727 Transmission trouble

[69WhiteBee]

Here's one for the Mopar Gods, which I hope can steer me in the right direction.  I recently purchased a 1969 Dodge Charger (not RT), with a 440HP engine and an automatic 727 Tranny.  I purchased the car from an owner in California, so the car is straight (some minor dings), solid and pretty much original, but I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado and the elevation here averages 6500ft above sea level.  Being at that high of an altitude creates problems for cars that were originally from lower levels (e.g. my 79 Camaro Z28 was a Chicago product), and need to have the carb rejetted down and the timing advanced.

When I first drove the Charger, it was rough idling and little pickup, but after changing the oil, plugs, wires, points, cap, rotor, condenser, filters, vacum hoses and carburetor (New Holley Avenger 770), she ran and idled much better. But now my problem....  When I first took her down the road, she shifted through the gears (1,2,D), but way to quickly. So my next move was a drive to the local mechanic who removed my vacum advance hose, plugged up the carb vacum, set the timing for 38 degrees total timing advance and touched up the carb.  Now when I run her down the road, she starts out in drive and stays in drive. I can manually shift her through the gears and she runs out great, but not automatically. 

I can find my way around most engines, but know nothing of transmissions. Being an old Camaro fan (as well as a Charger lover), I was used to pulling the old 350 or 400 th trannys, buy another used one and replace it, but a 727 is a new beast to me and not readily available. I'm at a loss here, please help, is this something that is repairable, adjustable or a simple vacum leak repair?. 

By the way, I did stop to talk to a local Tranny repair shop and of course the reply was a complete rebuild, which I don't mind doing if it is really needed, but I thought I'd ask the experts opinions first.

Thank you,
Bob at a loss...

[1973ChargerSE]

I recently had the same exact problem.  It was caused by some trash getting in the governor of the transmission.  This is what controls the downshifts when you come to a stop, among other functions.  One thing that worked for me was to get the car rolling slowly and turn it off.  If you lightly try to put it in park while moving, it will "ratchet" a little.  The park mechanism and governor are located beside each other, and this will possibly free the governor.  Just be sure not to put her all the way into park and mess things up. 

It's also possible that it will just get stuck again the next time you take off.

Good Luck.

[Silver R/T]

possibly your kickdown linkage needs to be adjusted

[oldkimmer]

sounds as if your kick down linkage needs adjustment.at wide open throttle(with the engine off) check to make sure the linkage is going all the way back......if there is slack adjust so there is just an 1/8in or so slack, u may have to go alittle more or less depending of where u want it to shift at........kim.......happy motoring.........

[John_Kunkel]

Linkage adjustment won't make the car start off in top gear, the problem is a sticky shift valve or a faulty governor.

There is a governor pressure test port in the tailhousing, hook a gauge to the test port and check the pressure with the shifter in Drive and the wheels at a standstill; anything over 2 psi means the governor is faulty, it can be repaired in the car by removing the tailhousing.

If the governor pressure reads less than 2 psi the valve body is the problem, most likely a stuck 2-3 shift valve.

The original short shifting problem was probably caused by the Holley carb lever, you need a special Mopar throttle lever extension (Holley #20-7) to make the throttle pressure linkage work correctly with the Holley.

[TylerCharger69]

That brings me to a question....not trying to hijack....but  what position is the kickdown linkage on the transmission supposed to be in when it is engaged?  Toward the back  or toward the front?

[Ghoste]

At idle, the lever on the transmission is forward and as a load is applied (that is, as the throttle is increased), it is gradually moved towards the rear of the car.

[hotrod98]

I'm finding out the hard way as to the importance of the kickdown linkage being adjusted correctly. I installed a crate 426 with the single 4 barrel and there's no such thing as correct kickdown linkage since chrysler didn't build any of them that way from the factory. I installed a Lokar kickdown setup and adjusted it by holding the throttle all of the way open and then taking all of the slack out of the cable. However, the 2-3 shift is very late and sometimes not at all. I'm assuming that I need to adjust the kickdown back a little until it works properly. The trans is a brand new 727 from TCI along with a new convertor.
Any ideas or suggestions John?

[John_Kunkel]

I'm not a big fan of the Lokar cable, the only way to get it to work correctly is to match the travel of the carb lever with the travel of the trans lever; given the variety of levers that doesn't always happen.

In most cases where the Lokar is adjusted at WOT with the trans lever full back, the results will be predictable, late or no part throttle upshifts. If the cable is adjusted to compensate there will be slack in the cable at idle and lost motion.

The trick is to manipulate the cable attach points on the carb/trans levers so that the trans lever will be full forward at idle and near full back at WOT. There should be no slack in the cable at idle and the trans lever should start to move rearward as soon as the throttle is opened. Adding a light spring to pull the trans lever forward is a good idea.