Straight swap

[DaemonForce]

Most trans shops will recommend simply replacing the torque converter, since there's really no way of knowing if it's still good short of cracking it open, which is basically no possible for the driveway mechanics like us.

I'll be swapping in a new torque converter as well.

I just noticed that the undercarriage of this car is caked with DIRT, not rust. I'm going to clean up the area around the transmission before putting the other one in. This could actually look really nice when done. o_o

[maddog]

one resone to unbolt the torgconverter before removing the transmission is that i have seen people that didn't do it and as they were pulling out the transmission they either messed up the flexplate or the crank. another resone that thing is a lot heavier than you think.

[DaemonForce]

Well, looks like I'll have to be careful with it. Is there anything I need to keep in mind to take out the transfer case without any trouble? I'm already unbolting the rear half of it.

[maddog]

just remember to unbolt and remove the speedo cable from the tail and use a jack because even after the fluid is completely drained that thing will still weigh about 60 to 80 pounds.

[DaemonForce]

Looks like it's not going to happen. I have a bolt between the transfer case and transmission that won't come. It's a stripped 14. I have other bolts for it but it's heck getting this one because the vaccuum assembly is in the way. I'll just drop the whole assembly.

[DaemonForce]

Alright I have most of the bolts out. I just need to get the top bolts off the transmission and it's done. Suggestions on doing that?

[DaemonForce]

Ah yes. Thanks. I have several extensions and I figured out how to get them off of the driver's end. Now I have the last bolt(there ISN'T one at the top?) on the passenger's side and I don't have enough torque to move the bolt. I think I need a longer ratchet.


Oh, I AM doing this all with hand tools btw. I just find it weird that I seem to have a problem with the LAST bolt on each section I'm working on. I hope to God the engine isn't like that when I pull it. :/

[DaemonForce]

Well, I finally have the transmission back in place and I was doing so much prep work that at the end of it I realized it was all slowing me down. This car doesn't really need a whole lot in order to move stuff around. You just need the tools, transmission jack and bolts.

Tomorrow I'll install the cover plate, transfer case, drivelines and the other protective guards. Shift assembly and starter should be cake but the torque converter bothers me a little bit. I used blue loctite on the threads and noticed that I have a stripped hole on one part of the torque converter. If fluid is still spilling out of this thing, it's going in the trash. I have a spare converter in unknown condition that might work but if it doesn't, what are my options? I've been looking through a list of converters lately and only three of them are lockup and they don't even list an AMC as compatible. I found a Saturday Night Special through Racemart for $200 but I'm not sure if it would work. Suggestions?

[DaemonForce]

Really? Nobody knows anything about this?

Here's what I'm asking: Does a lockup torque converter meant for the A727 work with the A904 transmission?

[68AMXGOPAC]

I think I got mine from a place called TourqueConverter dot com. it was just over $100 shipped, they had both lock-up and non-lockup, I have had no problems with it at all. I made a cardboard template of the flex plate holes and lined them up on the new converter and marked two that matched when all were lined up. ( I got tired of spinning things around like a roulette wheel to get the right ones to match )

[DaemonForce]

Doubt it. I know the converter from my old 998 wouldn't work on the 727 I put in, though the 998 was lockup & the 727 isn't.

That's just it. Here's the real problem: I know the torque converter seated in my A904 is lockup. It's proven, nothing to dispute. Same goes for the 998(which is what really belongs behind this engine anyway).

When I look up replacements, the A904 transmission is automatically thrown into the non-lockup category. When I look up the lock-up specific converters, the A727 transmission is listed as the only one compatible even though we all know it's a non-lockup transmission. I'm assuming I can grab a lockup torque converter listed for a A727 and use it in my A904.

If this isn't the case, I'm boycotting TCI and the other names that are so misleading about this. I need to find a vendor that knows what they're doing for once.

[DaemonForce]

Just don't tell them it's going into an AMC Eagle, you'll confuse the snot outta them lol

........

Bane of my existence.

I finally found ONE vendor called Precision of New Hampton that seems to know what's what. In their listing the 904 appears twice. When I select the first listing, I have several lockup converters to choose from. If I choose the second listing, one result pops up and it's a 120º pattern on a non-lockup converter. Is there something I'm missing about the A904? I thought all of these were lockup.

[BenM]

I can't help a whole lot, but the early 904s were non-lockup, and maybe all 4cyl 904s (at least in certain applications) were non-lockup. Depending on the year, Eagles got one of two stall speeds and at some point they dropped the lockup converter in the 998.

From all I've read, the 998/999 are the same case and parts, the only difference is the clutches and bands.

The one I had rebuilt I was never asked about, and it seemed the shop had no problem getting a correct torque converter. I would suggest trying to find an independent transmission shop or rebuilder nearby that can order in the correct part for you. It's got to be a case of bad catalog information because the parts are available. There have to be a very large number of 99x transmissions out there still running in Jeeps and Chryslers.

[captspillane]

A 727 TC definately will not work on a 904. I have a 727 and a 998 next to each other in my garage right now, and the input shaft is obviously a much larger diameter. I read through your thread and I can't tell if you mean 998 or 904. All Eagles came with 998s except the 4 cylinder's. A four cylinder transmission will not bolt up to a 258. If you have a 904 from behind a Jeep 258, which I don't know if such a thing exists, than you need to use that year and model to find a torque converter.

Most 727 transmissions have a lockup torque converter. The lockup converter debuted in 1978, so anything older than that is definately nonlockup. I know full size Jeeps 85 and newer definately had lockup 727s. You can tell if it has a lockup converter by looking at the smaller inner input shaft. If about 5/8 of the end is machined smooth, then its a lockup converter. If the splines go all the way to the end of the shaft, except for a 1/8 bevel, then its a nonlockup.

A lockup 904 has 26 splines. A nonlockup 904 has 27 splines. A lockup 727 has 23 splines. A nonlockup 727 has 24 splines.

[DaemonForce]

A four cylinder transmission will not bolt up to a 258.

(Un)Fortunately, this is wrong. My Eagle has had the same A-904 transmission behind an AMC 258 engine for the past 15 years. I know it uses a lockup converter because I can feel it locking up when I hit 38mph(or is it something else?). It doesn't help that my spare torque converter still has the HS LOCKUP label still on it.

A lockup 904 has 26 splines. A nonlockup 904 has 27 splines. A lockup 727 has 23 splines. A nonlockup 727 has 24 splines.

I was curious about this during the overhaul and I believe I counted 26 splines. I don't remember for sure but I remember the input shaft having 26. I'm not about to unbolt my transmission tomorrow morning to check it(unless the test fire goes really wrong) but I'll look at the spline on my spare and check it out. I still say I have a A-904 that uses a lockup converter. I don't believe I have the guts of another transmission in an A-904 housing.