1971 Dart Swinger

[legopnuematic]

Covered the car up, moved all the tools onto the cart, lifted it up and rolled the 79 frame under the lift and the cab infront.

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Cleaned the bench off. The body shop is closed temporarily and the trans shop is opening up.

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Drip pan nice and clean

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[legopnuematic]

Turned on the phone hotspot and put on a @NickTransmissions Jeep 904 teardown to follow along to

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I also have the 1971 service manual and the ATSG manual ready

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Then the fun began. Hit with the impact, nothin, hit with the torch, nothin, tug on them some more and snap, snap. Have to have the trans mount off to get that little access cover off for the output shaft bearing snap ring. I'll probably set the extension housing up in the mill and drill them out.

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Impact screwdrivered the cover screws off and was able to remove the extension housing.

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Governor removed.

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[legopnuematic]

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Band levers removed

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Drums/gears removed, the sprag is in good shape

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Down to the bare case.

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Pump disassemble and inspection, appears to be in good shape, all clearances on the gerotor are on the low side of spec (low wear)

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[legopnuematic]

I didn't have the tool Nick showed to compress the spring, but I used a couple of bolts and a puller head and worked out well.

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And the smoking gun, torn/deteriorated outer piston seal for the front clutch.

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I got things shut down for the night, brought the case and extension housing home with me to power wash and get a little cleaner. Now to get a list to order parts and begin cleaning/further inspection/prep

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For anybody that dabbles in automatic transmissions, any recommendations on a source for a kit? Any brands/suppliers to avoid? Some better than others? Don't appear to need any hard parts, even the frictions and steels look decent (to my untrained eye), will be replacing them of course.

I plan on going with a "super" style kit, with the bushings and extras, or piece together if that might be a better way to go? Torque converter sources? Just a stock stall is all that's needed here. Valve body kit/work to do other than clean and inspect?

Open ears here.

Once again, super thanks to @NickTransmissions for the excellent content he puts out and the information he shares for the masses.

 

[Goldie Driver]

I guess I missed it, but what was foolish about the seal install ?

Keep up the great work on your projects - most impressive.

 

[legopnuematic]

I guess I missed it, but what was foolish about the seal install ?

Keep up the great work on your projects - most impressive.

The foolish part was installing a new seal before air checking the case and determining it needs a rebuild. Should have done the aircheck immediately after removing the valve body, which I didn't.

So I'll probably end up knocking the new seal out and replace it again to be able to get the case as clean as I'd like it to be.

Thank you for following along on my various journeys. This this new territory for me doing a full rebuild on an automatic transmission.

 

[AuroraGirl]

I didn't have the tool Nick showed to compress the spring, but I used a couple of bolts and a puller head and worked out well.

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And the smoking gun, torn/deteriorated outer piston seal for the front clutch.

You must be registered for see images attach

I got things shut down for the night, brought the case and extension housing home with me to power wash and get a little cleaner. Now to get a list to order parts and begin cleaning/further inspection/prep

You must be registered for see images attach

For anybody that dabbles in automatic transmissions, any recommendations on a source for a kit? Any brands/suppliers to avoid? Some better than others? Don't appear to need any hard parts, even the frictions and steels look decent (to my untrained eye), will be replacing them of course.

I plan on going with a "super" style kit, with the bushings and extras, or piece together if that might be a better way to go? Torque converter sources? Just a stock stall is all that's needed here. Valve body kit/work to do other than clean and inspect?

Open ears here.

Once again, super thanks to @NickTransmissions for the excellent content he puts out and the information he shares for the masses.

are the cooling lines on the car 3/8 or larger?

Not able to help with your needs you asked about but looking good. one thing stock transmissions seemed to share to the 2000s was undersized lines or cooling capacities . if youre keeping a 3 speed non OD, you may not need larger lines. but larger lines have more room to reduce in diameter from gunk/bends/etc without reducing the ability to cool
You should also clean out the lines and cooler because while the failure appears to be the longevity of factory gaskets/o rings from 55 years ago(so, damn!) , it would be good to clean out any gum and varnish that old whale-oil ATF out and make sure nothing plugs up in the future. a inline filter on the return line to the trans (feed if you can do so instead of the return would save the cooler too)

 

[NickTransmissions]

Nice job, @legopnuematic! Glad you found the causes of the unit's failure at the direct clutch...Very common in those transmissions to see compromised lip seals in the front (direct) clutch.

