FAQ #6 AOD TRANSMISSION INTO A CLASSIC

[Trinitys]

THIS WILL GROW OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS I GET THE TIME.........

351W in 1969 swap from a FMX to an AOD……
Transmission The 1987 up AOD has better main shaft Oiling, which is important if you are running 3.73 or higher gears & putting miles on the freeway ( faster than 55).
AOD with a floor shifter preferably, although column shift will work with small modifications.
http://www.tbkhomeworld.com/sale/transmission.jpg

Flex plate, 164 teeth, and 28.2 balance
Transmission cross member……… custom from Windsor fox or NPD (National Parts Depot) Can the FMX cross member be made to fit?......... No

Lokar TV cable (part # kd-2aodht)
http://www.lokar.com/interior_pages/products/throttlecables_kd/images/ford_aod.jpg
Optional but nice to have Lokar throttle cable bracket (part number srk-4000) and
http://www.lokar.com/interior_pages/products/mounting_brackets/images/cb_spring.jpg
Lokar high-tech throttle cable, 24” long, will need to be shortened.
http://www.lokar.com/interior_pages/products/throttlecables_kd/images/tc_hitech.jpg
Longer bolts for the bell housing (2 1/2”-2 3/4” long),
AOD yoke
http://i13.ebayimg.com/02/i/01/e9/cb/6b_1.JPG
AOD block plate and inspection cover,
12 Quarts of fluid for a dry Transmission

The position of the TV cable stud hole used on Edelbrock carburetors offers far too much pull on the TV cable, through the full range of throttle positions. If you adjust the TV cable at full throttle, line rise is too low, and the shift points are too early. If you adjust the TV cable for normal-throttle upshift timing the TV cable bottoms out before you reach full throttle; this results in the TV cable falling out of adjustment after a few kickdowns. The end result is poor shift quality, timing, and repeat clutch and band failure. The Sonnax TV Cable Corrector provides the proper TV geometry, resulting in correct TV rise at all throttle openings.

For holleys.....
Frequently the throttle cable detent is pulled out of adjustment at wide-open throttle. This problem occurs with Holley carburetors in use with most Ford AOD transmissions. This is typically caused by inaccurate geometry of the carburetor linkage plate. In order for the TV to function properly there must be a specific degree of movement of the throttle valve linkage between closed and wide open throttle. Also there should be a specific distance between the pivot points of the throttle valve linkage and the carburetor linkage. When either of these two distances are greater than the spec, the TV cable will be pulled out of adjustment. The TV cable corrector AS2-02K kit adjusts the geometry of the TV linkage to prevent the TV cable from being pulled out of adjustment at full throttle. A quick and inexpensive fix for any transmission with a TV cable. This will not fit some early models of Holleys and some versions of the Holley Dominator, but does fit a Demon with small spacers. If you want to see this on a Demon, plaese e-mail me.
you can get these adaptors at eithere summit, E-bay or form these sites...
(www.sonnax.com
http://www.tpiperformance.com/holcarbrac.html
I used the Holley adaptor on my Road Demon
http://www.transmissionspecialty.com/parts/TS-Pictures/AS2-02K.jpg
http://www.transmissionspecialty.com/parts/TS-Pictures/AS3-03K.jpg

Your speedo gear, flexplate, starter, drive shaft and shifter rod will work (with small modification to the rod).


Things to think about………………..
You might want lower rear-end gears after the swap, the aod is wider, so you might need your exhaust modified, if you’re using long tube headers, you might have clearance issues. I used headman shorties on my 351w/aod combo.
Also if you need pix, let me know! Also, you will need to set the TV pressure on the aod before you drive it. I had Aamco do it, no problem at all; the directions come with the Lokar stuff.
I’m sure there is something I’m missing, but that’s most of it.


LINKS
GENERAL AOD INFO

http://home.att.net/~marksmoore/Used_AODE.htm

http://www.mustangsandmore.com/ubb/DanJonesC4AODswap.html

http://www.yourcovers.com/tranny_pan_aod.htm

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:puqAd1to7Y0J:www.sccoa.com/articles/transgo.html+aod+difference+ford&hl=en


http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2000/04/shiftkit/index.shtml

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:mMJ8brPJKHUJ:www.mustangandfords.co m/howto/16159/+aod+difference+ford&hl=en

http://tnmotorsports.com/aod.htm

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:odC6a5oHx0AJ:www.ford-aod.com/+aod+difference&hl=en

http://www.hotrod.com/projectbuild/62958/

SHIFTER ROD INFO
http://home.online.no/~janekz/a/c4aod3.htm

AOD SPECIFIC FORUM
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:R-A1HaQcU9IJ:www.network54.com/Forum/260730+aod+forum&hl=en

TV CABLE ADJUSTMENT INFO
http://www.tciauto.com/instructions/431000_inst.htm

SHIFTER MODIFICATION INFO
http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=forum&Number=678837

[Trinitys]

edit

[farseek1]

Some info that might help someone, good parts list, and salvage yard lists

[NorCalTroy]

Here is another link to add to the list:
http://www.mustangmonthly.com/techarticles/mump_0608_ford_transmission_swap/

[Blaze86Vic]

As a veteran AOD owner and builder. I figured I'd stress again how important it is to adjust the TV pressure PROPERLY BEFORE MOVING! With the TV cable not working right you can fry clutches in less than 1 mile of driving.

