Freshly rebuilt 727 help

[nigel]

Hey everyone. I have finally got my 440 running and it sure does sound mean with the whiplash cam. I installed the driveshaft today and tried driving the car out of my garage. It was very slow at moving forward or backwards. It almost felt as if the brakes were engaged. I tried shifting through all gears and tried moving in 1st and second. It was the very same. It felt like it was trying to drag the wheels. I gave the car a rev in drive and it moved but then gave a small shudder so I shut the car down. The linkage is set correctly as I can place the car in neutral and move the car around by hand and in park it won't budge.
I dropped the oil pan and it was spotless. Checked both band adjustments and they were backed off the correct amount of turns.
The transmission was built by myself with all new steels, frictions, bands, seals and bushings provided by John Cope. I also installed a tf2 kit which I had one in my 904 which I loved. The torque converter is a B&M 3000 stall which I traded for with my buddy. It came from his 440 and it ran perfectly. He was installing his numbers matching 383 and using a stock converter so I didnt turn my nose up at it. I have a deep pan from John Cope including a spacer with a rubber O ring on the VB side and a gasket on the filter side and the correct amount of oil according to the dipstick after cycling through the gears and letting it warm up.
Has anyone got any ideas as to what the issue could be? I'm really drawing blanks here.

 

[snakeoil24]

sounds ds like pressure kick down

 

[nigel]

I would love for it to be something simple like yhe kickdown but I checked it and it's adjusted perfectly unless I make a booboo with the valve body during the tf2 install

 

[Fran Blacker]

The kick down lever is all the way to the rear at full throttle?

 

[nigel]

Yes sir. At WOT I adjusted the kickdown to its furthest rearward position. I double and triple checked that because its always the simple things that get overlooked I'll pull the VB tomorrow and check it out to make sure the shift kit it correct which I know it already is but for piece of mind I'll check it. Also I'll check the torque on all the VB bolts just incase it's sucking air

 

[snakeoil24]

Then we have to look at drum lip seals if their in backwards

 

[nigel]

I air checked the trans before I installed the VB and all worked perfectly but ill check again in the morning. No harm in checking just to be sure. I'm open to all ideas as to what could be the possible issue because as I said I'm drawing blanks. I've never had an issue with any rebuild I've done so I'm truly stumped

 

[snakeoil24]

You will be fine

 

[zyzzyx]

I'm sorry you're having problems with your 727! I did exactly the same thing you did and am waiting to fire it up for the first
time soon. There are so many things to look at, so it seems daunting but just make a list of everything you touched on the
valve body and you'll be fine. If you don't find any problems there, you'll have to put the trans on the bench and re-check
the clutch pack clearances. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[snakeoil24]

Check pump shaft hard seals

 

[nigel]

I'll go through the VB tomorrow and check everything. I'll do an air check again and I'll retorque everything. I'll post back tomorrow and let everyone know if there's any change

 

[OKDart]

Pump ears broke?

 

[nigel]

I certainly hope they aren't broken. They were perfectly fine when the transmission was built

 

[OKDart]

Sometimes the converter will slip forward a bit during mating with the engine. Then when the bellhousing bolts are torqued down, it'll snap the ears. I've done it myself, and have read stories of others doing it.

 

[nigel]

The torque converter was a small issue to install. My buddy's car which the converter was installed in before had a 3mm plate used between the bellhousing and motor to achieve the correct amount of pull forward to the flex plate. It ran perfectly in his car so when I did a swap with him for parts he gave me the spacer and I installed it also as when the torque converter was installed in the trans there wasn't enough back spacing for the torque converter but the spacer plate gave correct amount.
I forgot to mention that when I pulled the trans cooler line off the rad there was very little fluid that came out. Sounds like a pumping issue due to either the ears broken off which I hope didn't happen or else the pump is sucking air somewhere and causing cavitation.

 

[OKDart]

Was it in neutral when you pulled the line off?

 

[nigel]

The car wasn't running when I pulled the line off. I'm using AN6 cooler lines and was surprised with how little fluid came out even with the motor off. I'm just waiting for a store to open so I can get more oil and I'm going to try a few things. I'll fill it up with oil and try later to see how it reacts. If the symptoms are the same ill remove the line with motor running to see how much oil comes out. I don't have a pressure gauge kit so I can't check that. Need to make the purchase of a kit soon

 

[Geoff 2]

I would be looking at clutch/piston seals. They can be damaged when installing them.

 

[nigel]

I completely agree and I know from experience. Was building my 904 and I tore those suckers up. Had to order another kit but I caught the issue doing an air check. The air check on the 727 was perfect but as I said I'll check it again today with air to rule out that issue

 

[nigel]

So I pulled the VB and checked it out. Everything appears to be fine. Bands are adjusted correctly. Did an air test and everything was good. Put new oil and a new filter on the car and tried it. It gave a small shunt when I selected reverse. Put into drive and it did nothing until I cave it a small rev and it slowly moved forward. I cycled through all the gears and checked the fluid level in neutral. It was good so I tried again. In drive it seems as if the brakes are applied but Put it into 1 low and it pulls no problem. I'm really confused now