727 will not up shift?

[suburbanfireman]

Finally got the charger to move under its own power. I installed a B&M mega shifter (ratchet type) and ran the new cable. I adjusted everything to work properly - neutral safety works. Backed the car out do garage. Drove out of the driveway without a problem. Tried to drive down the road, but the car would not come out of 1st gear - even though I shifted it manually. Backed up to driveway without a problem. It's a new tranny - do I need the kick down linkage for a manual valve body?  Naturally I have problems on a Saturday night - no one at transmission shop until Monday. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

[myk]

I'm pretty sure you don't need the kickdown linkage for a manual valve body. Don't worry-transmission savy people will chime in shortly...

[suburbanfireman]

I'm going to add to this dilemma.  I decided to check transmission fluid (in neutral) when car warmed up. The dipstick scalded my hand!!!  It was a quart low, but I can't imagine that low fluid would create that much heat. I do have unwrapped headers on the car - is this normal???    I'm starting to worry that I may have damaged a brand new transmission.  I looked at the paperwork and it said "replaced valve body" so it is possible that it is not manual shift as I stated in my earlier post. Any opinions / input would be much appreciated.

[John_Kunkel]

What makes you think it's a manual VB? If it were full manual it would take off in what ever gear you placed it in i.e. if you put the shifter in 2 it should take off in second gear ditto 3rd. If you place the shifter in 2 or 3 and it takes off in 1st chances are it's a not a manual VB.

Best to check with the builder to find out exactly what's in it.

Running it a quart low for a short time won't cause any harm.

[suburbanfireman]

Hello Mr. Kunkel - thank you for responding.  I've been reading your responses to others (using the search box on this site) and you are the 727 guru!   

With 1 wife, 2 jobs, 3 kids + online college classes - I hate to admit that my "new" transmission sat in my garage for almost 2 years before I finally installed it.  I honestly cannot remember what I discussed with the transmission builder.  He is very reputable (Burt Brown Racing Transmissions in Ashtabula, Ohio) and therefore very busy - I'm pretty sure he will not remember the details of my rebuild.  I've recently misplaced the paperwork, so I do not even know my stall speed or have documentation of what was done during the tranny rebuild.  My charger was a complete basket case when I bought it, and the transmission grenaded as I backed it off the trailer the day I brought it home.  I'm almost positive that the paperwork listed a manual VB, but I guess I'm wrong.  I confirmed that the shift lever is moving on the transmission when I ratchet shift the lever - but nothing happens when I'm driving.  It has reverse, park, neutral, and 1st gear only.  I guess my next step will be to order a kick down cable kit tomorrow.  At this point, what is another $145??  Anyone had good luck with the Bouchillon Performance kick down cable kit?

[fy469rtse]

Yes cable set up easy to fit , just done mine not long ago,
Hardest parts were, getting cable to pull on the right angle at carby , bit of mucking around ,
Second was the right amount of trans kick down lever compared to carburettor throttle movement ,
I had to drill a hole in from original hole mount to correct this , made it harder that I was working on ramps and not on a hoist, side note once you get it right , put a light spring on kick down arm to ensure lever returns properly when throttle not engaged

[John_Kunkel]

It has reverse, park, neutral, and 1st gear only.  I guess my next step will be to order a kick down cable kit tomorrow. 

The absence of KD linkage or cable has nothing to do with it not shifting, in fact, the absence should make it shift sooner IF it's a fully automatic VB.

Is there a top (KD) lever on the trans? If not, place a Crescent wrench on the flat of the exposed shaft and turn the wrench to the rear; at first there should be little spring resistance as the wrench moves to the rear but the spring resistance should increase as you move rearward until it hits a firm stop. If it operates this way you have a fully auto VB.

If, however, the initial movement of the lever/wrench finds no spring resistance except possibly some very firm resistance at the end of its travel you likely have a manual VB in which case it should take off in whatever gear it's placed in as I described above.

Determine what you have before spending money on possibly unnecessary parts.

[suburbanfireman]

Thank you John.  I just got home from work this morning.  I will check it out as you described this afternoon - I need to sleep for a few hours.  Hopefully I will post good news tonight. 

[suburbanfireman]

Here's the update. I installed bouchillon performance trans cable, brackets, etc. I do have an automatic VB checking it as John Kunkel described. Still will not up shift from 1st gear!!!  The tranny gets so hot that I cannot hold the dipstick with my bare hand. I'm guessing it's toast???  I'm out of ideas. Oh yeah, it pukes expensive blue tranny fluid when hot.   

[b5blue]

  So my 727 just went through getting the reverse servo stuck. It felt fine in reverse and first but D and 2nd I was getting what's called "engine bind"....it felt like the emergency brake was being put on tighter and tighter as the car moved forward just a little. 
  Yours just stays in 1st no matter in 3-2 or 1? 

