Manual Shift Valve Body

Max Mini

Registered User
Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Posts
72
Reaction score
16
Location
02451
So I just replaced my transmission. After getting scammed by a mechanic who said he could rebuild it but just took it apart and took a bunch of my money (long story, but that's the short version), I purchased a "quick ship" e4od from Monster Transmission, and found a trustworthy, experienced guy to install it. It was supposed to be a standard, off the shelf e4od, nothing fancy. But after it was installed, my mechanic took it for a spin and informed me it has a manual shift valve body. Sure enough, it needs to be shifted 1 to 2, 2 to Drive. From there it seems to shift automatically. Looking at Monster's site, this seems to be a mistake; it looks like that's a custom thing. My mechanic says don't worry about it, it's actually a good thing. He claims it will last longer. I've gotten used to it pretty easily so it doesn't bug me. But it confuses me. Number one, what is the advantage of a manual shift valve body in an automatic transmission, and number two, will it cause me any issues in my '91 E350 short bus? Someone suggested that it's not really a manual shift valve body - it's just not shifting right. And I guess that could be but it seems to move pretty smoothly from third to fourth on its own once it's in drive. Thanks.
 

hacked89

Full Access Member
Joined
May 30, 2018
Posts
1,738
Reaction score
2,328
Location
Bucks County PA
the words you said aren’t how a manual valve body works which tells me it’s not really a manual valve body it’s just not shifting right
 

captain720

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2022
Posts
589
Reaction score
448
Location
Washington
unfortunately it wouldn’t be the first time monster shipped a failed part, although I only have limited experience with them it’s all been bad.

You will likely have to pay a lot in shipping to get it warrantied.
 

lotzagoodstuff

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
May 19, 2007
Posts
2,726
Reaction score
668
Location
Carmel, IN
Easy question for you: does it downshift with generous use of the accelerator? If it does, it's not a manual valve body.
 

Max Mini

Registered User
Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Posts
72
Reaction score
16
Location
02451
the words you said aren’t how a manual valve body works which tells me it’s not really a manual valve body it’s just not shifting right
So can you explain how it's supposed to work? It's certainly possible I'm describing it wrong.
 

BeastMaster

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2017
Posts
332
Reaction score
272
Location
Orange, California
Could a malfunctioning/non-existent PCM do this? Any trouble codes? Any activity on the LED on the gearshift selector? ( maybe something wasn't plugged back in right? )
 

Rdnck84_03

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2019
Posts
1,095
Reaction score
1,177
Location
Kansas
I actually have a '01 f550 in my shop that just had a new engine put in it. Guy bought it to me saying " the truck runs great but will only shift if done manually and has no od".

Proceed to put a scanner on it to see what the pcm is seeing and doing.... I was seeing absolutely nothing about the transmission, so being a little confused I called him to get more information about what all was done to the truck. Turns out the pcm had been replaced when engine was put in because the old one was bad.

After a bit more messing with it and coming up with nothing I decided to pull the pcm and check it out.... as soon as I get it out and look at the box code all I could do was shake my head in amazement. They installed a manually pcm.

Installed the one I had from the zf6 swap on my '99, worked perfect.

This just shows why I won't let mechanic shops touch my stuff. Just something to think about if you don't do all of the work yourself.

James
 

Black dawg

Registered User
Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Posts
3,995
Reaction score
703
Location
sw mt
If it has a manual valve body, it would be the first one I have heard of, and searched and could not find one.

Do you have overdrive? Does the lockup converter function?

@trackspeeder
 

Booyah45828

Full Access Member
Joined
May 2, 2017
Posts
877
Reaction score
670
Location
Ohio
Me too. I've never heard of a manual valvebody e4od. I question if it would even work without a different controller specific to the valve body.

Check that the teca relay is working and transferring power. And then drop the pan and check that the solenoids have power with the key on, as I believe what you're experiencing will happen if they don't. I don't think you'll get a 3-4 shift though, or converter lockup without power.
 

hacked89

Full Access Member
Joined
May 30, 2018
Posts
1,738
Reaction score
2,328
Location
Bucks County PA
So can you explain how it's supposed to work? It's certainly possible I'm describing it wrong.
The other guys started to touch on this, but that trans uses like 5 solenoids 2 of which are for shifting. There’s the TC lockup. You would have to rewire things and add some switches to get things on manual which wasn’t done. Nothing is impossible, but it’s near impossible that you accidentally fall into a manual valve body e4od setup.
 

Rdnck84_03

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2019
Posts
1,095
Reaction score
1,177
Location
Kansas
I honestly know very little about auto transmission, but wouldn't it be possible for a valve body to be machined to function without the solenoids? I would guess it could be done. I would think if it is truly a manual valve body that all of the solenoids would have been removed.

With that being said, if the solenoids are absent it should be throwing numerous codes.

James
 

trackspeeder

Stone crusher.
Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Posts
4,090
Reaction score
232
Location
North Branford. CT
You can't have a manual valve body in a E4 or a 4R100 tranny.
Unlike a C6 the E4 uses a solenoid pack to control the fluid circuits. You could cheat and use an aftermarket controller to hold the shift points. That would be close to a manual valve body.

As for the original post, there is something wrong with the tranny. Start with scanning it for codes. If no codes are shown. Then there is internal issues with the tranny.
 

franklin2

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Posts
5,161
Reaction score
1,385
Location
Va
I honestly know very little about auto transmission, but wouldn't it be possible for a valve body to be machined to function without the solenoids? I would guess it could be done. I would think if it is truly a manual valve body that all of the solenoids would have been removed.

With that being said, if the solenoids are absent it should be throwing numerous codes.

James
No. The old school automatics shifting was controlled by the oil pressure in the transmission. The oil pressure in the old school automatics was controlled by road speed (the governor) and engine load (the vacuum modulator or a cable to the throttle). The electronic transmission's pressure is controlled by the computer cycling one of the solenoids. No governor and no throttle cable or vacuum modulator.
 

Rdnck84_03

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2019
Posts
1,095
Reaction score
1,177
Location
Kansas
No. The old school automatics shifting was controlled by the oil pressure in the transmission. The oil pressure in the old school automatics was controlled by road speed (the governor) and engine load (the vacuum modulator or a cable to the throttle). The electronic transmission's pressure is controlled by the computer cycling one of the solenoids. No governor and no throttle cable or vacuum modulator.
Ok that make sense. Never thought about the governor or modulator valve. Thank you for setting me straight on this.

I was told years ago that if you don't learn at least one new thing every day you need to pull your head out of your *** and pay more attention.

James
 
Top