Automatic Valve Body/Shift Kit - Help Please

[Bigrig]

Howdy

I had the resistor changed a while back to 1K ohm's and found this made little difference so I removed it. Now that I've put the turbo in, the auto box is simply not up to the challenge, so I'm looking into modifying it with a decent valve body and/or shift kit.

First question - do most upgraded valve bodies come with a shift kit anyway?

Second question - i figure I need the valve body (to get more oil through etc), but do I 'need' the shift kit?

Third question - should I do both the valve body/shift kit AND put the resister back in?

Last question - has anyone done this and can you suggest a brand/supplier (found wholesale automatic transmission who do a heap of patrol specific upgrades it appears) and what did you find the major differences with the mod (cooler temps, smoother/sharper gear changes, no flaring etc)?

Thanks a million in advance one and all!!!

[NissanGQ4.2]

Sorry boss, can't help you.

Ring Wholesale Automatics and ask for Rod, he will let you know what you need for what your trying 2 achieve.

Cheers,

Todd

[YNOT]

Chaz is the man (again) to answer this question.

Tony

[patch697]

Im no wizz with auto's but I've plaid with a few in my day (Not a Patrol one though).

From what I know & learned from playing with Hi performance Holdens, Fords & Chryslers mostly, You don't always need a new Valve body to upgrade your auto with say a mild to medium shift kit Stage 1 or 2.

Some shift kit require some modifications be made to the valve body but these are usually a simple hole enlargement here or there & maybe a spring change in one or more of the valves themselves.

A lot of the modifications are in the separation plate that goes between the valve body & the transmission body itself & the modified plate normally comes with the kit or a list of instruction for the modifications that need to be done to your existing plate.

All these mods are designed to increase fluid flow & increase pressure to improve the auto's gear shifting ability & the added pressure improves its ability to hold more firmly whilst in gear to minimize slippage.

Most all STD auto transmissions are only designed to work with the power output of there intened power plants & when faced with a sizable increase of power (ie a modified engine) they begin to fail.

Shift kits are normally a quite effective way to overcome this problem on a small medium scale power increase & as long as the trans is beefy enough. (which a Patrol one generally is) will produce a good result.

Outside of this, more internal modifications are generally required.

[Bigrig]

Im no wizz with auto's but I've plaid with a few in my day (Not a Patrol one though).

From what I know & learned from playing with Hi performance Holdens, Fords & Chryslers mostly, You don't always need a new Valve body to upgrade your auto with say a mild to medium shift kit Stage 1 or 2.

Some shift kit require some modifications be made to the valve body but these are usually a simple hole enlargement here or there & maybe a spring change in one or more of the valves themselves.

A lot of the modifications are in the separation plate that goes between the valve body & the transmission body itself & the modified plate normally comes with the kit or a list of instruction for the modifications that need to be done to your existing plate.

All these mods are designed to increase fluid flow & increase pressure to improve the auto's gear shifting ability & the added pressure improves its ability to hold more firmly whilst in gear to minimize slippage.

Most all STD auto transmissions are only designed to work with the power output of there intened power plants & when faced with a sizable increase of power (ie a modified engine) they begin to fail.

Shift kits are normally a quite effective way to overcome this problem on a small medium scale power increase & as long as the trans is beefy enough. (which a Patrol one generally is) will produce a good result.

Outside of this, more internal modifications are generally required.

Thanks mate - I'm sort of thinking if I'm going to do it then, in my mind at least, do the lot IF that means its strong as an ox and up to the task ... especially if it means more life out of it.

[Bigrig]

This begs the question - what transmission do I have?? lol

This is from Wholesale Automatic Transmissions - this seems to suggest no need for a shift kit??


Nissan RE4R01A & RE4R03A High Performace Valve Bodies
Rodney Hudson-Davies posted at 21/06/2011

Nissan High Performance RE4R01A & RE4R03A Stage 1, 2 or full manual Valve Bodies make all the difference. These complete Heavy Duty Valve Body assemblies are much more advanced than the basic do it yourself shift kits as they come complete with Brand New Solinoids, Thick Lazer Cut Sandwich Plate, Oil Filter, Pan Gasket and have been Fully Pre-assembled and Tested by a Qualified Automatic Transmission Technician.

Often we hear owners complaining about the quality of their Nissan Automatic Transmission when shifting through the gears, most come from everyday drivers who simply can't stand the constant slipping and flaring between the gears. We have had dozens of owners contact us about improving the transmission in some way to overcome the problem.

We put together a development program and have come up with a cheap and easy way to turn your Nissan transmission into a firm shifting transmission without having to remove the transmission from the car. Simply remove the valve body and exchange it for one of our Stage 1, 2 or full manual Recalibrated Extreme Nissan Valve Bodies.

The valve body comes with easy to read instructions for the removal and refitting of the new valve body. It has undergone a tremendous amount of testing including Nissans that have had Turbo Chargers, Super Chargers and even V8's and in every single case the customer has been quite overwhelmed about the difference the New Valve Body made to the vehicle.

The transmission once fitted with the new valve body can easily handle more than twice the power and torque with firm shift points even while towing trailers that are of considerable weight. The New Valve Body has also been tested behind High Performance V8 & Turbo Charged Engines including the V8 Infinity and other engines, We simply couldn't fault the new Extreme Valve Body no matter what we did to it (At time of print the valve body had been tested to 607Hp = 450Kw without failure to the transmission).

[YNOT]

Check the build plate under the bonnet to see what transmission you have.

Tony

[Bigrig]

Check the build plate under the bonnet to see what transmission you have.

Tony

Really? That simple?? Well I'll be ... lol

Thanks mate!!

[Chaz]

This begs the question - what transmission do I have?? lol

Hi Bigrig,

What model Patrol do you have? I’m guessing that you have a GQ, seeing that you put a turbo on it. If so, you’ll have an earlier version of the RE4R03A Jatco box which is basically the same as the GU transmission apart from a few minor differences.

I can’t comment on the Wholesale valve bodies because I haven’t used one yet. I have heard that they are a bit harsh on shifting, but you’ll get that if you want the strength and you’ll also gain a few other benefits like being able to lock the converter in lower gears. Personally, I think the Wholesale valvebody would be the ultimate for strength and durability for the Nissan trans, but if cost is a major factor, then you may want to look at other options. Fitting a shift kit will improve the transmission over the standard offering at much lower cost, depending how much of the work you have to farm out.

Replacing the line pressure resistor should also make a noticeable improvement as well as using synthetic trans fluid, but you’ll need to take into consideration how many k’s the trans already has on it because the benefits won’t be as noticeable with a high mileage transmission.

I guess it comes down to how much more power you make, how much better do you want the transmission to be and how big your wallet is.

[patch697]

Really? That simple?? Well I'll be ... lol

Thanks mate!!

Providing that when your trans was replaced it just pulled out & rebuilt & not changed over for one on the shelf???