confusing A4LD behavior!!!

[Gadget X]

You could have Central Valve Bodies test your valve body.

My only problem with that is this is my DD. I don't have time to have it out of commission while I get things tested. I can pull a whole transmission at pull a part for $75, and pull the valve body out of it and rebuild it to go in mine, that way my only "down time" would be while I was putting the vb in. Would sticking in the valve body cause no reverse and no od? Thanks for all the help!

 

[BrooklynBay]

The valve body controls these functions so a different one might help. If you see that a used valve body helps, then rebuild your old valve body as a spare or send it out to have it rebuilt. It won't be as cheap as a used one but you'll know that you have a spare that works correctly. There's no way to know how good a used valve body is unless you test it. Sonnax makes a valve body test plate which uses air pressure.

 

[Gadget X]

Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking about. I can pull several valve bodies at the pull a part, till I find one that I can move all the valves and stuff freely on, and use that one to put in my transmission, then rebuild mine as a spare. What my plan is, is to find the best transmission I can there, and buy the whole thing for $75 and use that valve body to get mine back on the road for a while, and in the meantime rebuild the other transmission as a replacement for later. They also have a couple of first gens with manual transmissions there, which is what I'd really like to do, just not sure if I'm ready for that much work yet!

 

[Gadget X]

Oh, one more thing! I forgot to post it, but I have noticed that there is no engine braking anymore. If I am in any gear and take my foot off the gas, the rpms immediately drop to idle speeds. That's even in manual 1 or 2. Would this be another symptom of my problems being completely related to the valve body? (I hope!) Thanks again for all the good info!

 

[BrooklynBay]

You might have a bad one way sprag.

 

[Gadget X]

Update: I pulled a couple valve bodies at the junkyard this morning, and spent the better part of the day going through the best one. I removed every valve and polished them with 2000 grit wet sandpaper, and put it all back together, making sure that there was no binding or anything. I then put that valve body in my transmission and buttoned everything back up. After a quick test run, I determined that 1-3 worked great, and I now had reverse! Much to my dismay, the OD and tcc lockup were still not there! I thought that maybe the solenoids I put in were bad, so I pulled the valve body AGAIN!! I replaced the solenoids with known good ones, and put it back together. Now I have 1-3 and tcc lockup, but reverse is slipping again. Still have no OD and no engine braking. Would the one-way sprag cause these problems? Is that something that can be replaced without a complete teardown? Thanks.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You have to dismantle everything to replace the one way sprag.

 

[Gadget X]

Crap. Little out of my comfort zone, would it be "easier" to just head back to the junkyard for an M5OD R1 that I saw? what would I need to get from the donor vehicle? I know I'll need the ECM, the Shifter, the pedal assembly, the clutch, and the flywheel, what wiring would I need? any parts I should make sure to get? Sorry to be asking so many questions, just getting frustrated with this thing!!!! Thanks!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Save yourself a lot of aggravation, and get another A4LD from the junkyard. If it's no good then you could put another one in. You don't wan't to install a bad manual transmission after doing all of the conversion work (unless you have another daily driver).

 

[Gadget X]

Thanks for the tip. If I'm looking for a manual to swap in the future, how do you tell a good one from a bad one?

 

[BrooklynBay]

There's no way to tell just by looking at it. With an engine, you could tell if it turns manually, but it won't tell you the internal condition (sludge build up, worn seals, etc). Maybe you could check the manual transmission if you turn it manually, but it won't tell you if parts are cracked. The automatic transmission is hydraulically controlled so it's hard to tell unless you remove the valve body to perform an air test with a special plate.

 

[Gadget X]

Thanks for all the help, I think I can live with it "as is" until I can get my hands on a known good auto or manual with all the fixins! I now have solid engagement on my reverse, and 1-3 and tcc lockup all function as they should. The only issue i have now is no OD. I would like to "upgrade" to a manual asap to eliminate the weak point on this thing, as i have now gone through my 4th auto transmission! I am sure that I will get more enjoyment out of it then! Thanks for all the help getting it back on the road!

 

[Gadget X]

As an afterthought, could a stuck or "bad" OD servo be the reason my OD went out? Seemed like it was just working fine one day, and not the next. I think that's the only thing i haven't replaced that can be done without tearing into the internals!

 

[BrooklynBay]

You should check both servos since they rot from the heat of the exhaust system. You could add a heat shield cover over them.

 

[Gadget X]

Yeah, didn't think about the servos when I tore the rest of it apart. There is a heat shield between the exhaust and the servos, are you talking about adding another one? Would a servo fail "suddenly" , causing a loss of OD?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Don't add a second heat shield. A servo could fail if it cracks or is dried out.

 

[Gadget X]

Thanks. I might try replacing the servos in the next couple of days to see if that gets it straightened out!