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Thread: AOD Question

  1. #1

    Default AOD Question

    Hi, am new to the forums here. My son and I have been working on his 85 Mustang 5.0 Convertible. We put in a Blueprint 306 and have run into some issues with the transmission. I am hoping someone will be able to give some guidance before taking it to a transmission shop to just be told it needs to be replaced/rebuilt. My son is hoping to get a year or so out of the original while saving money for a rebuild. The situation currently is as follows:

    Engine and transmission are in and the vehicle drives. My son has done some of the work, I have done some of the work. Not always at the same time and he made a mistake. He did not take the Bellhousing spacer off the old motor prior to selling it. When he put the transmission up to the motor, it did not have one on it, he ended up just putting on the inspection plate and shrugging his shoulders as far as being able to see the flywheel. He got his car running and such like this. We took it out for a drive and the transmission does not shift past 2nd gear. I crawled under the car to take a look at his work and discovered i could see the flywheel and then discovered he did not install the spacer. The car is at the shop to have some other work done and will have the transmission pulled while its there and put the new spacer on (obtained from Speedway Motors as i am lucky enough to live in same city as their main distribution hub).

    My question is, without this spacer, it seems like there would be extra space in relation to the torque converter causing it to not engage the pump properly, not getting enough pressure in the transmission and causing the shifting issue. This is just me 'hoping' this shifting issue is related to the missing spacer. Am i on the right track here? The transmission worked fine when we pulled the old 5.0 motor out so I don't see why it would not be working now.

  2. #2
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
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    How did you go about adjusting the tv cable?
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
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    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
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  3. #3

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    I called my son and inquired about this as well this evening. He purchased the Lokar kick down cable and throttle cable to go with the Holley Street Demon carburetor. It appeared as though he installed it correctly. I am skeptical about the adjustment process as he was unable to explain what steps he took to adjust it. As far as I know, he doesn’t even own a gauge to check the pressure. I believe he likely did not follow the instructions. This may very well explain why it’s not shifting I guess. The shop is pulling the transmission to access the rear main seal on his motor which is leaking. I will ensure that they have and follow the instructions from Lokar. Am hopeful this is the issue and he did not roast his tranny taking it the couple miles to the shop stuck in 1st and 2nd gear?

  4. #4
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    The TV cable is the main "brain" for an AOD. If not adjusted properly you will burn up an AOD in no time. Don't ask me how I know this. How many miles did you drive the car without it shifting? The AOD converter actually seats 3 times in the transmission when installing. Hopefully you got that right too, otherwise it can burn up the front pump. Again DON'T ASK.

    I don't know the calibration process for the Lokar, the normal setup at the factory is to disconnect the clip on the OEM shift cable, open the throttle 100% and set the clip. That usually gets you very close. You can fine tune from there as needed. Checking the pressure is another way to do, but most don't want to deal with connecting to the port on the transmission and/or don't have the correct gauge or fittings. It's better to be adjusted a bit too tight with later shifts than too early. Most manuals tell you the transmission should not shift into 4 until over 45 MPH. You can adjust that depending on gearing, etc. which is what I will be doing very soon with my AOD in my 86 Bronco.

    I am sure you don't want to spend the $$ if you don't have to, but if the transmission is already out of the car, you might try and find a good shop to double check it before re-installing, especially if you have put more than a couple of miles on it. Just my .02, hopefully everything is good and needs nothing but the proper adjustment on the TV cable. Good Luck!
    ​Trey

    "I Don't build it hoping for your approval! I built it because it meets mine!"

    "I've spent most of my money on Mustangs, racing, and women... the rest I just wasted."

    Mustangs Past: Too many to remember!
    Current Mustangs:
    1969 Mach 1
    1979 Pace Car now 5.0/5 speed
    1982 GT Stalled RestoModification
    1984 SVO Still Waiting Restoration
    1986 GT Under going Wide Body Conversion Currently

    Current Capris:
    1981 Capri Roller
    1981 Capri Black Magic Roller Basket Case
    1982 Capri RS 5.0/4spd T-top Full Restoration Stalled in TX
    1984 Capri RS T-top Roller
    1983-84 Gloy Racing Trans Am/IMSA Body Parts

  5. #5

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    Sounds like a misadjusted TV cable, I never could get my AOD to shift like stock after I put it all back together. I even used the Ford shop manual the first time (still had lazy/early shifts) then went to the click click racing step by step. Still didn’t shift right. Ended up going a hair snug on the cable and drove it for about 600 miles before I burned up 2nd gear.


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    1984 LTD LX, 160k mile Explorer 5.0, Comp XE264HR-14 cam, Alex’s Parts springs on stock GT40 3 bar heads, Unported Explorer intake, 1 5/8 shorty headers, off-road H-Pipe, Spintech 9000 mufflers, Holley Terminator X Max, J-Mod 4R70W, Mustang 8.8 w/ 3.73s, Tubular front and rear control arms, front coilovers, Turbocoupe rear coil springs

  6. #6

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    Lokar instructions are as follows (brief version)

    Put car in Neutral, make sure its not on the fast idle cam and let it get to normal operating temperature. In Neutral with a spacer tool installed at the carburetor end of the cable, make adjustments to the cable (two points of adjustment, one is the cable end for large adjustments, second is via a threaded bolt for fine adjustment) until it reaches 35 PSI at idle. Remove the spacer tool at the carburetor end. This SHOULD get the pressure back to ZERO. If it doesn't come down to ZERO, go back to making some fine adjustments between 31-34 PSI until you get a zero reading w/ the spacer removed. Once achieved, then tighten everything back up, road test. I took a copy of the instructions down to the shop where it's being worked on to ensure they have the proper instructions when they put the transmission back on. I also spoke with the mechanic who i have known for 15 years, and let him know to ensure the torque converter is seated properly. He specialized in engine replacement and gave me a very dirty look when i gave him this reminder The car was only driven about 2.5 miles, which i understand could be more than enough to destroy things inside the transmission if abused. It was limped down there at 20 mph so hoping it will be okay.

