1977 Plymouth Fury Transmission Problems

[magicalninja1981]

Ok, I just got a 1977 plymouth fury with a 318 engine for free... lol. Anyways, the frame is super solid, interior is pretty good, top/front/back are all in great condition. I just need to get some panel and door skins for it. The engine runs like a watch and looks pretty nice. Needs a bit of a tune up but nothing major.

My problem is the tranny. The friend that gave the car to me said that it was leaking fluid out the last time he drove the car. It didn't just stop though. He was able to drive into a parking lot where the car then stopped moving. (Act of God obviously) Ok, the funny thing was he is really lazy... never checked the fluid levels. I got the beast back here and began tinkering around with it, I can usually wiz through newer front wheel cars but have zippo experience with old rear wheel cars.
*The tranny fluis is full... above full.
*The power steering resivoir was BONE DRY!!
*Oil is dirty as sin but a little too full
I noticed a small pipe going from the power steering resivoir back around to the tranny... it looks like it goes to the tranny.

Q1 Does the power steering fluid have something to do with the tranny working? The pump/resivoir do look a little rough.

Tinkering around with the shifter (the car is automatic) I noticed that it didn't seem to have the locking into gear feeling. You can only feel it when you get into 1 and 2 gears. P R N OD all seem to have an abnormally smooth shift, like they won't lock into gear.
Aside from the linkage comming from the shifter going to the tranny there is like a black cable or tube comming out above the linkage bar. The black tube/cable goes down to about the midst of the tranny on the bottom closest to the drivers side... I have someone shift the car after I noticed movement comming from that. It does nothing until you shift to 2 and 1 gears...

Q2 What the heck is this cable and could it be the reason for my tranny not working?

Hmm... nothing else about the tranny, Does anyone know where to get quater panel and door skins for it? If not, I'm going to just go and buy some metal to customize it.

Again, thank you all for taking the time to read over this. Hopefully someone will know what's going on with my new baby.

[magicalninja1981]

Well, I started working on it a bit more... I replaced the gasket and cleaned the pan at the bottom of the tranny. I also put in a new filter. There was a black film at the bottom of the tranny and under that was a thin gray film. When I took the filter off there were a couple black, silver, and copper flakes on it... I think I might as well plan on rebuilding the transmission... right?

The shifting is a little better now though, I also took that black cable out. I think it maybe to a rpm guage even though it doesn't have one. I am prolly wrong about that though. It is held in by one bolt and a metal clamp. On the inside of the tranny the black cable attaches to a small plactic gear. It didn't seem to have anything wrong with it.

A guy told me that I should change the bands out of the transmission, is that possible to do without dropping the tranny? I mean I can drop the tranny, doesn't look too hard but I would like to avoind as much time and pain as possible. Crawlin under this thing sucks with 2 ruptured discs in my back... I would have gladly taken it in to a repair shop if gas prices were not taking all my money already.

Hey... the engine runs great but could it be possible that the horribly filthy oil could be contributing to my car not engaging into gear? Never heard of that but maybe...

My only other choice would be to sell it as a parts car. I really don't want to but i was thinkin the price being the same as the engine size... i'd rather fix it though.

[MagicRat]

Aha.......the fine Chrysler Torqueflite 904 transmission.
This transmission is usually as reliable as dirt.
Some black/grey debris in the pan is normal, and does not indicate the need for a trans rebuild.

Usually, the fluid and filter change, as you did, repairs problems with older transmissions about half the time, so that was an excellent first step.

Origionally, most transmissions come with a magnet stuck to the inside of the pan, a round disk, about 1/16 inch thick, and 2 inches across. Some of that debris is magnetic, so the magnet helps catch it. If you do not have one in there, do not worry, your trans will work fine. Just put one in if you plan to drive the car for the next few years.

Your PS fluid has nothing to do with your transmission.

The tube you disconnected sounds like the throttle position cable.
If you removed it that easily, the cable may be broken. If this is missing, the transmission will upshift at little more than an idle........you will find yourself in third gear at 15 mph, regardless of how hard you step on the gas.
This makes the car feel very sluggish and slow, as if the trans is slipping.

Or it might be your speedometer cable. If it is, put it back.

Also, your gear shift linkage needs adjustment.
Likely what you see as 1 and 2 is actually Reverse and Neutral. That free movemet you feel in all the other 'gears' is likely a loose adjuster clamp sliding back and forth on the shifter rod. It should not do this.

If you have someone move the lever when you are underneath the car, you should see an adjuster bolt and clamp. You can loosen the bolt and move the clamp along the shaft until you feel the normal shifter detents on all the shift lever's gear positions . You will have to do some trial and error to get it set up right, but its not tough to do.

As for changing the bands, forget it. That requires a full trans rebuild with the trans removed from the car, and IMHO likely is not necessary.