Mike's A727 Rebuild

[RockwoodMike]

Oh Darn!! I just found out that my transmission is not original to the chassis..with a number of 5107 it was made on July 22 1975..Rebecca is a 73 D22..

https://maxwedge.com/articles/10k.php

[RockwoodMike]

Wait!! I made a mistake..The number to use is the 4228 on the side of the trans..That is the date number..Feb 23 1973..

The 5107 is the sequence number..Number 5107 of that days production

Now I am sure that it should be the original trans...I think it is!?!

[Elandan2]

That will definitely make a difference when you take the motorhome to Pebble Beach. LOL

[RockwoodMike]

That will definitely make a difference when you take the motorhome to Pebble Beach. LOL

Yea!! I am going to have a custom plaque made to put on the outside stating that this motorhome has original number engine and trans in it..

That should impress the ladies on the beach when I roll up!!  

[RockwoodMike]

Here is a good picture showing the difference in the stock rear sprag and the new bolt in 16 roller sprag..

Old one on the left has 12 rollers and is just pressed in to the case

New one has 16 rollers and bolted and pressed into the case..

I want to be able to take a fully loaded motorhome and still pop a wheelie off the ground at a stop light!!    

[Mlw]

What???

You want to copy these guys?

[RockwoodMike]

What???

You want to copy these guys?

No!! of course not!!

I really hate these type of videos involving these old classic units. There are so many people looking to reclaim and restore these, it is just a shame when they are destroyed like this..

All I am looking for is absolute rock hard durability..Where I live there is plenty of steep climbing to go anywhere..To go over to the coast..big hill to climb to get there..

My lady Rebecca will be pampered but she will be solid to get me anywhere I need to go!!

No wheelies..I promise..

[Elandan2]

That will definitely make a difference when you take the motorhome to Pebble Beach. LOL

Yea!! I am going to have a custom plaque made to put on the outside stating that this motorhome has original number engine and trans in it..

That should impress the ladies on the beach when I roll up!!  

Oh, I thought with all the work you're putting into this rig, you'd be entering it into the concours...

[RockwoodMike]

you'd be entering it into the concours...

Does Concours have a division for motorhomes??..There is no chance for that on my Indian..

Because of the interior..I had the orange interior as shown in the pic..

Nobody makes the carpet any more..And the curtain fabric?? forget it..not a chance..

So I am going to go with the "Custom-Resto" look..

Now if you believe any of this besides the custom resto, I have a bridge in Florida, I need to talk to about..!!

There are some things I am trying to keep original..Like the engine trans combo..
I have a Ford 460 EFI with a 4 speed overdrive trans (E4OD) that I was thinking of fitting into this project..

Decided not to..A Ford power train in a Dodge frame, would be just wrong..

[Elandan2]

Just kidding Mike. When I owned Dupree Products, we sold many Bluebird motorhome parts, many of them aftermarket pieces because the originals were no longer available. Some customers were adamant that they have the original part, even if it was some relay or switch or something no one was ever going to see. I used to kid that they had to keep it original so it could be entered at Pebble Beach.

[Eyez Open]

Having been a former victim of HG tv for 30yrs I've modernized the rambler I'm working on. The rules well there are none other than what I prefer. Now that I'm footlosse and fancy free I'm not sure what I like. A totally new concept, but it seems I have a Scandinavian preference towards fashion.

Very odd 40 yr old RV and Scandinavian design 

[Mlw]

I really hate these type of videos involving these old classic units. There are so many people looking to reclaim and restore these, it is just a shame when they are destroyed like this..

It was just an over exaggeration for laughs of course but I feel exactly the same. It's a real shame these guys really showed some craftmanship building it up and let it end it this way.

And as for that orange interior, I vwould have ripped that out even years ago, the designer must have at least been  high at LSD at the moment. It's truly hideous.

[RockwoodMike]

Time to put this thing back together....

Need to install the heavy duty reverse sprag.

Pic 1..Here is the empty pocket the sprag fits in..The area in the center acts as a thrust washer. You can see the circle that the rear reverse drum spins on..

Pic 2..With some green scotch brite, I just polished that area to clean it up..If this area was all screwed up, Sonnax makes a thrust roller bearing that fits there after a machining to create a pocket to fit the thrust roller bearing..
I don't need that as mine is in good shape..

Pic 3..Back side of the new heavy duty sprag..That is the side that goes in first as the sprag is installed..

Pic 4..4 bolts that will draw the sprag into place..

[RockwoodMike]

Pic 1..Anti- seize on the threads of the bolts..It take some torque to draw the sprag into place..Lubes the threads to help it go together.

Pic 2..Assemble goo in the pocket to help draw it in

Pic 3..Starting the 4 bolts ..Make sure to draw it in evenly..1/4 turns as you go to each bolt to make it go in even..keep it straight!!

Pic 4..Here is the beginning of it being drawn in..

[RockwoodMike]

Here it is in place..Just be sure to keep it level and straight!!

I got i slightly off..tightened 1 bolt to much..If that happens, loosen that bolt and with a soft hammer, tap that bolt down..That will cause the sprag to reposition it self..

Go slow..Check it..Check it..and then Check it as you draw it in..

