You also get new lip seals that seal the outside diameter of the servo piston that applies pressure to the clutch packs and new bushings to replace the wasted ones, like the one seen in this front drum.
| 727/904 GEAR RATIOS |
| Transmission | First | Second | Third |
| AMC 904 | 2.74 | 1.54 | 1.00 |
| Chrysler 904 | 2.45 | 1.45 | 1.00 |
| Chrysler 999 | 2.74 | 1.45 | 1.00 |
| Chrysler 727 | 2.45 | 1.45 | 1.00 |
| AMC 727 | 2.45 | 1.45 | 1.00 |
| FLUID LEVELS |
| Dry transmission | 5 quarts |
| Dry converter | 3 quarts |
| *Fluid and filter change | 4-5 quarts |
*Frothy fluid indicates high fluid;
slipping between shifts or delayed
engagement indicates low fluid. |
No, it did not come with a dipstick, and if it had, it wouldn't have worked anyway. We talked to the guy at Summit, and he sold us the too-short 24-inch Lokar tube that turned out to be for a go-cart or T-bucket. We re-ordered the 727 version from Milodon that bolts to the firewall for another $60. We'll use the short one for the world's most expensive stainless steel braided beer bong or something. | 
Part of having a kick-ass converter is that it's built with 71/416x20 mounting lugs. We had to replace the flexplate with a generic one from an '85 Jeep Wagoneer that cost us $27 new, then we drilled it for the larger lugs. TCI also sells a predrilled plate, but we haven't had any problems with the stock one we modified. |
The big deal with an aftermarket trans built for street/strip heros is the clutch pack. TCI and pretty much everyone we spoke to uses the Alto four- or six-disc clutch pack. There are actually two separate packs in the 904, one for front clutch (High gear and Reverse) and the other for rear (all forward gears and breakaway Low). On an engineering level, more clutches provides a greater surface area, and better material is, well, better. | 
Pictured are a couple of front-clutch retainers or drums. On the left is the 727, and on the right is the 904. It's pretty clear why the 727 is both heavier and stronger and why 450-500 hp is the limit of stock 904 hard parts. |
To make that barking shift from First to Second, the kick-down band is applied around the front clutch drum. Pictured are the Kevlar heavy-duty kick-down band on the left and the Alto on the right. Both are solid bands. The stock band is semisolid, and there were even flex bands that were created to improve the feel of the shift; they were, of course, compromised to keep you from sipping your coffee during the 1-2, but we'd rather have the longevity of the solid band. | 
Beyond the standard rebuild or catalog transmission, there are a couple of cool tricks we learned from the guys at Race Trans that you can do at home. Shown is the high-ratio kick-down lever Jimmy Galante adds to his racing 727. The more lever, the more force is applied to the Second-gear band. |