What can I find an AOD in?

[bbyrnes1]

I figure I could find an AOD tranny at one of the yards, as long as I know what vehicle to look under. What vehicles could I pull an AOD tranny out of to fit under my bump?

[j41385]

This is what is listed on Wikipedia.com

1980–1986 Ford LTD
1980–1993 Ford Thunderbird
1980–1993 Mercury Cougar
1984–1993 Ford Mustang
1980–1986 Mercury Marquis
1980–1987 Lincoln Continental
1980–1983 Lincoln Mark VI
1983–1993 Ford Econoline
1983–1991 Ford LTD Crown Victoria
1983–1992 Mercury Grand Marquis
1982–1993 Ford Bronco
1981–1992 Lincoln Town Car
1980–1987 Lincoln Continental
1980–1983 Lincoln Mark VI
1984–1992 Lincoln Mark VII
1992 Ford Crown Victoria
1980–1993 Ford F-Series


But the absolute best Factory aod is going to be from a 1992 or 1993 F150 that came with a 5.0 v8. It has all the strongest features like the 2 inch od band, the a servo for od, and the v8 clutch packs. Also wide ratio gearset. But if you cant find one, make sure you get newer than 1988 because 87 and earlier had rear oiling problems. My truck has an AOD from a 1993 F150 and I really like it.

When you are looking at junkyard trucks, make sure the column shift pattern is PRN(OD)D1 That's the AOD shift pattern, where the C6 and E4od is PRND21. The Oil pan on the AOD says METRIC and Automatic Overdrive in Cursive. This website has a lot of good pictures for reference. http://www.charlietranny.com/AOD.htm

[bbyrnes1]

Awesome. Thanks for the detailed reply. I see you have a 300 in your truck. I have a 240. What do I have to do for the bellhousing and linkage?

[j41385]

The bell housing is integral on the aod transmission, meaning it doesn't come off. But luckily for you and for me, they made them only in the Small block v8 bolt pattern which is what the 240 and 300 use. You will need a Flex plate for the aod trans from a straight 6, I just went to napa and asked for one from a 1986 F150 that had a 300 and an aod, and it works perfectly. For linkage my trans guy put in a linkage arm on the trans from an early 80s car that had an aod because they used rods and not cables. Our trucks have shift linkage rods. Another crucial area that must be thought about is the Throttle Valve Cable. If this is not set up perfectly you will fry the trans in a couple miles. It regulates line pressure in the trans based upon how far you press the go pedal. For me it was a touch easier than it may be for you because I have a 4 barrel carburetor on my 300 and several companies make linkage correctors for the throttle valve cable with a 4v carb. If you have a 1v carb the only thing I would know of to look for is the linkage from a mid 80s pickup that had a 300 and an aod.

[ultraranger]

http://www.baumannengineering.com/aodsupgr.htm

http://www.baumannengineering.com/aodeupgr.htm


The AOD-E and 4R70W transmissions were evolutionary improvements over the older AODs. These were electronically-shifted transmissions but, they have many superior features over the old AOD. Some of the later AOD-E's had the wide ratio gearset with a 2.84:1 1st gear --compared to all AODs which had a weak 2.40:1.1st gear ratio. All 4R70Ws came standard with the wide ratio gearset. The AOD-E & 4R70W does not have to be coupled to a fuel injected engine to work. It can work with either fuel injection or carburetion with the use of a stand-alone shift controller.

http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/trswap.html

http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/tr ... ndex.shtml

[bbyrnes1]

How easily are those mounted behind a 240?

[j41385]

I agree the AODE is a Nice Transmission. However the AOD I suggested you get will hold up to 400 hp in stock form. Without all the computer gizmos along with it. I am not an old man who is afraid of computers, I am 28.

[ultraranger]

How easily are those mounted behind a 240?

An AOD is strictly controlled by hydraulics via the TV (Throttle Valve) cable. There are no TV cables associated to the 4R70W. It is controlled by solenoid valves located inside the valve body. A throttle position sensor (which can also be mounted to a carburetor) and the speed sensor sends signals back to a stand-alone shift controller. The (Baumann/U.S. Shift.com) controller is relatively small --about the size of an I-phone 3G.

Unlike the AOD, the 4R70W's shift points and line pressures can be reprogrammed; either through a laptop or directly through the face of the stand-alone shift controller itself. There are two primary modes the shift controller can operate in; the stock shift calibration or, you can program an optional 2nd 'performance mode' by simply turning the selctor on the controller, and back to stock again. This can all be done on-the-fly.

The only way you can change the shift calibration of an AOD is to change various valves and/or springs, separator plate hole passage diameters or the servos inside the AOD's valve body. But, even if you do this, you are then locked to those settings unless you open up the transmission to change components in the valve body again. The 4R70W has virtually
infinite tuneability without having to physically go inside the transmission.

The best 4R70W transmissions came from the 1998-2002 3.8L V-6 Mustangs, 1998-2002 4.2L V-6 F-150 pickups or the '98-2001 5.0L V-8 Ford Explorers. All of these 4R70W's have the 'Windsor' block pattern that will bolt to a 260, 289, 302, 5.0L, 351W, 5.8L, or 351C V-8 and the 240 or 300/4.9L 6-cylinder truck engines.

