I've talked to a half dozen guys and have gotten 6 different answers. anywhere from 15 - 60 pounds, warmed up and idleing in park. What the heck is right ?
I'm running an AOD. It's set up to have 0-5psi at idle (according to many trans sites I researched) and goes up to 30psi under a normal acceleration. 80psi at WOT. http://www.becontrols.com/tech/tvlinkage.htm Flatman
TCI makes a constant pressure valve body for the AOD, still have to run the cable or rod, but the gnats *** adjustment goes away.
The guys I know that have tried the constant pressure valve find it less than fun. I can look up the proper pressure in the manual, but so can you. PM me if you can't. I found that my Lokar setup would not get me there and had to add a spring to pull it down.
Probably the best website for AOD info is : www.clickclickracing.com 0 to 5 psi in neutral,3 psi being optium, there is a gauge that comes with the Lokar AOD kit with the gauge in and the transmission and engine warmed up and off fast idle you should be 30-35 psi.The Lokar AOD kit sometimes will not have enough spring return pressure at the trans lever so you will need to do some fab.(see the pic of the add on spring at the top below)This is what Okiedokie refered to.
There is a spring inside that raises the pressure if the linkage falls off. It is designed to be used with a hard link that performs a push pull fashion. Using a cable will require the extra spring that several have mentioned as the cable cannot push the lever back to the rest position. An alternative would be to drop the pan and remove the internal spring, but an external may still be needed to make sure the cable returns fully.
I have a Lokar cable so I'll try 30 - 35 psi in nuetral, warmed up, & idling. As soon as the snow & salt are off the roads I'll take it for a spin. Oh, that's right I have to finish putting that Cavilier rack under there first.
I did the Lokar cable on a couple of customer cars and had to add a throttle return spring to the linkage at the trans to pull it back.
That reading is with the gauge inserted, without is should be a lot lower - more in the range of 0 to 5 psi.
I used an oil presure guage, 0 to 100 psi. 8th inch line & fitting in the port just above the shift linkage. Never have seen any kind of Lokar guage.
The "gauge" is a shim thing that gets inserted in the linkage by the throttle lever. You set everything with this small block using the pressure gauge, then remove the gauge block. The pressure should then drop to 0-5 psi. Check the step 8 and 9 here: http://static.atechmotorsports.com/global/images/instructions/lok-kd2aodht.pdf
i had one with the kit.years ago at a different garage..i wanted to know if there was something else i could use to get the same gap when testing for correct tv pressure.. or at least something to get me close.
I just did a 34 ch***is with one of our built flatheads and the customer wanted the Speedway AOD pkg and that trans came with the Lokar cable and had a pressure gauge with line attached to the trans. They're trying to make this as foolproof as possible.
Quick English Lesson before this thread gets any more confusing. Gage: The 5/16" block that comes with the Lokar kit that is used to hold the lever in position during the initial pressure setting procedure. Gauge: A device used to read fluid pressure relative to atmospheric pressure. The pressure gauge becomes necessary to set the correct transmission oil pressure at idle and other operating conditions. Here is a link to TCI's Instruction sheet. http://www.tciauto.com/Products/Instructions/instructions/431000_inst.htm
The pressure port you want to tap to check the TV pressure is on the right side (p***enger side) of the trans, recessed above the pan rail, not the near one. I added a return spring externally between the TV lever and a bracket mounted to the pan rail. Flatman
could'nt i cut a notch into a 5/16 drill bit? that would probably get me close..i've been driving it for 3 years set up the way it is now..i just adjust it while in neutral and try to get it as close to 5 psi as i can. it's close but i'd like to get it shifting a little better.. i've have a pressure gauge connected to the tv port. it's a cheap oil gauge but it gets the job done..
It is alot better to run too much pressure than too little. Turn your idle pressure up to 8 or 10 psi, and your shifts should become much firmer.
i adjusted it to 8-10 psi yesterday took it out for a spin and although it is shifting pretty good..still seems a little late and if i punch it down it doesnt shift at all..i do have a cheap 15 dollar oil pressure gauge attached to the tv port so maybe that's a little off..i'm going to connect a better gauge today.. but will more pressure produce sooner shifts? or vice versa? like i said i'm running 8-10 psi at idle right now according to my gauge. if i kick it up to 15 psi will it shift sooner? i do have the helper spring attached down at the tv lever just so you know..
Rockabilly, I am not sure what to tell you. I am afraid that you are just going to have to tinker with it until it starts behaving like you wanted. Having a good quality pressure gauge should help alot. What torque converter are you using???
I tried using the stock one on my carb and this is the first time running a aod and it will not even shift out of 1st gear. tried adjusting in a few different spots but ordered up my lokar kit and should be here next week. Could there have been anything that i did wrong when I put in my b&m shifter shaft into the transmission? this is the last thing i need to do before my truck is "on the road"
If you didn't catch my earlier post to click on www.clickclickracing.com do it now and you will learn a lot about the AOD.Scroll down to "General Click Click Tech" being stuck in first is not uncommon and there are several posts that cover it,the most common being the governor sticking if the trans has set for a while before getting used, also if your rear end ratio is numericly higher than 3:50's you should install a Trans-Go Hi-Rev kit in the governor( $25 from Summit) part # K-AODHP 5000.I also ran across this article which is an excellent read,of the problem you may have setting up an AOD and what the fixes are for it the directions with the Lokar kit **** but the kit needs a little mod so click and read this:www.fordmuscleforums.com/articles/470612-c4-aod.html
I will put the lokar kit on this week and hopefully someone that has been thru all of this can help me out in the tempe area? All I want is for it to shift and go at this time .. my truck is not going to be towing anything nor looking for performance transmission upgrades for a while so any one available?... I have read up alot on some issues and corrections but it would be nice to have someone here that can just show me and get it done would be a huge help.. thanks
Lokar kit is installed,added the extra spring to pull linkage back to rear of trans and still wont shift. Read up on how to do it without a guage and no luck I think I will go get a guage tomarrow cause when i leave it with no slack i have to rev for it to get going but when i took out slack it took off easier just will nto shift... I have a friend coming tomarrow and hopefully we can get it. If not i guess i will need to save up for another trans or rebuild it.. Times are tough so the hot rod may sit for a while.. But i am keeping the aod in the f1 for sure.. I want that overdrive on the hiway OH and yes i am going to check into the gov tomarrow as well ..
turned out to be a fried transmission from the start. put another bone yard one in and adjusted with pressure guage and all is good except I think this converter is bad. sometimes i have to rpm it up a lil and it kicks into gear..s ay once every 10 take offs.. Gotta save up so I can find a cheap builder to go thru it... thans for all the tech help all
Another thing you should consider, if you are using a Lokar kit, is a bracket to correct the cable travel on the carb side. Here is the one I used in my truck on my Demon carb. It adjusts the travel so that its 1 to 1 with the TV lever on the trans. I got mine from www.phoenixtrans.com but you can get them other places, just look for TV cable correction brackets. They make them for Edelbrock, Holley, and BG carbs. I installed mine and only had to make a minor adjustment to get it to shift a little firmer.
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