Inside, we find the governor...
Inside, we find the governor housing, just to the rear of the parking gear.
As usual, Chrysler didn't take a one-size-fits-all approach to 727 governors, varying these components for particular upshift speed requirements. The balance of inner and outer weights and spring tension determine the shift point for various governor assemblies. To increase the shift speed, the stock governors can be modified by reducing the weight and/or increasing the spring tension. That's work that requires a lathe, knowledge, and a trial-and-error process to dial in. An alternative is the wide range of preassembled high-speed governor assemblies offered by A&A Transmissions in Camby, Indiana. A&A carries governor assemblies rated in 200-rpm increments from 5,000-6,000-plus rpm, offering an easy way to optimize shift timing.
Why our interest in this item? We recently rebuilt a TorqueFlite for our Charger R/T, using a selection of components to enhance durability and shift quality. It really did shift great, as TorqueFlites are known to do, but unfortunately, in "D," the automatic shift speeds were way too early, particularly out of First. First gear was banging through at just 4,200 rpm. Oddly, Second gear pulled up to 5,200 rpm, which was better. We called A&A for one of their governor kits, and figured our 440 would like to pull to 6,000 rpm or more. The idea of having full automatic upshifts at these very high crank speeds was pretty exciting. A&A's guys said there was likely to be some variation on the actual shift speed with any given governor assembly, as several other variables (such as operating pressure and valvebody calibration) will affect the ultimate shift rpm. We decided on a PN 22204-58 governor assembly, rated at 5,800 rpm. There is some trial and error involved under the best of circumstances, although our case was complicated by the variation in shift rpm from 1-2 and 2-3.
Remove the small "C" clip...
Remove the small "C" clip from the center valve shaft, and then the large internal snap ring that retains the governor in the bore. The governor assembly should slide easily out of the housing bore.
With the new governor installed, our 1-2 gear change now came in hard at 5,200 rpm, up a full 1,000 from where we were. It was looking good, so we kept our foot in it, and the tranny carried Second up to 6,200-up 1,000 rpm as well. The governor raised our shift points by 1,000 rpm at both gear changes, but we still had a problematic 1,000-rpm differential between the two gear changes. We got back to A&A with the results. Calling in not as magazine guys but regular customers off the street, we were impressed with the customer service.
"Which way do you want to go?" they asked. "Up with 1-2 to match 2-3 at 6,200 rpm, or pull the 2-3 shift down to match the 1-2 shift point?" Being Mopar guys, we figure full automatic upshifts at 6,200 rpm would be simply wicked, so we opted for the first choice. We could always dial back the line pressure slightly to drop the shift rpm if it proved to be too much.
The solution from A&A was a change in the 1-2 shift-control valvespring. They sent us a selection of 1-2 shift-control valvesprings to bring the 1-2 shift up to match the 2-3 shift point. Three springs were sent, all heavier than the stocker, the tension clearly marked, and what it should do. We dropped the valvebody and popped in the spring tagged "first choice." Back on the road, it wound up in First, tached to 6,200 rpm, and banged off a solid shift. Climbing Second, the tach swept up to 6,200 rpm again, and slam, it clicked into Third. Wow, it was the best automatic TorqueFlite we ever had. The tech at A&A nailed the problem and called the valvebody spring calibration dead-nuts on. A weak 1-2 shift control spring and accompanying short-shift out of first made us dissatisfied with our fresh tranny, even though it shifted great manually. With some small parts and friendly tuning advice from A&A, we were ironically grateful for having run into the problem, ending up with a brutally cool high-speed TorqueFlite for our troubles.
The new governor weight assembly...
The new governor weight assembly just slides in place of the stocker. Make sure the snap-ring side of governor assembly is installed to the outside of the bore, or it won't work. Replace the "C" clip on the center rod's stem and the snap-ring into the bore, and it's done.
Although our example was photographed...
Although our example was photographed on a loose tranny, the governor can easily be installed with the trans still in the car, as we did here. Just support the tranny, then remove the crossmember and extension to get to it. Be prepared for tranny fluid to come flooding out as the extension is removed. Rotate the output shaft so that the governor weight bore is facing straight down, as shown, and the governor will slide right out when the snap-ring is removed.
Our transmission had a shift...
Our transmission had a shift peculiarity in that there was a 1,000-rpm difference between the 1-2 and 2-3 shift points when left to shift automatically in Drive. First/Second occurred at 4,200 rpm, while Second/Third came at 5,200. The governor change raised the shift points exactly 1,000, with First/Second raised to 5,200 rpm, and Second/Third to 6,200 rpm. We still had the same spread. We called A&A with our problem and were given a choice of raising the 1-2 shift or lowering the 2-3 shift. We opted to raise the 1-2 shift, and A&A sent us these springs and recommendations for the 1-2 shift control valve. We were hopeful.
We put the first A&A recommended...
We put the first A&A recommended spring on the 1-2 shift control valve in the valvebody, and the 1-2 shift came up to match the 2-3 shift exactly. Those guys are good, and we couldn't be happier with the results.