Project Carbon Next Gen 10 Speed Valve Body Kit - Finally Installed!

[viven44]

Possibly because it allows allows more smaller bolts, but they over engineer things like the bolts and do foolish things with the valve body. No idea why they they use the aluminum bolts for the filter. Seems like broken filter bolts going to occur often, but maybe this keeps the trans case from being stripped out.

never mind.... I misspoke, I should have gone back and checked.... but these may not be TTY bolts (didn't make sense ever)... I went back and looked at this pic which shows that there are only 3 bolts to be replaced BECAUSE they have sealer on them.... I'm sure a sealer like Loctite PST would do the job as well but if the kit comes with the bolts then why not.

And agreed aluminum bolts are likely to yield with over torque and break over time (I guess slightly TTY, lol)... but there is the thought that it is better to sacrifice the bolt than the block/case. People often substitute grade 8 for grade 5, and sometimes it's not a good idea for the same reason. Best to stick to factory specs.

Diagram for location of replacement bolts with sealer. Some versions of the transmission may have an additional shorter aluminum bolt that needs to be installed, it is very much like the aluminum filter retaining bolts but shorter. Not sure exactly which version/model of the transmission requires this 3rd shorter aluminum bolt.

 

[jfoj]

I think all the valve body to case bolts are Torque Angle bolts. But only a few bolts have the blue sealer. But usually a straight to torque works fine for the valve body

 

[jfoj]

 

[StephenPT]

That pan looks great. When I did the fluid and filter after Christmas, I never got out the amount that the service manual said, 8.1 quarts. I only got around 6-6.5 quarts. I try to replace what had come out.

I did a pan drop fluid change on my ‘22 YXL w/ LM2. Emptied the waste oil container before doing the job and then poured it all into a container so I could measure it. It was right at the 6L mark (6.3qts).

I got about 5qts in with the engine off and then it started to pee out the fill plug. Brought it down off the lift and fired it up. Moved between D and R a few times and got the trans up to about 160F. With the engine still running, it went back up on the lift and I was able to get the 1.3qts back in before it started to pee out again.

Not sure where 8.1qts comes from in the service procedure, but I didn’t get out nearly that much and couldn’t put that much in if I wanted to. Glad to hear you also got out the same amount as I did.

 

[jfoj]

To be honest with you if the vehicle still has the thermostat in the cooling loop, I see no need to get the temperature up above 100° F to set the level. With the thermostat in the cooling loop I don't see any fluid really leaking out of the cooling loop when you pull the pan and filter. Very different story if you pull the valve body! You get a lot more fluid out when the valve body comes out.

Yeah I didn't measure what I got out because I ended up pulling the valve body in a bunch drained out once I pulled the valve body. But I was guessing somewhere between 5 quarts just because the valve body is fills the pan up so much.

You might want to double check the fluid one more time once you've driven the truck around got it out on the highway maybe put about 60 mi on it. That way you can be comfortable the level as about as good as you can set it.

I really don't agree with GM's process of getting the transmission up to 175 or 200° F, That's just a massive burn hazard waiting to happen and it's not needed.

The good news is when I did my valve body I pulled the thermostat out of the valve body so the cooling lube is always functional so once I started the truck ran it through the gears and checked the level, and then drove it about 30 or 45 miles and then rechecked it topped it off and I'm very comfortable the level is good.

 

[jfoj]

 

[jfoj]

 

[Fless]

The guy on the left is sure difficult to understand with the jerky tempo and short clips of words.

 

[jfoj]

Yea the discussion was a bit slow and dry, but I am just trying to compile as many resources in one spot as possible for anyone that has had problems or is thinking about proactively resolving the problem before it becomes a problem!

I have no regrets at this point, transmission shifts so much better than with the OE valve body, hopefully I will not have any future problems.

 

[jfoj]

More about the Ford 10 speed, but some useful information that may be helpful to understand how these transmissions work and some of the other failure modes.