There were also 4r's that were bolted to 4.6L & 5.4L V-8's. These will not bolt up to a 'Windsor' block pattern. Easy way to tell if the 4R will bolt up is to look at the number of starter bolt holes in the bell housing. If there are (3), it's for a 4.6L/5.4L engine. If there are only (2) bolt holes, it will bolt to a 'Windsor' block pattern.

The second thing to look for is where the wiring harness plugs into the connector sticking up out of the transmission case (located at right rear corner of case, above the trans pan). If the connector is black in color, it's the desirable '98-or later model. If the connector is white in color, it is the less desirable 1993-1997 version of the 4R70W.

It is very likely the 4R70W will initially be more expensive than the old AOD but, the AOD doesn't have near the flexiblity that the 4R70W has ...after all, the 4R70W was an out-growth of the old AOD. It has all the refinements built-in that were the short-comings of the AOD. It will do everything the AOD can do, plus a lot more that the AOD is not capable of doing.

http://www.becontrols.com/aode.htm

http://www.usshift.com/downloads/4R70Wmanual.pdf

[Donnie]

Ultra is pretty spot on about the quality of the 4R70W...there were a few years that the torrington bearing in the gear set was crapping out due to not enough roller's in the bearing, or perhaps it was an off shore piece...When they went south there was never enough pieces left to qualify their origin...I always suspected that they were "fufnick's" special....After Ford repaired enough of these under warranty they finally wised up & used a better bearing...That was the end of the crashed gear train's....The cop's run these units here a beat the crap out of them, but they ran the AOD'S too, the same way...Sitting along the hiway in the summer heat, A/C on full blast, idling for hours is hard on ANY trans.
Any way, Ultra can probably tell you the years that had weak bearings, I am working from memory & can't recall when they stopped crashing planet's. Also the units behind the 6 cyl had 1 less clutch than the V8's, but this can be updated during rebuild.

All in all, if you want to build an AOD........have at it, I built a lot of them & stuffed them into some pretty wild rides
Built right they can take a lot of abuse........but like Ultra said, the wide ratio units with their electronic's offer a lot more options
Best of luck in what ever you do.................let us know...........Donnie

[ultraranger]

Ultra is pretty spot on about the quality of the 4R70W...there were a few years that the torrington bearing in the gear set was crapping out due to not enough roller's in the bearing, or perhaps it was an off shore piece...When they went south there was never enough pieces left to qualify their origin...I always suspected that they were "fufnick's" special....After Ford repaired enough of these under warranty they finally wised up & used a better bearing...That was the end of the crashed gear train's....The cop's run these units here a beat the crap out of them, but they ran the AOD'S too, the same way...Sitting along the hiway in the summer heat, A/C on full blast, idling for hours is hard on ANY trans.
Any way, Ultra can probably tell you the years that had weak bearings, I am working from memory & can't recall when they stopped crashing planet's. Also the units behind the 6 cyl had 1 less clutch than the V8's, but this can be updated during rebuild.

All in all, if you want to build an AOD........have at it, I built a lot of them & stuffed them into some pretty wild rides
Built right they can take a lot of abuse........but like Ultra said, the wide ratio units with their electronic's offer a lot more options
Best of luck in what ever you do.................let us know...........Donnie

I was initially thinking about putting an AOD in my truck but I'm aware of many of the short comings of the AOD and was not really thrilled to put one in it but, I wanted an automatic with an overdrive. I've been a regular on a vintage Mustang forum for about 13 years now. I recalled that a friend of mine on the forum has a '65 fastback and a '73 Mustang convertible. He initially had an AOD in his fastback but wasn't satisfied with it. He pulled it out and swapped a 4R70W into its place. After a couple of years, he liked it so well he put one in the '73. I asked him about the 4R70W transmissions and he directed me to some links on this transmission (some of the links are the same links I have listed here in this thread). I also searched the web and found other references and more information on them at the time I was checking into it. After reading/studying the information,it was pretty clear the 4R70W was light-years more advanced than the AOD.

...10-15 years ago, the '77-'80 Lincoln Versailles factory disc brake 9-inch rear end was the hot (wrecking yard) ticket for vintage Mustang and related Ford owners to get a 9-inch rear end with disc brakes. The only other choice then for getting rear disc brakes was to buy expensive setups from Wilwood, Baer, SSBC, etc. There wasn't really an in-between option to adapt available, later model Ford discs to the older Ford 8 & 9-inch rear ends.

In 1999, I experimented with an adapter bracket design that would mount Lincoln Mk VII rear discs to these rear ends. In 2002, I began selling them to the public. In 2004, I came up with two more bracket designs; one that would adapt '94-'04 SN95 Mustang V6/GT rear discs and '94-'04 Cobra rear discs to the 8 & 9-inch small bearing rear end housings. Other people like Mustang Steve, Vintage Venom and Shaun Burgess of Street or Track.com also came out with disc brake adaptive solutions. Now, the point of all this is the Versailles was really great at one time but was pretty much the only thing around (at the time) to allow a person to get disc brakes without having to go to the more expensive aftermarket. However, other, much better, alternatives came along and the Versailles was no longer the hot ticket.

