I was having some idle problems with the Dart a few days ago, so every traffic light I came to was red. I had to put in in nuetral to keep the engine from stalling and was dropping back into L gear at about 2000 RPM or so. Now the transmission will not move in "D" from a stop, but shifts fine manually from L to 2 to 3. Reverse works normally, it even downshifts into 2 and back up to 3 at speed, just not at a stop. I think it is also making a faint whining noise if shifted into D at a stop.
Any ideas if this is a quick fix? I would like to think that since the transmission still actually works that something is just out of adjustment.
I know this is pretty obvious but is the fluid level full...tourque flights are a little weird about that. also gunk in the valve body will do this...if you broke some sludge loose when you had to drop it in gear. New fluid and filter is pretty cheap...and there is always transmedic!
I love A bodies by the way! I have a 74 scamp
Seems like read in a Mopar mag a while back about similar issues with the 727 and an internal shaft losing splines overtime. When I get a chance I'll poke around and see if I can come up with something more concrete.
Mine did that once, I changed the filter and put in some Lucas Save-the-Baby.
You could have messed up the sprag but dobt it unless it was higher then 2000rpm.
KW Trans-X after you change the filter will help.
Is the shifter and kick-down linkage adjusted properly? I’ve seen odd problems with both. I had a plastic bushing break on the shift linkage once that caused some problems with it not wanting to shift properly because the arm on the trans wasn’t in the full Drive position.
If the kick-down linkage isn’t connected or if it is and isn’t adjusted properly it can cause some problems with shifting. It should be adjusted that so it is bottomed out at wide open throttle.
I agree with the other guys that the whining sounds like it’s starving for fluid.
-Rob
I thought someone was going to ask about one of these:
Bringing grassroots to a whole 'nuther level.
OzCop
New Reader
12/29/08 8:41 p.m.
Rob_Mopar wrote:
Is the shifter and kick-down linkage adjusted properly? I’ve seen odd problems with both. I had a plastic bushing break on the shift linkage once that caused some problems with it not wanting to shift properly because the arm on the trans wasn’t in the full Drive position.
If the kick-down linkage isn’t connected or if it is and isn’t adjusted properly it can cause some problems with shifting. It should be adjusted that so it is bottomed out at wide open throttle.
I agree with the other guys that the whining sounds like it’s starving for fluid.
-Rob
Ditto...I owned several A bodies with both 340 and B series engines and 727 trannies. Mal-adjusted kick-down linkage will cause this problem...No guarantee that's the problem in this case, but it's the first place I would look...
Boeing 727 I can help with, but not Dodge Darts, sorry.
There's just a 904 in my Valiant, but my '64 Plymouth FSM "Torqueflite Diagnosis" section agrees. Top suspects are fluid level and linkage adjustments.
Fluid level was checked that morning, linkage was adjusted recently (was upshifting below 4000 RPM at WOT). I'll take another look at the linkage to make sure my lead foot didn't screw it up, but I would think that if that were the case, it wouldn't downshift at highway speed.
The problems began when I did my last nuetral drop, which makes me think they are related. Engine is a barely streetable 383 (idling problems were caused by wire wiggled loose due to lopey cam) so it definately makes enough torque to chew up and spit out all the ford and GM automatics I've dealt with in the past.
psychic_mechanic wrote:
The problems began when I did my last nuetral drop, which makes me think they are related.
Umm, yea. What RPM was it turning when you neutral dropped it? You may have snapped the end of a band off. I bought a car with no reverse once. It was a car I previously owned and installed a rebuilt 904. The guy that had it wouldn't kick it out of high idle (which was set too high) and would just drop it in reverse. One day no more reverse. A fresh band and it was back on the road.
Since the car won't idle in gear, what cam and converter are you running in that 383?
-Rob
It's my brother's project car (I'd like to return it to him in good condition), I think he has something like a 440 six pack cam in it. It usually "idles" OK, but the ballast resistor had worked itself loose to an intermittent open circuit.
It almost made the cut for the challenge, but 383 pistons are expensive. :)
