727/Griner/SCS shifter problem

[john.thompson068]

I have a 727 with a Griner full manual reverse valvebody and a Turbo Action Super Competition Shifter. The shifter was adjusted in third and the U-bolt which holds the cable to the transmission bracket has a slight bit of movement. The shifter lines up the cable perfectly with all transmission selections except for Park. The cable leaves the transmission level stuck halfway between Reverse and Park. This leaves me having to start my car in Neutral, and then put it in Park. Any ideas why this is happening, or how to fix it?

 

[john.thompson068]

:thinker: I just thought of something else. I can put the transmission in Park, then take out the cable from the transmission lever, and the lever pops into Reverse. However, when I manually pull the lever back into Park, the cable fits perfectly into the hole in the transmission shift lever.

 

[moparbob498]

have you tried a different length lever..and or curved shorter one..? its what i had to do with my Griner valve body---and very old style cheetah shifter...just a thought

 

[john.thompson068]

have you tried a different length lever..and or curved shorter one..? its what i had to do with my Griner valve body---and very old style cheetah shifter...just a thought

So you had this same issue? Where could I get different shift levers?

 

[moparbob498]

i actually had a brand new Hurst Pro-Matic shifter in my closet- i bought it for my dads duster (some one tried to steal his car & they couldnt figure out how to get the car outta reverse (we were at the drive in by the way)---and when we got home the duster was in the middle of the alley side-ways--Thank God..!--maybe google B&M shifters or Hurst and see if they sell replacement shift levers
good luck..
Bob

 

[moparmarkk]

i had the same problem,turbo valve body and shifter.i had the wrong park rod in my trany.there are only two kinds so if you have a few just change to a different one,worked for me,mark

 

[moparbob498]

yah the 904 tranz has a shorter park rod..didn't know you could interchange them though..?

 

[john.thompson068]

yah the 904 tranz has a shorter park rod..didn't know you could interchange them though..?

Okay, so it sounds like it may be the park rod. There are only two different types, and one is from the 727 and the other from a 904? Is there more than one type of park rod for a 727, or did I somehow get a transmission with a park rod from the 904?

 

[moparbob498]

im not sure if all 904 transmissions have a short park rod,.but this was a lock up type 904....but i know it was shorter than a 727 park rod..? some one else with more auto trans tech might chime in....hopefully

 

[john.thompson068]

I am now in the process of calling Griner's shop in Indiana to ask him about this annoying problem so I will post whatever he tells me whenever I get an answer.

 

[moparmarkk]

when i called turbo action,they told me the 727 has two different park rods,he said mopar changed in 69,any way i put in the different rod and it works,mark

 

[john.thompson068]

when i called turbo action,they told me the 727 has two different park rods,he said mopar changed in 69,any way i put in the different rod and it works,mark

Where did you get the other park rod? After a few hours of testing changes to the carburetor tonight, I would say that about half of the time it would start in park. If not, I just put it in neutral. I need to find out more about the park rod and how to install it then.

 

[john.thompson068]

Just talked to Steve, I guess, I never asked, and he said the only thing he can think of is that there is a spring on the end of the park rod that might be keeping the paw from slipping all the way in. Anyway, I can call back tomorrow and talk to Kieth.

 

[john.thompson068]

Kieth says the problem he had when he had the 904 park rod in a 727 was that the car was almost impossible to get out of park. A member of a different Mopar website also had the same problem. I still would like to call Turbo Action and ask them what there experience has been with this problem. On the plus side, a member here as offered to help me out with the process, and I remembered I have a 727 park rod which I took from my old transmission years ago along with the valve body which had been modified with a good shift kit. I verified that the extra park rod I have is in fact a 727 rod. Kieth also said it could be the switch. If I slam the shifter into park and or shake it around the car will start in park. Keith thinks it may be the switch in the transmission. So I also need to take a look at the switch to make sure it is in as tight as it needs to be. Anyway, I'll let you guys know what happens.

 

[john.thompson068]

I think I have this all figured out. While working on the car this weekend, I tightened the neutral/park safety switch into the transmission like 3/16 of a turn more because that was all the room I had to turn the wrench. Well, I had noticed that when things got really warmed up and hot, the car would start in park. After tightening the switch just that little bit, the car would start in park after just warming up for a little bit. So I believe that I just need to tighten the switch up a little more. And what has been happening is that as the transmission heats up, everything has been expanding and allowing for the contact to be made. It is already very tight, but the switch had a large metal gasket that was bowl shaped around the edges and slipped over the switch. I think that I could crush that metal gasket a little more without stripping the threads on anything. Then I should be able to start in park even when cold.

 

[john.thompson068]

Good news! It had nothing to do with the tightness of the neutral safety switch. Unfortunately, I discovered this after having spent 12 dollars and a deep 1 1/8. The switch is now tightened to the proper 24 ft lbs. The solution was simple. I simply loosened the lock nut on the end of the cable, then screwed the connector on the end of the cable in one turn. What this did, was allow for the shifter arm to move a couple thousands of an inch further. Just far enough to make contact with the pick up on the neutral safety switch.

The shifter requires adjusting the cable in 3rd gear. But with this adjustment the shifter lever could not go far enough into park to engage the switch. If I pulled out the shifter cable from the shifter arm the arm would go back a tiny bit more. Earlier I tried adjusting the cable in park with the lever all the way back (park) just to see what happened and the transmission would get caught between gears and the tires would stop spinning. I had the car on jacks and was only idling the engine when doing this test. So I readjusted the cable in 3rd, and have been perplexed by the problem for the last six months. Even now, the shifter arm can still move back a little bit if I remove the end of the shifter cable. So earlier I thought the shifter arm was going to have to be all the way back for it to work. But, it just needed to be able to move back that little bit.