Here's how I replaced the valve body/valve chest in my 2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8 6 speed automatic transmission:

Disclaimers: I am not a mechanic. Neither are you. Your mileage may vary. You may do something wrong. I may have done something wrong. You may hurt yourself, your Touareg or others if you attempt this. The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain, but not always. Don't start something you're not prepared to finish. If it itches, see a doctor for God's sake! ATF always goes downhill.

Tools required: torx bit, metric socket, various socket extensions and flex joints, metric box end wrench for the one bolt I couldn't get a socket on, beer, big ole honkin' 17mm allen wrench, really expensive torque wrench (VAG 1410 - VAG1410, TORQUE WRENCH), Bentley manual, something to take disassembly photos, movie editing software to delete the cursing, VCDS/VagCom - Ross-Tech: Home, jack stands, eye protection, gloves, drain/drip pan, 3X more towels than you think (lint free, please), cardboard for the floor makes it easier to slide around, some way to heat the garage if you're doing this in winter (I used a kerosene heater, a propane heater and a bottle of Sailor Jerry's rum - plus 3 layers of clothes), hose with a hook on one end and a funnel on the other. (I left out some stuff on purpose ) Oh yeah, if you can, get one of your children or friends to hand you tools and such. Takes a lot longer when you have to crawl out from under the car a lot (see note about cardboard).

I'm not going to say why you might want to replace your own valve body parts. If you're reading this, you've already crossed that bridge.

Buy a new transmission pan gasket, transmission oil filter (w/ o-ring) and 3 gallons or so of ATF. I used Amsoil synthetic multi-vehicle ATF. (AMSOIL Synthetic Multi-Vehicle Automatic Transmission Fluid). PM me for a good reliable source/price. Some folks might not like that I used that oil. Those folks can use whatever oil they want. or none at all.

Buy your replacement valve body. I got mine from 09D TR60SN OEM Updated Valve Body 2003-2004 W\ Pressure Switches (Porsche V6/V8) and have been happy so far. If you decide to buy new from a dealer, consider giving your local Porsche dealer a call before your VW dealer. You'll see why later in the text. Once the valve body arrives double check to make sure everything is there. Since you haven't started working on yours yet feel free to use my disassembly photo here -

GOPR0026 by HI Racing, on Flickr

Doublecheck that you have everything you need. Really.

Prep the car and work area. I'd have pressure washed the bottom before I started but it's a wee bit chilly here in the winter. I swept the floor and put cardboard leftover from Christmas everywhere. Pulled the car in the garage, lit the heaters and had a beer while the garage warmed up. Oh yeah, I also took the ratchet and torque wrench inside so it wouldn't be so cold.

Not going to hold your hand too much on this. You're changing the valve body. You don't need hand holding. You're going to get oil more places than you think. I will say this though - USE JACKSTANDS!!! One on every corner. No kidding. No jerking around. Don't be a dead fool for the lack of $100 of jack stands. You just spent $212 for that VAG 1410 didn't you? No jerking around about the eye protection either unless you keep spare eyes in your pocket. This is serious business and no car repair is worth you losing an eye or getting crushed. If you can't handle this, please pay someone. (and yes, one of my dad's uncles was crushed working on a car without jack stands - really)

Take out the drain plugs. Mine were seized. If either or both of yours are seized, STOP. Buy a new transmission pan and drain plugs before you go any further. You should NOT do what I did unless you have another car to drive or can rent a car. I had to rent one. If you need to buy a new pan, check the Porsche dealer. VW wanted $423 for the pan, Audi was $337 and Porsche was only $187. Wow, really?

After both plugs are out, drop the pan. I had a hard time getting to the driver's side front pan bolt. Used a little box end wrench on that one. Would have chosen an offset box end if I had one that size. Clean up the pan while the ATF drips. Take out the five little magnets and look at them up close and magnified if possible. Note the metal particles. Talk to a pro if you have concerns. Once the pan and magnets are clean put them back in the pan. Remove the transmission oil filter, oil filter o-ring from the valve body and discard. Keep track of those three bolts, you beer hound!

