OK, When I was putting in my new 360LA ( I saved 8 months for it.... so don't think I am rich or anything ) I found a crimped adapter copper line to this aftermarket cooler. I replaced it with a adapter I had from a cooler kit.... so anyway after I got the RV back home, I was dinkering with it and noticed the afermarket cooler has not heating up in Neutral........so I bypassed the radiator cooler can.......It was clogged.
BAM my tran level dropped 2 quarts and the mysterious surging stopped.
every 8 seconds it would surge....
So now my question is I'm going to service the trans and put a Mopar deep sump pan.......... but would you trust this trans?
I got to move my beast 600 miles when I retire from the Air Force and it is my only emergency home. ( child support is a killer........ )
Forgot to say the fluid is not TOO bad. Somebody has cleaned and maybe adjusted the front clutch band. The adjustment jam nut was clean.
Before the fluid BAM dropped and the " to lubrication " circuit started working - I could hear torque converter impeller drop noise.
you know more about trannys than I - I'm a serious amateur with respect to trans stuff.
But - that being said - a 727 has to be one of the top 10 mechanical devices ever made in american automotive engineering (IMHO) - pretty much bullet proof - tough as nails - reliable as heck, etc.
A deep pan gives you more fluid, possibly better cooling - I've thought about it - but haven't done it yet.
Hard to offer a guess as to whether your tranny will be reliable.
The only bad thing about 727s is they last so long (even when neglected) that they often tend to fail "suddenly" - if you know what I mean.
If you don't have the 1200-1400 or so for a complete rebuild (heavy duty shift kit, heavy duty torque converter, trans cooler radiator service, blah, blah...) - well - do everything you can (as it appears you are) and when you drive it - keep as much stress off the torque converter as possible during your 600 mile trip (manual shifting on hills, slow takeoffs etc.) - just drive easy and you'll make it home.
Then save some more bucks and drop in a rebuilt tranny if you think you need it - you'll know after yout trip.
Horst is correct. I rebuild auto trans for a living and the 727 is one of the best ever made. Keep the fluid clean and full and you,ll have many years of happy clipper,in. :D