The same thing has happened with the AOD. It was pretty much the only 'game in town,' and for a time, it was the hot ticket for many to get an overdrive automatic transmission. But, time passed and better solutions came along. Both the AODE & 4R70W transmissions are descendants developed directly from the AOD. However, all of the improvements, of where the AOD fell short, were engineered into the 4R70W.

I'm not telling anyone to not install an AOD. I'm just saying to do your research on the AOD then research the 4R70W and then compare the two. It should be pretty clear, after that, that the 4R70W is a much more superior transmission over the older AOD.

Ultimately, it's your vehicle and money. Do what you feel is right for your vehicle & you.

[Donnie]

I'm a bit taken back by my mention of the failed bearing in the gear train....I stopped by an old friend of mine's shop today just to see how he was doing..On his bench was a 4R70W out of a 2004 pickup with a crashed gear train...Over 100,000 miles, but the bearing came unglued & wiped out the planets.. He was waiting for a core from the salvage yard to finish the job, so I don't know when & if that bearing was ever updated.????? There were a few years that they seemed better in that respect..????.....
They did resolve the direct clutch failure with this trans by using a better quality direct drum... This was a high failure item in the AOD
Another HIGH FAILURE item is the Torque converter in the 4R70W....the 6 cyl uses a smaller clutch than the V8..even though they appear the same on the outside...I feel qualified to comment on their converter's as I built a ton of them before closing my shop...
Some rebuilder's even put a few GM clutches in them as they were having trouble keeping the lining from early failure...I worked with the clutch supplier on this project myself, so I am speaking from experience.
Ford thought that they would modulate the clutch like GM did with their 4L60E & others by using a pulse width modulated solenoid...
This converter was fourth in the line up of Ford converter failures..In order: the A4LD.......E4OD/family...the FWD AXOD stripped drive splines, and on and on................................
Then I would say the unit that we are discussing...They can be built strong, any of them, but out of the shute ?????? Ford almost gave up on converters & was thinking of subbing them to ZF, a German firm.. But the deal never materialized...There were at least 6 changes in the E4OD converter. You never knew what you had until you cut one open...one, two , or 3 clutch plates...FROM THE FACTORY. HUH ????
At least in the poor old low tech AOD, you had DIRECT drive in 4th as there was NO clutch in the converter to slip, or fail
The input shaft was splined directly into the front converter cover, which is bolted DIRECTLY to the flexplate/ crankshaft. NO converter clutch to fail........If you use an AOD, get a late one that has the updated 3/4 drum...Like Ultra said it's your $$ & your choice
I just wanted to bring out a few point's that were missed in earlier discussion's....that' my & I'm gone............Donnie

[crazyhorse]

This has been interesting to say the least.
I hope it continues so I can learn from it.

I have a 72 Ranger XLT short bed with a 69 429 motor and 69 c6 transmission.
That are my options for a good dependable overdrive transmission?

[ultraranger]

This has been interesting to say the least.
I hope it continues so I can learn from it.

I have a 72 Ranger XLT short bed with a 69 429 motor and 69 c6 transmission.
That are my options for a good dependable overdrive transmission?

You could bolt up a built AOD/AODE/4R70W with a bell housing adapter or you could directly bolt up an E4OD/4R100. You would just have to do a websearch of these possible swaps to see what's involved.

[crazyhorse]

Thank you Mr Ranger.
I've been wanting a transmission with overdrive.

[Donnie]

Unless you are planning on doing a lot of towing, or otherwise heavy work, I would rule out the E4OD/4R100 family, a bit too much for normal driving...These 250# units are built 95% similar to a C6, in fact from the center support back , parts will swap...you can install the back end gear set from an E4OD into a C6 for a small gear change....But it's not worth the hassle.........Ultra can probably give you the ratio's, I can't recall off the top of my head.......... It is built like a C6 with the overdrive stuck on the FRONT........it shifts 1 - 2- 3- then the overdrive kicks in & overdrives the complete unit.........Ford did the same thing with the C3/ A4LD....

While we are on this subject :AOD / 4R70W...........let's talk converters
The AOD has 3 diff stall speeds.......the market calls them low...med...high......1980 to 1993 all will interchange...stall speeds range from around 1600 to 2200, of course this is all relative to what is in front of it. The stall can be read from the dimples on the converter bowl, an advantage that the smooth bowl is lacking.
The 4R70W has options from about 1600 to 2500, there again these depend on what is in front of it...The stall can be read the same way, basically lo- med- hi......by reading the dimples on the bowl. there are 2 diff. dia's. for this unit ...they are 113/4 & 12 3/4
the AOD has 35 splines & the 4R70W has 31.....all the above have a 1.375 crank pilot...HTH..............Donnie