'Service engine' light came on and started to shift hard

[DANVAN]

Thanks, but I have no idea what or where a separator plate is, Ive never heard of one.

[DANVAN]

OK, just got off the phone with a friend of a friend who owns a tranny shop, Ive meet him before so he was nice enough to give me some time.

He too, knows of this common problem with these trannys, fixes several a week, but wants $500.00-$550.00 to do it.

He mentioned the spring, the TCC, the solinoid, all the updates to the valve body, everything Ive read here, but when I mentioned drilling the hole, he said no, thats not a proper fix and will eventually lead to the converter failing due to lose of pressure and slipping.

So Im not sure now about drilling the hole, and it looks like this may cost me more then I was willing to spend.

Opionions?

[LiftedAWDAstro]

If you pay someone else to do it, it's gonna cost you.

Do the TCC apply spring, flush with synthetic and get that cooler installed. When you do the TCC spring, you can check the separator plate as it pinches between the valve body and the housing.

[DANVAN]

Well, I finally found the time to add the cooler, a 18,000 gvw one, sounds big, hope it helps. A friend gave it to me years ago, its been in the garage in its original packaging for like at least 8 years.

I also pumped out almost 5 qts of very dirty fluid while the cooler line was off. I was surprised how dark the fluid was, looked like dirty engine oil. On the dipstick it never looked that bad.
I installed close to 6 qts of Valvoline Max life fluid, the parts store and a mechanic friend both recommended it to me, its for vehicle with over 75k and its synthetic.

Drove the van for 30 miles yesterday, we took the utility trailer to pick up some new furniture, I definatly noticed a softer shift for the entire ride. I wont know if its fixed until I get some more weight in the trailer and go a farther distance, but at least I feel better about having the cooler installed and some new clean fluid.

I do plan on dropping the pan and changing the filter and adding more new fluid in the future, just want to see if this helps for now.

Thanks for all the input on this subject.

[risteff]

uh oh! I've got the exact same symptoms after running through the mountains of GA, TN, & KY. I'm gonna try a fluid flush, & trans cooler. I've never had a trans apart before, but I'm not afraid to try a shift kit or update. Could I use a newer valve body from a newer junk trans? Thanks.