cast iron drum

[droom]

greetings new member here.
i have a 1989 ford e-150 van with an aod `overdrive transmission in it.
does this 1989 have the "cast iron" drum in it ?
is 1989 one of the years that a cast iron drum was used ?

[BobbyFord]

What drum are you talking about?
What section of the vehicle are you talking about?

[droom]

sorry,

i was talking about a ford 1989 aod transmission .
did the 1989 aod have the cast iron clutch drum ?

[BobbyFord]

As far as I remember, 90 and later had stamped steel drums. 89 should be cast drums.

[j41385]

What has been said above is true, however don't automatically assume cast iron is better than stamped metal, I realize that is the first thought that may come to mind. They didn't downgrade the quality of the transmission as time went on, they improved the AOD until it's final 2 years of production which were 92 and 93. The Stamped drum has the ability to use a wide ratio gearset which was stock on many 92-93 F150 and e150 vans which had the 302 (5.0) engine. As far as AOD's are concerned it is best to avoid the pre 88 models because they had rear oiling issues, and it is a crap shoot as to weather or not that issue has been corrected or updated over the life of the trans. As far as 88-93 AOD's the ones that are least desirable are ones that came in v6 cars, like the stock bottom of the line thunderbirds and such. They had the least clutch packs and the 1.5 inch overdrive band, and the weakest overdrive servo the "C" servo. The next best would be an AOD from a V8 Car like a crown vic or even a HO 5.0 mustang. While those transmissions may have the 1.5 inch overdrive band, they were stronger in that they had a "B" servo which is the medium strength ones. Then the Thunderbird super coupe had the same 1.5 Inch over drive band, but included the strongest "A" servo. But the Strongest Factory AOD Produced by ford Came in 1992, and 1993 F150, and E150 vans with the 5.0 as I said above, which not only has the wide ratio gear set, but the most clutch packs, the "A" servo, and the 2" overdrive band. That is why I searched for years until I found one from a 1993 F150 from my local junkyard to install behind my engine in place of my non overdrive c6 that I used to have. Hope that helps some.