EDIT: It turns out he was talking about the SHIFTING SOLENOID BODY
and NOT the VALVE BODY that I had installed. (Greg and Tim have been
tremendously helpful in diagnosing the problem.)

I hope the "ChikinMan" returns my phone call pretty soon ... It
sucks that it's my only vehicle, and I am starting to sound like
Rob ... < LOL >

Wish I had enough to do the MB upgrade or the BTS upgrade with
the Doolie tranny cooler mount.

Cliff

PS... I know IF it's the VB, Greg will want to take a look at it and
see what caused the failure, right?

 

u will be fine, i am sure they will have a new one out to you asap. sure gregg with want to tear it apart.
i think i have a stocker if you are stuck i can send it out to you

 

Thanks for the offer, mate ... That's what this place used to be like ... < grin >

I called Tim twice today and his EMAIL is over limits so it's bouncing stuff, but I can still move in first gear < I NEED TO GET A BEATER! >

Cliff

 

Here Cliff........

Use mine



Seriously, I ran the FTVB for almost 3 yrs. As one of the oldtimers around here, like you, thought the FT brand was the chit!
But there has been too many stories of bad MB's and lack of customer service. While Iam sure the ChikenMan will do everything possible to make you happy, its time to look at the alternatives.
When it was time for a trans for me, I looked no further than Brians Truck service.........maybe its time for you to do the same. Iam sure if you call him, he might be able to help you out with just a valve body

http://www.brianstruckshop.com/

 

Oh I like that kind of "beating" ... If it wasn't just 2 months old I
would prolly call Brian ... Thanks for the link bud

 

Cliff,

The FTVB Accumulator is fine, the Soloniod Valve Body has gone bad and needs to be replaced. The Accumulator Valve Body tells it how hard to shift, the Solonoid Valve Body tells it when to shift.

The Ford part number is F81Z7G391CA, and it cost about $175 from any Ford Dealer.

I'm sorry I missed your call yesterday, I was sick all day.

Tim

 

Sweet !!! Thanks Chikinman ...

 

Sorry to hear about your tranny svt_ky,
I installed the ftvb a couple weeks back and have had problems ever since. I am going to spend the weekend putting it back to stock. The Overdrive is gone and recently the reverse stopped working
Hopefully all will be good when I put the stock VB back in but I doubt it. It sucks cause my truck only has 11000 miles on it
Maybe I have one of those bad solenoids your talking about ...?? Huh..

 

Did you talk to Greg or Tim ???? Or whever you got it. Greg got right back
to me on this problem... Turns out there are three sets of "solenoids" in the
tranny and the one I blew is not the FTVB ...

90 percent of the problems with the FTVB have been mis-installations, IMHO ...

 

SHEAT SHEAT SHEAT ....

My friendly Ford dealer tells me it is about $800.00 to replace
the Solenoid Body in the tranny. Dayum that is expensive. The
only consolation is that he is gonna check out all the transmission
functions and look for metal shavings when he does it.

Maybe I should upgrade to the Moroso Pan at the same time, huh?

Or put the $800 toward a MB or BTS tranny?

Decisions, Decisions ...

What's y'all's thoughts?

 

I would upgrade to a larger pan I don't know about the moroso pan other than they did have problems with them seeping.that 800 is that a total or just the part?STan

 

I've already got the 4x4 pan, Stan ... It's just the BLING thing ... < grin >
And the $800 is becoming more like $600.00 fully installed, guaranteed
and all that. I think I'm a gonna go for it. Besides, giving them some
business has always been a good relationship builder when I need a lift
for the weekend or something .... < LOL >

Greg said I could do it myself, but I don't know what I would be looking for
while I was in there. Better to have a tranny expert do it, I think.

Dropping "Christine" off tomorrow morning ...

 

Please DO NOT pay $800 for a solenoid body replacement. Did you install the FTVB yourself>??? If so, you can install the Solenoid body yourself and save close to $600. My goodness what is going on here! -Mat-

 

Yes, Mat I did the FTVB myself with Jon's help and garage ...
Do I need a new filter and fluid if I do it myself?

Thanks for your expert opinion ...

Cliff

 

Make sure you check the fuses I have heard of people blowing a fuse caused by the O2 sensor touching the exhaust and it put it in like 3rd gear all the time. Check that 1st hope that is what it is.
jeff