TCI 727 super street leaker NIGHTMARE!

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supersonictoys

supersonictoys

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I have a 72 scamp that I have been gathering parts for , for about 2 years. I spared no expense and built an aluminum headed all forged internal, full roller , stroker magnum 360 for and had a billet 3000 stall 9' converter built for it. as for a transmission I decided on a TCI super street fighter and bought it through summit who had to order it through TCI. after I assembled everything and installed it all in the car I fired it up and was extremely pleased with the way it ran although I had a BAD fluid leak coming from the inside of the bell housing and running out through that little stamped hole/ dimple in the tin inspection/dust cover . it wet down the whole bottom of the car in about a 5 minute drive and then when I wiped everything down and let it sit over night it leaked about an additional quart of fluid on the ground under the car. I figured maybe I damaged the front seal so I pulled the tranny back out and cleaned everything back up and installed a new front seal. again , it leaked about a qt out when parked over night! so I yanked it back out and took the tranny to a local tranny shop and paid them to install a new front cover gasket and the big oring seal that goes around the outside of the front cover and put in a new front seal for me since I was figuring at this point that maybe I am doing something wrong or missing something. they also replaced all the sealing washers under the heads of the front cover bolts. I went ahead and reinstalled it AGAIN and this time the tranny didnt leak at all when parked overnight. I was so happy when I came out and looked under the car and saw nothing!!. the next morning was a different story . it had a puddle about 2 feet across under the car....WTH?... I am running ATF+4 fluid which is full synthetic and by the time I get the transmission out of the car the fluid has pretty much all evaporated except for the little puddle in the bottom of the bell housing so I cant tell where its coming from. I even went so far as to buy some UV fluid dye and a black light and added the dye to the transmission fluid but it was a worthless waste of $60 as the only thing that glowed was the same puddle in the bottom of the bell housing. I now have the tranny back out again. I took the converter in to D&P converters (the place who built it) and they pressure tested it and chucked it up in their machine and checked it for balance and trueness of the snout and it was dead perfect. I now have the front pump housing off and have inspected everything for cracks and gouges and also made sure the fluid drain back hole right behind the transmissions front seal wasnt plugged or blocked off and checked the front bushing out for fit. everything seems ok. I called summit about this and they told me if it was purchased more than 30 days ago I would have to deal with TCI directly . when I called TCI they said they would take a look at it If I paid shipping both ways $400 round trip) and they said they would repair the unit free "if" it was still within their 90 warranty period and if they found an issue that they thought was their fault. I paid around $1200 for this transmission because I wanted a bolt in and go unit and didnt want to chance rebuilding one myself and going through the same nightmare I'm going through right now! I am hoping some tranny expert may chime in and tell me something I might have missed? I also noticed the car creeps forward a little when reved up a bit in neutral and that the tail shaft splines are extremely tight in the drive line. I actually have to tap the drive line in with a plastic mallet because it will not go in otherwise. I am at the end of my rope with this TCI unit and feel like I have wasted almost $1500 on this transmission with all the seals , gasket and oring kits, tranny shop labor, probably $200 worth of $6 a qt fluid , worthless UV dye kit and several weeks of my time pulling and reinstalling it. I have spent countless hours on line trying to find a similar problem and have found nothing. it has been about 120 days since I purchased this transmission now so my 90 ay warranty through TCI is no doubt over with. I see no reason to reinstall it and may end up throwing it in the trash.... HELP tranny guru's?? :(
 
You spared plenty of expense going to tci....

trans either A&A or Martin Saine Perf...

For the TC, Martin Saine performance and nothing else....
 
I will never again buy a trans from a "big outfit". Had some similar experiences years ago with a TCI. So, I learned to do them myself. If you don't want to do that, then my advice is find a small local shop that's been in business a while and let them build you one or fix yours. It's always better to deal with warranty issues face to face if you have to.
 
Unfortunately I have heard of problems with TCI more than I can shake a stick at. That's why so many guys say TCI stands for "Turns to Crap Instantly".

If it was coming out of the hole behind the tin cover that is the vent so for some reason it's building up pressure internally. Try checking your trans. cooler and lines for a restriction. that's the only thing off the top of my head that I can think of that'll make it blow fluid out of the vent. If there is no vent problem check for a crack in the case or front pump.

Is the driveshaft front yoke for a 727 or a A518 (over drive trans.)? If it's a Mopar Perf. yoke and was advertised as a A518/727 yoke that may be your problem. They really only fit a A518 good but can be pounded in place in a 727. My guess is they must have changed the spline angle just slightly because the spline count is the same.
 
Are you sure the tranny has the correct amount f fluid in it? Could be as simple as filling it too much..
 
