I think my 727 is fried. Now I'm at a crossroads...

[CudaFactHackJob]

If the fluid got hot and boiled over, it would seem like a blown front seal. Is a cooling line kinked? Drop the pan and look for dark fluid or crud in the oil pan. Worst case; needs a front seal. Pull the valve body and pump out to inspect the foward clutch and direct one too. Leave the clip on the front of the output shaft and don't go any further back. Just the two front drums, pump, and front band. Fix it an put it back together.

 

[Righty Tighty]

If the fluid got hot and boiled over, it would seem like a blown front seal. Is a cooling line kinked? Drop the pan and look for dark fluid or crud in the oil pan. Worst case; needs a front seal. Pull the valve body and pump out to inspect the foward clutch and direct one too. Leave the clip on the front of the output shaft and don't go any further back. Just the two front drums, pump, and front band. Fix it an put it back together.

Funny you mentioned a cooling line, because I slightly repositioned one of the lines yesterday. It was too close to the crank pulley and showing signs of leaking at the radiator. After tightening it and repositioning it, it had a tighter bend than before. Maybe that was it?

 

[67Dart273]

^^SURE COULD^^ be!!! Even if a crimped line is not the problem, it might be something you can fix, like a front pump seal, or bad pump, etc, that you don't even have to get into the trans

My old "white whale" 3/4T had the big gasket/ o ring around the pump fail. Leaked like a sieve, but not bad to fix

Doesn't look like it could leak that bad, but it did

 

[Righty Tighty]

My next question is how do I check the pump to see if it is bad? I'll replace the seal regardless, if I pull the transmission out. I think it makes sense since it's easy and cheap.

 

[abodyjoe]

i'd see if the 727 is a fast easy fix. if its not then i'd put the 4 speed in it..

if you were planning on going 4 speed and have everything then why not do that. no need to built the engine any different.

 

[CudaFactHackJob]

It's easy to check the pump. Just drop the valve body, remove the front band adjuster,struts and the pump bolts, squirt some WD40 around the perimeter of the pump where it meets the housing, screw two 3/8" bolts into the pump holes made just for that, use an angled pry bar under the heads of said bolt and against the housing, pump popped out, place into vise front down, remove 1/2" bolts from back of pump, stator comes off, remove pump gears noting up/down orientation, use a chisel to knock out front seal, check pump bushing at this time, replace if necessary; remembering to "stake" it. Both front drums probably fell out when you removed the pump; the front band as well...Check the inside of the front of the front drum for scoring in the ring ride area, remove clutches and check condition. Remove clutches from forward drum and check. Post pics of clutches. Stay tuned for reassembly...It's a good idea to first pull the input shaft in and out to see how much end play there is; just to get a rough idea..

 

[Dartswinger70]

you might have to adjust idle, you could run the same cam after the swap. For the record im in my 50s,been driving stick cars daily for over 30 years even my little Ford Commuter car is a 5 speed Focus sedan. Stick is always reliable and affordable. But, I dont know is there a reputable 727 guy or reman house?

I would think these cores have been built more than 3 times now maybe there are issues such as stresses aluminum casings etc that just aren't caught during the rebuild.

 

[plumkrazee70]

Not to derail the thread, but I thought you sold all your 4 speed stuff?

Also, Brewers sells a roller bearing that goes into the torque converter register on the crank, so the pilot bushing being drilled is a non issue.

 

[Righty Tighty]

Not to derail the thread, but I thought you sold all your 4 speed stuff?

Also, Brewers sells a roller bearing that goes into the torque converter register on the crank, so the pilot bushing being drilled is a non issue.

I sold my A body 4 speed stuff. Looking to convert my E body to a 4 speed.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Dude. I couldda had the thing out, fixed and back in by now. Twice. Get on it.

 

[plumkrazee70]

I sold my A body 4 speed stuff. Looking to convert my E body to a 4 speed.

Oh gotcha! Well coming from someone who wasn't satisfied with the Auto OD, I am in the process of going 4 speed. They look intimidating, but seriously easy. I tore it apart yesterday evening. Ordered a few more parts and she'll be going back together next week. It does add up though, depending on what you already have.

 

[Righty Tighty]

Dude. I couldda had the thing out, fixed and back in by now. Twice. Get on it.

Trust me, I'd love to be able to tear into it right now, but I've got prior commitments. Helping a good friend fabricate a trailer so he can make some money with his hauling business.

 

[Righty Tighty]

Dude. I couldda had the thing out, fixed and back in by now. Twice. Get on it.

What is the best way to get the transmission out? The last time I did it, I pulled the engine up through the engine bay. It wasn’t too bad, but I’ve heard raising the car off the K member is much easier.

If I can drop only the transmission, I think that would be preferred, but I’ve never done a big block before. I remember the small block had some tough-to-get-to bolts on the bellhousing. Thoughts?

