727 help needed! 2nd time rebuild in 6 months and still bad!

[hammond472]

I had the 727 in my 67 Coronet rebuilt by a reputable shop and it died in the first 5 miles of driving it so I brought it back to the shop and they performed another full rebuild. The builder told me that a servo had caulked sideways in it's bore and caused the drum to weld itself together. When I got it back it ran but something was still wrong. The car would still lurch forward in park if you revved the engine and shifted so I pulled the pan and checked the linkage and it was adjusted right. Now it engages in gear late even when warmed up , slips in all forward gears, leaks out the front of the torque converter and gets beat by street sweepers and turtles in the quarter mile. The 2nd rebuild left me without a car for 2 weeks and I am unsure that the builder knows what he is doing. Has anyone had a similar issue with a Torqueflite. It is still under warranty but I don't want to give my car up for another 2 weeks for another bad rebuild. To make things worse the local ford guys are giving me a hard time and if I can get my ride running right I will make these Mopar haters eat there words. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for looking

 

[62MAX]

i wouldn't consider the second time around a reputable shop.Tell them you want your money back and go somewhere else.

 

[moparcanuck]

i wouldn't consider the second time around a reputable shop.Tell them you want your money back and go somewhere else.

x2

 

[Art Bee]

If it was creeping forward when not in gear than the forward clutch pack (rear clutch) is too tight, I aim for .030 - .035 clearance when I build them ... and I do a lot of them (727's). So ... now it has slow engagement and seems really soft ... if I read your post correctly. Is the fluid darkening?, does it actually start off in first gear when you move from a dead stop or second? (stuck governor). Is the kick down linkage there and adjusted properly? Sounds like very low line pressure or it's failing again (large clutch pack clearances). The description for the reason of the failure from the builder makes no sense ... a cocked servo (there are three in there) would have a gear application issue or line pressure (accumulator servo), how can either create in drums welding together?. Your trans has been rebuilt by the wrong person ... I wish that we lived closer together and in the same country. Regards Art

 

[Hemi Rebel]

Did they have the car or did you pull the trans and give it to them? Either way, find a new trans guy. When you do let him know exactly what has been done and to it and that they should check the case for damage, specially around the servo and accumulator bores for damage or cracks. Could be a valve body issue too.

 

[bm02tj]

Warrenty should take priority and done within 24 hrs
I had a trany in my GMC cube van done that puked and was redone not just patched by next day

 

[hammond472]

Yes they did have the car and the transmission. I wish I knew what work had been performed. I forgot to add that when you shift into reverse it feels like the emergency brake is on all the way like something is locking up. It did this after the first rebuild but more severe and after the first reverse shift, never had forward movement. Maby in forward and reverse at the same time but I don't know if that is even possible. I haven't been able to find a book locally on Torqueflites to figure out how 727's work. All of the speed shops have gone out of business and this area is flooded with tons of Ford parts and probably every single %*^#$%@&^ Chev part ever made and all available over the counter but getting Mopar parts around here is like looking for space shuttle parts at garage sales but harder because NASA had a garage sale and was selling Appollo/Saturn mobile launch platforms. Minus fluids, spark plugs or a battery every Mopar part is a special order part. Oh the stupid things we do for love and yes we still love our Coronet! Maby my next car will be invisible so we can never find parts!

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Not that I can help you any except to go find another shop. I have put 727s through stupid abuse, when these where used cars and I was a lot younger but never got a trans to do what your describing, I have even rebuilt a couple and there are both still working and I would not consider myself a expert by any sense.

 

[Art Bee]

When you put it in reverse the rear band applies and the direct (front) clutch applies. After that you had no forward drive ... so if the low/reverse servo was cocked in its bore, then the rear band would have been applied (like as if the trans was shifted into manual 1st) and the forward (rear) clutch pack should have been applied too ... but most likely wasn't or the over running sprague wasn't holding. I just don't understand his explanation to you that something was welded together. It's hard to figure out exactly what's going on inside without tearing into it ... and I'd love to see what has gone wrong with this one. You should find a used one and stuff it in the car and then ship this one up to Bonners Ferry Idaho and I can pick it up there (I actually live a few miles from the Border in British Columbia) and go through it for cheap just to help you out. Do you mind telling us what it cost for the rebuild and R&R? ... Art

Oh and great description on the Mopar parts/garage sale/NASA scenario ... I'm still laughing.

