IPT Valve Body finally installed

I've been wanting to do this for a while and I finally had the opportunity to be without a truck for the week.

First I want to say John (and his other techs) at IPT are awesome. Answered many many emails. Phone calls and turned the valve body around in 24 hours. I shipped on Monday over night UPS (freakin $156) and I had the valve body back at my house Thursday before 10:30 AM.

I did this on my own and in hindsight it would have been much easier with a buddy helping and to somehow spin my Tacoma on a spit so I wasn't working on my back (no lift at the house...).

Also need to give credit to the video on IPT's site going over the removal and installation of the valve body. Wouldn't have been able to do this w/o that video that can be found here on his site:

http://www.importperformancetrans.c...50f-a760e-a761e-or-a760h-click-here-1964.html

Fortech for his write-up getting the tranny to the correct temperature

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/63851-how-drain-refill-automatic-transmission.html

mountain lion showing how to do a complete flush of the tranny

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/68462-diy-full-flush-automatic-transmission.html

After watching the video countless of times and reading and re-reading the above posts I figure this was something I can do. I will say half way into this process I was having second thoughts....


I'm not going over step-by-step procedure as the above info really has that covered. I will just make some observations from what I experienced that may help someone that decides to do this mod.

Make sure you have all the "stuff" you need prior to turning the first bolt. As the above posts state ensure you can get the fill plug loose else you will be getting a tow.

Materials I used:
15 quarts AMSoil Signature ATF fluid = $152.33
Tranny Filter part#35330-60050 = $55.71
O-Ring for Tranny Filter part# 90301-31014 = $3.10
2 crush washers part# 35178-30010 = $3.30
Tranny pan gasket part# 35168-60010 = $21.98
- IPT does send back a gasket, but it's an aftermarket felt gasket
Toyota OEM is rubber gasket
IPT Valve Body Modification = $638
UPS Shipping (overnight to IPT) = $156
Shipping back to me overnight = $139

Total for mod = $1169.42

Torque info
Drain plug torque: 28 N*m (21 ft.*lbf)
Overflow plug torque: 20 N*m (15 ft.*lbf)
Refill plug torque: 39 N*m (29 ft.*lbf)
Oil pan x Transmission case = 39 in.*lbf
Valve Body torque: 80in *lbf



Ensure you have a large catch pan since after removing the tranny pan fluid will continue to drip.

After you have the pan removed, when you remove the tranny filter be prepared to catch another quart of fluid.

Removing the wiring harness is a bit tricky on some of them. You need a long skinny flathead (like from the computer tweaker toolset) to gently remove the plugs. I only had an issue with one plug that took me about 10 minutes to finally come out. You don't want to put too much pressure on them. They are not pliable and will crack. Not a lot of give to them.


When removing all the 10mm bolts leave one on each end before totally removing all the bolts. The pistons on the other side are pushing down on the body. I kept two bolts in finger tight then while gently pushing up on the valve body proceeded to remove the final 2 bolts.

While holding the body up with one hand when you drop it be prepared for another 1/2 quart of fluid plus some pistons may also drop down. Just be sure to not damage the rod that is in the rooster comb. Deal with the fluid and gently remove the rod from the comb.

At this point the valve body is removed and if any of the pistons are still installed gently pull them out. You need to send them back to IPT. Again, there is about a cup full of fluid in the pistons as well so be aware.

Zip lock the pistons in a separate bag each. Zip lock the valve body. Package it carefully and ship it to IPT. I would highly suggest insurance (I put $700 on it) incase something happens to it during shipping.

During this time it's a good time to clean out the pan and magnets. The attached pics are before and after (I currently have nearly 29K on the truck).

I also cleaned up underneath (see pics).

Putting the pieces back isn't as hard as I thought. I used the supplied "tranny glue" from IPT to stick back the pistons and the little ball sensor (see video). That really helped keep things in place. Have the screws handy because once you attache the rod back to the rooster comb you don't want to bend it. I attached the rod and finger tight a few bolts at opposite ends. The rest is putting all the bolts back in using 80 inch pounds for the torque spec. There are 3 sizes of bolts and John goes over them in the video. Take care of where they go.

Probably one of the trickier processes was to get the pan with gasket installed. The torque settings are pretty low for this so be careful not to over torque.

Now that everything is put back together again I put in 4 quarts of fluid into the tranny. I measured 3.5 quarts after removing the pan and valve train so I thought...I would be good. Evidently nearly another quart slowly drained out into my pan (I simply didn't notice this) when I proceeded with the full flush (see link above). Long story short...I should have check the check level valve to ensure there was enough fluid in the tranny. I had my truck on jacks and the tranny was slipping. I also noticed during my flush that the jug catching the fluid from the front cooler line started choking. It was low....So I added another 2 quarts (just to make sure I cracked the check level valve and I did get fluid).

