AOD Trans conversion

[ROKuberski]

Rich,

Thanks, I finally found the dipstick for the AOD.  It seems like a very small hole to pour three gallons of fluid into the transmission, but I also saw the adapter for adding fluid.

In about 90 minutes work I have the transmission within one bolt of removing it from the car (not counting the two bolts still holding in the cross member, they are east to remove.)  It's the top passenger side bolt.  I've had it out before, but it sure looks like a bear to get to. 

With a little luck, I'll be back on the road in a couple of weeks.

[gasman826]

When removing transmission with OEM, steel tube dipstick, remove the dipstick first.  When installing, dipstick goes in last.  If using a flexible dipstick tube, install first and remove last.  Back in the day, Ford transmissions had a little, plastic shipping plug with o-ring in the dipstick hole to keep foreign material out.  During factory assembly, the model appropriate tube was selected and shoved into the hole pushing the plug into the pan to bounce around forever.  Unscrupulous transmission shops would drop the pan for 'inspection' to share with the owner the volume of crap in the bottom of the pan.  Upon seeing a loose part rolling around in the bottom of the pan, customers would immediately be shocked into needing a rebuild.  I always liked seeing the plug in the pan so I knew I was dealing with an unmolested core.

Dipstick calibration:  with the pan off, install the dipstick tube and stick.  The fluid level line should be even with the bottom of the transmission case where the pan bolts.  This means the fluid full mark is at the top of the transmission pan.  Most performance builders recommend up to a quart over full is better than under full.  Anything to increase the volume of fluid in the system is a good thing.

[fdlrc]

Do you think that is also is true for oil pans?

[RICH MUISE]

Rich...not sure what you meant by..." I finally found the dipstick for the AOD."..you found an oem, or you found the Lokar aod dipstick.

[gasman826]

Do you think that is also is true for oil pans?

Engine oil?  NO

[RICH MUISE]

On the tranny dipstick calibration........aside from having what appeared to have the correct protrusion beyond the seal surface, My transmission was never drained when I replaced/ pulled the engine, I did have a small amount of leakage, but not much. When I installed the Lokar, I checked the level it was showing, and it was indicating just a tad low, just as it should have.

[ROKuberski]

Rich...not sure what you meant by..." I finally found the dipstick for the AOD."..you found an oem, or you found the Lokar aod dipstick.

It's for the Lokar kit.  I did not scroll down far enough on the Lokar website to see the AOD dipstick.  I did notice on the website they show the filler adapter on the oil dipstick kit, but not on the transmission kit.  I also looked at their instruction sheet for the transmission kit and it shows the filler attachment.  I left a message with them to tell me if it is included.  It must be as I can not find it as a separate item.  Did you get the filler attachment with your transmission dipstick kit?

Rich

[terry_208]

Ref calibration of the dipstick.  Wouldn't simply putting the required amount of fluid into the transmission and checking the level show the proper level on the dipstick?  With a newly rebuilt transmission, wouldn't it be empty to begin with and require the full amount of fluid?  Idk how one would go about getting the line marked on the dipstick to line up with the fill level of the fluid.

[thomasso]

Those upper transmission bolts are accessable with long extensions and swivel sockets from the rear.  As I recall a 30" extension is required.

[RICH MUISE]

Yes, mine came with the filler "adapter". I keep it in my traveling toolbox......the adapter is piece of tubing and small funnel.

[ROKuberski]

I'll be using the Lokar kit for the AOD, so it's a no brainer on the dipstick.  As to the upper bolts, I did get them out.  Some things are more fun than other things.

Rich, thanks for the info on the filler adapter.

I think I'll pull the rear axles now so I can get the differential gear set out and replace a leaking gasket.  There is always more fun to be had.

Rich

[gasman826]

Ask your transmission builder to confirm the full mark.  The builder would be happy to check it...he's guaranteeing it.  Use the fluid he recommends.  I use from 1/2 to a quart of fluid during a build.  I usually add fluid to the torque converter before installing.  Bigger radiator, cooling lines and auxiliary cooler may take another 1/2 quart.  For light duty driving, a quart or two plus or minus may not make a big difference. 

