Ford 6R60 Harsh 2-1 shifts, when reset KAM wont help anymore .Solution

[Bazz270]

Hello
As you guys all know , Ford's 6R60 is a licensed ZF 6HP26 copy with minor changes.

So most of the parts and solution are the same.

In my case , no any TCM KAM reset and adaptations relearn wont fix the 6r60 2to1 gear annoying bump.

Talking about ZF gearboxes , the solution to the bump is to replace the whole valve body seal kit ,includes bulk sleeve and transmission pump adapter and rubber bushings (every 100000 miles approx)

According to ZF repair manuals ,this seals cause pressure (mechatronic to gearbox pump seal )drop and as a result cause valve body solenoids harsh behavior.

KAM reset and adaptation helps to align the valve body pressure to the drop for a while until the seals fails finally.

So ive decided to do the job .all the valve seals for the 6R60 are similar to the ZF (includes the rubber bushings).

1. Take the valve body off the gearbox (thick head only T27 and T30 torx holds the mechatronic to the gearbox,do not touch the rest of the screws.)

2. Be careful with the mechatronic weight and put it aside when seals replaced.do not touch the electrical connectors.

Take the adapter and the sleeve bushings apart and replace.see the old and the new seals below .new fresh sleeve bushing should protrude approx 5 mm .ford dont sell this tubes , so ZF tubes are purchased,they are all similar to ford tubes.old tubes was crushed and kinda hardened relative to new flex tubes.be careful not to scratch the housing when taking the old tubes apart.
**The old rectangular seals shape are similar altough the old one looks shorter in the photo.

Torque to specs. 7 qt of mercon will be needed.

 

[94Eddie]

How may miles are on your transmission? There is a lot of difference between the new and old rectangular seal.

 

[Bazz270]

200000 miles.
The old valve adapter seal failed totally as you can see

They are supposed to be the same look .ive purchased the ZF version too (oem bmw valve body seal kit contains the 4 sleeves and the adapter) but the original ford one was installed

 

[Blackhawkxx]

Great information.

 

[Bazz270]

Here is the entire original ZF 6hp26 /32/34 seal kit for the four seal sleeves. Bulk head connector and the adapter seal are included ( could be used beside the ford oem parts since they are totally the same ).

Do not purchase chinese crap

 

[Bill MacLeod]

x2 what Blackhawk said.

Source and part #'s for seals & tubes?

 

[Bazz270]

100 miles update:

( No new adaptation performed yet )

No harsh shifts,no delays ,smooth shifts only ,hot or old cold transmission temp ,urban or highway, all the same

Just as new.

 

[Bazz270]

x2 what Blackhawk said.

Source and part #'s for seals & tubes?

Bulk sleeve and rectangular adapter as per vehicle VIN from levittown ford

And the rubber tubes are from ebay.no idea about parts numbers.this kit arrived with noname packaging from europe but all the parts stamped as ZF originals.make sure they are designed for the 6hp26 and they are genuine ZF ,BMW ,Land Rover or Jaguar only

Bypass valve could be replaced as well if you wish.make sure to purchase transmission assembly lube to hold the bypass valve from falling apart the transmission case until valve body installed

6 Nm torque wrench needed for the valve body torx screws .see the sequence below ( mandatory).ive used blue loctite on these screws.

 

[Bazz270]

talking about 6HP and 6R60 transmissions differences:

On the ZF 6HP26 ,solenoid pack could be replaced separately without changing the valve body , according to Sonnax instructions for example since the solenoid pack and the valve body are calibrated separately ,they could be replaced separately one from each other .

On the ford 6R60 (nor the 6R80 ), instead of the ZF ,the solenoid pack cant be replaced alone since the solenoids are calibrated together with the valve body as one unit. The only solenoid that could be replaced alone it is "4-5 shift" solenoid ( the white one).


valve body p/n for the 2007 :

Lead frame p/n for the 2007

 

[m j]

this Bazz270 guy seems smart. I think I will follow his stuff. this kind of tech is awesome.

 

[m j]

purchased from that same ebay vendor. how do we know if it is in fact "genuine ZF" and not chyna? the 'sleeves' do not have the colour coded ends, none of the parts say ZF.

waiting for an aftermarket dipstick before tackling this job (which may not come as our Postal workers just went on strike FMY ). laying under it with engine running to add fluid just seems sketchy to me

was shipped "DHL" but they handed it to CanPost so "Your package is impacted by the ongoing Canada Post CUPW (Canadian Union of Postal Workers) strike and it will not be delivered until Canada Post resumes operations."

 

[Bazz270]

Mine was ZF stamped

 

[Bazz270]

Update:

So the harsh shifts came back again with wrong gear ratio codes and slipping heavy on cold weather .
Replaced the valve body with Central Valve Bodies reman one ( all sonnax updates plus solenoid pack checked).No TCM included so no need to be reflashed.only KAM reset performed.

The old one was leaked on separator plate and i guess the pressure regulator was totally gone.that and the accumulators is the really reason for the harsh 2-1 downshift.in some stage of wear ,the valve body cant align the pressure anymore ,KAM reset helps for a while but a real reason for the downgear bump are the VB components ,they are bad engineered from the beginning on 6hp26 also so only sonnax updated pressure regulators will really fix this annoying bump. Ford was fixed it in 6r80.


In my case needed to fix both the pressure loss and the harsh downshift .

Transmission case seals replaced once again plus the solenoid foam seal.

My thermal valve was badly corroded and not available for purchase ,replaced with Superior Transmissions patented 6R60 Sure-Cool thermal bypass kit

Needs to be careful with reassembling and cleaning the TCM lead frame

 

[Bazz270]

That is the old bad thermal valve.looks similar to 6r80 one but the p/n is different