I think I would take it back to the local shop and see if they can give you a preliminary diagnosis for a relatively modest fee. May be something simple they will find without too much work/time.

Maybe not. That really sucks bad.
 
I have tried the fluid level from middle of the safe area to 1 qt below full and it still leaks. as for a tranny cooler line restriction being the cause of my leak, I don't know how this could cause the tranny to leak out a qt of fluid when the car sits overnight. how tight are these front pump bushings supposed to fit anyway? my converter seems fairly snug but does rock around a bit in the bushing.
 
StrokerScamp said:
I will never again buy a trans from a "big outfit". Had some similar experiences years ago with a TCI. So, I learned to do them myself. If you don't want to do that, then my advice is find a small local shop that's been in business a while and let them build you one or fix yours. It's always better to deal with warranty issues face to face if you have to.
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X2, sorry to here your problem.
 
Wow,that sucks man.People should spread the word how crappy these transmissions are so no one else gets burned.I almost went the TCI route and Im very glad I didnt.Have you tried letting the car run and look underneath to see exactly where the leak is coming from?Sometimes its something small.What about the dipstick tube ?Mine was leaking alot from there until I put a new O-ring on it.I noticed you said the torque convertor rocks around,it I dont think it should rock around at all.Maybe fluid is leaking out from the convertor if its rocking around.Hope you can get it fixed.
 
Just something to try......one way to get the fluid RIGHT on the money. Fill it until the trans drops INSTANTLY into drive from neutral. I mean RIGHT NOW. As soon as it'll do that, it's full. I don't give a rat's butt what the dipstick says. Also, you are checking fluid level in neutral, right? Because chacking it in park will result in an overfill condition.
 
supersonictoys said:
I have tried the fluid level from middle of the safe area to 1 qt below full and it still leaks. as for a tranny cooler line restriction being the cause of my leak, I don't know how this could cause the tranny to leak out a qt of fluid when the car sits overnight. how tight are these front pump bushings supposed to fit anyway? my converter seems fairly snug but does rock around a bit in the bushing.
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I mentioned the cooler because you said you started it up and it was coming out of the area you described as the vent. Your right it won't cause it to leak over night but if you started it and blew out a pump seal that could cause it. The converter will have a little clearance to the bushing but it won't rock around much. Also the creeping in neutral happens sometimes when the rebuilder gets the rear clutch pack a little too tight. If it's just slight it'll wear in and be ok. If it's excessive the only fix is to use a thinner selective snap ring on the clutch pack to achieve more clearance. Of course you know that means talking it back apart.

BTW: Until you mentioned taking the converter to the builder I was going to suggest having it pressure tested because I have seen them leak. Do you have another place that can pressure test it to make sure they did that right?
 
Sorry to hear about your tranny issues,I,ve had my share this past summer(alls good now)Have you had the pump checked?Also when filling,have you checked your fluid level in neutral?Does the tranny work when driving?(shifting gears?)Also when installing are you lifting and turning at the same time as you spin and push the converter in?Maybe it is just a simple dipstick tube O-ring leak.Just trying to help.
 
the tranny works fine, shifts perfectly and does most of its leaking now when the car is off and stored overnight. it's definitely coming from inside the bell housing , not the dip stick or anywhere else. think I am going to replace the whole front pump cover and bushing with a new one and reseal everything one more time. if it still leaks its getting tossed i guess and I will just let the car sit, save my money and maybe in the spring I can swing a local rebuild. sucks, what a waster of time and money. TCI will never see a dollar of my money again.
 
I had the same issue with my 904. Once I went to a 3K stall convertor I did not install a big enough trans cooler to handle the extra heat. Once warmed up the car would start puking trans fluid out of the vent hole. I installed a bigger trans cooler and have not had a problem since.
 
Badart, would your tranny leak when sitting over night though? mine will dump a quart on the floor over night. I am just using the stock tranny cooler in the radiator tank but the car runs just 180 degrees once warm.
 
supersonictoys said:
Badart, would your tranny leak when sitting over night though? mine will dump a quart on the floor over night. I am just using the stock tranny cooler in the radiator tank but the car runs just 180 degrees once warm.
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Mine did the same thing and my car never got hot either. I would be willing to bet that is the problem. I would have a huge puddle after parking the car. There was a couple of times while driving the car hard, It would boil over and I had a huge smoke trail behind my car. What is the stall on your converter? Anything over stock needs an external cooler. I just installed the biggest Hayden cooler that they had at Checker, mounted it in front of my radiator and had 0 problem since. If it doesn't cure the problem at least you have the cooling that you need anyway.
 
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