Take a photo of the valve body. I mean it. Note where the shift selector arm is. At this point I said to heck with getting ATF dripped on me everywhere and went inside for the night. When I came back I started unplugging connectors. They should all come out easy. If the little green ones seem stuck you're doing it wrong. I wound up using both an L-pick and a J-pick to get them disconnected. I used the L to pick up the black part of the connector and the J to pull the green part back. If there's any resistance you're not pulling up on the black part enough.

Verify everything is disconnected and wires are secured out of the way. Start unbolting the valve body. I had one end of bolts a little more unbolted than the others to let some more oil drain from the valve body at one end instead of everywhere. Had a shot of rum while marveling there was still ATF in there. Take out all the bolts except two on each end. Find some way to support that heavy, oil laded beastie and remove the last four bolts. Bet you wish you had paid some young fella to do this right about now! Some of the bolts are longer and have a bit of threadless neck. Remember where those came from - you'll have to put them back in the same place. Here's what it looks like after the valve body has been removed:

GOPR0068 by HI Racing, on Flickr

Transfer the two sensors it tells you to transfer from your old valve body to the new one. Use that spiffy VAG 1410!

Look at your photo and note where the shift selector arm was when the old valve body was in the transmission. You'll need to get the new one aligned the same way. If you screw this up you'll have to take it all apart to fix so don't screw this up. Get ready to put the new valve body in place. Have those 4 bolts ready. This thing is heavy and it's really hard to hold up there and start the bolts with the other hand. I wedged my right elbow under the rear side and wrist under the front side between the valve body and cross member. That let me get two bolts in at the back/rear side and then I could hold the front up high enough to get the two bolts started there. This part was a royal PITA, no lie. At least there's not ATF dripping everywhere. You remembered where the long ones go didn't you? VAG1410 them to the correct torque (you looked that up in your Bentley, right?)

Reconnect all the connectors noting the routing of the wires. Put it back like you found it, son. Go have a beer and a think. Come back to it and compare it to the disassembly photo you took - again. Anything you get wrong will be a pain to fix. Did you remember that shift selector arm?

Once you're satisfied that you haven't screwed up, put on the new oil filter being careful to not cut the o-ring. Torque the bolts with the VAG 1410. Re-install the transmission oil pan with a new gasket and torque those bolts too. (Except the one you can't get a socket on) Just guess on that one.

FInally, fill 'er up with ATF per the Bentley info (and VCDS info from Ross Tech). While you're doing that, marvel at what the VW engineers were smoking when they decided this fill process was acceptable. Put your tools up, remove the jack stands, road test per the Bentley and take a final check of ATF level. I'm going to check mine again in a month or so just because I can.

Anything you can think of doing, someone else has already done, videoed and put on the bleepin' internets! Here's a condensed version of my install. 2004 VW Touareg Valve Body(Chest) Replacement - YouTube

Feel free to ask any questions. I'm sure I've overlooked something. Life's more fun with surprises anyway!

Great read you can never have to many info sheets when doing strip and replace work

Regards
Drag

 

Well done, great description..

 

A fun and thorough DIY! Thank you for posting... I'll probably need it some day...

 

Excellent job.

 

Thanks everyone. I'm really glad to have this one in the "completed" pile. Wife's 30 weeks pregnant and has been having pre-term contractions. It was imperative to make sure I got it all properly sorted. We're about an hour (@ speed limit w/ clear roads) from the closest labor/delivery room. Going to load the Touareg up with towels after work today, just in case.

 

Where did you purchase the Valve Body

I have a 2004 V10 TDI with 150,000 miles. The Valve Body/Chest seems to be going out with all the symptoms others have posted in the forum. Anyone know where to find rebuilt Valve bodies?

 

I have a 2004 V10 TDI with 150,000 miles. The Valve Body/Chest seems to be going out with all the symptoms others have posted in the forum. Anyone know where to find rebuilt Valve bodies?

I got my from Revmax and it's worked perfectly so far. I bought the ATF from my local Amsoil guy and the filter and gasket from NAPA. I made up the fill kit with a few parts from the hardware store. Hope this helps.

 

that is some work, wow.

I am a specialist for cutting tools and program mgr for what ever parts are getting machined. compared to anything like engine blocks or heads and so on the valve body is the most critical part to machine with the tightest tolerances and surface finishes.

