need quick advice *updated*

[Kali]

background: 727 was rebuilt professionally, i did the R&R. came with a 12,000 mile/1 year warranty on rebuild. was doing fine for weeks until 1 day on the highway it acted up and ever since it shifts very poorly when its cold, and in reverse it started making a wierd grinding/rubbing noise.

i took it back to the tranny shop and they are telling me that my problem is the governor valve/gear in the tranny to t-case adapter housing must have gunk in it. They claim that is not part of a transmission rebuild and they never touched it during the rebuild (the adapter housing was on the tranny when I gave it to them to rebuild). They also say part of the problem is a leaking t-case (which it is--pretty badly, but only after the rebuild. It sat fluid-less for too long I suppose). The grinding noise in reverse was the inspection cover hitting the flywheel (which doesnt surprise me, but it never did it until after the highway incident...).

They are quoting me $312 to take the t-case out and replace all the necessary seals and to get into the adapter housing. Then on top of that the cost of whatever the new governor valve/gear would cost (estimated 40 bucks tops). This includes putting it all back together.

Are these guys being honest? Fair on price?
I would assume anything necessary to make a shift (governor dohicky) is part of a transmission rebuild. No?

I think the smartest thing to do would be to pick up the truck, rebuild the t-case on my own (for about the same cost as them doing just the seals) and then bring it back down to have the governor thing fixed. Or go to a different shop entirely.

What should I do?

[joe]

Smells like AAMCO to me.... :(

[Kali]

nope, small 2 man operation.

[J4GRAND]

Did you get the TV linkage hooked up properly? It sounds as if it may need a readjustment.

i took it back to the tranny shop and they are telling me that my problem is the governor valve/gear in the tranny to t-case adapter housing must have gunk in it
I am not aware of any valve in the adapter; this shop seems to be fishing for a little extra $$$ on the deal.

[Kali]

When I did the reinstallation I adjusted it to factory settings--use a spring to pull the throttle arm forward and then tighten the linkage and remove the spring.

The first time I took it back to them they told me to re-adjust the linkage. They concluded from the test drive that it shifted fine (which it does, for the most part when its warm), but the downshift was too late. So I moved the throttle arm back a little bit and retightened linkage to make it "come on more quickly" as he said. It made the shifts even more prolonged, but it downshifted quicker. So I ended up putting it back to the factory setup.

Admittedly I do have the linkage 'jimmy rigged' onto the throttle arm. When I took it apart I noted that it was held together with duck tape--there was no rubber washer to pop the linkage into. I tried stealing one off of another 727 but it disintegrated. I called around to the local parts stores and no one seemed to be able to come up with anything. So the linkage is tied to the throttle arm. But there is no slack when you move the linkage forward and back, and its still in one piece so I fail to see that as being the cause of a problem-- only a potential problem.

[Kali]

They say there is something in the governor that is potentially clogged or not working right. He mentioned a valve and a gear in the governor that is the assumed culprit for the poor shifting when cold.

[jeeping1974]

all that should have been taken out and cleaned when they rebuilt it. i'm sorry that i recommended them kali. they did a great job on my tranny, i don't know why this is happening with yours.

[andy d]

until you get a properly working linkage set up, you cant really fault the rebuild.

[gsmikie]

it sounds like a kick down problem then a band adjustment if the gov was bad it would not shift into 3rd reverse would be fine the gov has sealing rings on it and a spring weight you would have to push the weight in and cock it to throw it out of place if one of the sealing rings is messed up it will be from installing the output shaft in the rebuild .............but it looks like they are waiting for you to remove the transfer case and try to fix it so that that they can say it voided the warrenty when you worked on it the gov can be worked with the tail shaft housing removed but the sealing rings require the trans to be dismantled to remove the tail shafrt

[FSJ Guy]

To me, a rebuild is just that. EVERYTHING gets inspected and replaced/re-adjusted if required. With the VERY LITTLE that I know about auto trannies, I'd think that the governor is PART of the transmission. And even if it's not, why didn't they check it and TELL YOU that it would be extra to repair/replace?

I think they're selling you a line of BS.

First, ask if there's something you can work out. You pay for parts, they pay for the labor.

If you're not happy with that, try your local BBB.

If that doesn't work, go to small claims court. Many times you can sue for treble damages (3x the actual amount of damage). Then, take that $$$ and have it repaired at a different place.

Good luck.

[Kali]

gsmikie-- i think they are blaming the gov because the very first shift of the day (cold) it will NOT go into 3rd gear for a mile or two down the road. Then after that the shifts get progressively better until its and warm and I have no trouble at all with shifts. At that point, the problem is the torque converter doesnt lock up properly. If its a hard shift it will lock up simultaneously with the 2-3 shift, but if its a slow acceleration it wont lock up until I give it a little extra gas after already being in 3rd. Kickdown in the truck has always sucked, you have to almost floor it, but I always just attributed it to 4.10 gears and 31s.
Like I said, there were no shifting problems before the highway incident, everything worked as it should have. This includes the linkage not being *attached* like factory and the t-case leaking like a bastard. The linkage works properly, it just doesnt look all that spectacular.

If this thing didnt work right from the beginning I would admit to a poor install... but I put nearly 300 miles on it before it had problems.

[jeeping1974]

i would ask them why they didn't do anything about the gov. switch when they did the rebuild. i know that when we put everything back in there was no problems. if there was it would have come up right off the bat.

[Kali]

I just got back from the shop.

The owner insisted that the leaking transfer case is the main problem. He claims the fluid from the t-case is running back up into the adapter housing and is the most likely cause for the governor malfunction. Even said they should probably void the warranty on the tranny rebuild! They barely even mentioned the kickdown linkage as they said it works but isnt recommended.

Pretty much all they wanted to discuss was the leaking transfer case and whether or not I wanted them to fix it. :rolleyes:

I must say, though, the drive home brought an unexpected change... the shaking/shudder that I was attributing to warn out engine mounts is completely gone. And the transmission was shifting much better. They did drop the pan and refill with fluid, so Im going to call and see what fluid they used because it seems to have made a positive difference. Honestly I felt like I was driving a different truck today. It was such a drastic change that it makes me think they fixed something and didnt tell me about it. The real test will be tomorrow morning when I take it for yet another cold test drive...


1 question. The first time I took it down there for a test drive one of the guys mentioned that some of the junk from one of the coolers may have stuck in there even after the flush and might have now broken free with the hot tranny fluid rushing by it. Is it possible that my problem is entirely that some junk is blocking the flow of fluid in and around the governor? Would a tranny flush be worth the money, or is it more of a shot in the dark to hope it knocks the junk free?