I am working on a lock up 904. Took it apart and found metal in the bottom of pan and filter. Nothing in the v/b. Later I found where the metal came from, rear shaft (don't know what its called) I asked at a local shop and they said they just put it on a lathe to fix it. Would I be better off just finding another shaft, trans or getting this 1 fixed?

You may be able to fix this with a little machining and a thicker shim (if available). However the rest of the transmission should be made scrupulously clean because there maybe microscopic particles that passed through the filter and into the lockup converter and if you were to reuse it in the build you may be looking at a comeback. Also be sure to flush the trans cooler lines and the cooler itself.

I went through a similar problem when my wife owned a Phord Expedition. The first time it failed I pulled the trans pan and found enough aluminum chunks there to make a small block piston. The lockup converter was at fault. I went through 3 transmissions in that POS at $3K a time and the last time they replaced the radiator because the trans cooler was plugged up with debris. The truck is still in the family though now it is not my problem and it has been consigned to death at the hands of my sons employees.

This transmission came out of an old police diplomat that then served life as a security patrol vehicle that was hit and totaled. Its going into a 1963 Valiant convertible behind a nice little 360. I have a new radiator, trans cooler and lines to go into this car. The rest of the trans looks really clean and no grit or grime. Looks like the filter did its job.

I personally would ck the splines real good, make sure its not mushroomed , then clean up the end with a flat file ( a flat thrust washer rides on the end),put it together then double ck the end shaft play once the trans is assembled.

Another thing you could do is to use a late model truck pan that fits the 904 style trans. I think they are used in the Dakotas and I don't remember the new model number, but the point is that in the 727 style 518 pans the factory puts a small magnet in the corner of the pan and it traps steel filings. A worthwhile addition to your fresh trans.

That damage is typical when the fiber thrust washer pounds out or is omitted, you can see where the pilot is peened over from bottoming out in the input shaft.

I agree that it can be saved with some lathe work, face off the thrust surface and remove the peening being careful not to undersize the pilot. The thickest selective washer might make up for the removed material.

The washer that came out was less then half the thickness of what a new 1 is. It was ground up pretty good. Got a replacement, just trying to figure out where to go from here. This may be a winter project.

Is that where the output and input shafts meet? If so, A&A has a bearing for that location for the 727, but I don't know about the smaller tranny. You might check with them and see. The bearing is not listed in their catalog, but is available. I have put a couple in my 727s over the years after beating out the thrust washers.