Here is what I posted on my Valiant page.
Today I jacked the car back up and readjusted the shifter and retried the shifting,. It is still the same. This was even with the car up on stands and no real load on the tranny. It will shift but very notchy and extremely slow. No way I can live with this like it is.

So I called and spoke to Dan Brewer and wanted to see if there was something else I could check before removing the transmission altogether. He 1st asked if I am in a forward gear and I go from that directly to reverse, how long do I have to wait before it does not grind going into reverse. Mine is almost immediate. I have no grinding. He said that that tells him that the hydraulic clutch assembly has enough clutch release. If it needed more it would take it a bit to go into reverse with out grinding. He asked if I was trying to shift at high rpm and I told him I have not even got to that point. He said the OD will be slower shifting due to the larger gear spacing and the time it takes to slow down the gears. I understand all that but I have driven at least 3 or 4 other OD's and none of them shift anything like this. Ryan's Dart was an OD and it was drag raced, flat shift at 6000 rpm for 10 years and it shifted fine. I did ask if he thought it could be in the synchronizer struts getting hung up somehow and he said that he highly doubted that was the issue. After that he told he that it is really hard to diagnose it without seeing inside.

So here I am:

Supposed rebuilt transmission
New Mcleod hydraulic clutch setup- working fine
New Mcleod clutch and PP
New Quick time blow proof. Aligned to crankshaft- .004"
Aligned the shifter & linkage multiple times
Run Brad Penn fluid as recommended by Brewers and tried ATF after that.
Shifts extremely notchy without any grinding.
Shifts about as fast as a 1958 D600 cattle truck with a non-synchronized transmission with a 2 speed rear.

So there you have it. If you have any brilliant ideas please let me know.
Dan Brewer seemed like a really nice fellow, but he really didn't give me anywhere much to go. Unless I want to send it to them to check out. Before I spend a pile of money on that transmission I would likely go to a new 5 speed.

Rick

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Sorry Rick.
I have had problems with the replacement brass rings.
And as you said, I have shifted OD boxes and they shift like butter.
After 100K miles.

Who rebuilt it?

It sounds like time to pull it and take a look.

They fall out, by the way.

_________________
Hyper_pak

Well this one was supposedly rebuilt by Brewers if my memory serves me correct.That would have been 15 years ago. But it has been on a shelf for a lot of those years. Dan said he would have put a serial number on it so I'll check when it comes out. Odd thing is that Ryan told me he thought this one was the one in his Dart when he took it off the road and it worked fine.

What did you find with the brass rings Stan? This one does not grind at all. But even when on stands and you run the shifter from 1-2 & back and forth, you can still feel notchiness! Even with the engine off. Usually they would run back and forth with nice smooth action.

By the way, mine won't fall out as easy as yours!

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

That is an optical illusion, it does not fall out.

Just that the rings felt different when you move them fore and aft.
I did a HEMI box for a guy with a 69 Charger.
All new parts except gears and cast iron parts.
He could not shift it.
He bought it back and we put his old rings back in.
Butter........

If you want to try that I can get you some decent rings to try.

_________________
Hyper_pak

Well I am debating whether to just shift it like a grandma and drive it at about 4000 rpm and get through the Mason Dixon race in a couple weeks. Or I have the other OD tranny here that was Ryan's too and I could swap it in and try it. Just debating with myself. That really makes no sense about the brass rings does it!

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Rick,

I have no sage advice to offer here except to call Brewers.
It seems you have done everything correct as you usually do, but something is not happy in there.

I am sure Dan and his team can help you get it sorted out.

Greg

_________________
http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack

Greg see the first post.

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

I would suggest checking the interlock mechanism on the side cover. Sounds like something could be amiss there. I do not care for the newer version as used on the O.D. 833. I like to use the earlier side cover on all of my 833s. Can not remember the year it changed. 71 maybe? Not sure if you can get the cover off and on with the trans in the car on an A-body. I did it once on my R.Runner. It was not real fun, but better than removing the whole trans. Good Luck!!!

_________________
I make rusty parts go fast. Norm
71 Road Runner
65 Valiant SW
79 Lil Red Express
78 D-300 Club Cab

Yes I'll pull the cover but it isn't coming off of mine in the car. I need to decide if I want to do this right now or wait until after Mason Dixon and take my time.

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Got it, sorry about that. my speed reading fails me again.

Do you have a borescope camera?
Maybe you can put it in the drain plug or fill hole before you remove the entire thing? I am not sure if that is helpful for you at this point. You may be able to see something in there that Dan can shed more light on.

I have used mine before to find TDC, etc., taking the spark plug out of the engine.

Good luck,
Greg

_________________
http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack