lol
i can understand the frustration of substandard mechanics.
Most dealers won't waste time ripping it apart but just order a new one but really they send it out to be rebuild by another shop they use so it costs tehm about 800 and they resell it for 2000 easy.
Sorry to sound so brutal about your cousin but bad info like that leads people to get short arm intakes, ground wires on new cars, thinking premium gas is a waste of money all are basic prinicpals of physics and an engine that all technitions and a good mechanic ( who understands performance)will know.
When someone guesses it turns into stone as time goes on when they have nothing to base the opnion on but a guess or a thought.
Liek the guy who said he smoked a wrx.Rondald MCdonald could have driving that thing with his 2 foot shoes and misshifted all the way and still ate the ES's food. Sorry anyone who has driven a wrx never mind an sti will know it isn;t highly aclaimed for nothing.
I wouldn't be suprised with the solenoid just needing cleaning. As that is all mine needed which was to have the valve body cleaned but rather than rip the guts out i decied to baby the car even more for about 2000km as to slowly let the filter i added clean the fluid from debris.
It went from shifting in first at about 5000 rpm or not at all when cold,
never being able to use the kickdown as once i pressed the gas pedal it would just slip and rpms would shoot up like i was in neutral
harsh engagment of 1-2 2-3
when codl it was the worst as it sometimes would not even get into gear for a few minutes.
As well as short stop and go driving if i drove for 10 minutes before it warmed up i might not be able to move again ,which happened a few times where i had to get the car in the air drop the pan and filter to clean the mesh an i would be ok again for a few months.
Afer a while of troubleshooting with my cousin who runs a tranny shop i got a fitler, he told me it would never work that my TQ fibers were destroyed and causing it to block even more.
I was optomistic as well as cheap as i have had the problem for 2 years.
Well it is almost perfect now and i still have to change the filter and put a new one in to finish the cleaning process as i am sure my external filter has been clogged with fibers.
By replacing it i will gain my pressure from the fibers being gone which in turn willl cause my clutches and bands to actuate when needed properly .
Well worth $40 any day for a future of investment since most 1mz-fe trannies have issues.
To think all of this beacuse i went to ERIN PARK LEXUS IN MISSISSAUGA to get a drive clean test. the next morning i could not get out of my garage as the jackassss tech shredded my clutches hen he was supposed to be warming up the cat and plugged it up.
But of couse their is no way i could prive it so here is my retribution.