 

[viven44]

Will watch but empirically these 10 speeds seem to not be fuel efficient vs. the 6 speeds they replaced. On my new super duty, I can actually see the gear shifts displayed and every time I take off from a stop sign it hurts to see it go from 1-9 before 35mph…. Seems like a lot of shifting and I’m sure each shift has milliseconds of slippage / power waste….

 

[jfoj]

Totally agree that 10 speeds have too many gears, way too much shifting, too many parts and more to wear out. The 4 speed in my 2005 Yukon is fine except when it comes to downshifting at highway speeds when pulling pills starting into the mountains. The 10 speed or higher torque is so much more polished for highway downshifts

Interesting that the heavy duty 10 speed Ford transmission starts in 2nd gear unless in tow mode. At least 1 shift fewer for daily use.

The 6 speed if built and programmed properly is probably the best option. The 6 speed torque converters were junk and applied too early casing way too many early failures,but the aftermarket has solutions for the 6 speeds if you are willing to step up with the $$$.

 

[viven44]

Interesting that the heavy duty 10 speed Ford transmission starts in 2nd gear unless in tow mode. At least 1 shift fewer for daily use.

Did you mean to say the GM ones ?

Mine should be considered HD as it is on a F350, and it starts off in 1st always... which I also dislike. It is too much of a granny ratio on my 4.3 rear axle and shift to 2nd happens before it approaches ~5mph which I think ends up hurting the get up and go.

 

[jfoj]

Did you mean to say the GM ones ?

Mine should be considered HD as it is on a F350, and it starts off in 1st always... which I also dislike. It is too much of a granny ratio on my 4.3 rear axle and shift to 2nd happens before it approaches ~5mph which I think ends up hurting the get up and go.

Correction I got things backwards as I had a lot of "cross talk" while trying to view the video! I think you need to watch from the 1:30 minute mark.

The 2nd gear start appears to be with the heavier duty 10L1000 GM transmission but I have not been able to confirm this.

 

[jfoj]

 

[jfoj]

If you remove the stock trans pan, be careful about the bolt torque. The OE pan is THIN Aluminum! Anyone that off roads their truck should strongly consider a heavier duty cast aftermarket pan as well. Any impact to the thin stock OE pan could cause a leak as well.

 

[jfoj]

 

[Rbock8]

I have a Nextgen kit ordered for a 10l80 in a 23 Denali with 16,000 miles. The kit doesn't have the 6 shift valves. There is no problem with the transmission now, but I haven't heard of anyone doing all of this and leaving out the shift valves. Would this be ok? Not a race truck, just didn't want anything breaking down. I do have the new pan with a drain plug to install also.

 

[jfoj]

@Rbock8

It was my understanding that Next Gen decided to sell all the kits with the shift valves due to the number of people purchasing the shift valves with the kits. That being said I think the separator plate and the Feed Limit valve along with a few of the other O-ringed plugs are clearly an improvement. Seems the separator plate and feed limit valve is the primary problem area.

If you have a gas engine, good luck with getting the exhaust nuts loose, hopefully with the age and mileage the nuts are in good shape and will break loose without a problem. Understand heat is your friend if they do not come loose easily, not sure if you have access to a decent torch, but sometimes even a propane Turbo Torch is enough to warm up the nuts, I just cannot recall how much room is around the exhaust flange nuts and it there anything to worry about with the heat.

Good luck with the job, pay close attention to the 2 check balls under the small valve body/separator plate. Get some pictures if you can as there do not seem to be any pictures online for this area of the valve body. The problem is there are about 4-5 versions of the 10 speed valve body and a lot of the info does not cover the most current 1/2 ton models with the electric push button or electric column shifter on the 2025 models.

 

[Rbock8]

JFOJ, thanks for the information. It's a 6.2 gas. I'll try to get it done this weekend, I'll let everyone know how it turned out.