How much metal flake is too much?

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Craig Burriss

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This is not in an A-body, but it’s a 727.
I just bought an 83 Ramcharger that had a seized 318. I dropped in a good 318 and got it running to find out that the trans had no reverse.
The transmission would move the truck forwards in drive, 1, and 2. Park holds the truck still, and reverse was basically a second neutral with the truck on the ground. I put it on jack stands and found that every position but park on the gear lever would move the wheels forwards. So reverse, neutral, drive, 1, and 2, would all move the wheels in a forward direction. It also wouldn’t shift into 3rd.
I don’t know much about automatics, but from what I’ve been able to understand is that fluid flow is extremely important, and metal flake cake in the pan is bad.
When I pulled the old engine out, I noticed one of the trans cooler lines was flattened under the oil pan (I didn’t flatten it). I cut the line off and replaced it with some rubber hose.
So my question is, would a new filter and fresh fluid, free of all of this debris fix it? Or am I going to have to pull this thing out and tie a goat to it?

Magnet
D3D731F7-1B33-467B-8725-D30F70B6BA9C.jpeg


caked up flakes
1F3CA46C-2B11-4478-AE1C-90DCED08F38F.jpeg

A3268CA0-B9BC-4BB1-82D0-D8FC760EDA58.jpeg
 
Have done this thing many times. Replace the filter, check band adjustment, drain convertor, clean pan and new gasket. After that maybe it will be good, but no guarantees.
 
Yes try changing fluid first.

Also before starting remove the rear cooler line and run in a pan then start engine to flush the cooler.
 
What are we lookin at? How many miles?
 
This is not in an A-body, but it’s a 727.
I just bought an 83 Ramcharger that had a seized 318. I dropped in a good 318 and got it running to find out that the trans had no reverse.
The transmission would move the truck forwards in drive, 1, and 2. Park holds the truck still, and reverse was basically a second neutral with the truck on the ground. I put it on jack stands and found that every position but park on the gear lever would move the wheels forwards. So reverse, neutral, drive, 1, and 2, would all move the wheels in a forward direction. It also wouldn’t shift into 3rd.
I don’t know much about automatics, but from what I’ve been able to understand is that fluid flow is extremely important, and metal flake cake in the pan is bad.
When I pulled the old engine out, I noticed one of the trans cooler lines was flattened under the oil pan (I didn’t flatten it). I cut the line off and replaced it with some rubber hose.
So my question is, would a new filter and fresh fluid, free of all of this debris fix it? Or am I going to have to pull this thing out and tie a goat to it?

Magnet
View attachment 1715705476

caked up flakes
View attachment 1715705477
View attachment 1715705478

I wouldn’t waste the money on fluid and filter at this point as that thing is toast.
It won’t move in drive because the forward clutches are laying in the pan burned up.
 
It does move in drive. It’s reverse that’s not working.

Oh, sorry.
That must be someone else’s fried clutches laying in your pan and making a sea urchin on your magnet . :D

Yea I’m kind of a smartass.
It’s still toast.
 
Have done this thing many times. Replace the filter, check band adjustment, drain convertor, clean pan and new gasket. After that maybe it will be good, but no guarantees.
Don't waste your time draining the converter. It's probably a lockup, and to get ALL the junk out of it is damn near impossible by draining it. You can try, but it is in my way of thinking a waste of your time.
 
Jerk that baby outta there and yank it apart...we'll get ya rollin agin in lessn three shakes of a lamb's tail!
 
Ended up tearing the whole thing apart. There’s no way it would’ve ever worked right. Metal chunks everywhere.
I think they mostly came from the one way sprag in the back of transmission.
Luckily the tail shaft looks fine. I found a 2wd 727 out of an 81 pickup for dirt cheap and am almost done rebuilding it with basic rebuild kit from Cope Racing Transmissions and the tail shaft and housing from my original 4x4 transmission.
The “new” transmission looks great on the inside, I probably didn’t need to rebuild it, but I already had the rebuild kit so I might as well while I’m in there.

The picture on the right is the original trans with the eat up sprag. All of the roller bearings and springs were ruined too. Any idea what caused that to happen?
9AC9BB4E-44F9-4802-9C80-12D95BB116F6.jpeg
 
Hooking up hitting second gear is hard on them. Are you going back with a high quality bolt in sprag? I would. Also, a manual valve body with low band apply is another good thing.
 
That bolt in sprag is a really good idea in a 727, as thats what causes those transmissions to explode and come through the floor.

A driveshaft or ujoint breaking can also destroy that sprag.
That’s why you hear people saying you should visually check it after a ujoint or shaft failure.
 
Hooking up hitting second gear is hard on them. Are you going back with a high quality bolt in sprag? I would. Also, a manual valve body with low band apply is another good thing.
I’m just putting it back together as is. My plan for the truck is a 440 with either a TR4050 or an NV4500 trans. So the 318 and 727 are only so I can drive it around for now.
 
Just realized that the bad trans I pulled out, did not even have the tail shaft bearing. It was a reman trans, so evidently some moron left it out...
 
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