 

[bucket]

@legopnuematic did I ever tell you that you are my hero?

 

[legopnuematic]

are the cooling lines on the car 3/8 or larger?

Not able to help with your needs you asked about but looking good. one thing stock transmissions seemed to share to the 2000s was undersized lines or cooling capacities . if youre keeping a 3 speed non OD, you may not need larger lines. but larger lines have more room to reduce in diameter from gunk/bends/etc without reducing the ability to cool
You should also clean out the lines and cooler because while the failure appears to be the longevity of factory gaskets/o rings from 55 years ago(so, damn!) , it would be good to clean out any gum and varnish that old whale-oil ATF out and make sure nothing plugs up in the future. a inline filter on the return line to the trans (feed if you can do so instead of the return would save the cooler too)

Factory lines are 5/16" od/1/4" id. Puny compared to the stock lines on the 47re in my Ram.

Lines are going to be replaced because I had to cut them, will flush the cooler. I feel like a lot of people neglect to clean/replace those parts when swapping a trans and put themselves right back into the same position they were, or at minimum not helping the new/rebuilt trans out lol.

Thankfully other than the piston seal failure, everything else appears to be in excellent shape (based on my machinist eyes), what was in the pan is what I'd consider normal for 110k miles/55 years old. If it lasts another 55 years after this, I'll be 80 and the car will be 110, I'd be pleased with that.

 

[legopnuematic]

@legopnuematic did I ever tell you that you are my hero?

Aw shucks...

If you keep your nose on the grindstone and work hard everyday, you too can own an old rusty Mopar with no frame rails

But, seriously, I appreciate the kind words.

 

[legopnuematic]

Nice job, @legopnuematic! Glad you found the causes of the unit's failure at the direct clutch...Very common in those transmissions to see compromised lip seals in the front (direct) clutch.

Thank you Nick, I too am glad I found a smoking gun, and even better that it was what I had suspected.

Working on preliminary cleaning and inspection of components, everything has checked out good so far. Pump checked out good, gears checked good, endplay good, drums at the band surfaces are straight.

 

[legopnuematic]

I had taken advantage of the extended parking lot sale at Harbor Freight for 50% off their nitrile gloves. I am not normally a glove person, I really should use them more often, but I don't. Anyways, I figured that doing this type of work they will be a good idea. Not really sure why I was compelled to get three thicknesses of them.

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Cleaning and inspecting. I was a little confused as I took the governor off and found there was not filter, I found out that that wasn't added until 1974

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The bleed hole had some fragment of that failed seal stuck in it, worked it out and flushed it to be sure it was clear.

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Blasted the cross member.

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Other external hardware through the ultrasonic cleaner and then next into the blast cabinet.

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[legopnuematic]

A little flat black as a base/primer coat for the crossmember

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Been staring at the computer going cross-eyed trying to get everything figured out on what parts I need to order. Trying to make sure I do not miss anything. And while the 904 transmissions are generally pretty compatible between years, there are some changes and some are around 1970-1971-1972, making sure I don't choose wrong.

I did pick up the new neutral safety switch I had ordered locally.

 

[HotRodPC]

I once bought a 71 Plymouth Duster 318 V8 Car, which most were 225 crooked 6 cars, and even better, mine had the 8 3/4 in drop out 3rd member rear end FACTORY. The same rear end that came in the 340 cars and most of the 318's still got the same rear end as the crooked 6 cars. I bought it for $100 and all that was wrong with it was a broken crankshaft. It broke right on the throw so the car even ran, just knocked so we thought it was a rod knock. I never did get the funds to get it running, had already bought the 340 heads for the 318 and then made a big move and couldn't take all my cars with me, so I sold the car with the heads for $200 just to get rid of it quick. It looked identical to this one.

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