You will feel the bolts when they bottom the sprag in the case pocket..

Done!! And I am stressed out of my gourd!! 

[RockwoodMike]

At the rear of the case is the location for the oil from the cooler returns the oil..

Pic 1..shows the path of the oil going in..

Pic 2..This part is called the "Rear support" And it supports the out put shaft..the Governor..the rear low reverse drum..The oil goes to this hole and goes to lubrication of the total rear shaft area..

Pic 3..As the shaft is shown there is a hole that the oil goes into and then proceeds down the middle of the shaft to several other lube points..

Shows how important the cooler is..It provides oil to the whole rear half of the trans..

Pic 4..This is where the sealing rings of the governor seals to..Inside the rear support..You can see the wear marks where the rings are..

[RockwoodMike]

So!!!
Pic 1..The rear support goes in and is bolted to the rear sprag..through the case..

This make everything very solid...

I used some green scotch brite to clean and hone the area where the rings of the governor go..Allows the rings to seat to the support..Like a piston rings seats to a honed cylinder wall..

Pic 2..What is looks like from inside the case with the sprag and rear support installed..Gooped up with assemble goo

Next is the rear servo..rear band and band strut assembly..Also the rear drum that is clamped in manual low and reverse..

My head hurts!!

[RockwoodMike]

I have a very old 36 inch paper printer. It is a HP 650C.  About 1994 vintage..It is made for designers and architects.

So I printed out the exploded view and the side view at a large size and stapled them to the wall..

You can't have enough "Data and Reference" in front of you..

Thanks to MLW for providing the files for this.

I bought some heavy bond paper (90 lb) and I am going to print out the ATSG manual also..Put it in a binder to use at each step of the build.

I just wish that I could send Marc (MLW) a print out like these on the wall.. Getting anything to Europe is next to impossible without costing big money..

[RockwoodMike]

The kit that I bought comes with a new billet reverse manual low servo..Very strong set up!!
This is the servo that squeezes the rear band..
Used when you select reverse..Also when you put the shift selector into low gear..Manual low.

In manual low, the sprag and the band is holding that low reverse drum..When you are climbing a steep grade, that gets you up the hill..

Pic 1..Comparison of the old servo to the new..

Pic 2..The top hat for the servo spring..Much stronger thicker steel..

Pic 3..Stronger spring too..

[RockwoodMike]

Pic 1..Lube up the bore and seal on the piston..

Pic 2..Piston in bore and spring next with top hat after that..

Pic 3..Used a HF 4 inch clamp and a small piece of wood..(what ever you might make work) to compress the top hat down..You can get your clip ring in place now.. Make sure clip is fully seated in groove..

[RockwoodMike]

Pic 1..Here is all the parts for the rear band..Take lots of pictures when you take your apart!!

I didn't do that and had a hard time figuring how it all went back together..

Pic 2..Pivot pin gets a new o ring from the kit.

Pic 3..Shows how the little strut goes in..This is the hardest part to install..Basically a screw driver (Flat blade) was used to shove it into place..That is all I can say about that..Read the manual!!

Pic 4..Another pic of the whole assemble in place..Take plenty of pictures of yours and study how it all goes together..

[RockwoodMike]

Pic 1..Low reverse drum goes in next..It splines into the sprag ( the thing that is now bolted in) inner ring..

Pic 2..Lube it up, especially the inner area..It spins on the rear support.

Pic 3..Installed in place..Once it slips down on to the splines of the sprag, there is no need to pull it back out..If you do you run a good chance of pulling the center sprag ring out with the drum..Causing all those rollers and springs in the sprag to go flying loose

Don't ask...

Pic 4..shows it in place..The drum should spin easy clockwise and instantly lock going counter clockwise..

 

[Mlw]

Thank you for thinking of me my friend. It's great to see that you can still use an old fossil printer for this. And yes, it's near to impossible to get things from the USA without breaking the bank. I'm very glad i bought most stuff two years ago and even then prices were already UP

I made an exploded version of my coach wiring by print out all the pages and stick them together with clear adhesive tape. It worked fantastic.

As for the band? Didn't you get the manual you advised me yourself? I don't have it with me, but I seem to remember there is an extended explaination how to put the band back in. I had quite some difficulty get it out because you don't want to break things.

A colleague of mine decided to stop working because his baby was crying and his wife couldn't handle it, so i'm working 7 days a week now untill we find somebody else so it is a little quiet around me again. Let's just hope we solve this soon.

[RockwoodMike]

As for the band? Didn't you get the manual you advised me yourself?

Yes I got the ATSG manual that you made available..But I tried to install the band and strut without..Just stupid I guess..

So after messing with..I actually had it completely backwards.. printed the 2 pages showing the install..

Then that night, I hard printed the whole service manual..Thanks Again on uploading the ATSG manual..

[RockwoodMike]

Here is the procedure to be sure the rear half of the transmission has enough end play or too much..

Pic 1..from the service manual..

Pic 2..All these parts with the sun gear..planet gears..thrust washers..Need to be stack up on the out put shaft to measure clearance..

Pic 3..I measured .030..right in the middle of where it needs to be..

Then when you use the new thrust washers, it needs t be check too..