AOD/FMX Transmission |
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colonelsandersman
Member Joined: 26-August-2011 Location: Clear Lake MN Status: Offline Points: 64 |
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Posted: 11-March-2013 at 3:22PM |
So i pulled the Torino out of storage today and I knew the transmission slipped a little but now she's real bad. So I can get my FMX rebuilt for 700 bucks or could I buy a cheap Ford AOD off of Craigslist and install it. I don't know anything about these transmission but their basically an fmx with over drive. Will the Aod fit right in place, is the tail houseing to long to use my stock drive shaft?
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Jake
1973 Gran Torino |
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lynchster
Senior Member Joined: 07-January-2006 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 2150 |
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I did this swap already. The difference in length for the transmissions is negligible. There are some specifics I can't recollect off hand but if you can't find the info on the net I may it in a file on the 'puter.
It was a bit more straight forward than I thought it would be and I did use the stock drive shaft when I did the swap in my Ranchero. You'll need the Lokar "kickdown" cable. To run the AOD with a carb. One tip with the AOD is to use the later version (thicker bands). If you have any specific questions, just ask.
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Chuck
72 Gran Torino Sport 13 Taurus SHO "Mr Pig" |
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SininenIII
Senior Member Joined: 06-March-2008 Location: Vuolenkoski FIN Status: Offline Points: 462 |
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Aatu
73 Gran Torino Sport |
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unlovedford
Senior Member Joined: 17-December-2010 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 10142 |
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AOD all the way. You won't regret it.
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Joe
1972 Mom's Squire Wagon 1972 Torino Wagon 1976 Torino 1968 Cougar XR7-First batch 1972 Torino 460 1989 BroncoII/Jeeps/Titanimous Popeye and Brutus (Rams) |
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colonelsandersman
Member Joined: 26-August-2011 Location: Clear Lake MN Status: Offline Points: 64 |
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What year AODs work best, lynchster said to use a later version for thicker bands which make it stronger? And how strong are they, there isn't a lot of power in front of my transmission now but evtually I'm going for an engine swap,, I'm sorta hard on my transmissions and I need something at least stronger than my stock fmx that will take some abuse.
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Jake
1973 Gran Torino |
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occupant
Senior Member Joined: 23-October-2006 Location: Lawton, OK Status: Offline Points: 1973 |
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Cliffs: look for a 92-93 truck or van with a 302 or 351W to pull an AOD from
http://www.becontrols.com/techguide_4.htm The meaty part of that page says: "If you are seeking an old-style AOD, the following tips apply. Also, remember that most of these transmissions are quite old and crusty now, so choose carefully.
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08 Uplander LS, 262K, broken again
08 Explorer EB, 195K, for the wife still looking for another something |
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unlovedford
Senior Member Joined: 17-December-2010 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 10142 |
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Great info.
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Joe
1972 Mom's Squire Wagon 1972 Torino Wagon 1976 Torino 1968 Cougar XR7-First batch 1972 Torino 460 1989 BroncoII/Jeeps/Titanimous Popeye and Brutus (Rams) |
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colonelsandersman
Member Joined: 26-August-2011 Location: Clear Lake MN Status: Offline Points: 64 |
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So I've been mulling it over, what do I do about the transmission mount, Pretty sure I need a new one, any idea if I can some how reuse my old one or somehow modify the one from the donor vehicle? Also whoever has done the swap any idea on header clearance, I've seen a couple make it fit and was curious as to what headers they have. I have a set of Hedman longtubes, any idea if they'll fit without to much trouble I really don't want to modify my exhaust.
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Jake
1973 Gran Torino |
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lynchster
Senior Member Joined: 07-January-2006 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 2150 |
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Long tube headers are going to be a pain in the ass. On the left side I had very tight (<1") clearance between the header and the transmission / shifter cable. They do not build a header for any Ford engine with an AOD transmission in this body style. Length wise transmission is an easy go, but the transmission is a tad wider than the FMX where it counts.
Fortunately I test fitted the headers on the engine / transmission assembly outside of the car. The fit was so tight on the drivers side I had to tweak the header. By tweak I mean using a ratchet strap to secure the header while inserting a baseball bat into the end of the header to pull it away from the transmission. Not as drastic as it sounds, this is only steel tubing we are talking about. I used the bat because of the diameter and not wanting to damage the fit for the collector. It would be easy to use too much force and kink the tubing. I wanted manifolds but couldn't find them. Go figure, twenty years ago I was tripping over them.
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Chuck
72 Gran Torino Sport 13 Taurus SHO "Mr Pig" |
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colonelsandersman
Member Joined: 26-August-2011 Location: Clear Lake MN Status: Offline Points: 64 |
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What about the mount, the build I saw showed you flipped it upside down how can it work that smoothly?