 

Thanks Franken. I gotta agree with you - auto transmissions look like brains to me. Just utterly incomprehensible that they work at all.

 

Great post!

How did you now what valve body to use, the revmax has different ones.

 

I hate to say, but I don't remember if I called Revmax or just picked the one for the 04 V8 without sensors. Would likely be best to call them directly if you have concerns about which one to order. I'd hate to steer you in the wrong direction.

Good luck!

 

You need the early version with sensors.
There is not a performance upgrade available...

 

Excellent write up! Many thanks....

 

Really glad to hear it helped Too-Regs and red.king. I have to admit smiling a little inside everytime she shifts from 5-4 and doesn't bang!

 

Thanks for finding RevMax for us. They gave me my $350 core refund within three days after receiving it. Had some issues in the past with other companies promising core refunds with other vehicles. Absolutely zero regrets doing this procedure and using the company.

 

Mate this is great. I have this job to do on my 3.2 V6 and a mates V8. so this will really help.
Couple of questions:
1. did you not have to flash the controller for it to recognise the new unit?
2. do you have a decent break down of the refill procedure as I dont have Bentley.
3. You think that was cold I am going to do this outside and I live in Iceland!

Cheers for the help in advance.
Brgds Paul.

 

HIRacing,

Not sure when you'll get this...you're probably knee deep in diapers since your wife was at 30 weeks in January, but...

I'm getting ready to order a replacement from RevMax, planning on doing the work next weekend, but I had a quick question.

Do you think using ramps for the front wheels would work as well? I'm thinking that might allow the ATF to drain out a little better.

 

Hi ZG,

This one's not too bad - pretty laid back kid so far.

I'm pretty skinny and there wasn't a lot of room under there so I can understand wanting more room too. If you do it, go for ramps on all 4 corners. The reason behind that is that the fill hole is on the rear side of the pan. If you raise the front only you won't be able to refill it with it on the ramps. I suppose you could push it off the ramps before you refill it. Temp was in negative single digits here when I was doing that so I didn't have the option of moving it mid-job.

Regardless of what you do you aren't going to have any problems getting the fluid out - like Nooby said. I was amazed by how long that thing will drip. Remember that there's more fluid in the valve body too. It'll join the party when it breaks seal with the transmission. After I got all the bolts just barely loose I then loosened one end of the VB bolts more than the other so it'd drain more from the front (just happened to be away from my head).

Refilling is a pain. At least the way I did it with my $2 worth of parts from the hardware store. Something that might help to know how much you need to put back is to measure up what you drained out. I poured mine up in old windshield washer fluid bottles. Had right at 9 quarts I think, but every one will likely be a little different.

{edit}Almost forgot my blurb about jackstands. Be safe and use 'em.

Good luck!

 

You are taking the plate off the bottom of the gearbox so it will drain!

Make sure the car is hot before you take the plate off and then leave it to drain overnight.

 

Great write up, thanks! What makes the Vag 1410 different than any other torque wrench? Wondering why I can use just any torque wrench for this job?

 

Only reason it's special is that it works down to 4 Nm. I *think* the lowest torque on anything was 5 Nm but it might have been 8. It came with a certification/test doc. It should be in spec for 1 year or 5,000 clicks per the cert doc.

But seriously, anything that will reliably measure that torque value will be fine. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

 

Thank you for your help.

Thank you for looking up the information and posting it. I'll report back with my results soon.

 

Finished up my valve body replacement last night, used the Revmax reconditioned vb.The job was uneventful and no drama. Kinda miss that being kicked in the butt feeling that I used to get when downshifting from 5 to 4 though lol.

 

One year later and it still shifts like brand new car.

Hi,
I end up buying my valve body from VW dealer. They have new parts for $1400 and rebuild for less than $900.
The rebuild came with brand new everything including gasket, solenoids and new sensors. The only thing used was the shell. Rest of it was all brand new. It came with 12 months warranty as well. All of the solenoids and valves are the upgraded version. They did not look like the original equipment. The Sales Rep told me that the rebuilt was the upgraded version since they had so many of them failing.
I used the procedure to fill up the fluid which worked flawlessly. Thanks to HIRacing. It is shifting better than when it was new.