You might also be interested in knowing of the WideRatio AOD, which is an AOD with the planetary gear set from a 4R70W transmission. These have notably lower 1st and 2nd gears for better launching but maintanes a .70 Overdrive gear for interstate driving.

Might be redundant but multiple sources are nice.

Collection of info on AODs from GrandMarq.net (http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?t=5953)

[jezzicaz789]

Thanks you for the post.
Hi guys, Im a newbie. Nice to join this forum.

[Boogerschnot]

How about the stock FMX flexplate to the 5.0 or AOD torque converter match? Does the donor converter fit the old FMX flexplate? Or do you need a different "newer" flexplate made for AOD, or even a different converter made for the flexplate?

[Angel]

I have a 351w and the flexplate from the FMX bolted right up the the AOD's converter.

[Boogerschnot]

How about the yoke?? My transmission doesnt have one, just the spline on the rear. Which yoke do I have to go with. Angel I know you said you used a conversion but you had the yoke already, correct?

[Angel]

Yea you'll need the aod yoke but you can use the original driveshaft. I know they already answered the question in another thread but I didnt want you to think I ignored you.

[miketyler]

Am considering the AOD swap in my 1970 Mach 1 351C car. It has what I believe is a C6 in it now. What is critical in the TV cable setting? I have read a few cases where guys burned them up quickly. What was this from? Running the vehicle at cruise speed with the trans TV cable control not to full detent?

[klevor]

Just improper adjustment I believe they are saying. And adjustment is important unless you use a manual valve body i suppose.

[Boogerschnot]

Is it possible to use the original throttle cable? I wouldnt mind saving the $50.

[mikem]

Boogerschnot, you dont need to mess with your stock accelerator cable. It works the same with either transmission. For Boogerschnot and Panteramatt, i'll give you my c4 to aod swap experience from last week.
I started off reading everything by people who had done the swap themselves. Dan Jones did a c-4 to aod swap write up and so did Jim O'Clair in 2006 in an article he did for Hemmings Muscle Machines. I read several others and gleaned a good bit of information so i knew what potential problems i faced.
I got a rebuilt 89 aod from an F150 on craigslist for $500. In the deal i got the blocking plate and cover plate, a B&M hole shot converter (1900 to 2100 stall) the starter, aod yoke, dipstick tube and stick, and the longer bolts for the bellhousing to block. I got the neutral safety switch plug at a junk yard for free. I ordered some parts from P.A.T.C Speed Shop over the internet which consisted of: Lokar Cable #89, Lokar Cable Bracket #8LB, B&M aod lever kit #89X, Holley carb. adaptor #29, and new torque converter nuts #2FN, all for a total of $216.00 delivered. I ordered a transmission mount from Mustangs Plus along with the Ford Racing 164 tooth, 28 oz balance, flex plate, for another $250. My brother owns his own automotive shop in Bakersfield, Ca., "Sam Moore's Automotive" (plug) and he had and open rack which was rare.

Monday:
We removed the C4transmission then removed the flywheel and blocking plate. The C-4 flexplate has 157 teeth and is smaller around so it could not be used in this swap. We put the aod blocking plate in place then bolted up the new flywheel. We placed the aod on the transmission jack and saw that it was about 3 inches wider and ½ inch longer than the C-4. We had to cut the cross over pipe and unbolt the exhaust at the headers (short). We placed the B&M torque converter into the transmission making sure it seated all the way, by pushing and rotating it. We mounted the trans to the block with no trouble. We bolted up the converter with new bolts and replaced the inspection plate. The dip stick tube was installed with no problem. The stock original starter was connected (didnt need the aod one), then the new transmission cross member along with the C-4 trans insulator mount. The C-4 transmission yoke is 6 ½ inches long and bottomed out before we could get the driveline into the rear end yoke. Not having a T-5 yoke handy which is 5 inches long, we cut 1 ½ inches off the C-4 yoke and it fit perfectly.
The AOD was originally from a column shift truck so the shift lever was pointing down. In order for it to work with a floor shift, the lever needs to be pointing up. We dropped the pan, removed the stock lever and replaced it with the lever in the B&M aod lever kit. The PACT instructional video on their website shows how to do this and it is simple. But in their video, they say you should drop the valve body to access the nut that holds the lever in place. You don’t need to do that at all on this particular transmission. We easily accessed the nut. You need to be sure to line everything up when the new lever goes in as explained in the video. I attached the Lokar TV cable to the transmission, attached a cable bracket to the pan and then went to the holley carb to attach the carb adaptor. I then attached the Lokar cable bracket to the driver's side, back carb bolt and attached the Lokar cable housing to the bracket and the Lokar cable to the carb. I ended up cutting about 14 inches off the Lokar cable housing after sliding the inner wire out about two feet (don’t want to cut this inner wire yet) so that some of the excess slack could be taken up. The biggest obstacles of the day involved trying to modify the stock shift arm to fit the shift lever on the aod and trying to get the pre bent transmission lines "specifically made for this conversion", to fit at the radiator. Regarding the shift arm, it’s pretty close to begin with but the aod is wider so you have to massage the lever so that it does not rub against the trans tunnel. I spent about an hour heating and bending just the area that connects to the shift lever on the transmission and didn’t get it right before the end of the day. Same thing for the transmission lines. The way they were bent and formed, they would not clear the crank pulley in the space between the radiator and the pulley.