[John_Kunkel]

Since it's been verified that it has a auto VB the next thing to check is the governor pressure; in Drive with the rear wheels free to turn the governor pressure should be about 1 psi per 1 mph. In your case the pressure might be zero which points to a faulty governor.

[flyinlow]

It,s not unusual for the filler tube and dipstick to get too hot to hold with bare hands if it is near a header tube. My trans. fluid runs 150-180* F. after about 30 minutes or more of diving in warm weather. (sensor in pan)  Buy a laser thermometer at Harbor Freight and check the pan temp.

[ACUDANUT]

It has reverse, park, neutral, and 1st gear only.  I guess my next step will be to order a kick down cable kit tomorrow. 

The absence of KD linkage or cable has nothing to do with it not shifting, in fact, the absence should make it shift sooner IF it's a fully automatic VB.

Is there a top (KD) lever on the trans? If not, place a Crescent wrench on the flat of the exposed shaft and turn the wrench to the rear; at first there should be little spring resistance as the wrench moves to the rear but the spring resistance should increase as you move rearward until it hits a firm stop. If it operates this way you have a fully auto VB.

If, however, the initial movement of the lever/wrench finds no spring resistance except possibly some very firm resistance at the end of its travel you likely have a manual VB in which case it should take off in whatever gear it's placed in as I described above.


I disagree. Also, without the kick down linkage hooked up, you will fry that transmission up.
Determine what you have before spending money on possibly unnecessary parts.

[John_Kunkel]

Without TP linkage you won't burn the trans up doing initial drives around the neighborhood...it takes time and hard use to damage a trans.

[HANDM]

Was having the same trouble, The valve body and governor were gummed up and stick
Here's my thread on it

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,81432.msg914917.html#msg914917

[flyinlow]

You said the trans. is spitting up fluid?  Out the filler tube? How long have you operated the car for this to happen?

How high RPM wise have you driven in Drive with the trans. still staying in first gear?  ......If the throttle lever was stuck in the WOT position you would have to rev the engine close to max rpm to get it to shift into second. If you don't have a tach you might need to go 40-50 MPH to get it to shift.

[RECHRGD]

Most likely too simplistic for your problem, but check your shifter cable.  I ditched my Mega shifter after years of burned cables due to not being able to run it far enough away from the headers.  Once to outer covering of the stock B&M cable is compromised, all kinds of shifting problems can happen.  After my initial installation, that puppy melted after a few minutes of just idling in place.....

[suburbanfireman]

Thank you all for the tips. Here's what I've figured so far.  I think that the fluid "burped" an air pocket during initial test drive. It seems to have found its correct level now. I guess the breather is in the bell housing?  To answer questions - I did get pissed and ran it to about 40 mph to see if it would shift. With 4.56 gears it definitely had enough rpm!  My transmission guy claims that the trans will get hot with a 3000 stall convertor at idle. He said it is normal?? I just dropped the car off at the transmission shop today. He thinks I have a bad valve body. He said he reworked my original valve body and installed a shift kit.  I had the tranny out of the car at the time, so he told me that he could not test it. We will see how it goes......
Oh yeah - the starter decided to grind itself to death in his parking lot, so I get to have that replaced too!  I asked him to put a 5.7 hemi starter in it - it fits & I've done it before on my uncles race cars. He called me when I got home to say that it won't work. When does this become an enjoyable hobby???

[RECHRGD]

I'm no expert, but my converter stalls around 3,300 rpm and the tranny never heats up, especially at idle.  It's a Turbo Action tight 10".  As I recall, there is a wiring terminal strip that needs to be removed on that starter in order to make it fit.  It was no big deal....

[suburbanfireman]

Update - RECHRGD might be the winner. Shop called today. Starter is in, but it is pouring rain - so he couldn't test drive it. He did run it on the lift and it never leaked a drop. He also told me that the shifter cable is melted a little bit. He said that the shifter would not move all the way through the gears because it was out of adjustment. (I adjusted it 3 times before I dropped it off. It seemed to be out of adjustment every time I checked it.). He will test drive it tomorrow - hopefully things are cool now.
PS - transmission guy told me to ditch the B&M shifter for a hurst pro-magic. He said he will adjust it for free after I install it.

Thanks to everyone for the input - I've learned a ton from this website.

[RECHRGD]

When I tossed the B&M, I got the turbo action shifter.  The cable for it enters the tranny from the rear and is a great shifter.

[ACUDANUT]

I disagree. Also, without the kick down linkage hooked up, you will fry that transmission up.
Determine what you have before spending money on possibly unnecessary parts

[suburbanfireman]

It does have lockdown linkage now. I ended up buying the BRE kickdown kit and installed it. That is when I found out the throttle cable is too short for the kick down kit. Now I have a new throttle cable too. Summit racing should take back the b&m shifter and exchange for another. They are 30 minutes from my home.