Eagle Automatic Transmission

[bceagle]

Will do.

[IowaEagle]

998 Fleet Car Transmissions.  If you find a 998 in an old '82 Concord it will be from a car that was built for fleet sales.  But, before you start scouring the yards be advised these 998's did not have the valve for, or the lock up torque converter.  And putting a lock up converter in by itself will not give you that function, you need the valve too.

[hwk73]

I have a question on a transmission in a 88 Eagle Wagon. It broke down several months ago and I had it towed. The garage fixed the ignition problem and told me come and get it. Upon leaving the vendor the car had a "scraping" noise that increases and decreases in pitch and volume as you accelerate and decellerate. Of course the towing company says they didn't tow it any different than before.(they have towed this car before) It has been in the garage since and the trans fluid is now on the floor. I've had this car over a year as a daily driver and it's never leaked a drop of oil or trans fluid in that time. All the gears work and if you put it in neutral and rev motor the noise does not change. It only makes the sound as the car is rolling. I haven't had it looked at as yet but assume the trans is wiped. My "theory" is that they towed it backwards and screwed something up. It was pulled into a parking spot and I think they may have towed it by the back bumper instead of turning it around. I never checked to see if the transfer case was engaged or not....though I never suspected the 4x4 was engaged. Could towing it in this position have damaged it in some way?

My second thought is how much should I spend on a trans and what type do I need? I understand only one model is to be used in these things and was wondering what it is. Any and all advice/help you can give is greatly appreciated.

                                                                                         

[IowaEagle]

First read my reply to another post I just made:  http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=4622.0  The appropriate way to tow an Eagle is with all four wheels off the ground or removal of the driveshaft to any wheels left on the ground.  You have a  Chrysler built, but the case the guts are in only fit AMC's, 998 transmission.   They are cheap to rebuild and any experienced trans builder will have no problems.   They use the same internal parts as any 904/998/999/727  Transmission.

[BenM]

I'm not sure, but are there four-speed automatic transmissions in the newer jeeps behind the sixes? What are they then? They probably have lockup?

[ted354]

  I believe you are refering to the AW trans, Japaneese automatic behind the 4.0 ltr ..not even close..

[BenM]

I got curious, so I worked up some numbers with our transmission v.s. a pair of GM overdrive transmissions.

I picked these because they represent the most common overdrive transmissions available in the after-market without computers, not because of intended application. (Could they work anyway?) For the record, a TF 727/904 is similar to a TH 400 in ratio (close ratio) and a 998/999 is similar to a TH 350 (middle ratio). These OD transmissions represent a wider ratio.


Really, it just confirms my suspicion, my Eagle with the 2.35 feels at least half a gear behind. When I talk to big-block guys they like to keep those V8s around 2,000 at cruise, and even with the BBD, I've found it still makes power at 4,000. Never leave first.


At 25 MPH it's obvious how much a higher ratio gets you into the powerband closer to launch.

Of course, this whole thing is assuming lock-up, or at least close to it, but I think it makes a point. And how often will you lockup when you're not too far above a high idle?

Well, I'm sure that this will help someone out anyway.

[IowaEagle]

Thanks.  You sure went to a lot of work there.  Will spend some time with it later.  My tach (a cheapie) appears to validate your 2.35 rpm's at the speeds listed.

[IowaEagle]

Great tip.  Thanks for the head's up on that one.  Probably a lot cheaper than those cable kits you can get.  Will have to pop the hood on our '95 Cherokee and take a look.

[WI-EAGLE]

Would a 904 trans out of a 77 hornet work in my 87 eagle wagon?

[IowaEagle]

You would have to dissassemble the 904 to remove the tail shaft and install the transfer case adapter.  The 904 was not used in I-6 Eagles only in the 4 cylinder models and it does not have the lower first gear ratio found in Eagles.  IMO I would get your 998 rebuilt, if at all possible.

[eagle88]

Plenty of them in the yard up here, the only problem is getting one out.  the yard owner doesn't do any parts removal.

maybe you will get lucky on it and it will be something really simple.  Glad you picked that one up, I was eying it up pretty good but never had the spare cash.

[WI-EAGLE]

Now is the 998 the same trans put behind 304's?

[IowaEagle]

AMC used it behind some V8's, not sure about the 304, but again you need to convert it to accept a transfer case and still no lower first.

[IowaEagle]

I have updated the original post to improve (hopefully) understanding and to add some info we have learned since its original posting.