 

@bbumVR6

Well done.

Don't forget to do a transmission reset too if you haven't already done so.

Ignition on but do NOT start the engine.

Press the gas pedal firmly to the floor and hold it there for 10 seconds before releasing.

Turn the ignition off.

The car will relearn how you drive it.

And also, if you haven't already done so, change the front and rear diff oils and the transfer box too ASAP then you're good to go for another 60K.

 

@bbumVR6 Well done. Don't forget to do a transmission reset too if you haven't already done so. Ignition on but do NOT start the engine. Press the gas pedal firmly to the floor and hold it there for 10 seconds before releasing. Turn the ignition off. The car will relearn how you drive it. And also, if you haven't already done so, change the front and rear diff oils and the transfer box too ASAP then you're good to go for another 60K.

What's the difference in these two relearn procedures? Should I do both?

 

Great advice from noobytoogy as usual. Note the reason your v.body failed was because VW wanted the "Carbon Offfset" from the EC by declaring that their gearboxes etc did not need oil changes for their life so were greener. In effect that means in the opinion of VW they would not fail during a warranty period and outside of that "buyer beware". If the EC actually realised the increase in waste and pollution this criminal policy created I am sure they would fine VW. But there you go. Anyway point is none of your other boxes have had the oil serviced by VW during normal service periods, so do as Noobytoogy says and regularly change the lot, just like you would with a "Normal" car. Oil is Oil and it does not last for ever. (Despite what VW claim) Same with gearbox filters!
This would undoubtedly save many a front diff as well!
Having said all that, I have now changed 2 valve body units, on cars in Iceland. I got my bodies from Cory at Reamman. I cannot recommend them highly enough. In fact got one faulty unit and without argument or quibble they shipped a second unit that fixed the problem - outstanding!
Job is easy, as is most when you know how it's done (Thanks for the string). Big note, only fill box with car jacked off the ground ON STANDS, and with the engine running or you won't get correct level. That is not clear in the instructions and has caught some out.
Have fun.
Jobs done, Rear diff stepper, front diff change, prop shaft bearing, Valve body, V6 timing system, window regulators, floor flooding, tow bar fitting, wheel bearings, several control arms, air suspension leak fix, compressor change, full brake overhaul. Not much left now.

 

I never made the connection on "sealed for life" being part of VW's carbon offset numbers. Live and learn! Thank you.

 

I have a valve body in hand from RevMax right now for our 2004 Touareg. The task actually looks pretty straight forward thanks to this write up and this video:

I was unable to find out how much fluid this thing was going to take to refill, much less what kind at the local auto parts place (you know, since it's "permanent")
I'll post up results after it's done. BTW, I'm doing this job because of the well documented hard shift from 4-5 (and back).

 

i think you have to read this too
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f95/new-info-about-valve-body-problem-175962.html

 

I just wanted to post a follow up. I used the instructions in this thread to change out the valve body on our car, and this write up was indispensable.

I only did a few things differently, so I thought I'd list them out.

First was that I never jacked up the car at all (I'm also a fanatic about jack safety). There is just enough room for me to squeeze under and do the job without lifting it. Oh sure it would have been nice at times, but my jack stands were under my other car and it's deeper in surgery than the VW.

I was also able to employ my floor jack to lift the new body into place. It required very careful motions. Lift just a bit, wiggle just a bit - Rinse, repeat until it's where you want it.

I tried using the o-ring picks to get the wire connectors apart. In the end it turned out to be far easier to just use my smallest flat blade screw driver. Slide it in and dig out the connector. Super quick.

Lastly, I got all the bolts which hold the valve body in place and then decided to check the wiring harness runs. I was really glad I did this because I had one of the wires looped up on top of the valve body, stuck between the valve body and the mating surface. Had I torqued all the bolts in place I might have damaged the wires and that would have been a major setback.

To fill it up I used a fluid transfer pump from Harbor Freight (a place I typically avoid). No way was I going to pump 8 quarts of fluid with a dish soap dispenser. The HF pump did the trick.

The car drives perfectly now. I'm so glad to have this repair done affordably and without what I consider major surgery.

Props to the PO for posting such a great write up.

 

Well done!

Fat people will need the stands!