Kyle, Awesome thread! I suggest everyone take your advice and purchase the hose pliers from Harbor Freight before even starting the job. This will make removing the Mech sealing sleeve a breeze. I spent over an hour trying to get them out and once I had the pliers, less than a minute.

Long Reach Hose Grip Pliers 3 Pc

Pittsburgh - Item#37909

 

I received my rebuilt valve body, all mech sleeves etc and was able to complete the job. The car shifts great now! I used valvoline maxlife fluid. Got three 1gal jugs for $45 at Advance. Glad I did, because it took 2.5 gal. (8.5 L). This has been a very helpful thread.

 

Hey KyleB,
I posted on here almost a year ago, and used your guide to change solenoids, seals, etc. After change, didnt get my code,4F83 (ratio monitoring clutch c) that I had been getting, for almost a year. Suddenly its started coming back. Do I need to look into a rebuilt valve body next? Mechatronic replaced also? Thanks man!

 

hate to say it, but if youre getting 4F83 over and over again you might actually have a problem inside of that transmission clutch. if that's the case, it means rebuild/replacement of the gearbox. how many miles on the car?

good luck.

 

I have been fearing that. What I find interesting is that after Solenoid and seal replacement, I had no issues for almost a year. Could it be an valve body pressure issue?
The car has just gone over 100k, but I first started getting the error around 86K. It would come once every 6 months or so, but like I said had subsided since replacements.
Also, I have never gotten it when driving in M mode.
Thanks man

 

It's possible that it's just a valve body problem, there are other wear parts inside of the valve body that can cause problems. When I started this thread the prices on valve bodies were still very high, so just replacing the solenoids was the best route for me at the time. Prices on rebuilt valve bodies are a lot more reasonable now; If I were to experience my original problem today I'd just put a new valve body in it and call it a day. Honestly it's really hard for me to say what's going on with your transmission, it could be several things.

If you take it to a shop, they're going to see that code and recommend rebuild or replacement, and its very possible that the car needs it. I don't know why the automotive press is so complementary towards these ZF automatics, I think they are ticking time bombs.

 

The best price, and quality work I have been able to find is from RevMax - $899 https://revmaxconverters.com/product...y-mechatronic/. If I was to go this route, would I have to pull the mechatronic from my old one and drop it in the rebuilt valve body? And since my solenoids are just over a year old, is there any way to reuse them and bring the price down?
1000% agree on the press...I guess money talks...

 

you might want to PM seanjordan20, I think he went the rebuilt valve body route.

what you would do is separate the control unit portion of the valve body from your existing VB and swap it over to the new VB. that will eliminate the need for any programming. I'm not sure if a rebuilt VB will come with brand new solenoids or just a set that have been flow checked and deemed 'OK'. if yours are new and you can't confirm the rebuilt one comes with new ones, I'd swap your new ones over.

again, not 100% positive this will solve your problem. if you have a worn clutch pack in one of the drums, a new valve body won't do anything to fix the problem.

good luck.

 

Hey KyleB - First I wanted to thank you for this thread. With the help of this guide, I replaced my fluid, pan, sealing sleeves, and mechatronic adapter, about 15K miles ago after getting a 4F83 - Clutch C gear ratio monitoring error. Car had been fine since until the code came back a week or so ago. Looks like I'm in a similar boat as donnyriz (although I have an 06' 330xi). I posted on e90 post awhile back about it:

ZF Transmission Failsafe Mode Error 4F83

Any thoughts? Should I try a solenoid kit or go for having the valve body rebuilt OR does it sound likely that its actually clutch C?


Donnyriz, did you go with a remanufactured valve body? If so did that take care of it for ya? Any recommendations on where to have it done?

Thanks everyone!

 

Hey guys,
I wanted to post an update here regarding the specific code I was having 4F83 (clutch C). After doing the whole solenoid fix, and the code coming back, I had to bite the bullet and go re-build. For anyone in Southern California, I found a place called Arminco and had a complete rebuild for $1800. Serge immediately knew the symptoms and error just by me telling him the year and model. He said that once you start getting clutch codes, the damage has already been done.

I do wonder though, that if the damage was caused due to pressure loss or bad valve body, will it eventually wear down the tranny the same way unless I replace the VB....