Tranny Troubles: Changing Out Solenoids In A 5R110W Transmission

Another maintenance video. The Ford 5R110W transmission was throwing DTC's since I picked her up in Orlando. I didn't have time to do anything when I got her, so I drove her back to Utah.
Today, I changed out the solenoid body (valve body) on the transmission. This video is already long enough, but I did have some other transmission issues to take care of. It's all done now and Valkyrie drives and shifts great.
Turns out the pump was working, but not all that well. Most people don't have the ability to service an entire transmission so the video is just about servicing the solenoids as this can be done pretty easily. If you cannot do a rebuild expect a hefty price tag to have the transmission rebuilt. You can also purchase re-manufactured transmissions from many sources and just do a swap but if you are not a commercial service station, you will not likely get the warranty that comes with them. Since we were in for a pump, we just did a complete rebuild. All new frictions and steels, speed sensors, bushings, a pump, and just an outright replacement of the torque converter. You can get complete rebuild kits for transmissions to make things a bit easier. There was a bunch of gunk in the transmission cooling lines so we did replace the lines and the transmission cooler.
Removing a transmission is not all that difficult other than you are working with a system that is heavy. The bell housing supports the transmission in the front and a cross member on the frame supports it in the rear. Once you free the drive shaft it simply slips out of the splines on the rear, and a few items to disconnect externally, such as the speed sensors, PCM connector, and the PRNDL linkage (for the 5R110W anyway). Your mileage will vary with different transmission types. Keep in mind safety at all times if you are a shade tree mechanic. Often you have to support the vehicle on jack stands to gain clearance to remove the transmission and it's very heavy. You have to move the transmission linearly to back it away from the motor slightly because there are registration pins used for locating the transmission correctly so you have to have something to support the transmission and still be able to move it a bit. It's not really a one person job. Bring a friend or two.
Doing maintenance yourself is a great way to save lots of money, but the Peter Principle always applies. People rise to their own level of incompetence (your knowledge peters out). Once you reach that point, if it doesn't allow for something to be fixed by you, get a professional.
There are a few more maintenance items on the punch list that we will put up shortly but the transmission was the big one. We also have a few optional items that will probably be of interest but they are certainly not required for a camper conversion.
It's so important to insure you have a sound and working vehicle before you spend the money on an RV conversion.

[@cooks4ross]

Thanks.

[@sakocat]

Great video did this fix your problems

[@juggernautchronicles]

I was hoping it would give me a temporary reprieve when moving it around as the scan didn't show too much odd about the transmission. I knew I needed to dig deeper but just wanted to be able to move the vehicle while doing body and suspension work. A couple of months later I rebuilt the transmission. I figure since this was a shuttle bus, it did a lot of city driving with lots of stopping an starting so the frictions and steels were probably worn. All those were replaced (and yes they were well worn), and bushings, as well as the pump. Since the trans was out, I replaced all the cooling lines and the radiator/trans cooler. So some maintenance overlapped with other stuff and I wanted everything to be cooling properly. She runs great now and have done some long distance driving with her.