Transmission problem, need help!

S

Suter

Member
Location
Philadelphia
Codes 1759 and 1757 came up. 2005 - 89,000 Both codes are for the Front Brake Solenoid in the transmission. I have a price to replace Valve body at $2200 and trans at $3900. No warranty on Valve body and Mechanic suggested to get rid of as is or replace Tranny. Any suggestions?
 
Replacing the valve body should resolve this. I don't think you'd need to replace the entire transmission since the solenoid is on the valve body itself. FWIW, that price is absurd for the valve body. You can pick up a rebuilt one (with warranty) for like $700 on the high end. It's 4-6 hours shop time. So the price should be half of what he wants. I recently had a different code for another solenoid and had to replace my VB. Took me 3 hours in a driveway on my back. No lift, hand tools only, by myself. If I had help, it would have been less than 2.

Find a better mechanic, his prices are way out there and his advice is terrible. Replacing the transmission for a VB issue is like replacing a motor because you need a new sparkplug. Both will resolve the problem, but one is unnecessary and much more expensive. And his advice to sell as is is silly as well - it will be almost impossible to sell at a decent price with a transmission fault code. If you wanted to get rid of the car, you still have to fix this first.
 
^ wise man speaking wise words.
A trans shop that I go to (thanks to the reference from wolvren) rebuilds VB's on a regular basis. Specialists might be hard to find, but the service is certainly out there.
 
Ive had a similar issue regarding the valve bod. I ended up finding a used trans with 1500 miles for $500 and went that route. installation was all free since my dads a mechanic. best advice is see what you can get done cheaper and go that route.
 
Hi porkandbeans, I just had the same codes come up and they're telling me the same thing...new tranny. I work in Irvine - where is the trans shop you're talking about. It would be a great help. Thanks!
 
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As long as the problem lies in the valve body, I see no real need to replace the whole trans. Member wlvrn97 recommended Remac Transmission in San Dimas to me and we both had Transgo installed there. They specialize in anything from the bell housing back and Leo (owner, I believe) seems very knowledgeable. I only have this limited experience with them, but feel confident in them and would trust them to comfortably go back with future needs. From my understanding, the VB is relatively simple once you understand how they work. But they are complex enough that many people shy away from working on them. I recall my conversation with Leo, and he claimed that not only does he work on cars that owners drive to him, but other transmission shops across the country send him VB's for rebuild/repair. Supposedly he has become known as a VB specialist because of this.
A million mechanics will tell you they can replace your whole trans and fix the problem. The right person for the job will tackle the problem directly.
Be sure to post up what happens.
 
Good luck, and definitely don't replace the transmission unless it's actually broken. The valve body is a separate part and the cause of most transmission codes on our cars. Very few actual transmissions fail where the clutches are actually worn out. But since the VB controls everything, issues with the VB make people believe the tranny is toast. When one of my VB solenoids failed, my car just stopped shifting. Basically it went into limp mode and just held 4th gear. I pulled the code to investigate, but had I taken it to a shop, they would have just said replace the transmission and based on the symptoms, it would have seemed reasonable.

None of it is that complicated, solenoids opening and closing to direct fluid through channels and ports all controlled by the TCM. But it looks intimidating which is why transmission shops charge so much. Good luck with it, hopefully they can rebuild the VB. Solenoids are replaceable, but they are somewhat hard to find since they're not commonly sold separately.
 
Dropped the car off last night.

Step one was to see if there was any contamination to the tranny fluid from the radiator coolant - glycol test. My results are <100ppm, which is great. Conservatively anything >300ppm is not good. Next is to for the shop to run the code, drive the car, clear codes and see what happens.

It may be the solenoid since there is not cross-contamination of the fluids. Unfortunately the OEM solenoid is not available until Jan 2015, so if that is what I need than I'll probably have to do non-OEM - not sure about how I feel about that. I guess I should find out what is really wrong before I cross that bridge.

More Monday...
 
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They took out the solenoid and ohm'ed it out. All is good. There isn't an issue with it, yet the P1757 keeps coming up after clearing the codes. They actually don't know what the problem is for certain. Maybe there's a problem with the ribbon connector on the TCM. It could be throwing this code if it's loose.

Waiting to find out if it's the ribbon connector. I should know be the end of today. Otherwise, my only option is a new $1750 ($1540 + $200 core) TCM from Infiniti.

I'm so frustrated. It's good news/bad news with no definite answers.
 
Isn't the TCM on yours integrated with the valve body? You may be able to find a used valve body from a G35 or 350Z (they vary, but some of the model years aer compatible). Last year I bought a Stillen modified VB from an '06 350Z for $350 and the TCM was included (worked fine on my '07 FX). You just have to be careful since the '05 is a year where they were switching some details between the G35 and 350Z so one may fit, but not the other. A solenoid ended up failing on that VB so I swapped back to OEM and sold the valve body to someone for ~$200 w/ the TCM still on there. So if you hunt around, you can probably find one for significantly less than new.
 
Final update...

It turned out they opened the TCM cover and there was a loose component that needed to be soldered. After soldering, everything was back to normal. In the end, I got the fluid changed (no flushing, as it's bad for the seals), the loose component soldered, and overall time spent up on the rack for about $650. It's definitely better than a new TCM, solenoid, or tranny having issues. Plus, I finally have my car back.

Thanks to everybody for all the help!
 
(Sorry to bring this thread up back again. New guy here)
rks1212, just wanted to know if you had any issues since then. I am in the same situation, [P1757, F/B solenoid fault; valve body needs to be replaced; Further diagnostics indicate TCM error/fault] and was contemplating trying to fix the TCM, as it COULD be a loose component, as in your case OR replace the valve body entirely [~CAD2000 = 1500 for part + labour and fluid etc.]

I'm open to any suggestions!
 
I would love to do it myself, but unfortunately i have no garage and the weather is too cold outside and i'll probably loose something. (Hopefully, i can work on my own cars one day. Tired of not knowing if mechanics are ripping you off or not)
i also tried to go the repair route with the valve body/tcm, suggesting it might be a loose component but my mechanic could not find anything that was broken/ needed soldering (on the circuit board). He also said the solenoids tested fine so it might be something with the actual computer so not really much you can do to repair. In the end i just decided to bite the bullet and replace the valve body. Welp.. I should know more tomorrow or day after. Will update soon
 
It's very hard to diagnose valve body issues since it's often intermittent as many electrical things are. On an '05, the TCM is built into the VB so if either is going bad, you have to replace the whole thing. $1500CAD seems a bit steep for the part, is it brand new? If it's a refurb as many are, they're usually under $1K USD for the entire part.

VB work is messy, I got a letter from my building the first time I swapped it since neighbors saw a pile of tools and puddles of fluid everywhere. Second time I did it, I had to do it at my father in law's place. But the work is easy, a straight swap is ~3 hours or so, probably less if I had a lift.
 
Yeah it is a new part from Infiniti. Bear in mind, that price includes express shipping from another city. Plus in Canada everything is more expensive. That and the markup by the mechanic(not sure about this) , would put it around that price I'm guessing. I found cheaper ones online but they don't ship here. :/

I hear ya, the DIY instructions and videos showed a lot of fluid. But I probably will start with something smaller, like air filters. Just waiting for a bit of warmer weather.
 
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