    :: Edit ::

    Just got off the phone with my son. He's all of 18 and a little bullheaded. It sounds like he and his buddy mated the torque converter to the flywheel and then brought the transmission up to the engine. Just couldn't wait for his old man to get some time off work!! I had him watch a couple of videos and sent him to the AllData website to look at the proper instructions and he acknowledged that he did not do it correctly. At this point I am expecting some bad news from the shop. If the TC didn't get connected properly to the transmission shaft/pump, would it even be able to limp down to the shop in 2nd gear? I always figured that it would physically break the pump when being tightened down and would then not work at all.

    Ron
    Last edited by TimJim; 09-05-2021 at 05:59 PM.

  7. #7
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    Honestly it's hard to say for sure. Hopefully the TV cable not being adjusted is the only issue. I burned the pump up sitting in the shop with the engine running for less than 5 minutes with the TC improperly installed. Hopefully if you were able to drive it for that distance its just the cable.

    I remember being bullheaded . . . OH and being 18 too! I learned really quickly on the first AOD when I got to pay for the new pump and overhaul the second time. Never done it since. Actually swore off the AOD for about 30 years until I bought this 86 Bronco. Good Luck!
    ​Trey

    "I Don't build it hoping for your approval! I built it because it meets mine!"

    "I've spent most of my money on Mustangs, racing, and women... the rest I just wasted."

    Mustangs Past: Too many to remember!
    Current Mustangs:
    1969 Mach 1
    1979 Pace Car now 5.0/5 speed
    1982 GT Stalled RestoModification
    1984 SVO Still Waiting Restoration
    1986 GT Under going Wide Body Conversion Currently

    Current Capris:
    1981 Capri Roller
    1981 Capri Black Magic Roller Basket Case
    1982 Capri RS 5.0/4spd T-top Full Restoration Stalled in TX
    1984 Capri RS T-top Roller
    1983-84 Gloy Racing Trans Am/IMSA Body Parts

  8. #8

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    Transmission spacer is installed, torque converter was put back on correctly this time by the shop. Drove her back home and at first it still wasn’t shifting past second. Decided to push up the rpm a bit and she went into third gear. After that it’s shifting into all four gears. The shift points are off, but that tells me I will just need to recheck the shops work with the lokar cable adjustment. My mechanic said that was his first time with that procedure and he’d rather that I let a transmission shop do a final adjustment. Apparently we didn’t completely destroy this tranny. Now just fixing a few minor fluid leaks and the old ‘Stang will be back on the road finally.

  9. #9

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    That's good news!
    79 Zephyr, 4.6L 4v/4r70w swap, with team z front and rear suspension, 8.8 and upgraded brakes and coil overs. Running Holley Terminator X Max.

  10. #10
    FEP Super Member xctasy's Avatar
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    Two very good videos exist on the 38 psi shift pressure rule with a measurement block check for cable slack.

    See this http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...justment-issue

    Google search all Four Eye Pride posts with this key

    " Four Eyed Pride AOD adjustment xctasy "

  11. #11

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    Thank you, watching that video here on a bit before trying the adjustments

  12. #12
    FEP Super Member xctasy's Avatar
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    Rod adjustment without gauge

    https://youtu.be/gkZtiFWWMm8

    With the curb idle spacer and oil pressure gauge

    https://youtu.be/fqkfoNBsJWg

    I'm still loOlinger for the original videos. The 5.0 CFI adjustment is via a rod, the Port EFI, via cable

  13. #13

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    So, worked on the adjustment and it’s just not right at all. I have an idea but wanted to get some thoughts on this. With pressure gauge hooked up, I can set to to 35psi with the gauge tool installed. When removing the gauge tool, it just sits there at 35 and will not drop down to ~ 0-5 psi like it’s supposed to. I have read a few posts saying the return spring on these cables is too weak. Thinking of adding a spring and a bracket for this spring on the opposite side of the cable to force it back. Thoughts?

  14. #14
    FEP Super Member xctasy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TimJim View Post
    So, worked on the adjustment and it’s just not right at all. I have an idea but wanted to get some thoughts on this. With pressure gauge hooked up, I can set to to 35psi with the gauge tool installed. When removing the gauge tool, it just sits there at 35 and will not drop down to ~ 0-5 psi like it’s supposed to. I have read a few posts saying the return spring on these cables is too weak. Thinking of adding a spring and a bracket for this spring on the opposite side of the cable to force it back. Thoughts?

    See https://www.whichcar.com.au/features...classic-ford-1

    You need to carefully follow the TV adjustment instructions supplied with the Lokar kit. In short, you need to screw a pressure gauge into the TV pressure port, warm up the engine and gearbox (38–70C), then, while idling in Park and with the special Lokar gauge tool (arrow) in position, adjust the TV cable until the TV pressure is 35psi — pressure should drop to zero once the gauge tool is removed. If you’re in any doubt about this procedure, seek the help of an experienced transmission shop.

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