sharadon valve vody installed

[retiredfireman]

Ok, so I go with Moe's Performance to get the Stage II valve body.
You get a valve body without the solenoid- since you don't want to use old electronics- and proceed to change it out.
I was extremely fortunate to have a friend who has a shop and a lift- 10x easier than lying on the ground:

Before I sent it up, I disconnected the battery negative lead.

Then the connector to the solenoid is taken off, simple clip with a cam style connector, it comes right up off.

Then, I removed all of the trans pan bolts - 8 mm- EXCEPT the front center and rear two bolts, then crack the seal and let it drain:

Then remove those remaining bolts and drain it out.
NOTE_ this will make a HUGE mess if you're not ready.
I had a large container with the proper pan for the trans, and it still splashed out.

Then remove the flat filter- it uses a Torx 25 bolt.

The remove the Primary filter that's a small oil filter wrench.

That leaves the valve body dripping away.
Remove the 6 - 8mm bolts holding that in and wiggle it out- it will kind of be hung up on the solenoid connector so have 4 hands on it.

Once out- I took it over to the bench and removed the 15 Torx 25 bolts that hold in the solenoid and transferred it to the new valve body:

I installed the solenoid to the valve body making sure the selector lever is in the same spot as the one that came out.

Then I just reversed the process- valve body back in, filters installed, pan replaced.

Here it is all buttoned up:

Then I used Mopar RTV that I got when I purchased all the fluid and filters:

I used all stock torque values for the bolts, using this- best investment for the job ( and made in my home state of Maryland too! ):

 

[retiredfireman]

A cuple of things right off-
I drove it very easy on the way home- about 20 miles, with no problems.
Shifts feel firmer, but nothing over 2K RPM, just babying it.

Also- Matt from Moe's and the guys at Sharadon are TOP NOTCH WHEN IT COMES TO CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Any questions that I had- and I had more than a few- they were very quick to answer and they were all a pleasure to talk to on the phone, giving me undivided attention when I had questions.

 

[09SMOKINHEMI]

that's awesome man.... i can't see the pictures you posted. i will try checking it on my phone. i'm interested to see them.

 

[retiredfireman]

Thanks,
also need to state that i ended up putting 9 full quarts of Mopar ATF+4 in it.
Went thru one t-shirt and about 5 yards of rag-in-a-box too.

 

[greychevy]

Also- Matt from Moe's and the guys at Sharadon are TOP NOTCH WHEN IT COMES TO CUSTOMER SERVICE.

THIS!

 

[98hemi-ram]

Nice!! I just got my stage 3 sharadon VB installed a week or so ago and love it so far as well. I'll also agree about the customer service from moe's they are great to deal with and really helped me out when I was in a bind for parts last winter.

 

[retiredfireman]

So- update after a few 2 hour drives-
shift is definitely firmer, not obnoxious, but you can tell it's better.
No chirp into 2nd gear yet, but we'll see.
Kickdown into first form about a 30 mph roll- chirp them and then it gets up and goes.

Overall- happy and I will see if I can get a tune written to aid it.

 

[Burla]

I think the VB upgrade is just a commitment to make your transmission stronger as opposed to being a "performance upgrade", especially the stage II. Anyhow, I think you did your truck a favor by putting it in, makes me want to rush and get one installed in mine as well.

 

[retiredfireman]

I have noticed a lower temp too.
Definitely beneficial to the tranny.

 

[03MopaRamman]

Nice!

 

[HLram]

Any negative aspects to doing this with a tune? Will it just enhance it or make the tuning dangerous for the tranny?

 

[retiredfireman]

great question-
the way I see it, the tune tells the trans when to shift and the VB allows it to mechanically shift faster, with less heat and with less time shifting, saves the gears/bands.
A torque converter gets more power to the trans from the motor, which is something I may do in the future.