 

[Moparsmitty]

You said that you were unsure that the builder knew what he was doing? I'm pretty sure that he doesn't know what the hell he's doing! There's nothing mysterious or really overly complicated about a 727 (or most older automatics for that matter). I'd demand my money back and take it to a shop recommended by the old timers in your local Mopar club if there's one in your area. If not, go to the local NAPA part store and ask the oldest counterman in there to recommend a trans shop. These guys hear everything about these places, good and bad, and have no reason to steer you wrong.

 

[67 coronet]

You said that you were unsure that the builder knew what he was doing? I'm pretty sure that he doesn't know what the hell he's doing! There's nothing mysterious or really overly complicated about a 727 (or most older automatics for that matter). I'd demand my money back and take it to a shop recommended by the old timers in your local Mopar club if there's one in your area. If not, go to the local NAPA part store and ask the oldest counterman in there to recommend a trans shop. These guys hear everything about these places, good and bad, and have no reason to steer you wrong.

smitty hit the nail on the head.these old trans are pretty damm simple compared to the electronic ones.hope you can get your money back.they are prob using a super cheepo rebuild kit as well.many of those will fail right out of the box.do some more research in your area and find a better shop.

 

[Art Bee]

Again on the Smitty. They are not hard to rebuild at all (neither are TH400's/350's/C6's/C4's etc) ... although there are some tricks and combinations of parts here and there that make them work better than the average stock rebuild. Go back to the shop and demand your money back.

 

[hammond472]

opening it up today and doesn't look good.



Two bad rebuilds and $1322.90 later.

 

[Art Bee]

She's making metal ... can't tell by the picture, but what does the fluid look and smell like? I restore Mopars for a living and work for a high end shop, I do a lot of 727's (four in my shop as I type this). All the ones I do are already removed from the car and I install them when the car goes back together. My "on the bench" price for rebuilds/alumi-blast paint finish and less torque converter is $675 ... when I have to bead blast the case/re-stamp/detail of all fasteners (and make sure the case is perfectly clean inside - this takes a lot of time) I then charge $1000.

 

[451Mopar]

Is this some well known transmission shop, or just a repair shop? 727's are really simple, but everything needs to be inspected before assembly, and then assembled correctly. I had problems with a repair shop doing a trans for me. I think they just threw new clutch packs in it, and never inspected the seals and bushings?

 

[SwedCharger67]

No, that doesn't look good, looks similar to what I had in my 727.

In my 727 they had assembled it without the thrustwasher between input and output shafts, causing steel to grind on steel. The steel fragments mixed with oil caused the sprag inner race to grind a fairly deep track in the 727 alu-case, making a repair kit and machining of the case necessary.

I can't agree on the 727 being simple, in my mind it's a fairly complex design when you look at the details. That said, I still think you can repair it yourself if you have the time and interest. I do all work myself, and it's very interesting, but time consuming...

 

[69a100]

I had the 727 in my 67 Coronet rebuilt by a reputable shop and it died in the first 5 miles of driving it so I brought it back to the shop and they performed another full rebuild. When I got it back it ran but something was still wrong. The 2nd rebuild left me without a car for 2 weeks and I am unsure that the builder knows what he is doing.[\B] Any help would be appreciated.

Died in 5 miles of driving? Not really a reputable shop if I do say so myself. Left you wheel less for 2 weeks? How were you compensated for this, rental car, large discount to repair costs, etc.??? Are they a member of your local Chamber of Commerence? I'd be filing a complaint with them and the BBB even if they aren't a member. I can't help you get it fixed, but I will tell you that you need to get better info on shops and their so call reputation before doing biz with them. This would really be frosting my shorts if I were you.

 

[hammond472]

She is back in the shop. I will post results of the third rebuild. I will test this one better with a few nice hard drives. The rebuild will either hold or die really quickly. If it holds great or I will buy a TCI super street fighter transmission and rebuild this one as a backup. I don't want to bad mouth the shop. The owner was nice, stayed late to wait for the tow truck and will stand by his work. I could have taken a loaner car but it's not a MOPAR we prefer no car!

 

[Hemi Rebel]

Is that anti freeze in the trans pan? The fluid looks green.

 

[hammond472]

Nope it is the right metalic burned red for a bad 727. The car has a trans cooler and does not go through the radiator. I am not a big fan of mixed fluids so I deleted the mixing possability as an extra precaution.