AOD Upgrades

Mike8675309

Registered User
Getting my AOD rebuilt by a local shop starting next Tuesday. Any suggested upgrades to be done at the same time.

I've got a 90 that is going to stay mostly stock with no major power upgrades or attempts to hit an 11 second quarter mile.

Gears will remain stock unless there is a good reason to change them.

With that said, any worth while upgrades to consider having them do to the trans while it's being rebuilt?
 
My car is stock.And I have no intentions of running in the 12s,11s,etc.
After a few trans failures with my 14.3 et car..I went with LENTECH.
And now have no problems.

I know,your going to say, it cost to much,and you can't afford it.
Well I said the same things.After spending over the price of a
Lentech on used and rebuilt AODs.And did not listen to others
like David N. ,Kurt K,etc, And many others.I could of bought
two Lentech's and given one away to you.

1.At the least I would install a 2'' OD band.
2.extra drive plates
3.And a Lentech valve body.
4.And trans cooler.

options.I installed a 2400 stall non-locking 9.5 converter.
I have no problems with over heating like I thought I would have.
Locking or non-locking,The 2400 stall works well over the
1800 or 1900 lock-up.And the smaller diameter is a lot nicer
that the huge 12'' converter.

Options
1.higher stall.not over 2400
2.smaller diameter converter
3.stand alone trans cooler with fan,thermostate controled.

And if you don't do the least amount.I am going to post later.
THAT I TOLD YOU SO. :p :)

GOOD LUCK RANDY
 
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Based on the discussions I've seen and few of Randy's rants (Man, does he love his AOD :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ), I'd have to agree with him on the "at least". The Lentech street cruiser was the cost of a good rebuild, but you'd have to factor in shipping, and labor (your own usually) into it to decide if its fits your budget.
 
Well the stock unit made it 123k miles. A stock AOD in my winter beater is at 150k. I know about Randy's battles, but somehow I think my foot is a little lighter.

I'll research and ponder but my budget is tight.
 
Mike8675309 said:
Well the stock unit made it 123k miles. A stock AOD in my winter beater is at 150k.
If Ford had put even the smallest cooler on there and recommended fluid changes every 70,000 miles, the trannys would make it to 200,000. ;) I only learned this after my O/D band started dropping out.

Somebody has something that might interest you in the parts for sale forum and guess what state he lives in? :)

Here you go its getting buried. :)
 
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For longevity's sake...maybe a deep trans pan? Adds two extra quarts of fluid plus they usually come with drain plugs...which makes the fluid change much easier and less messy.
 
you should upgrade to to the 91 and up rebuild kit, you can use the 2"od setup from an aode and you will also need to buy a new forward drum that upgrades you to an 8 clutch setup instead of 6. i went tci on the rebuild i did, and the also bought a tci streetfighter and like it. make sure you use a plate cooler and deep pan is definately worth it. temps rise quickly when you beat on them, also invest in trans temp gauge. just my 2 cents.
 
rzimmerl said:
you should upgrade to to the 91 and up rebuild kit, you can use the 2"od setup from an aode and you will also need to buy a new forward drum that upgrades you to an 8 clutch setup instead of 6. i went tci on the rebuild i did, and the also bought a tci streetfighter and like it. make sure you use a plate cooler and deep pan is definately worth it. temps rise quickly when you beat on them, also invest in trans temp gauge. just my 2 cents.

That's usefull info. I'll print it out and talk with the trans guy about it. As if they have to buy parts, it might as well be the better parts. This may be something they already do as they said they've done lots of AOD's.
 
rzimmerl said:
you should upgrade to to the 91 and up rebuild kit, you can use the 2"od setup from an aode and you will also need to buy a new forward drum that upgrades you to an 8 clutch setup instead of 6. i went tci on the rebuild i did, and the also bought a tci streetfighter and like it. make sure you use a plate cooler and deep pan is definately worth it. temps rise quickly when you beat on them, also invest in trans temp gauge. just my 2 cents.


Unless you are going with 4r70w gearset use the cast iron drums. Stamped steel drums were not an improvement.
Alan
 
Why might I go with such a gearset?

And what size/type stall, torque converter might you recommend. Strictly street driving, any adventure at the strip would be stock class and just for the heck of it in brackets.

I'm gonna talk with the guys but I might like to source the torque converter from you, mr Dog.
 
The gearset will help you take off faster by changing the ratio in 1st and 2nd gears. Most cars I highly recommend the 4r70w gearset, on these it doesn't help as much as say a 5.0 car. Because the normal torque range starts quite a bit earlier. For a mild upgrade I suggest about 2200 stall no direct drive that uses stock input shafts. For the wild appications I'd suggest changing to the 31 spline 1 piece input shaft and a billet 9.5 inch converter.
Alan
 
I would recommend not using the 4R70W gearset. If you have steeper rear gears you will hate it and then have to go back to like a 3.55 if you want traction.
 
Here is a question. Upsides/Downsides of a no-stall torque converter in this transmission? Does this create more heat, then if I do that should I consider an external cooler?

What other benefits might there be. What are the implications on say a 400 mile drive?

Thanks
 
Mike8675309 said:
Here is a question. Upsides/Downsides of a no-stall torque converter in this transmission? Does this create more heat, then if I do that should I consider an external cooler?

What other benefits might there be. What are the implications on say a 400 mile drive?

Thanks

No stall? You mean no direct drive?
Direct drive functions by a mechanical shaft physically driving the input of the transmission directly from the engine so it does not create heat. When you delete that you are driving through a hydraulic coupling which will create heat. If you go with really high stall you'll get alot of heat. If you stay with stock stall (on a well built converter) the only difference you will notice is no banging and clunking.
Alan
 
I guess I must just be lucky because at 170,000 plus my 90 AOD works perfectly fine it has had a B&M shift kit for 100,000 of that time. and the only problem I've had is a leaky pan gasket... I am however going to the Lentech Street Terminator when my modding is ready to be done... ;) just my .02

Rock
 
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