I re-built one for a friend about thirteen years ago when the car had 151K on the clock. It didn't have a catastrophic failure, it just lost fourth gear. The car now has 482K on it and it still shifts good. It must have a sticking valve in the valve body though, because if you shift directly from R to D it's a bit harsh. If you shift from R into N for two or three seconds, and then into D it's fine.