Please help me on tranny/converter decision

metalman

Registered User
Last week my drive and overdrive went bye-bye. I'm assuming it's the bands.

I'm looking at getting a new tranny as opposed to a rebuild. I've been staying up late (as I am now- 3:05am) doing a lot of research but I'd like to get some personal input. Trannies aren't my specialty.

I want to keep the lock-up feature, as this is still my daily driver. But I want 'beefy' internals, proper torque converter for my engine, and firm shifts. Street/strip application basically.

I was looking at Lentech, but it doesn't seem like they have any AOD that keeps the lock-up other than a $3000 drag tranny :eek: So, they seem out of the question, unless I missed something.

I looked at Performance Automatic http://www.performanceautomatic.com as well. A bit expensive and converter extra. Any opinion on those?

Level 10 doesn't show anything on there website for the AOD.

The Art Carr trannies on Supercoupe Performance look enticing. How does this one look to you?

Art Carr STREET / STRIP AOD Transmission
A COMPLETE brand new drop-in Transmission for the '89 to '93 Thunderbirds and Cougars. No core required.
Art Carr quality and reliability at an unbelievable price. This NEW AOD tranny is for those Thunderbird and Cougar owners who have engines that are still stock or have several bolt-ons.
Why have a local shop attempt to rebuild your transmission and screw it up when you can get a NEW High Performance Art Carr AOD for the same price. This transmission retains the factory lockup torque converter feature.

Includes the mechanical diode sprag, upgraded 2" OD band, 8-pack direct drum, their valve body shift improver for better fluid flow and firmer shifts, premium clutch packs, and all the other high performance goodies Art Carr is known and respected for.


$1,450


About converter- If I'm not mistaken, stock stall speed is about 2000 rpms.?.

My car has 3.55's in the rear. What kind speed converter would be right for my car? Or would stock still work for my setup. You can see all my other mods in my Signature.

Any kind of input woul be great. I want to get my car back on the road ASAP. I'm ready to do this...once I know what the hell I'm doing. :rolleyes:

Thanks,
Metalman
 
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I'm not an expert by any means, but from what I've read here on sccoa, the Art Carr Tranny is an excellent choice for the price, whether its an AOD or a 4RW70. Beefy, Strong and sturdy, and much better than stock, especially in regards to the bands, clutch packs and shift points (valve body work).
When mine goes, thats probably what I'll order also. Hope this helps out.
 
Wow! There AOD/ A O Dominator sound great- If I'm reading it right it comes with a free tranny cooler, free shipping, and the torque converter is already in the price. I might look at that one seriously! Thanks for the link! The only thing it doesn't seem to come with is a performance valve body for holding out the 1-2 shift, but I have a Performance Automatics valve body in mine that I can change over to it.

I saw a Performance Automatic AOD tranny on ebay for about $1400, and a tranny with converter for $1800 and change. How do these look to you?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...=7998680903&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

and this one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...=7998680292&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1
 
Ok I am not going to give you alot of input here ,but I suggest deleting Direct drive. You call it lockup that is not correct these transmission have no Lock up they are Direct drive. Direct drive is a good idea however it works like crap on these transmissions. Be conservative on the stall and delete that crap. I work in a transmission shop we have deleted it on every AOD that has left our shop in the last 4 years or so. Not one person has complained about mileage loss,but they all love the way it works without it.
Alan
 
Dirtyd0g said:
Ok I am not going to give you alot of input here ,but I suggest deleting Direct drive. You call it lockup that is not correct these transmission have no Lock up they are Direct drive. Direct drive is a good idea however it works like crap on these transmissions. Be conservative on the stall and delete that crap. I work in a transmission shop we have deleted it on every AOD that has left our shop in the last 4 years or so. Not one person has complained about mileage loss,but they all love the way it works without it.
Alan
What does deleting the "direct drive" do for the SC in terms of performance? does it increase torque at the wheels within a certain rpm range?

thanks-
 
In lower rpms it will offer a slight amount of torque multiplication using a stock stall converter. Once you are at highway speeds there is little to no difference if you have an efficiently built converter. Keep the stall moderate on a daily driver and the only difference you will notice is that it doesn't bang and clunk. The shifts feel soo much better without direct drive and the direct drive is known to be a major failure in these transmissions.
Alan
 
Dirtyd0g said:
In lower rpms it will offer a slight amount of torque multiplication using a stock stall converter. Once you are at highway speeds there is little to no difference if you have an efficiently built converter. Keep the stall moderate on a daily driver and the only difference you will notice is that it doesn't bang and clunk. The shifts feel soo much better without direct drive and the direct drive is known to be a major failure in these transmissions.
Alan
when you say keep the stall moderate- i had planned to do a 2,400 rpm setup with a performance valve body- is that too much?

i realize the locking input shaft is undersized and can snap if pushing more than 400 ft/lbs of torque at the engine, but i am getting close to that now if not already at that point. i like having firm, quick shifts so i suppose the non direct drive converter would not be good for me (??). i'm not racing my SC, but i do occasionally like to have fun with it on the street- i'm not so sure that i would get rid of direct drive so easily because my SC has a strong top end that i don't want to lose.
 
