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Around 2600 total, which includes ripping out the old one, diagnosing it, the new transmission, installation, taxes, etc. I could have gotten a used one but there were none in the immediate area, so between getting one with 90k miles on it shipped in vs the overall price, I just liked the idea of having a brand new one (that supposedly remedies the valve body issue with a better design) along with a warranty for a few bucks more. I suppose mine would be considered a rebuild, though? The trans tech I spoke to said they use the old housing, but that's it.

It sucks nonetheless, but eh, at least it'll be fixed and I can have the van for my move in 10 days. I do have to wonder, with this transmission being as insanely common as it seems to be, did anybody else not have these issues? On one hand it sounds like a fluke thing, but that bulletin I read suggests I may be one of the lucky victims of the valve body failure.

@ 440t4 - What does it run at your shop to rebuild a 4T65E? I also wonder, what goes into a "rebuild?" Does a rebuild include a new valve body (which seems was the root cause of my problems when looking at the bulletin vs my symptoms), torque converter, etc.?  

There is no set price it's the managers job to feel the customer out and get as much as he can. Very rarely do those transmissions need major valve body work.If we get one with torque converter codes then we usually get a reconditioned valve body. Certain trannys always get a shift kit but not yours.Most of the parts get reused on a rebuild.You really don't see a lot of hard part damage {gears and drums} until you get well over 100,000 miles.Torque converters almost always get changed because you can't see what shape its in or clean it without cutting it open and you don't want debris from the old trans getting into the new one. With your low mileage your better off getting your original trans back rebuilt. If you went with a used trans it would most likely have twice the mileage.$2600 is not bad.We usually get more.What kind of warranty did you get?  

I guess I'm rocking the boat then, because the valve body sounds like it was the root cause of the failure that ultimately caused a domino effect. I really wish I could have written down everything the tech said. I remember the valve body being (likely) the root cause and then it tumbling down to the torque converter, etc etc etc. This all came up after metal slivers were initially found.

I did a ton of Googling and it sounds like my exact issue HAS come up before, even though it's not widespread like wild fire. Especially considering that there's a bulletin specifically on it I'm surprised your shop hasn't seen it at least a LITTLE more frequently than "rarely" considering the magnitude of this model transmission you guys see. Granted, my reading didn't make it sound like it was everywhere and many people have indicated that they have easily surpassed the 100k mark with zero issues whatsoever, but it happened enough to a few people out there to at least warrant a bulletin on the issue. I have to wonder (and many people have indicated this may be true) that while I may have a 4T65E transmission, the next 4T65E transmission in the next vehicle may have a higher quality valve body. Something about that only certain batches of the 4T65E's may be susceptible to what I just faced with my transmission. Not sure how much sense that makes but nonetheless, just repeating what bits I've been hearing.

The original quote I got was 2,600 and 2,900. 2,600 was reconditioning it back to factory spec, 2,900 was reconditioning it with modifications that remedied the valve body issue from the bulletin. I got the 2,900 dollar option, but sometimes it pays to know people, so the overall price for the upgraded option ended up landing just over 2,600 thanks to family friends. The warranty is a 2 year transferrable unlimited mile warranty.  

be sure to read the fine print about transmission services to maintain the warrantee..


oh.... and there should be a magnet in the oil pan... to attract any steel fragments...  

It's not unusual to find stuck valves in a valve body when you are rebuilding an automatic trans. When you find them you clean and unstick them. When you're dealing with high mileage transmissions thats when you start running into valve bodies that have worn valve bores particularly boost valves and tcc control. At that point you can order valve body upgrade parts from someone like Sonnex or you can just buy a reconditioned valve body that has all the upgrades in it from a parts distributor. When you get a trans with lots of valves jammed it's because metal from other parts failing got into the valve body not the other way around.There is no way the valve body will create metal fragments that damage other parts.For example a torque convertor can go bad and start contaminating the trans with metal fragments.Those fragments an then get into the valve body and start jamming valves.Then the stuck valves can cause pressure and lubrication problems that create other damage.I'm not saying you got ripped off $2600 with a 2 year warranty is a fair price for the work that was done.In fact it's on the cheap side.  

Here is an example of a TCC regulator valve repair kit.     http://www.sonnax.com/product-lines/transmission/parts/1387  

Oh right. I'm not discounting that. Perhaps I misunderstood as to what order it happened in? I don't know, I just kept thinking valve body after reading the bulletin. I'll ask for a detailed response from the mechanic and post back here so you guys can hear what the scoop was.  

You don't have to do that for us. You got a fair price with a good warranty.No need to go any further.  

Well, it might not entirely be for you guys either. I work in IT, and a ton of my research is digging up past forum discussions. As a result, I value forums like you wouldn't imagine. I'd rather not leave it open (even though the problem was basically solved) for the benefit of any future readers.

The whip should be done tomorrow, so we'll see what happens!  

Well, the valve wasn't the cause of the issue. He simply said the valve clearly was problematic based on how it was acting. That's where the bulletin (and one of the upgraded parts that was fixed since the factory transmission was made) that I spoke of.

Overall he said some cases he can look at and get an idea of what happened, but in the majority of cases (and mine) he said all I could see was what parts were failed with no clear indication as to what order they happened in or why/how/where/etc. Anyway, he said my torque converter was in bad shape (and replaced) and the clutch packs were worn out. He had a lot more to say but that's really the bulk of it there.

Also, while we're on the topic of transmission discussions, is it normal to be coasting from say 50mph to make a slow (5-10mph) turn and when you hit the gas, you feel a little bump from the transmission catching up with the amount of throttle you put down? I noticed it in my Grand Am that I used to have as well. I just figured I'd ask if that was normal behavior while I was already here posting.

Thanks for all your help guys!  

Hi,
May be Ill try to explain why you can hear the noise in parking lot and not elswhere.
I thing because of noise reflected from parked vehicles, on open road you dont here it because noise is not coming back to you.

Try to do same manuvers on open park lot, with mo cars parked.

Thanks