Manual Updates for
A Couple of Mazda Valve Bodies
On occasions technicians may find themselves fighting a loss of line pressure rise with a GF4A-EL
transaxle. The transmission has been unplugged and line pressure still does not rise verifying that there is in
fact an internal transmission concern. The pressure control solenoid has been replaced, the pump and spool
valve has been inspected and determined to be in proper working order, and the pan has not been pushed up
into the newly installed filter. The valve body is removed and the pressure regulator valve is also looking
good. At this time a set of hydraulics are reviewed and it is discovered that there is a Pressure Modifier
Valve in the pressure control system (See Figure 1). Consulting a picture of all the valve locations and their
identification reveals that no where in the break down is this valve identified in any way. An oversight that
has puzzled many for years. Figure 2 provides the location of this valve line up and can be easily identified
by the adjusting screw in the end plug as seen in Figure 3 (
). Should this Pressure Modifier Valve be stuck or the
bore is wore, a no line rise condition will occur. So be sure to update the manual in your library with the
identification of this valve and its location.
Another manual update that would be good to make is with the F4EAT transaxle. The 2-3 Shift Valve and
the Bypass Valve are side be side near the inlet port of the valve body as seen in Figure 4. These valves have
been oppositely labeled. This error can lead to a no 2-3 up shift problem after overhaul. The reason for this
is that many technicians peg the bypass valve to allow for a firmer 2-3 shift. This works with the G4A-EL,
the GF4A-EL and the F4EAT transaxles alike. If a technician is unaware of the mislabeling of the valves in
F4EAT valve body information, the 2-3 shift valve is unknowingly pegged preventing the 2-3 shift to take
place. One way to remember the correct valve is that the Bypass Valve is closet to the inlet and that the 2-3
Shift Valve is the larger of the two.
The depth of this adjusting screw is usually in the
vicinity of 0.012 from the surface of the plug from the factory. Over adjustment of the screw has been
known to cause uncomfortable coast downshift clunks