Tuesday:
I finally got the shift arm in a good position and it works fine. After bending, and shaping, I got the transmission lines connected
The neutral safety switch (nss) on the aod is obviously different than the one for the C4. I cut the original C4 harness near the switch itself so I would have enough wire to connect to the pin connector that the aod uses. I didn’t know what wires on the harness would hook up to the different colored wires on the pin so this took some time. There are two black wires and two red wires on the harness but these wire colors did not correspond to the pin wire colors. Looking at a nss wiring diagram from a 68 mustang, I saw that one of the black wires went to the back up lights. I turned on the key and using a test light found one of the black wires was hot but none of the other three were. I left the key on and put the trans in Reverse. Sam had me look at the back up lights while he connected the hot wire to one of the back up light wires on the pin. It lit up. I found a nss wiring diagram for the pin connector on the PACT website so we knew which two were back up and which two were for the aod neutral safety switch. The black hot wire and a red wire from the harness went to the back up and the other two went to the remaining wires for the neutral safety switch. Problem solved. The biggest pain in the fanny for me on this install besides the shift arm, was the tv cable adjustment. Having been warned in virtually every publication that if you mess this up, you fry the transmission, I was nervous and did a lot of reading. I initially followed the instructions that came with the Lokar tv cable. It said to slide the ball stud up to the carb connector and snug it down. They provided a tool/spacer to insert between the carb and ball to simulate 2000 rpm. I connected a gage to the tv pressure port and fired it up. I adjusted the Lokar cable until I got 35 psi in neutral with the spacer installed. I then removed the spacer and had 0 psi at idle in neutral, as per the instructions. While the car was still on the rack and the tires off the ground, we put the car through all the gears and it worked. I couldn’t drive the car with uncorked headers and hanging exhaust pipes and it was the end of the day so we called it good.

Wednesday:
I had the car towed to Steve’s muffler and had him reconnect everything. He had to add new pipe and bends to accommodate the aod. I also had him make sure that I could remove the aod for service without having to cut the pipes again. You never know. I drove the car back to Sam’s shop and noticed that it shifted way too soon. I was in 3rd gear at 20mph and OD at 35. I rechecked the pressure with a gauge and it was still set “correctly” per the Lokar instructions. I did not resolve this issue at Sam’s. I got the car home and took it for a 20 mile drive wondering how to resolve the early shifts. I did more reading and found an aod posting on the net from a guy who did the same swap and had the same issue. He made several phone calls regarding the Lokar instructions, first to Lokar, then to TCI and finally to Bauuman before he got the answer. He found out that those instructions are for cars that originally came with aod and it was just a rough setting for this type of conversion. The answer for him was to have 4 psi pressure at idle in neutral. Basically, the ratio of the carb lever movement to the Lokar tv cable should be 1 to 1. When the throttle moves, the cable should be moving. While looking at the movement of the carb adaptor plate with the tv cable installed, it moves slightly downward at first. So even though you are getting immediate carb throttle, the tv cable still has a few mm of movement before it gets tight and moves. You essentially have to pre-load the cable a bit. I did not have a gauge but moved the cable ball against the carb linkage so that there was some pre-load. I drove the car and it was now shifting later and almost perfect. I ended up going to a place that builds custom hose lines and they had all the parts as listed in the Lokar instructions, to build my own tv port gauge for under $20.00. I still need to fine tune it but I’m close.
I basically took up three days of rack time at the shop, moving slowly and trying to figure out some of this stuff. With the knowledge and experience I have now, this would be a one day swap if the muffler shop guy was available. Heck, he only took 45 minutes.
If i can help with further questions, let me know. Mike

[Boogerschnot]

Mike! Thanks man. That write up really answered a lot of questions. What gear ratio did you go with for the rear end? Im looking at 4.11's it seems to be the gear of choice thus far.

[mikem]

I went with 3:55 posi but a 3:73 would have been a better choice for me. 4:11's would be really interesting. I wonder what the rpm gauge would read at 75mph down the freeway? Probably still much better than the 3 speed with 3:00 ratio. Good luck with your project.