i have an AOD out of an 88 T-bird with a B&M shift kit behind a carbeurated 351 windsor. I have 1st and reverse, but it wont shift. its a stock torque converter and im having to rev up to 2k before it starts locking up. When taking it for a drive its obviously slipping in 1st and will not shift at all. Im wondering if my TV cable set up is right, I had to make it all because im squeezing all this into a 98 mustang with longtubes. does the TV cable even need to be hooked up just for it to shift? i thought its just to make it kickdown when you romp on it so it drops a gear and takes off quicker? because when i took it for a normal drive i didnt even hookup the cable, shouldnt it still go through the gears?
And it has to be set up correctly using the Ford pressure method. Otherwise, you will burn up the guts of an AOD in a couple of minutes and it will be rebuild time.
The TV controls the pressure inside and with out you are basically slipping clutches.
ok thanks for the quick response. so with the TV cable from what ive seen it has to have a spring to keep it pushed when in neutral and as you give throttle it should equally pull the tranny lever. is this all sound correct? sorry just tryin to figure out how the system is suppose to work, im 19 and not to knowledgable on the tranny end. Thanks in advance.
Okay, first you need to confrim a few things.
1) Is the TV cable hooked up?
2) is the pressure adjusted properly?
3) is the fluid nice a clean?
It is very difficult to diagnose without these few things.
You migth have already fried your AOD, or the gov could simply be stuck.
HOWEVER if you say it is slipping in first...you are propably on the downhill side of needing a rebuild already.
ok im just gonna start off fresh, Where can i BUY a ford TV cable, there discontinued, i know lokar makes a kit, but id like a nice clean straight bolt up on the tranny end, and this tranny's TV arm makes a downward push not towards the tailshaft like a mustang, so it takes another bracket with a linkage and crap. Or is there anywhere i can get a different style TV arm?
Ok now im finding out about these TCI constant pressure valve bodies that does away with this damn cable. What do u think about that? would it be the way to go. whats its benefit? and is it still full auto or no? Thanks
The constant pressure VB's are not as street freindly...they tend to push shifting into the higher rpm ranges for sure.
You can get a TV cable from 5.0 Restore for a reasonable price.
If you desire the Mustag style hook up instead of the truck like maybe you have, you should swap out the TV lever as well.
You will need to find core to remove the parts from.
We were lookin up all sorts of models. trucks, mustangs, t-birds. they couldnt get any of them. and ya i see that one on ebay, im gonna watch it, that goldish colored arm on the tranny side. that would replace my TV arm right?
Ok so im wondering now if its just the torque converter slipping and if its the lock up valve in the valve body, because ive got the cable working well enough that it should be going through first fine but its still stalling up to 2k and slipping. Its a stock 88 T-bird V6 torque converter there is NO reason it should take 2k to lock up, so wouldnt that have to be the lock up valve in the valve body? thanks
Alright so i took a reading of the TV pressure and im getting like nothing in neutral at idle then bringing up the RPMS to around 2500 it'll go up to 20PSI, my B&M shift kit book is sayin it should be 33PSI in neutral at an idle. Whats causing it to be so low?
The AOD transmission does not have a lock up torque convertor.
It is a conventional convertor with a damper connected to the cover and splined to the direct clutch drum.
Once the transmission shifts into 3rd gear the convertor is taken out of the equation.
It works as if there were a pipe welded between the crank pulley and drive shaft yoke.
Then the "OD" overdrive kicks in, which lowers engine RPM's.
What you may be experiencing is convertor stall, common for any convertor, lock up or not.
Different engines will produce a different stall rate on the same convertor.
Put that convertor behind a 3.0 and you will get X stall speed.
Stuff it behind a 351 Cleavland and you will get XXXX stall speed.
You must get the no shift condition corrected first.
Alright so i took a reading of the TV pressure and im getting like nothing in neutral at idle then bringing up the RPMS to around 2500 it'll go up to 20PSI, my B&M shift kit book is sayin it should be 33PSI in neutral at an idle. Whats causing it to be so low?
While in neutral, you need a spacer that puts some slight pressure on the TV cable. That is when you read the pressure. Without it, I don't know if you'll get any pressure to read. I've got one at home that I can take a picture of and show you how it is used in place.
By the way, I've got the Lokar TV cable kit and it works great!
Did you ever get this problem figured out ? I have a AOD tranny on the back of 302 V8 with a carburetor setup, so far this thing will not shift into any higher gears, seems to be stuck in second gear (?) This is in a 1969 FORD F100, engine and tranny swapped out. I am getting really irritated with this, the tranny shop claims that I need to bring it back in to them and let them "rebuild" it, for $925 ............. So far, I am not impressed by this AOD stuff. If you have time drop me a line at my e-mail address : aircraftphoto@aol.com
Thanks, Mark
Firstly the tv should be 0-11 at idle, easy, when you crack the throttle it will climb fast!
mark, lets look at it like this. If the VB and the Governor are hand cleaned and working properly...there there is something internal that is not good, and a rebuild is in order.
Gear stickyness or shifting woes are commonly gov or VB related. However if you both in this thread are dealing with AOD that "used to work" or "they guy told me it worked" then unless he is your best freind or brother...we are the loosing end.
TV pressure will simply delay shifts, not cause upshifts. The GOV is in charge of upshifts, the TV is in charge of downshifts. In some folks world they call is a kickdown cable.
SilverFox ............. appreciate it ! Yea, you are so right about those famous "it worked great" lines .................. I had a talk with the tranny shop that was trying to help me out, they convinced me that unless they were allowed to do a "teardown and rebuild" the AOD problems would continue ............. for whatever reasons. Hard lessons learned here, but just have to remember "there ain't no free lunch" ...........
