Rebuilding the trani

[tactransman]

It's too hard to tell.  It's shifting into drive almost immediately, 2thumbs:

That's what burnt it up before.

[ShelbyDogg]

I set my linkage up by putting the shift indicator in neutral, then the tranny into neutral, then adjust the linkage length till the rod just drops into the hole.

RDF, have you checked your linkage at wide open throttle to make sure that it doesn't stick?  Try it with the engine NOT running.

[RDF]

RDF, have you checked your linkage at wide open throttle to make sure that it doesn't stick?  Try it with the engine NOT running.

I tried that, but I think it might have moved on me.  I'll have to get at it tomorrow or the next day and try again.

That's what burnt it up before.

Oh really?  I didn't realize that.  Well I don't have plans on driving it until I fix it. 

Yup, and most Saturdays.

How many guys are at your shop?  Is that you on the webpage cover?

[tactransman]

How many guys are at your shop?  Is that you on the webpage cover?

Me and one other guy, Kory (he removes and replaces them and helps me rebuild). I just hired another guy Friday but he will only be working 1 or 1 1/2 hours a day. (He is still in High School) gonna get him prepared for summer and hopefully when I add on to the shop this spring.


Yup , that's me. with the tranny waiting for my Challenger to get finished.

[RDF]

Ok, so I had the day off again today to try to get the shifting correct.  No matter how I set the linkage, it didn't want to shift correctly.  So I decided to take it to my local trani shop down the street to see if they could give me a hand with the shifting issue.  The just got off the phone with me and said that the valve body is no good.  I can't quite remember what he said exactly, but something about a valve or something not opening correctly and when they moved it manually, the car would shift fine until they came to a stop and tried to take off again, it wouldn't shift correctly.   

He said he has a valve body in stock and they're gonna put it in tomorrow and try it out before telling me how much it is, but TTM, can you give me a ball park figure on what one costs?  I've seen them on the internet from between $50.00 and $300. 

[ShelbyDogg]

Just pull the valve body and see what you did wrong.  The hard part is already done.

[tactransman]

How does it not shift correctly, does it take off in third from a stop,or shifts to quick/too late? Give me more details.

[RDF]

When I first take off, it seems fine.  Shifts 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd.  A little quick, but it seems it could be ok with a little adjusting.  But after taking off, it doesn't down shift when coming to a stop and then taking off again it takes off in 3rd.

[tactransman]

That is not the valve body, that is the governor sticking. Sometimes it will come out of that just by driving it awhile. You need to pull it down to manual low each time you stop if it doesn't on it's own. Do you have the car with you or did you leave it the tranny shop? If you come to a stop and it takes off in third, put your foot to the floor and see if it drops on down to first on it's own, if it does it will probably come out of it by driving it. Another trick is to spin the rear tires a little in pea gravel, it shakes the governor valves and helps to free them up.

[RDF]

It's at the shop, they are going to call me with a price b4 doing anything so I'll get a more exact description from them in the AM.

When I took it over there, I would put it in low, then shift manually until drive b/c I didn't want to ruin the trani like you said in some previous posts.  Once in drive though, I tried to nail it, but it stayed in drive.  I didn't try spinning the tires a little though, maybe I'll give that a whirl if they come back and tell me a high figure I'm not willing to pay. 

[tactransman]

You tried nailing it from a stop and it stayed in third? You need to get the throttle pressure linkage adjusted right before doing anything else to the tranny. That is what the shop should be telling you if they know Mopars!

[RDF]

You tried nailing it from a stop and it stayed in third? You need to get the throttle pressure linkage adjusted right before doing anything else to the tranny. That is what the shop should be telling you if they know Mopars!

No, once I was in drive, I then nailed it and it didn't down-shift, leaving me to believe there was something wrong with the kickdown linkage, which is why I took it there.

[tactransman]

Yes ,the kick down is not tight enough,fix it first , then worry about it not taking off in low. If it takes off in third, you should be able to nail it it before you go a couple of feet and it should drop down to low on it's own.

[RDF]

Ok,  I never got a call from the shop today, so I decided to call at 2:30, once I had a break from work.  Turns out my car was ready, for $435.00!!!      

When I took it into him I signed a form that stated I wanted a written estimate of anything over $200.00.  When I asked him why I didn't get a phone call, all he said was that he could remove the parts and get it to $200.00 but it wouldn't work right.  So I asked him for a break-down of the price.  It turns out that $200.00 or so is my fault; I put the wire from the battery to the starter in wrong and it melted to the headers.    so the kit for that was $68.00 and 1 + 1/2 hour labor, so that came to about $200.00.  I can see that, no big deal.  But he never called me on the price for a new valve body.  He said I drilled the other one wrong.  Maybe, maybe not, I don't know cause I've never done one before, but at any rate it was about another $200.00 for the valve body and the labor to put it in.  But I still argued over the fact that he didn't call.  So the mechanic came out that did it and I asked him if they atleast saved my shift-kit.  He said yes, but it shifted like a mild one, not even 1st to 2nd gear chirps.  He said it banged good from 2nd to 3rd, but no rubber.  I told him all about the kit I bought and how it should do 2nd and 3rd gear.  The owner said to make up for the mistake on not calling, he would make my shift do 2nd and 3rd gear chirps and a front-end alignment for no cost. He also said he would fix the shifting linkage correctly b/c right now there's a heater hose acting as a bushing that goes inside the bracket (that's what I was trying to say in previous posts about being make-shift).

So while I was still pissed but atleast I feel he made some compensation for the error.  The car had some small but ugly 'MacGyver' remedies on it and it's a good feeling knowing they will be fixed.  So overall I will have paid $200 to have a new valve body, bushings, correct linkage and a front-end alignment.  Not too bad overall. 

They will call me tomorrow once it's done and I'll get a post up on it's performance.  The mechanic said it shifted fine though, so that leads me to believe the guts are back in correctly and working good! 

[tactransman]

I wonder how much they would have charged to  R & R and completely rebuild it? You are right,they should have called. I always do when a job is more than was talked about. I wish you were in Missouri so I could have helped you more. I would like to know what hole he says was drilled wrong.