904 automatic transmission not shifting on any gears

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Mopar King

Mopar King

Beginner / Need of Help
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I have another tranny problem that maybe you guys can help me with or at least give me some ideas that i am overlooking.... well here it goes...


I have a 1973 dodge dart Slant six engine and a A904 automatic transmission. It was out of commission for a whole year - engine and tranny were out of car as well. now we have the engine +tranny back in the car, filled it with fluids and started her up. The dart started like a charm and did shifted it in the driveway for a small bit BUT when we tried shifting it for our first road test for some reason the car suddenly won't go into any gears R, D, 1, 2. We check the fluids again and it was empty so we top it off with a 7th quart of tranny oil in neutral with the car running but it still doesn't pick-up any of the shifts. Its so smooth that you don't feel the shift-hop. Also when you press the gas pedal when in any of the gears it won't budge and sounds like you are rev-ing the hell out of it Almost like you were STILL in neutral!





i thought that it needed more fluid because of the deep transmission pan i order from amazon part #52118779AD but after 12 quarts in total (7th to top it off and 5 more added), it started to spill out of the torque converter or from somewhere inside the dust-pan. stupid me.#-o

My filter is brand new autozone and the tranny oil is ATF+4. is there something that im missing that isn't allowing me to shift? a wire or adjustment of some sort.


I took the pan off and drained the fluid in a large container and it came out super clean and no metal of any kind. everything looks ok from an eye view but could i be missing something?





transmission was working 100 percent before the car was stopped for a whole year, it was my first daily driver car.:burnout:
 
I assume you have checked the easy thing like shift linkage hasn't came undone? If it is still connected and you still have the pan off have someone cycle the shift linkage while your under there looking at the manual valve and check that it's moving in and out of the valve body like it should. If it is it's possible that a piece of crap found it's way into the main pressure regulator valve holding it open. It's located in the valve body.
 
Linkage is connected and shifts correct. I went under the car, had my father shift through the gears and yes the manual valve is moving in/out fully. everything looks very clean, new fluid and new filter.

We had no other choice then to bring the transmission down and inspect it more carefully. The ONLY that my father and I notice is that - (Please correct me with any technical names of parts)




When we spin the input shaft from the front of the transmission by hand while looking at the output shaft from the rear tail of the tranny - IT DOES NOT SPIN! We tried on all gears and it doesn't spin - ONLY just a centimeter of movement. Now when i put it on park i shouldn't be able to spin the input shaft... well this tranny you can STILL spin the input shaft by hand in park but output shaft still has the same problem as mention above.




Im trying to search online looking for a similar problem but haven't found one, maybe im describing/searching wrong? The thing that gets my father and I is how can a perfectly running transmission suddenly give up?


Transmission is off the car as of now until i find a solution. i'll post a few pictures of the tranny and a few pages of the transmission book i have, maybe it can help someone here as well. (The more picture the better)
 
Mopar King said:
When we spin the input shaft from the front of the transmission by hand while looking at the output shaft from the rear tail of the tranny - IT DOES NOT SPIN! We tried on all gears and it doesn't spin - ONLY just a centimeter of movement. Now when i put it on park i shouldn't be able to spin the input shaft... well this tranny you can STILL spin the input shaft by hand in park but output shaft still has the same problem as mention above.
Click to expand...

What your describing is normal. When the engine is not spinning the torque converter the oil pump isn't spinning to produce hydraulic pressure to lock up the clutch packs. The input shaft will always spin no matter what gear you have it in. Only the output shaft is locked.
 
Ok I’m actually having a similar issue. Fluid won’t flow as far as I can tell. Car was running and driving fine. Parked went inside got in the next day and it refused to go into gear. I’ve checked fluids and can’t get an accurate reading in neutral or any gear at all. It’s like the fluid isn’t pumping at all. Linkages are in great shape and seem to be adjusted correctly so I’m not really sure what’s going on. Fluid condition is good as far as color and smell. No burnt smell or nothing. A904
 
Try running it about half an inch over the full mark. Check running in NEUTRAL. COLD. Check BOTH sides of the stick.
 
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