What is involved in an AODE Conversion

Steve Richards

SCCoA Member
I have a 1989 automatic T Bird SC and am considering the 4R70W gear set. But I like the idea of being able to control the shift points as is possible in an AODE however I do not know what is involved in the conversion.

I think I need to swap the converter and PCM. Get a new file from DR Fred for the eec tuner. And wire it up.

Do they sell wiring harnesses for this? Who sells it?

Please advise.
 
Before anyone posts it, DO NOT GET A BAUMANNATOR TCM!

The only way it might be possible to do what you want is to indeed rewire the vehicle to a 1994+ and use the appropriate EEC to control the trans. As far as I know no one makes a harness to do that, you would likely have to make one from a 1994 or newer stock harness.

As you mentioned you would need the 4R70W convertor, but you will also either need a newer driveshaft, or possibly change the tailshaft housing with the AOD version since the 4R70W has a different tail bearing size.

Personally I would either build the AOD, or sell your car for a 1994 or newer......Actually I would just go to a 5-speed :D
 
From my knowledge the aode is basically the same as the 4r70w(electronically controlled). The biggest difference is the bellhousing and imo if I were you, I'd just build the aod(which will be much cheaper and easier) and throw a manual valvebody in there if you like controlling shifts. On another note the Aode/4r70w aren't built that great. My roomate went through 3 AODE's on his stang before he gave up and converted to a t-5.
Just my .02
 
Jerry's Ford Overdrive Transmissions 101

For all the 411 on the 4R70W/AOD-E difference and likeness I would stongly suggest reading this article by Jerry Wroblewski.


About the BAUMANNATOR, Andy was that you that tried it several years ago and it caused several rebuilds of a 4R70W to burn up before finally trashing it? I know someone on here tried it with absolutely no luck.
 
I highly recomend you to read the articals by Jerry also.
You will find that the parts are interchangable between the 3 tranny's as there actualy brothers.

You lost me with the statement that you want to control the shift points yourself like you can with the AODE. Could you explain what you meant by that?
 
No, I gave up after trashing only one 4R70W.

It was Kurt Kriesz who went through 3 or 4 before finally tossing the Baumannator and building a good AOD.

Incidentally I still have a Baumannator in a box in my garage for sale;)




Just don't expect it to work on an SC....
 
Thanks for the feedback. I'll read through the article carefully.

Mike,
I understand that with electronically controlled transmissions (AODE, 4R70W), an EEC tuner can be set to change the shift points and set it higher than stock settings. I am told that the AOD uses line pressure adjusted by the TV cable to control the shift points - I have not been succesful at changing the 3 to OD shift point and seems to shift at 3500 rpm at wot whereas 1-2 and 2-3 shifts at 5000 rpm. I don't really like the idea of manually shifting an automatic as this transmission was not designed for it.

The AOD has a less precise mode to control the transmission. I like the advantages of the 4r70w. Since I need to do something about my tranny, I believe my options are to get a wide ratio gear set and install it in my AOD, or if feasible, swap in a 4r70w.

Andy:
I've got too much invested in this vehicle and replacing it with a 94 or 95 is not in my budget.
 
Steve Richards said:
Andy:
I've got too much invested in this vehicle and replacing it with a 94 or 95 is not in my budget.

If that peaked your interest, you might want to take a gander at this thread for some info. on the transformation that Steve's car is currently undergoing.

I gave Steve the opportunity to drive a 5-spd car (mine) last week, and perhaps he would consider doing this kind of a swap at some point in the future, but I think he's also committed to making the car quick, and it seems that even though some great progress has been made this past year with respect to 5-spd owners getting their ET's way down, the easiest way to go fast on the 1/4 mile is to launch an automatic.

A bunch of us up in Ontario are all waiting anxiously for Steve's car to finally be unveiled!

Best regards,

Sean
 
Steve Richards said:
Thanks for the feedback. I'll read through the article carefully.

Mike,
I understand that with electronically controlled transmissions (AODE, 4R70W), an EEC tuner can be set to change the shift points and set it higher than stock settings. I am told that the AOD uses line pressure adjusted by the TV cable to control the shift points - I have not been succesful at changing the 3 to OD shift point and seems to shift at 3500 rpm at wot whereas 1-2 and 2-3 shifts at 5000 rpm. I don't really like the idea of manually shifting an automatic as this transmission was not designed for it.

The AOD has a less precise mode to control the transmission. I like the advantages of the 4r70w. Since I need to do something about my tranny, I believe my options are to get a wide ratio gear set and install it in my AOD, or if feasible, swap in a 4r70w.

Andy:
I've got too much invested in this vehicle and replacing it with a 94 or 95 is not in my budget.
You can tune the shiftpoints on an AOD as well. You need to get a shift calibration kit from a tranny parts house.
True you can adjust the shift points on an AODE or 4R70W with a tuner but converting your car over to either one of those trannys is far more work than using a calibration kit to do the same thing.
 
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