I have a 97 Lesabre that needs a new valve body in its transmission. I think I can probably pull out the transmission without much difficulty, but does anyone know where the valve body is located in the transmission and what you have to do to get to it once the transmission is out? It surges between about 45 and 60 mph. There was a service bulliten issued on this problem because it was so common. What does a valve body look like? Thanks.

With most transmissions you don't even have to remove the transmission to access/remove the valve body. If you remove the trans. pan and filter, the valve body is the next "layer" so to speak in the transmission. It's usually no bigger than 8" x 8". When looking at the open transmission, the valve body will look like a square piece of steel with a bunch of ridges, bumps and electrical connections. Here's a good pic: (http://www.drwtransmission.com/images/200-4R/VBID/vbidc.jpg) of a valve body from a 200-r4.

Make sure when installing the new valve body and valve body gasket that nothing gets into the little valleys and holes of the valves. and make sure that the gasket is lined up perfectly when you install it. Otherwise you'll be back at square one - bad shifting!

Thanks for the pointers...now that you mention it, I do recall taking a valve body out of a Chrysler 904 transmission once. It did come out from the bottom where the pan came off. I am going to have the car checked over first to make sure I am on the right track before I start taking things apart. I guess it could be the ignition system or the fuel injection system that is causing the problem. The odd part is that it only does it when it is warm outside. It went all winter without acting up. When that temp gauge hits about 190 though, it's sure to do it. Sometimes it hardly does it; other times, it is fairly extreme. Usually, I am going up a long hill when it happens. Under regular load, it doesn't really do it; oh, it might do it a little bit, but it is hardly detectable. If I tap the brakes, it comes out of it and the RPMs increase. Thanks.