Transmission valve body

["Randolph R. Peters" <rpeters@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear fellow digesters,
I would appreciate any help with this problem.
Does any one know how to extract the valve body from the automatic
transmission of an 87 535is?  The Bentley suggests that it can be done in
situ but I do not know what to look for once I drop the transmission pan. 
I have much the same transmission woes as the guy who posted yesterday for
a replacement transmission, only my symptoms are not as severe as his:
erratic downshifting under steady acceleration until 75-80 mph is reached;
occasional sticking in first gear which is remedied by shifting to neutral
and back.  I suspect the valve body needs overhauling and I would like to
take it out and carry it to a BMW shop.  Hence my  question.

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