I have a '62 Dodge with the push button torqueflite 727. Before I pulled the motor, the shifter and kick-down worked fine. The tranny acted funny but I think I threw off all my line pressure when it decided to dump all all the fluid on the road. It did, however, shift when I asked. My problem is, now that the engine is back in, my shifter won't un-select Drive and the kick-down lever won't move more than an inch, preventing the throttle from going WOT. I put everything back together in the manner in which it was pulled apart, as far as I know. I thought the kick-down problem may be caused by going from the factory Stromberg 2bbl to a Holley 4bbl, but the linkage doesn't seem to move noticeably further. The engine hasn't started since it all was drained, but I can't see a lack of pressure in the trans causing either problem. Whatever the problem, I'm probably going to burn down the garage if I can't drive it when I get the last of my engine parts this weekend. If anyone could offer insight or knows where I can find a step-by-step for install/adjustment it would be greatly appreciated. My Chilton's manual is useless on this. Thank you, Chris
I know this isn't much help but it sounds like there is a linkage jammed somewhere. Have you double checked everything?
I've got a 62 Factory manual for the Plymouth range which has all the rebuild stuff on the 727 auto. What engine do you have? i gather that the trans has been out and rebuilt. Have you got the shifter cable back in the correct position in the trans housing as that could be the reason that you are stuck in Drive? There is a section in the manual showing how to adjust the throttle linkage- with the change to the 4 barrel this may be a problem. I can scan and email you specific pages of the manual if you need them.
Did you the tranny apart? If you did, the kickdown lever might be on the wrong side of the slider in the tranny, I noticed this when I was puting mine back together, you won't get much travel if it is jammed on the other side.
If this is anything like the old Powerflite, there are two ways of installing kickdown lever to internal shaft. If installed incorrectly you will have minimum TV pressure all the time. Might want to check out your torqueflite manual.
tikiwagon- The pan came off so I could disconnect the shifter and I was playing with the linkage inside so that is a possibility to look into after work. Thanks. swifty- I have the 361. Those pages could be a huge help if you get the time. Thanks.
Disconnect the selector cable from the back of the pushbutton keyboard, and manually move the cable in its housing. If it will not move, it's time to remove the pan and inspect. If the cable moves fine, and clicks through the detents, then you have a bad keyboard assembly. Sometimes this is caused by a small broken spring within. ---John
I ran into a problem when I changed my 64 Plymouth from a 2 bbl to a 4 bbl carb. The throttle cable bracket that also serves as a guide for the kickdown linkage is different between the 2 bbl and 4 bbl versions. The 4 bbl carb is wider, and the 2 bbl bracket sets too far in toward the center of the engine. This puts the throttle cable and the kickdown rod in a bind. This is on a 361, but would hold true on any B or RB big block. ( I would imagine it would be the same if you had a poly 318. Which engine do you have? ) This bracket is a hard item to find. I finally found one on an Imperial, and had to do a little modification and welding to make it work on my Fury.
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