RE: Ask the Car Guy @socky March 19
I have a 2007 chevy equinox that constantly skips gears. Well not really skips the gear it just stalls while going from 3rd to 4th. Now i have taken it in to figure out what the problem is. Turns out my valve body is over heating and making the gears skip. When they told me my maintenance cost to repair my problem it came out to 1400. I dont have that kind of money to repair my car so i was thinking of alternatives. 1 being all together get a new car, sadly my budget prevents me from having a monthly payment and a new insurance policy. So my next bet will be to get a small loan so i can make the repairs i need. Is this smart? I feel like taking out a loan should be used mainly to get ahead but in this case i will fall more behind if i lose my means of transportation. Got any friendly advice for a 22 year old on a budget?
Sorry to hear you are having issues with covering the cost for repair.
Did you get a list of parts that from the quote that needs to be replaced? Back in the day, automatic transmissions had very complicated valve bodies and required full removal and cleaning. Now they are all controlled by solenoids which make them easier to repair. These solenoids can be replaced rather simply or the entire valve body can be replaced as a cartridge. This all depends if there is room to access the valve body. I'm not sure if it can be done while the transmission is in your vehicle. Your transmission should be a AW55-50 which is shared by the Volvo.
If it can be done while in the vehicle, then the cheapest option is to replace the solenoids. You can find them on eBay. You need to make sure they don't get mixed up. Each solenoid has a specific location.
Here is a link that has instructions to remove the valve body:
https://www.repairprocedures.com/service-manual/document/2006/chevrolet/equinox/transmission-transaxle/control-valve-body-replacement/2789_1313_8236_37886_8_1382471.html
Here is a video of the solenoid replacement. These three are usually the culprit and the others don't need to be replaced.
I found the entire solenoid set on ebay for just over $100. You can find less expensive kits with just the 3 solenoids, but I don't know which is causing the problem. I also found the entire valve body on ebay for $267.
Make sure to replace your transmission filter while you are in there.
Your transmission is an adaptive transmission and will require you to perform a procedure of shifting gears to learn shift points. There are procedures on line on how to do that or the procedure may come with the valve kit.
Awesome thank you this was very helpful. When I went they said that the entire transmission needed to be rebuilt/replaced. But then again i am skeptical at times when it comes to car maintenance because i feel like they will always find something wrong. Another problem i am experiencing as of lately is my speedometer gets stuck on 120 mph. Obviously with a messed up transmission i rarely go over 65. I looked up the problem online and it said it i need a brand new cluster instrument. Does this sound accurate? Or is there some type of DIY repair i can do before needing to drop 140 on a part.