huge numbers used in Crown Vic Police Interceptors, so......If they'll stand up to that.....If you have them dialed in right, they're fine. Not right, they burn up in a hurry. Fine for street use, can be beefed up for racing.
i've been using one daily for 5 years. just got mine rebuilt recently and upgraded with a shift kit and it takes alot of abuse so far from me. i'm happy with it, i have a mild cam in my 302 and drive my ranchero daily and have not had a single problem. but as said before make sure it is adjusted correctly or else it will burn up in an instant.
That entirely depends on what you start with....and how you use it. In stock form, properly adjusted, they will handle a reasonably healthy street small block. The can be built to handle a ton of torque/power, but as with anything, it will cost you some $ to get there. More power = more $$. As mentioned the throttle cable adjustment is critical to making them survive, as it controls internal pressures in the transmission. Most AOD failures are due to either adjusting it wrong (or not at all; some people think it's merely a kickdown, so they leave it off during the first test drive...); or, they understand what it does, but assemble it wrong by cobbling up an incorrect bracket or get the cable bent oddly. The idea is to get the correct "geometry" so, as the carb throttle arm moves, the cable moves exactly the right amount (it's not just a 1:1 adjustment). The best way to do it is to use a Edelbrock, Lokar, etc. bracket, a shop manual, & a line pressure gauge. I would compare it in skill level to, say, replacing a timing chain; not really tough, but if you don't know how to at least align the marks, you're gonna have problems. To do it right takes maybe 30-45 minutes, or less once you get the idea.
agreed, when i bought my ranchero it already had the AOD installed and the previous owner used the original throttle kickdown parts and they were ugly, bent and tweaked to work properly, but they did serve their purpose. i eventually grew tired of the eyesore when i was upgrading to the edelbrock carb and manifold so i upgraded to the Lokar kickdown cable and it felt much smoother and was actually nice to look at. well soon after my trans went out, and had a shop rebuild it, well it lasted about a 2 years until it went out again. i got it rebuilt a few months ago and they showed me that it wasn't rebuilt correctly the first time so they did a full rebuild with the shiftkit and now it drives much smoother, has a nice kick to it now and can handle everything i give it when i beat the crap out of my car. just make sure the trans is rebuilt correctly and the kickdown is all adjusted properly and you'll find you have a damn good trans.
The better choice is an AODE. These were put in early 90's Ford vehicles. They have a wider gear spread with a lower 1st gear at around 2.85 to 1 and a .70 to 1 overdrive ratio. The converter also locks up in overdrive mode. TCI offers some specific heavy duty parts for these transmissions and can build you a very stout one. They also sell a stand alone computer for the AODE. Just like anything else, all it takes is money.
I have one that is going into my t bucket. I have been doing research on them and found out what already has been said. It does not have a kick down, the cable varies internal transmission pressures in relationship to throttle position. I have purchased the lokar cable and bracket for mine. I haven't decided whether I will do the adjustment myself, or let a tranny shop do it. Although it does not sound like it wouldn't be hard to do.
AOD's are bitch to adjust, but once you have them dialed in, they are awesome. The AOD saves me alot of money in gas. I like them. But I heard to use early 90's models, pre computer.
ok, sounds good...thanks for the info.......id threre a source online or a way to figure out what i have ? and will they bolt earlier 302's ?
check out Baumann, becontrols.com, good site for information and shift kits. I use their kit in my aod. lot more detailed than other kits.
All AODs have a bellhousing that attaches to the small block Ford pattern. They use the 160-some-odd tooth flywheel.
Not quite correct. There exists a little bit of confusion in the Ford world over this. The AODE has different ratios that the one's you speak of. AOD history goes like this.... AOD - 2.40/1.46/1.00/0.67 - No computer AODE - 2.40/1.47/1.00/0.67 - Computer (E means electronic). '94-'95 5.0 Mustangs had this transmission as did Crown's and Marquis' I believe. AODE/W - 2.84/1.55/1.00/0.70 - Computer (E = electronic, W = wide ratio gear set) The AODE/W is also more commonly known as the 4R70W. Right after Ford came out with the AODE/W they revised the naming structure of their transmissions. Hence the coinfunsion. The 4R70W debut in the Lincoln Mark VIII ('93 I believe) and went into Mustangs in '96 w/the 4.6 introduction. Pickups and vans got them starting around '94 with some 4.9's, nearly all 5.0's and some 5.8's getting them.
I have one out of a 87 Mercury it does have some wires plugged into it. if the overdrive or lock up is not electronic, what are they for?
very good tranny's all of them, but if you get the non computer controlled one make sure that pressure is set up right, they can and will burn up in 1 mile or LESS, if not adjusted correctly!
I hear the input shaft is a weak link, sound right? They require a kit to work with aftermarket shifters. Most aftermarket carbs will say in the ad something like : "not for use with AOD" They are kinda bigish. I have one in my model A that is yet to move down the road.
for anyone looking at old police cruisers Ford set up the cruiser trans so you could not manually shift into low gear.What is listed as low on the indicator is actually second gear in the tranny !
What Auto trans comes on a 4.6 in a 1992 Crown Victoria, And, what do I need to do to use this combo in a non computer car?I would like to use this engine/trans in a rod as close to stock as possible
Al 4.6 Crown's/Grand Marquis after 1996 had 4R70W's. Prior to that they had AOD-E transmissions. Be aware that if it came behind a 4.6 it will only fit a 4.6, 5.4 or 6.8. They have a different bellhousing pattern than the normal SBF pattern. Will not bolt up. If you find a 4.9/5.0/5.8 AODE or AODE/W (aka 4R70W) and do not want a computer, you MUST run a full manual shift valve body - only available as a forward (OE) pattern. No reverse pattern at this time. Some place I have an issue of Muscle Mustang & Fast Fords that did a tech story about putting the wide ratio gearset from the 4R70W into a regular AOD. It was a bolt in. Someone said something about the input shaft weakness?? That's on the AOD only. Not the AODE or 4R70W(AODE/W). Problem can be fixed with a one piece input shaft, but will eliminate lockup. Some aftermarket torque convertors will also lock the 2 piece input shaft together as one.
another info source is lentech automatics , too costly for me though i also understand you can put aode internals into an aod case if you dont want mess with the electronic crap....
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