Lesson to be learned is that the initial pan plus removing valve body initially measured 3.5 quarts. After a few days of sitting (waiting for IPT) another quart slowly drained out. When you put everything back together again take this into account and just crack the check valve before proceeding with the flush (the flush isn't required, but while I was doing this...).

So assembly complete. Ran engine to get ATF at temp check and had a "trickle" (really...toyota...WTF is a trickle) coming from fluid level check bolt (5mm HEX).

Onto my first ride... I must have went up and down the driveway a dozen times. Engaging R you feel an immediate lock up. Very noticeable compared to stock. D (in drive way) felt factory.

Road Test observations:

So going into R you feel an immediate hookup. Going to D (from P or R) is factory. Driving on level 1/2 throttle there is a slight noticeable engagement into second. From 3-4 and into overdrive with 1/2 throttle really felt like factory. Anything above 1/2 throttle I felt the tranny engaging to the next gear much more crisp when compared to factory. The best description I can give is if you let out your clutch a bit faster than normal. It's a lurch, but not like a neck breaking lurch.

Just came back from dinner with the kids and wife. Again, 1/2 throttle they couldn't even tell 1-2... I was then asked "Is this why your truck was on jacks this week?". I then (and I don't do this often) on a back road from a stop punched it From 1-2 I had chirping. From 2-3 more chirping. I then let off as my wife gave me the look. Now I do not often punch my truck like this. Because before this mod with the S/C you could feel the tranny somewhat slushy between gears. I would WOT but only in a single gear and let off the gas when it was time to shift. And besides at that point I'm nearly at 60 so no sense of going crazy.

The only time I ever had chirping tires was with my Maxima 25th anniversary 5speed. Long time ago...The mod hooks up immediately but does not whip your neck back into your seat. It's also designed to add to the longevity of the tranny by not having that slipping between gears with the added power the S/C is producing (John explained this to me in much better detail, but this is what I got from his explanation).

So is it worth it? I guess cost is relative to different people. The outcome of the mod is a bit different than what I expected. The hook-up from 1-2 is noticeable. At what ever throttle position you are in. The other gears are only noticeable at 1/2 or more throttle. At WOT it was very cool. Not as cool as the first time I hit the hill with my S/C installed, but definitely close to that.

One last item to note: I have what many of you have is the slight stutter at about 1200RPM at 5-7 MPH because of my lift. I'm not sure if it's the shifting from 1-2 at this speed or not, but the stutter gone. Maybe it's still there, but with the tranny locking in more abruptly it is either masking the stutter or somehow fixed it. Dunno, just now the stutter I've felt the past 3 years isn't happening now.

 

Nice writeup! I've been considering this mod for a while if I decided to go the supercharger route, too.

Videos would be nice when you can if possible.

 

OUTSTANDING Scott.

+1

Nicely done.

 

Sub'd. Thanks for compiling everything to this one thread.

 

Thanks for this!

I will be doing a full flush and filter replacement once I get my truck running again. This will help out big time!

 

This is great i will be contacting John very soon before my charger kills my tranny.

 

And it looks like this when done....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A00MWmwWnHU

 

Thank u sir.... I guess its time to save up some more money here.

 

I need to adjust my pants now...

 

Sub 4 later.

 

Thanks BowHun2r, a LOT of GREAT info. I need to save up for that job after my SC is installed.
Ken

 

Really saves the trans, and worth every penny. Longevity and durability trump over "comfotability" in my book.

 

By "comfortability" do you mean more aggressive shifting? Just curious. I do have a messed up neck and don't want to give myself whiplash

BTW I watched the install video on the IPT site and it was awesome. I LOVE good, succinct vids how-to vids like that. VERY informative.
Thanks again for the info,
Ken

 

Wow, $1142 for a shift kit. Scary.

 

Small market = mark up. Also known as the GTR tax

Yes he means the smooth shifting on a factory trans. To have that the trans delays the shift, heating it up, and adding stress. So imaging that when you have more power output. I have driven Toons turbo truck with the ipt valve body. Honestly it wasn't bad at all, personally I liked it. However just incase tell ipt about your neck and your desired power goals and they might just have an answer for you.

 

Not to hijack the thread , but you could always build your own valve body with the parts available in the aftermaket and tune it to your needs .
http://www.transgo.com/products.php...d=264&countdisplay=1&start=0&addcountview=Yes

http://www.sonnax.com/units/249-A750E

 

You could easily save a few hundred by using cheaper oil, and not overnighting the VB both ways.

 

A

 

Looks like I'm going to have to do this since my valve body is bad. Was it really that hard doing it yourself?