Hey guys, I have a '64 model pushbutton aluminum 727 in my '57 Plymouth. Well after a million miles ( the '64 Dodge that it came out of was driven until 2000..and in 1968 it had 60,000 miles according to the Esso sticker..god knows how many miles the thing accumulated by 2000!) the transmission needed a rebuild. A few of the clutches were just nice slick metal disks with no friction material because that was all in the filter and bottom of the pan! Anyways I decided to try my hand at an auto rebuild. It went nice and easy or so I thought...Got a kit and new DACCO torque converter and went at it. Finally got to test the thing tonight. Well it works....but barely. The car creeps in Drive or Reverse with high engine RPMs. And there seems to be a faint metallic almost like something scraping sheet metal coming from the torque converter. I put in 8 quarts of fluid and apparently the transmission doesn't want any of it since the dipstick reads a good 4 inches past the FULL mark. Any ideas of whats going on? Thanks guys
with the kit, did any of the instructions suggest checking the clutch packs with certain set pressures of compressed air? I did a kit from Oregon perfomance and transgo, and the book I was using suggested testing certain functions with air before buttoning it up. best book i EVER bought... http://tsr-racing.com/shop/chrysler/chryslermanual.php?Category=Chrysler+Technical+Manual by Carl Munroe I haven't tried mine yet mind you, so I may be in the same boat, hopefully not, I'm pulling for you on this one. MB
My kit from "Fatsco" came with a copy of what looked like a generic 1964 Imperial service manual. It did mention blowing compressed air into certain passages to see if you could hear a "thud" to indicate that the clutch packs were working. The car does move...but barely and not enough to even back out of a garage easily...almost like there's not enough pressure or something? Maybe the Toque converter isn't taking in all the fluid..because 4 quarts over the FULL mark shows on the dipstick...
Did you have to pull the converter forward to get it to meet up with the flexplate when you reinstalled the transmission? or did you have to force the transmission case up against the engine block by tightening the bolts?
At 14 i did my first shift kit with Dad and afterwards told him i was good to go on the trans install alone- i thought the pump drive tangs were engaged- turns out that the slight difficulty in drawing the trans onto the block with the bolts was me bending the flexplate until the ears of the pump drive snapped off. Didn't realize that had happened, and kept adding fluid- i'm betting you may not have had your converter on the pump right. It may turn/slip converter scream would suggest a dry converter was put in but i dont think it would continually slip (wouldn't it eventually fill and get goin?) But if the pump wasnt truly engaged, and only was turning the pump through friction, then very little pressure would be produced. It would take forever to fill and it would read overfull as you added more. What exactly was changed- flexplate? converter? did you lay it on the floor and poor at least a quart or two in it before sliding on the shaft? THE 50,000 DOLLAR QUESTION: Assuming you put the same converter/flexplate back in-Did you have to pull the converter towards the flexplate to install the converter bolts- or was it already pressed firmly up against it? rick EDIT: Damn Squirrel, you type faster than me.
I had installed the converter all the way in and engaging the pump. I got the transmission to bolt onto the engine with relative ease. The converter had to come forward 1/2 inch or less to meet the flex plate when installing bolts. I did not pre-fill the converter...I was told that the pump would fill it up regardless. I only put in 8 quarts of fluid and the dipstick goes past the full mark a good 4 inches. I ran the car for probably 10 minutes and it will move forward and backward...just with no power. If the converter is dry how long does it take to fill? Before I took the transmission out for a rebuild I could drive the car if it was cold..only after it warmed up would it begin slipping and making a god awful whining noise.
I generally put a quart in the converter if it's empty (like a rebuilt), and four quarts in the trans. Then start it up and dump in 4 more quarts, then run it thru the gears, if it the car does not move I add another quart and check it, it should be doing something by then. First torqueflite I did (I think I was 15?) I put a part in backwards, the forward clutch pressure plate, took me a few tries to find out my mistake car did not move.
This is the second time i've had the transmission out and in...first time I managed to put the front band in backwards and it was binding in the case which didn't allow the transmission to turn...of course it decided to get stuck after I had the thing fully installed ready to test... Thing is...she does move...slightly haha...thats the annoying part...It is working but there's not enough pressure or something...
The torqueflite will try to move a bit in neutral, especially with new clutches. Sounds like it's not pumping at all. Bummer.
You can watch the flange move in neutral..if you put the car in drive and rev it up it'll start spinning faster...put it in reverse and it'll go the other way if engine is revved up...
You sure you got the valve body back on right. A plugged filter will cause issues too. Something is keeping the pump from building up mainline pressure and filling the converter. Sounds like time to drop it and do an inspection.
Don't let an auto trans slip. Clutch life is close to zero when slipping. You've cut a seal or something. Stop before you have to buy another set of frictions. You'll have to take it apart anyway.
I hate to have to pull the dang thing back out again..but I guess I don't have much of a choice...I never seemed to have had this much problems with a transmission before!
It worked prior to pulling the transmission out...the fluid was like syrup however...When I measured the clearances as outlined in the manual it was in specs...or so I thought...
I would say you snapped off the tangs in the rotor of the front pump when the converter slid in - I have seen it done a few times. You have to carefully walk the converter in and RIGHT BACK. I use a piece of hard wire to make a bracket from one of the 1/4" lower cover bolts on the bell housing to keep the converter right back until I bolt it to the flex plate. Usually what happens is when moving the tranny around the converter slides forward and turns a little and you don't notice. You get the bolts lined up with block and start tightening it up and snap the lugs off. to fix it you will need a new front pump, you might get away with just replacing the rotors.
Alright..finally got time to screw around with the transmission. I dropped the pan and pulled the valve body off. I did the pressure tests as outlined in the manual and both cutch packs and bands were good. I determined that the valve body had to be the issue. I took it apart and discovered what was wrong. One of the check valves had come off its spring and got sandwiched between the two halves of the valve body when I was assembling it initially. Well the little valve was smashed flat on one edge and there was a sizable nick on the valve body itself. I was running out of daylight and didn't have a spare valve body laying around. So I straightened out everything as best I could and got rid of the burrs and put the thing back together in hopes it would work atleast until I could locate a new valve body. I filled her up with fluid and nothing...until I took her out of park. She ran just fine. I took her for a few test runs and she seemed fine. The next day i decided to really test her out. I took her for a 2 hour drive without any problems...except that it was friggin cold without a heater. (core popped last winter) Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys
I was going to suggest a vial of Lucas tranny repair, but seems like all is well. Good goin bro, good to have the wheels under ya again. ~sololobo~
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