 

[273]

After reading some of the comments in this thread, I think maybe what I was reading previously regarding cam choice may have been in the context of folks building race engines and I didn’t realize it.

If anything a 4 gear is more forgiving to cam choice since you got more gears to choose from and choice of what rpm you take off from.

Where auto you need to match cam and stall and have a wider torque curve cause you got less gears.

And yes lot of the things people go on about are towards more street/strip or race oriented applications.

 

[Divenut]

What is the best way to get the transmission out? The last time I did it, I pulled the engine up through the engine bay. It wasn’t too bad, but I’ve heard raising the car off the K member is much easier.

If I can drop only the transmission, I think that would be preferred, but I’ve never done a big block before. I remember the small block had some tough-to-get-to bolts on the bellhousing. Thoughts?

I supported my 340 with a floor jack and put a block of wood between the firewall and back of the engine block. Jack under trans pan w block of wood, loosen cooling lines, linkage and what not, the pulled the mounting bolts and eased it down. I've since picked up a HF trans jack which made subsequent trans removal/installs much easier.

Pat

 

[CudaFactHackJob]

Pop off the distributor cap, and when you let the tans down in the back, the top bellhousing bolts will be easy with a long extension and u-joint socket.

 

[Righty Tighty]

Luckily, this is a 440, so I won’t have to worry about the distributor cap. I didn’t think about dropping the tail of the trans down to expose the bellhousing bolts, so thanks for that. That’ll make it much easier.

 

[383 833 355]

for low power applications the engine build doesn't really matter. I highly doubt that these engines were perfectly tuned for automatic with X gearing or 4 speed with Y gearing from the factory. They just found a comprise in parts that would work well across the board.
If you are building a race car and you are looking for those extra tenths in 1/4 mile time, then yes you should probably be building out your whole drivetrain at the same time.

Anyone looking for tenths on the strip should use a built automatic. I prefer the manual but automatic is faster

 

[RustyRatRod]

I think it'd even be smart to remove the distributor altogether. Once you get the cross member off, you can lower the transmission and get to all the bellhousing bolts with a long extension and a universal socket.

 

[Righty Tighty]

I think it'd even be smart to remove the distributor altogether. Once you get the cross member off, you can lower the transmission and get to all the bellhousing bolts with a long extension and a universal socket.

Thanks, Rusty. It's a big block, so I won't have to worry about the distributor getting caught up on the firewall.

I start my 4 day weekend today, so I finally have some time to get out to the shop and pull it out. Who knows what I'll see, but I'll keep the thread updated.

Before I trailered it to the shop, I added some fluid so I could drive it onto the trailer. I was pleased to find that the transmission engaged in all gears in a good, solid fashion. I felt safe to take it around the block to see how it shifted. Felt great, just like it did before it puked out all of its fluid and started slipping, and no leaks. So, I dunno what's up with it, but I'm going to drop the trans anyway to have a look and at the VERY least, replace the front seal (possibly the pump/gaskets).

 

[j par]

The last thing you want to do is do all the hard work of taking it out and putting it back in and give someone the easy work of rebuilding it... Rebuild kits only like a little over $100... And rebuilding them is easier than falling out of bed...

 

[j par]

Oh gotcha! Well coming from someone who wasn't satisfied with the Auto OD, I am in the process of going 4 speed. They look intimidating, but seriously easy. I tore it apart yesterday evening. Ordered a few more parts and she'll be going back together next week. It does add up though, depending on what you already have.

View attachment 1715867898

I went ahead and changed to steal shift forks while I was in there..

 

[j par]

Anyone looking for tenths on the strip should use a built automatic. I prefer the manual but automatic is faster

Hogwash...

 

[RustyRatRod]

Thanks, Rusty. It's a big block, so I won't have to worry about the distributor getting caught up on the firewall.

I start my 4 day weekend today, so I finally have some time to get out to the shop and pull it out. Who knows what I'll see, but I'll keep the thread updated.

Before I trailered it to the shop, I added some fluid so I could drive it onto the trailer. I was pleased to find that the transmission engaged in all gears in a good, solid fashion. I felt safe to take it around the block to see how it shifted. Felt great, just like it did before it puked out all of its fluid and started slipping, and no leaks. So, I dunno what's up with it, but I'm going to drop the trans anyway to have a look and at the VERY least, replace the front seal (possibly the pump/gaskets).

Yeah, I missed the big block part. I love engines with the distributor in the front. So convenient.

 

[Righty Tighty]

The last thing you want to do is do all the hard work of taking it out and putting it back in and give someone the easy work of rebuilding it... Rebuild kits only like a little over $100... And rebuilding them is easier than falling out of bed...

When I did the 904, I let the transmission guy do the clutch packs, simply because I was unsure of how to set the clearances. But yeah, everything else was much easier than anticipated. And that’s even considering I was stupid and pulled everything apart with the trans STILL IN THE CAR.

I’m such an idiot.