Since you are going to pull the pig, consider a ratio change.

[RICH MUISE]

Good point Gary, with the overdrive tranny being added. I'm running 3.50s in mine and very happy with it. Plenty of pickup and good economy. Wouldn't hurt to check what ratio the AOD equipt cars had. I will say I do take mine out of OD frequently, but that's due, I think, to the computer programmed for whatever the Mark VIII had for rear end ratio. Can the AOD be "manually" taken out of overdrive? I think if I was living in Colorado, I'd rarely have it in overdrive unless I had the computer reprogrammed. With that irrelevant info said, I don't know how an AOD works, so you may not even have the same shifting issue I have on hills. I seem to remember you DO have hills in Colorado.

[ROKuberski]

Gasman,

I ran out of gas this afternoon.  I have not attacked the diff. yet.  There were two different gear ratios available; standard 3.1:1 and optional 3.56:1.  I don't know what I have, but very likely the 3.1:1.  At this time, I am not going to change the ratio.  My leak is not serious, but a while back I got an email from Rockauto, they had some stuff on sale for my car. I bought the gaskets for the diff. and some other stuff that I did not need very bad, but it was cheap.

As to the fluid level in the transmission, Since I am getting a dipstick made for my unit, I am not worried that I will have the wrong amount of fluid in it.  The builder says to use Dextron III in this unit.  On the internet, I've seen recommendations for Mercon V too.  However those that recommend Mercon V do note that it was not available when these transmissions were built.

Rich is right, we do have a few hills in Colorado.  Last summer, I drove the car over two passes to go to a vintage RR celebration.  The road was pretty steep in some areas, but I was able to keep up with traffic for the most part.  I did average 17.5 MPG on the round trip and was very satisfied with that.  I think the EFI boosted the mileage 1 - 2 MPG at cruise.  I am assuming that the transmission will be smart enough to find the right gear for road conditions. 

Rich

[gasman826]

Mine started out very stock with 292 and FOM.  The ratio was 3.56 but it is a Ranch Wagon.  The 3.56 was too low even with 26" tires and buzzed the motor too much at 70 mph.  Any cruiser with direct drive(no overdrive) and no lockup converter should target a ration of 3.00 or smaller especially if 70 mph is the target speed. 

Comparing other combinations is worthless without adding tire diameter into the equation.  With the AOD's fourth gear (OD...and yes it is a 4th gear and NOT a lockup torque converter), I started with 28+" tires and 3.00 gear.  This gear was way too small.  At 55 mph, the engine was only running 1900 RPMs in 4th gear and chugging due to too much cam.  Late '80s GT Mustangs ran 3.73 gears with short, low profile tires (like 24").  So I changed to 3.89 gear for a couple of years and was quite pleased with 2600 RPMs at 70-75 mph.  I just changed to a 4.11 gear to get a little more 'shoulders pinned to the seat' takeoffs at the cost of a couple hundred RPMs at 70 mph.

The number one issue with AODs is controlling the shifts.  AODs have a tendency to upshift early and downshift late with little manual control.  In stock configurations and mild cruising, the shifts are acceptable.  If one wants a little performance thrill from time to time, AOD shifting is the typical FORD automatic shift...hold 1st gear by holding shifter in LO, shift to DR momentarily and back to LO to hold second gear, back to DR for 3rd gear and no control for 4th gear so it shifts whenever.  In DR, mine shifts typical AOD up early and down late.  With a LENTECH valve body and a '64 Galaxie steering column (LO, DR2 and DR1 selections), a electric switch has been added to the dash.  The switch is to a servo in the valve body.  In performance mode, the line pressure is increased and the transmission shifts in automatic or manual mode.  I can manually up and down shift the first three gears with fourth locked out(flip the switch for fourth).  This is about as fun driving as an automatic can get.