trans question

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1930

1930

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Is there a long tailshaft and short tailshaft 904 trans?

I ask cause I have what I am assuming ( just bought truck minutes ago and its dark now outside ) a long bed ( assuming long tailshaft ) 73 slant truck with a 904 trans that is shot but have a spare short bed ( short tailshaft ) slant truck ( 1983 ) that prob. has a good 904 trans in it that Id like to use.

Never attempted a tailshaft swap, how much of a pain in the butt is that or would I be better off having a drivehshaft lengthened to make up the difference?

EDIT: Yep crawled under there and parts truck tailshaft is approx 15 inches and new truck is approx 18 inches give or take on both
 
No. There is only one length 904. One of your transmissions may be a 727. They also used them behind the /6 in trucks sometimes and their about 3" longer than a 904.

727's are also 1 length in passenger cars and light trucks. The only exception is a motorhome or 1 ton truck 727 that used a short tailshaft and bolt on output yoke
 
I was mistaken then, looking at it now and with the info above I can see that the parts truck has the 904 and the new truck the 727.

Stupid question maybe but I dont suppose its as easy as buying the kit and installing to go thru the bad trans?

Coming up with tools are not an issue for me but maybe there are highly special tools needed? ( that I am sure I do not have ) Maybe there are things to know/look out for that a novice like myself would not know?
 
you will need the junk in your toolbox, a clutch spring compressor, snap ring pliers, a c-clamp to compress the servo pistons, trans lube, a book and the ever popular feeler gauges.
 
Bob pretty well covered it. Torqueflite's are very simple transmissions to rebuild and require very few specialized tools. The clutch pack compressor needed to replace the seals in the front clutch is the only specialized tool. In my early days of rebuilding them I didn't have much for tools so I used 3 sets of c-clamp type vise grips. Not the best way to do it and you have to watch so you don't pinch your fingers if something slips but it worked for me for over 10 yrs. until I built a compressor cage to use with my hydraulic press. I attached a picture of the first home built compressor cage I built to use on 904's. I later made one that's adjustable so I can use it on most any clutch pack but I haven't taken a picture of it yet but the one I posted gives you an idea. Buy yourself a ATSG transmission manual if you don't have a factory service manual. You can find the ATSG manual on E-bay or Amazon for about $15-20. It details step by step rebuilding either a 904 or 727 and is very easy to follow even if you a novice
 

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Thanks, what should I expect to pay someone to re-build the trans if they are not really all that complicated assuming I remove it and take it to them?

I guess I also have this option that someone pointed out to me on the slant forum. http://www.makcotransmissionparts.com/A727.html

Any reason you guys would stay clear of this in the box deal?

Since its behind a slant six are the internals different or all 727 the same? Do I need to narrow down the year of the trans and how would I do that if needed?
 
i bought a new 1977 dodge D-100. club cab. 318 727 short tailhousing. cant remember the wheelbase. but was long. 149 ?
 
1930 said:
Thanks, what should I expect to pay someone to re-build the trans if they are not really all that complicated assuming I remove it and take it to them?

I guess I also have this option that someone pointed out to me on the slant forum. http://www.makcotransmissionparts.com/A727.html

Any reason you guys would stay clear of this in the box deal?

Since its behind a slant six are the internals different or all 727 the same? Do I need to narrow down the year of the trans and how would I do that if needed?
Click to expand...

The area your in has a lot to do with rebuild prices. Rural area's tend to be quite a bit cheaper than big cities. When I was doing them (just stopped 2 yrs. ago due to a back condition) I charged $500-600 for a total rebuild depending on rebuild parts prices that week and whether or not it needed any hard parts. Parts prices have went up a little since I did them so figure an extra $25-35 for that. I've seen guys do it cheaper but they didn't always replace all the bushings and thrust washers and pump gears and some didn't even replace the clutch steel plates. I didn't do it unless I replaced everything and verified clearances. I've seen some places quote as high as $2000 for the same job. Admittedly I never had the overhead that a business does since I did them out of my garage so it's reasonable to expect to pay a business a little more but if they quote you anything over $800-850 I'd walk.

Makco (also called Bulkpart) is where I buy most of my parts and their "Rebuild in a "box" special is a good deal for building a high performance trans. but you don't really need upgraded clutch plates and bands. With the kit price being less than normal I'm not sure you could buy standard replacement parts any cheaper though. For that reason the kit looks decent. I also like to replace the pump gears if there's much wear at all on them and IMO you need a couple "selective" thrust washers to set the total end play with. The washers are dirt cheap at about $2.50 each. The pump gears are also cheap at about $22
 
A very good "look" is the 20 or so videos on Youtube. There may be other ways, but if you get Firefox browser and the "video downloader" add on you can save Youtube (and other streaming) videos

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzJhCBZ1wMY"]Rebuilding 727 torqueflite 600hp part1 - YouTube[/ame]

