What is the best way to get the solenoid housing off the tranny? I removed the 5 bolts but it's stuck to the tranny due to the gasket. I tried a 1/2" chisel and small hammer between the housing and tranny but it's distorting the aluminum.

I need to remove the solenoid for reuse as I'm rebuilding the tranny. I imagine there are three methods:

1. Pry bar under the solenoid towers
2. Pulling hard on the towers (as it's the only place to grab it)
3. Large 2" chisel and a sledgehammer under the housing
4. Using a slide hammer hooking under the solenoid towers

I am worried about damaging the solenoid as it's a $300-400 part. If it was bad, not a big deal damaging it on removal, but the part is still good.

BTW, isn't there small screens on one end of the two feed tubes under the housing?

 

Try using a block of wood against the solenoid and hit the wood with a good sized hammer or a dead blow hammer. If that does not work then I would gently heat it with a plumbers torch and hit it again using the block of wood/hammer.

 

I am pretty sure there are 6 bolts holding it. I replaced it once and I dont recall even the mildest amount of difficulty. Amazon shows 6 bolt holes in the pic for the part:

 

Actually I probably did take off 6 screws because the one between the towers holds the trans line bracket so I got the wrong impression when I mentioned it. This solenoid isn't as easy to remove as the one with the rubber gasket and screens since that uses an O-ring seal.

However thanks for the link! $89 sure beats $389 for the OEM part from Honda. I may consider putting in a new one on the rebuild as it would be a hassle to remove this solenoid on the car if it goes bad.

 

Well figured out the problem, Doh! I did not detach the solenoid electrical harnesses from the unit when I tried to remove it, thus I couldn't see the bolt underneath!

Thanks for the info, bpp. Because I was about to use a long stick of lumber to pry the solenoid off. With the bolt still on there, it would have damaged the solenoid towers for sure!