The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Hello everyone. Finally got the engine running on my '73 (318). Went to move the car forward/back to test the transmission and ran into trouble. When I put it in gear, the engine bogged down and died and I heard a hissing sound. Look under the car and see a puddle of ATF.
Background on the transmission: Came with the engine (bought it with the car, but engine/transmission was not actually in the car at the time). Both had been sitting for a year or so when I got it. I changed the fluid out and it sat for another couple years until now. Fresh fluid and filter, brand new torque converter. A friend of mine said he had a similar issue with the transmission in his '69 Chevy truck and it turned out a vent line was clogged and overpressurized the transmission. I don't know if I have a similar problem or something else, but figured I'd ask here and hopefully someone might know something. I'd rather not have to buy another transmission (especially as I have a 426/727 combo I'm working on to put in the car later, just looking to get it on the road right now), but if that's what it comes to, that's what I'll do. Until then, I just have a rather impressive noise maker in my garage...
Anyone have any suggestions?

I know transmissions LOOK complicated but in actual fact they are very easy to overhaul using basic hand tools.

You just need to rebuild it.

Rebuild kits come with very clear instructions and alongside the workshop manual make the whole job easy and quite rewarding. The instructions tell you what to check for as you go along. You should give it a go. Once you have done one you realise how simple it is.

Looking at a list of possible malfunctions....


.....the list is so long it is pointless posting it. You need to go through and check the band adjustments, front and rear clutch operation, look for a sticking accumulator, etc etc. Basically you need to pull it apart so you may as well rebuild it.

Dave is correct. If you're taking the transmission apart you might as well rebuild it.
You say you purchased a "NEW" convertor. Is it the right one? Remember, Chrysler has both lockup and non lockup converters. If you got a lockup convertor and the vehicle came with a non lockup unit, that might be the cause of the engine stalling(lockup piston applied).
transman

Well, I rebuilt the motor on my own and it turned out OK. I was planning on rebuilding the 727, so rebuilding the 904 shouldn't be too bad. I was more just checking to make sure there wasn't some well known silly little thing that I could fix on the car before I went through all the trouble to pull the transmission off.
Only reason I was thinking of finding a replacement is I don't know the history of the transmission I have, and if I could find a decent enough deal on a 904 that recently came out of a working vehicle, I was thinking it might be worth getting that instead of sinking more money into an unknown quantity.
Rebuilding is worth a shot, I guess.