Guess something I am missing, Shouldn't the piston be centered in hole once valve body is in place?

Installing new valve body and the piston is dragging on threads when on tighten front screws in valvebody it locks up the piston. First It seems it would be centered in hole since solenoid engages it. Now not sure if its case or issue with valve body..

JW case and new aluminum valve body.

make sure you use a hammer and tap the servo tube in completely,lightly though

does it w/o sevo tube even in trans.

only other quick thought is make sure shifter is lined up ,it may be pushed in too far causing misalignment

do you have another valve body that can be checked for the proper fit? With the trans upside down and level, all bolts properly torqued, you are correct that the brake valve should be centered in the bore.

The comment from Baxter about the shift shaft and manual valve is a good thing to check

I do remember many years ago having the brake valve off center in my jw case. I did call there tech line and was told to send it in so they could see it. Never did, just ground the case a bit to free up valve, not perfect but worked ok. Just install brake valve in valve body first before installing in case.

grinding was first thought. Second was to plug,weld and redrill and tap hole in proper locations. Third and if not for trailer being to of list, new reid case and bellhousing.1200 to 1300 reasons why last is not in first.LOL

Going to call Greg at FTI this morning and see what they suggest.

Hot wheels comment is kind of reinforcing my first thoughts. Having heard few negatives on JW stuff over the years.Just don't like to jump to conclusion thats its manufacture FU first thing.

IIRC When I installed my FTI brake this fall albeit I did it upside-down in the car I think I needed to push the valve in a little while seating the brake.

you will not push this one in once valve body is tightened down. the las 12 to 3/4 turn on bolts locks it down tight.

My question is. WHY THE HELL IS IT NOT lined up to be dead center anyway. I mean we are not talking rocket science here. straight shot for solenoid to push valve straight and inline would have to be better than off center. Plus would seem tons smoother and less friction.

Guess there is reason,would like to know it.

I can hole to clear but seems like 1/4 a$$ way of doing something. Maybe have to until get more cash and a new case thats better and lot lighter to boot. Trailer has to be first or whats point.

quote:

Originally posted by wideopen231:
you will not push this one in once valve body is tightened down. the las 12 to 3/4 turn on bolts locks it down tight.

My question is. WHY THE HELL IS IT NOT lined up to be dead center anyway. I mean we are not talking rocket science here. straight shot for solenoid to push valve straight and inline would have to be better than off center. Plus would seem tons smoother and less friction.

Guess there is reason,would like to know it.

I can hole to clear but seems like 1/4 a$$ way of doing something. Maybe have to until get more cash and a new case thats better and lot lighter to boot. Trailer has to be first or whats point.

Is the valve offset towards the pan rail? If yes loosen the valve body till the valve is free then push it in and tighten it up.

To answer your question, not all spools will be center and/or be able to come through the hole. Non of the cases are drilled in the exact same spot. Not all valvebodies are cut in the same spot. Trans Specialties to put the valvebody in the trans with the valve pushed all the way in. Works perfectly on all valvebodies when doing that.

not with JW case! seems they are thicker in this area and valve protrudes into case hole when pushed all the way in. Enough so that you can feel something wrong when setting valve body blots,pretty sure stupid tightening them would rusult in bent valve or mess up mu new aluminum valve body.

I almost understand GM having it off with cast parts.But damn this is machined case and machined valve body. I also understand valve body can not be made to fit all case's unless case is machined to a standard location. Just seems too simple to correct hole location to be incenter and if was off .0-0" no problem,off cpl tenths problem.

Oh well rant over guess I will A&T engineer it with grinder for now.

I'm not all that familiar with the JW valve body, but I have done a few JW cases and had the same problem, also even with the reid and oem cases.
The best resolution is to loosen the bolts that assemble the two valve body halves and realign the valve body, then retighten in place.
If it has paper gaskets on the separator plate, I would recommend replacing them when you do this. Make sure they are the correct gaskets for the application.

jw case not valve body.FTI aluminum valve body no gaskets or plate between two halves.

So as suspected its more issue with JW case's.

When I had the FTI billet VB it was not lined up either with both ATI and Reid cases.Sucks if you want to get the spool out. Just push it in while you tighten the bolts then screw the solenoid in and you will be fine.

if it has been tight enough to bind the valve tightly,need to insure not bent now

quote:

Originally posted by wideopen231:
jw case not valve body.FTI aluminum valve body no gaskets or plate between two halves.

So as suspected its more issue with JW case's.

My reply may have not been clear. What I meant was I have seen that with multiple combinations. I feel it is just dimensional stack up, sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you have to work with it.
Yes you could install the spool valve prior to installing the vb... but my OCD wouldn't accept that. (lol)

not tight enough but can see where it could happen. Always use slow corss pattern when tightening anything new down.Actually extra effort is what got me looking and found valve binding in first place.

Seems issue lot more than should be.So for once its not just me having issue.Been told that more times then can count with both shoes off.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Steve:
When I had the FTI billet VB it was not lined up either with both ATI and Reid cases.Sucks if you want to get the spool out. Just push it in while you tighten the bolts then screw the solenoid in and you will be fine.

nope.It has to be able to move once tightened down. Only solutions is to gring case on inside and either try to keep chips out or tear down to bare case.Looks like more teardown practice.Yea ha!!!

Stranger things have happened....but I have never had to grind on the case before.