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AOD swap, here I come

G

gotstang

Member
I scored a 5.0/AOD setup over the weekend, so I guess fate didn't want me to have a T5. :rofl

I'll need to come up with a kickdown, TV cable, and shifter. Thinking about a rod-type kickdown with hardware store parts and a junkyard shifter, but it looks like I have no choice but to pony up for the Lokar TV cable?

Just for gits and shiggles, I'm going to try to keep the total cost as close to $0 as possible. We'll see how THAT goes. :rofl


Youse guys got any hints?
 
Youse guys got any hints?
Click to expand...

As I remember, the factory C4 trans. crossmember can be used to mount the AOD with only a few minor adjustments needing to be made to the crossmember.... elongating the holes in the crossmember to reposition the rubber isolator mount.
 
I haven't finished mine yet but have all the parts sitting around. I don't think the C4 crossmember is wide enough even with elongation of holes. I'll see if I can dig mine up and the one I purchased for the swap and see if I can get some pics next to each other. I don't see away around the lokar cable for a carb., if you're staying EFI with the 5.0 you may be able to use the stock cable. I'm going carb. so I never looked into that.
I take it your harmonic balancer and flywheel are both 50oz.?
The '67/68 driveshaft is ~1" too long, some have cut an inch off their front input yoke or you can get a later model yoke, just need to match up the ujoints. This really needs to be measured/cut with everything mounted and level though.
Jon
 
when i was considering an AOD, i got just barely edjucated enough to know that the TV cable is a really big thing with these trannys.
set them up wrong and you can burn up the tranny.
also, they're apparently wider than a C4 which could mean header clearance issues.
good luck on the swap!
 
We're running an AOD in Red. Recent trip I got 22mpg running at 70-75mph. Yeah Baby.

Running Lokar kickdown cable. Made my own shifter connecting rod ( between shifter and tranny).
Here's a link to some of my AOD conversion pics:

 
There is no kickdown calbe or rod on an AOD, only the TV cable/rod. The AOD is manually modulated using that cable, unlike most other Ford automatic trannies, which are vacuum modulated. If you don't set the TV cable/rod correctly, you quickly have a deep fried transmission. Don't cut corners, or you will be back to the T5 plans pretty quickly.

The C4 x-member won't work. It needs to move back several inches to mate with the AOD. The stock shifter works just fine with the AOD, you just have to get/make a shift rod to go from the shifter to the manual shift lever on the tranny.

Do you have the yoke? If you have the AOD yoke, and the transmission is the short shaft version (most common), you won't have to make any drive shaft modifications. If you don't have the yoke, you can shorten a C4 yoke to work.

If you go with a new converter, make sure it's a lock-up converter. I have an AOD in my '66 with a non-lockup B&M Holeshot 2400 in it. I like the 2400 stall, but wish I had gone with a lock-up converter for better gas mileage and lower freeway RPMs.
 
Wow, thanks guys....I'm in info overload. :D

It's going behind a 50oz balance carbed motor, so it looks like there's no way around the Lokar TV cable. I'll make my own trans crossmember, so that's one less thing to spend money on. For some insane reason, I've got half a dozen driveshafts, so I should have one that will fit, though I don't have the AOD yoke. It's staying stock as a rock for now, so I don't have to worry about a high-stall convertor.

The one thing I'm confused about at this point is the “passing gear� kickdown...I always thought AODs had one? We've messed with enough Chevy 700R4s that I know about the TV cable, but the kickdown has me buffaloed.

The only other interesting part might be getting a junkyard shifter to work, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. :crazy

Well, that and the fact that a stick of 2� box tubing is going for $45 for 6'...holy crap, that makes for one expensive trans x-member. :hide
 
The '86 AOD I used in my last '66 made use of a rod and no cable. I just modified the rod that was on the original Town Car and had a friend with the gauges set it for me. That rod or cable is also what gives it the kick down based on pressure I believe. This pic is of the first one. I redid a better looking one later.
100_9505.jpg
 
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"gotstang" said:
The one thing I'm confused about at this point is the “passing gear� kickdown...I always thought AODs had one? We've messed with enough Chevy 700R4s that I know about the TV cable, but the kickdown has me buffaloed.

The only other interesting part might be getting a junkyard shifter to work, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. :crazy
Click to expand...

You don't need a junk yard shifter, just a fabricated rod between the tranny and the stock shifter. Both cmayna and myself are using the stock shifter in our cars. We just have a modified linkage. Mine I bought from Windsor Fox, many years ago before they went belly up. What year is your car? Finding a used shifter and the housing of the correct year should be pretty easy and cheap on Ebay.

Ford automatic transmissions do not have a passing gear. Vacuum modulated transmissions, such as the C3, C4, C5, and C6 use a mechanical linkage (rod in '65 & '69-'73, and a cable in '66-68) attached to the downshift arm. When the RPMs are low enough, and the kickdown arm is pulled far enough, the transmission simply downshifts. In mechanically modulated transmissions, such as the AOD, the TV (Throttle Valve) cable/rod acts as both the modulator and the kickdown. The only really difference between the 2, and the reason for the distinction is that a kick down rod/cable on a vacuum modulated transmission is completely optional. A TV cable/rod on a mechanically modulated transmission is required (won't shift without it, and will fry the tranny if it's not adjusted right).

You can use either a rod or a cable on the Throttle Valve. It makes no difference, it's simply a matter of preference. IMHO, the Lokar is the easiest to set up and adjust, and looks the best when done.
 
aha...thanks John! I didn't know it was entirely controlled by the TV cable.

But the shifter is going to require some ingenuity...I'm too cheap to buy a C4 shifter and I have a stick shift at the moment. LOL
 
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