I just swapped an older 904 transmission into my 1987 d150 pickup. At first it did not want to upshift at all. After driving for an hour or so it began to shift normally. I adjusted the kickdown band and linkage. Trans worked well for a few days but now will only shift from first directly to third gear. Also the reverse lights are on while in reverse or forward gear. I'm not sure if these two problems are related but seemed to happen at about the same time. I put a can of sea foam trans tune in to maybe free up a stuck valve but no luck so far. Any ideas?

If you have verified that the shift linkage is adjusted properly, then I would replace the neutral start switch since it also controls the reverse lights. Also, check all the bushings in the shift linkage for slop.

If that doesn't fix the problem, I would recommend opening up the transmission and adjusting the low-reverse band.

You say the transmission goes from first to third- could you describe how this shift occurs? What RPM/speed does the shift from 1st to 3rd occur at? Does the transmission slip or does it rev really high and go directly into 3rd? Have you tried putting the transmission in "2"? What does the transmission do in "2"?

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Is the shift linkage installed properly? Kickdown linkage too?

Shifting from first to third is a symptom that the kick down link has fallen out. That happens when the K-D linkage is too loose or the band is mis-adjusted.

As far as the reverse lights go, that may be a broken rooster comb on the shift quadrant inside the trans, or a bad neutral swith or wiring.

If adjusting the shift linkage doesn't change the issues, pull the pan. If the K-D link has fallen out you'll find a 3"X1" piece of steel in the pan.

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the gear selector linkage is adjusted properly. with the shifter in "2" position the car will not shift out of first. there is also no slippage. it seems to shift from first into third gear at about 25-30 mph under light throttle. when i adjusted the kickdown band i believe i torqued the adjusting screw to 72 in lbs and then backed it off about 2 turns.

What year is the transmission you installed? The torque and number of turns for the band adjustment varies depending on the year. Sound to me like you need to drop the pan and do some investigating as Slantzilla suggested.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Not sure what year trans. I would guess early 70's? any way to tell exactly? I am planning on dropping the pan and i will install a shift kit so i will have the valve body dropped. would the kickdown band be adjusted to loose or tight if i'm having this problem? i can try try tightening or loosening the adjusting screw and see if it solves my problem. thanks

Try this web site

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/transguide.pdf

Richard

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Richard's link is great, provided you are sure the internals are original to the case. Most likely they are, but since 904 and 727 valve bodies are easily swapped about, and since so much time has passed since the trans was built, you never know for sure these days unless you open it up. The way to check the year of the guts is to look at the date code stamped on the valve body.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.