The car: 1999 Accord EX, I4, auto tranny.

History: I purchased the car new, and at the time had absolutely no plans to mod the car in any way. Well, that lasted about a year. Soon, I at least wanted to car to look and drive a little better. Mods that I have slowly added over the years include an AEM short ram, Magnaflow cat-back, high-flow cat (OEM cat spit itself out through the exhaust), Neuspeed Sport springs, Tokico Illuminas, and 17" wheels. I have since reinstalled the OEM intake (minus the resonator) b/c I was getting tired of the noise. I then decided against FI (and I don't want to swap), so I'm no longer concerned with adding power and thus plan to keep the car automatic.

ANYWAY. To the point of all this...

About a year ago, I noticed that the torque converter would not lock up for an extraordinary length of time, usually about 10 minutes of highway driving. Once it would lock up, it would drive normally again until the car had sat (and cooled down) for a while. Trans fluid was still pink and w/o any burnt smell. I tested the solenoids, and they checked out fine. I posted the problem in the ASK-A-TECHNICIAN thread, in which both deserthonda and P_Adams suggested cleaning the screens to the lock-up solenoids. I pulled the solenoids to find only a small amount of "crud" built up on a very small portion of the screen. So, I cleaned that out and the passages as well. The problem improved slightly, but still existed.

A week ago I was driving back from the airport. It was about a 45 minute drive and against a strong wind. Towards the end of the drive, it felt like my torque converter was starting to slip ever-so-slightly. I shrugged it off and figured I was just being paranoid. Later on that night, after some more driving, "it" happened. It started slipping between gears. A LOT. Greeeeaaaat.

And then the rebuild began. All the seals were replaced of course, along with the clutch packs, and whatever else is standard in a rebuild. After further inspection, it was obvious there was more damage. Linear solenoids were now shot, torque converter was full of shavings, one sprag was questionable (and replaced as well), and (a BIG "and") the valve bodies were toast. The shop said it looked like the worn valve bodies caused all the problems. The shop was great, though... They let me watch the dis-assembly of the trans, and the showed me the worn parts as they took them out and compared them with new/rebuilt parts. They even replaced some worn suspension bushings for me, free of charge. (I supplied the bushings.)

And the questions:
So, now that I'm done rambling on with the story and background... What exactly would cause the valve bodies to wear out? Does it sound like it could have been the source of all the problems, or does it seem like one of the other parts? Was this the same kind of failure that seems to be rampant with 98-02 I4 autos?

Please, no questions about why I didn't convert to a 5-spd. I had my reasons... But I will say that my next car will NOT have an automatic.

 

The only thing that would cause the spool valves to wear (something I have never personally witnessed) would be if the fluid had either lost it's lubrication properties from either oxidation or overheating.
Particulate matter in the Transmission's hydraulics would have caused the spool valves to bind in the bores, causing no-shifts. Slipping is normally caused by internal leaks (clutch pack seals, etc) or low pressure.

Oh, and the reason you fixed, rather than swapped:
Easier to sell an Accord with an Automatic.......

P

 

dude they should have noticed this all when they tore the trans apart.

Here is the most likely senario is that some hard part failed such as differential bearings or the mainshaft bushing. Once either of those fail, they cause the internal filter to get clogged and in short oder you will loose 2nd gear first and then other gears will follow.

As part of any rebuild, the torque converter should have been replaced. Since this trans is electronically controlled, the shift solenoids and main pressure switch should have been replaced as well.

If they failed to do so, then they are responsible for any futher damage to the trans and they should have pick up the tab for any additional repairs

 

A couple things I forgot to mention was that the fluid was burnt to all hell by the time the rebuild started.

YeuEmMaiMai,
Yes, they did notice all these things as they tore it apart. At the time, I was more interested in learning more about automatic transmissions than what was actually wrong. (I've never tried to understand automatics until now.) As they were telling me things, I was too busy looking at parts and developing a mental picture of how they work.

The linear solenoids and pressure switch were replaced... They just slipped my mind when I created the thread. The internal filter was actually fairly clean.

I'm not particularly worried about the trans failing again. My rebuild came with a 3 yr/ 36,000 mile warranty, and I plan to sell the car in about a year.

Thanks for the responses guys. I never worked on transmissions before, so my curiosity was running wild.

Oh, P, yes, that was one of the major factors in my decision.

Phil