Bought a new to me 2008 LR2 HSE with 120k miles on it. Drove perfect for the first month. Now I am getting a hard jolt from 2nd to 3rd gear if I get the rpms up to 2000 or more. Took to our local mom and pop mech. He came back and said the transmission valve body needs to be replaced. After some research the part alone is $1000. He then informed me that he can install it but he doesn't have the ability to program it. I would have to have it towed to a land rover dealership (nearest one is 150 miles away) and they would "program it"

I need the most economical solution you guys can come up with. I've got experience working on cars.

Can I change out a valve body in my driveway? (Any special tools required that I wouldn't have access to)

Do you really have to have a dealer program an already install electromechanical part?

I paid 8k for the car. My end goal is to fix it without having to spend 4k (50% of car value) on one part.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

No programming is necessary. The transmission control module is separate from the valve body. That said, unless the problem is an open or shorted solenoid And you stopped driving the vehicle immediately, I wouldn't replace the valve body. When those valves get sticky, they cause collateral damage quickly. You could could end up with a new vb on a damaged transmission. I know it's a lot of money but a reman is a much better bet. If I remember correctly, rovers north has them for under 3k.
You can use your old tcm on the reman unit without programming. It is necessary to clear the adaptations, but an aftermarket scanner can do that.
Best of luck.