Transmission is just about gone.

[2003EDGE]

I went out driving the truck a bit today and now I officially do not have 3rd or 4th gears. It gets to 3rd gear and then just revs.

I will prolly just swap it out and rebuild this one with some goodies. Any suggestions to try before I rip the trans out of this thing?

[MalcolmV8]

Not sure there's a whole lot you can do at this point. Have you rebuilt transmissions before?

[prpleranger]

what kind of trans is it? aod aode or a newer electronic one? some use electric solenoids to control fluid to the servos to engage your bands if its electronic you might check into that but chances are if your pullin good in 1 and 2 you have either a 3-4 band or servo bad but thats just a guess i dont see clutch packs goin bad if it pulls in 1 2 and reverse

[2003EDGE]

It is an AOD, all mechanical. I think that I am going to pick up a rebuild kit and upgrade the friction discs and a few other little things.

I have rebuilt transmissions before but an allison automatic is a whole different animal over one of these.

[broncobowsher]

Sounds like the direct clutch pack fried. If it happened suddenly on a hard acceleration the direct input shaft (the long skinny one inside the hollow one) could have snapped.

If you are doing another AOD, get an '88 and up. They have improved lube to the planatery set

[2003EDGE]

I am leaning towards the pack being fried. It feels like it wants to pull just a bit, it just can't.

[Adam McLaughlin]

AODs are cheap and easy to work on and repair. You can do it, they don't require any special tools UNLESS the rings in the tail shaft where the governor pressure comes through the case dug a groove into the case, then you need a special tool to smooth that out.

Where are you located? If you get rid of yours, I want it for a core. I wanna pull my T5 in the Stang and swap in a home made AOD that makes the T5 look stupid...

Adam

[2003EDGE]

I am on the other coast from you. Sorry. I am searching through some manuals to see what all is involved in a rebuild. I will probably give it a try.

[cgrey8]

I've got a video from Ken Collins, Badshoe Productions that walks you through each part of the AOD rebuild. Even though I have no desire to run an AOD, I wanted to be familiar with them so in conversations about them, I'd understand enough about the internals to follow along. But after watching the video, I feel like I could probably rebuild one without too much trouble.

Here's a link to his site:
BadShoe Productions

Badshoe is the same guy that made the video on rebuilding the Ford 8.8" rear. It was a GREAT step-by-step of what to expect and what you need to know. I would've really botched my rearend rebuild if I hadn't watched his video 1st.

I also have his video on rebuilding the T5 in case I ever have to delve into the T5 I do have in my truck. With that video, I'm confident I could do it. There's not much to them. The AOD is far more complicated than a T5 rebuild.

He keeps promising an AODE/4R70w video, but I haven't seen his site updated for it yet. But when it comes out, I want to get it so I can be familiar as to what all the differences between the AODE and 4R70w are. There are lots of people that say you can run a 4R70w on a 94-95 Mustang EEC as long as you retrofit the 4R with AODE controls. I've recommended to Ken to make sure to cover that detail during his video since I would very much like to run a 4R70w in a future build.

[2003EDGE]

Alot of good info on that site! I just ordered the video for the aod and 8.8

I figure that I can beef the new explorer rear before I swap it in as well.

[Adam McLaughlin]

Yeah it's not a bad trans. Rather simple design, really. Based on the FMX gear set.

Be sure to go easy working in the aluminum pistons into the cast drums. Make sure that the lip seals go in easy, without force.

The AOD that I am driving on now was a pull from a junkyard in 2003. All I did was to re-fill it and it has been running ever since without a hitch. Next time I do something to it, I want to pull that god awful B&M torque converter and then install a dirty dog 2300 RPM stall w/ lockup...

Click CLick Racing dot com

Adam