Originally Posted by jpplaw

Just had to replace my transmission at 116k miles, around 80k of that was boosted. It had randomly started popping out of gear when coasting, like it was in neutral, and when you got back on the gas it would rev really high and then violently clunk into gear. The culprit? It was the placement of my JDM catch can - water (rain and wash) was getting in the vent on top. Had more than a quart of water in the PA deep pan and my Amsoil fluid looked like a strawberry milkshake. Needless to say I relocated the can from the firewall to the strut tower and made a little shield for the vent when I installed the Super Streetfighter and new PI converter.

Originally Posted by 808muscle

Hold on...I just related my JDM catch from the strut tower to the fire wall. LOL How was water entering the catch can?

Originally Posted by Derf00

It's a Thermal (transmission) cooler bypass valve/switch. Basically a thermostat that prevents fluid from flowing to the tranny cooler when the fluid temp is under 170F. Problem is, it is prone to failure (sticking or not opening at all) and overheating the transmission. The easy fix is you put the larger spring that's part of the assembly on the opposite end of the valve, therefore locking it in the 'Open' position.

I've been doing a ton of research since the tranny seems to work well when cold but as it heats up it starts having issues. Valve body and Solenoid packs seem to be 90% the cause of most problems. As long as you catch the problems early enough you avoid burning up the transmission and causing a premature rebuild scenario. If you've got shards in your pan, it's too late, a rebuilt is necessary and I would recommend the Valve body and Solenoid pack be rebuilt/replaced as well since they probably caused the problem in the first place.

I've got 66K on mine and I'm the original owner. I plan on dropping the pan sometime in the next couple of weeks to replace both items.

Originally Posted by jpplaw

Although I never observed it actually happening, water must have been coming in at the back of the hood somehow. The vent is the only place water could get in to the trans, and the dipstick seals up good. Can actually had some water in it when we took it off. I am kind of hoping it wasn't just collecting condensation inside when cooling off overnight, but it seems like too much water to have been just that.
The can was installed fairly close to the battery box on the firewall, and maybe if it was positioned a 1/2" inch or so different either way it wouldn't have happened, who knows. This spring I am going to try to somehow adapt a hose or something to the vent and point it downwards.

Originally Posted by mtgldr

Once it reaches operating temp it reads 60mph (OD) at 2000 and shifts fine. At the same time I've also noticed I'm getting about 2 mpg worse mileage.

Where is the thermal bypass switch and if I need to drop the pan would it be advantagous to get an one of the mentioned aftermarket valve bodies? I had the fluid changed about 4K miles ago, dropped the pan and changed the filter. I'm a little leary about getting a flush with 98K on the trans.

Does this trans will go into OD in both 4th and 5th?