It depends on what your 2400 stall converter really is. Removing direct drive certainly won't cost you much on the top end it's the low rpm cruising you will notice the most. If you exceed 400ftlbs of torque at the flexplate you really need a 1 piece input shaft in the tranny and a converter built for the setup. Your gear ratios also play a major choice in converter selection with an AOD transmission. The 4r70w's aren't so picky.
Alan
 
Dirtyd0g said:
Ok I am not going to give you alot of input here ,but I suggest deleting Direct drive. You call it lockup that is not correct these transmission have no Lock up they are Direct drive. Direct drive is a good idea however it works like crap on these transmissions. Be conservative on the stall and delete that crap. I work in a transmission shop we have deleted it on every AOD that has left our shop in the last 4 years or so. Not one person has complained about mileage loss,but they all love the way it works without it.
Alan
This direct drive is deleted during a rebuild of the tranny replacement with a different converter?
 
Direct drive is deleted 2 different ways. It can be done in the converter alone basically an adapter is used inside the converter to remove the damper and connect both input shafts to the turbine instead of one to the turbine and one to the front cover. Or you install a 31 spline input shaft with a modified c6 style torque converter.(don't use a stock one it has to have a bushing to center the shaft)
Alan
 
This sound pretty damn enticing! This was from http://www.transmissioncenter.net/

An AOD is and AOD, right? There is nothing different from the bolt pattern from the Mustand to ours, is there? Please, transmission guru's, tell me what you think of this one. I can also pick my stall speed, and valve body setting, the shipping is free, and they giving free shirt :rolleyes: or trans cooler with it. Which stall speed should I pick 2200, 2500, should I stick with my stock converter or pay the difference and get a smaller/lighter, different stall speed converter.

AOD Transmission Level 4

A O Dominator

This is a high performance non-electronic 4R70W transmission. This is accomplished by placing all of the internal parts of an electronic 4R70W or AODE into a non-electronic AOD case. Now you can have an AODE or 4R70W transmission in your 1993 and older Mustang without all the expense of an after market computer and related wiring. This is an easy drop-in direct replacement. Simply remove your AOD transmission and install the A O Dominator. This is a highly modified transmission and torque converter. This package deal comes with a 2200 / 2500 converter stall speed (#16) (non-lock-up only), but can be ordered with any stall speed you need. Some of the features of the A O Dominator are, a two inch wide Raybestos Pro Series Kevlar overdrive band, mechanical diode with Spiral "Plus" Ring Kit instead of the stock roller clutch that is prevalent to breakage and a high performance Superior Posi Shift Pac. This transmission has a 4R70W wide ratio gear set, 2.84 ratio first gear (15% lower than an AOD or AODE), 1.55 ratio second gear (5% lower than an AOD or AODE), non-lock-up torque converter, extra hard intermediate shaft (a must for high horse power motors), Superior "A+" overdrive billet servo for added holding power and 8 clutches in the direct clutch drum (Alto Red Eagle Power Pack). This is 33% more than a stock 4R70W transmission, and the list goes on and on. This is a great transmission for towing and 4WD use.

Wait no longer, now you can have the baddest AOD / 4R70W on the planet for $2099.00. No trade-in needed on this one. This transmission is for motors having up to 750 horse power using pump gasoline, see chart below. Add torque converter upgrades if needed. The freight is $110.00 to $150.00 in most cases. Call 1-318-7427754 to place an order or ask questions.

Thanks,
Metalman
 
..Anthony,not hijacking your thread but I gota' ask Alan "DirtydOg".......aren't you the one who along with Darrin built the tranny in my MRK 8?
z
 
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So no one really has any opinions or answers, huh?

I'm kind of in the air between the Art Car street max 'special' on SCP.com and the "A O Dominator" on the Performance Auto and Trans Center.

They both have things I like and things I don't. So I'm trying to weigh the options.

I was told elsewhere, pretty definatively, that I would need a 2,400 stall speed. Are you guys inclined to agree on that number?

Metalman
 
metalman said:
So no one really has any opinions or answers, huh?

I'm kind of in the air between the Art Car street max 'special' on SCP.com and the "A O Dominator" on the Performance Auto and Trans Center.

They both have things I like and things I don't. So I'm trying to weigh the options.

I was told elsewhere, pretty definatively, that I would need a 2,400 stall speed. Are you guys inclined to agree on that number?

Metalman

2400 is a good number for a SC do yourself a favor and get the 1 piece input shaft I hate stock direct drive shafts
 
I have heard that the 2400 IS a good change for even a stock SC. One of my old bosses friends had on set up that way and he said it really woke the car up.

On a slight jack here, alan do you recomend a solid shaft for the 4r70 as well? If so, can you just get the solid one for the AOD or are they different?

Chris
 
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