Having swapped valve bodies a few times now with the transmission still in the car, I thought it might be useful to share some hints.
Thanks to gravity and kinetic energy, as soon as the valve body is removed from the transmission housing, 3 out of the 4 accumulator pistons will normally fall out, and so will the drain back valve. Oil pours everywhere and it's a bloody mess. Unless the transmission is upside down, this is unavoidable.
When it comes time to reassemble, you will need to hold these pistons and valve in place - so I made up 3 metal plates that bolt onto the oil pan surface and stop the valve & pistons falling out while you offer up the valve body to the transmission housing.
Get 2 of the valve body bolts started, unbolt and slip the plates out, then finished the remaining valve body bolts.
Just make sure the edges of your plates are smooth and finished well, no swarf or rough edges. You don't want to go scratching any sealing surfaces or ripping the gaskets.
(ignore the arrow in the image below)
Thanks to gravity and kinetic energy, as soon as the valve body is removed from the transmission housing, 3 out of the 4 accumulator pistons will normally fall out, and so will the drain back valve. Oil pours everywhere and it's a bloody mess. Unless the transmission is upside down, this is unavoidable.
When it comes time to reassemble, you will need to hold these pistons and valve in place - so I made up 3 metal plates that bolt onto the oil pan surface and stop the valve & pistons falling out while you offer up the valve body to the transmission housing.
Get 2 of the valve body bolts started, unbolt and slip the plates out, then finished the remaining valve body bolts.
Just make sure the edges of your plates are smooth and finished well, no swarf or rough edges. You don't want to go scratching any sealing surfaces or ripping the gaskets.
(ignore the arrow in the image below)