Also get the book by Munroe:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Torqueflite-A-727-Transmission-Handbook-HP1399/dp/1557883998"]Torqueflite A-727 Transmission Handbook HP1399: How to Rebuild or Modify Chrysler's A-727 Torqueflite for All Applications: Carl Munroe: 9781557883995: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

and the factory manuals have a HUGE amount of info. You can download them here

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=244981

and here, along with other good stuff

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=31

Also at MyMopar is a posting of a bunch of the factory service bulletins, the "MTSC" stuff:

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=117

There's a bunch of pdf documents, and videos. When you display a video on these, you can click on the lower right and take to Youtube, and then download as I said above
 
the best video is the one by ATSG Paul Zank....it is not free...29 bucks...,,,very detailed
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys but I am prob. going to go with a local re-builder that offers a 1 year warranty. He will charge 650 if I bring it to him and 850 if he does start to finish.

Considering I would have 2-3 dollars in parts alone I do not think 650 is a bad price at all. I can only cross my fingers that he does things properly/thoroughly.

Id like to do the work myself but I have other things going on right now and comments like .........thrust washers to set the total end play with.........ect have me thinking I just dont have the time to fight every battle.

Here is the trans in question, just pulled it this A.M Im assuming still that it is a 727.

I see various posts on this forum helping to identify the trans further by some #s on the side and I may look for these. It was removed from my 73 slant six D-100 truck.
 

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That trans has been installed for about a week now. Went out to move the truck yesterday and I noticed a little bit of trans fluid on the driveway.

Crawled under it and can see that there is a very small fluid drip coming out of the bellhousing area. ( dead center bellhousing ) Is it safe to assume thats the front pump seal leaking? Why would it start leaking after nearly a week of driving with no issues.

Its always parked in the same spot on the driveway so up until now its been fine.

I am concerned now over what I am going to get from the trans guy, I removed trans brought it too him and then installed trans. I had no issues whatsoever and I maybe had 3 hours in the entire job.

Converter and the dipstick tube were installed by myself. I filled converter with maybe 4 quarts of fluid and wiped a bit of fluid around converter collar and installed converter. I had no issues.

Converter was an exchanged unit.

I am in the automotive business and I know that no matter what it will be my fault no question cause the shop is there to make money and comebacks are not profitable.

Im not a trans guy per se. My only trans experience over the past 30 years has been removing and installing a handful but again I had no installation issues and I dont feel I should have to suffer on this any more than necessary.

Do these seals ever go bad after this short of a period of time, is it possible that the converter could somehow be leaking?

I would think if the seal has gone bad that whomever made the seal might step up to the plate but even as I type that I know that prob. is never going to happen cause again its never their fault.
 
How the heck did you get 4 qts. of fluid in a torque converter? I've never been able to get even 2 qts. in one and that was a 12" converter. If you filled it up to running over it could have easily spilled in the bellhousing when you installed it.

There's a few other things that can leak other than the front pump seal and considering the bellhousing is pretty much round most of the time it'll run down and drip out from the center. Other possible bellhousing area leaks are the front servo pin plug (should be sealed with pipe sealer), the torque converter (just because it's reman'd doesn't mean it can't leak), the outer O-ring on the front pump and one of the most common causes that people tend to think is a leak coming from the front pump is a leaking dipstick tube. If it leaks it naturally runs down the bellhousing and drips off the bottom center. With clean fluid it's hard to tell sometimes right where it's coming from. Seals do not generally go bad for years until they dry out. Did you lube up the front pump seal and/or the torque converter snout upon installation? If not it'll fry the front pump and can start leaking right away.
 
fishy68 said:
How the heck did you get 4 qts. of fluid in a torque converter? I've never been able to get even 2 qts. in one and that was a 12" converter. If you filled it up to running over it could have easily spilled in the bellhousing when you installed it.

There's a few other things that can leak other than the front pump seal and considering the bellhousing is pretty much round most of the time it'll run down and drip out from the center. Other possible bellhousing area leaks are the front servo pin plug (should be sealed with pipe sealer), the torque converter (just because it's reman'd doesn't mean it can't leak), the outer O-ring on the front pump and one of the most common causes that people tend to think is a leak coming from the front pump is a leaking dipstick tube. If it leaks it naturally runs down the bellhousing and drips off the bottom center. With clean fluid it's hard to tell sometimes right where it's coming from. Seals do not generally go bad for years until they dry out. Did you lube up the front pump seal and/or the torque converter snout upon installation? If not it'll fry the front pump and can start leaking right away.
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The 4 quarts was a guess, I was filling it with a gallon container and thought going from memory that it was about empty after filling the converter.

Ill get things taken care of, thanks for the thoughts
 
1930 said:
The 4 quarts was a guess, I was filling it with a gallon container and thought going from memory that it was about empty after filling the converter.

Ill get things taken care of, thanks for the thoughts
Click to expand...

If your memory is like mine I can see that happening, LOL... Good luck
 
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