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Jake
1973 Gran Torino |
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occupant
Senior Member Joined: 23-October-2006 Location: Lawton, OK Status: Offline Points: 1973 |
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It just works, every FMX to AOD swap I've read up on, you just flip it upside down and maybe oval out the holes to match up perfectly.
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08 Uplander LS, 262K, broken again
08 Explorer EB, 195K, for the wife still looking for another something |
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colonelsandersman
Member Joined: 26-August-2011 Location: Clear Lake MN Status: Offline Points: 64 |
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How much did that new yoke cost plus the Lokar kick down cable, a rebuilt AOD costs 500buck (cheap), If I can do this for under 700 bucks its worth it. And seriously guys thanks for the info, appreciate it.
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Jake
1973 Gran Torino |
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lynchster
Senior Member Joined: 07-January-2006 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 2150 |
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A couple of options for the yoke. First find a yoke with the transmission or at a junk yard. The station wagon (86 Vic) I got my engine and transmission from would have had the yoke I wanted (1330) if it had been equipt with the towing package. It did not, and a new one was on national back order indefinitely at the time. That lead me accidentally to the second option of using a combination U joint. 1310 on one axis and 1330 on the other. The guy I was talking to said so long as it was basically a stock drive train I was using that a permanently sealed u joint would suffice. If your drivetrain is basically stock go with the combination U-joint if you can't find the yoke you want. This is cheap and will work until it's time to upgrade. I never had a problem with it. A few things to consider for the project. How will you be shifting the transmission? I used my factory cable actuated column shifter with a fabricated bracket. After market shifters cost money and time. You should read up on adjusting the transmission fluid pressure. It will be critical to adjust this properly or you will trash a new transmission in short order. The goal is 0 for pressure. Negative pressure will cause slippage. I went for +2 pressure to tighten the shifts up a bit. I had a long hose with a fitting attached to the transmission (right side) with the guage taped to my windshield so my co pilot could check the pressure while test driving.
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Chuck
72 Gran Torino Sport 13 Taurus SHO "Mr Pig" |
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colonelsandersman
Member Joined: 26-August-2011 Location: Clear Lake MN Status: Offline Points: 64 |
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Just thinking, if I can use my stock driveshaft with the AOD, why do I need a new yoke?
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Jake
1973 Gran Torino |
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SininenIII
Senior Member Joined: 06-March-2008 Location: Vuolenkoski FIN Status: Offline Points: 462 |
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The yokes got different spline amount.
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Aatu
73 Gran Torino Sport |
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fordpower
Senior Member Joined: 02-September-2010 Location: willseyville,ny Status: Offline Points: 1763 |
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Is the bellhousing [sp]different on a 300 six and a v8.Just remember I have a aod in my econ van.Its reg as a302 but came with a 300 six.Ford mistake.
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colonelsandersman
Member Joined: 26-August-2011 Location: Clear Lake MN Status: Offline Points: 64 |
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How did you get your factory column shift to still work after going from 3gears to 4and still make it drive in drive, 1st in 1st, 2nd in 2nd, park in park ect. I don't suppose you have pictures of those brackets?
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Jake
1973 Gran Torino |
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lynchster
Senior Member Joined: 07-January-2006 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 2150 |
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The overdrive trans and the FMX both have three indents for forward gears.
FMX "D" becomes Overdrive FMX "2" becomes Drive FMX "1" remains 1 The bracket I used was home made form a heavier gauge sheet metal. I do in fact have pictures. I found that cardboard was very helpful in mocking it up. There is also a photo of the clearance issue on the left side.
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Chuck
72 Gran Torino Sport 13 Taurus SHO "Mr Pig" |
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occupant
Senior Member Joined: 23-October-2006 Location: Lawton, OK Status: Offline Points: 1973 |
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Yeah it isn't like going from a TH350 to a TH700-R4 where you lose the ability to hold first unless you can make it reach or swap columns.
There are two different lengths of AOD transmissions. Here's an excerpt describing that from this site where they swapped a C4 for an AOD and were looking for the shorter one... "Extension Housing ----------------- When purchasing your transmission, be aware that there are two tailshaft lengths used on AOD's. The short model is the one that is closest to the C4 in overall length. I forgot to measure it but the SVO catalog says it's 10.1" long. The catalog also indicates the short extension housing AOD was used in all passenger cars except rear wheel drive Lincoln Marks and Continentals (not sure about the Town Cars), 2WD F-150 trucks built after 11/81, and 83-85 E-150 vans. Also, don't confuse the AOD with the AOD-E, which uses electronic control. There are also extension housing variations among C4's, with a short tailshaft model (6 5/8") used on some pickups and vans. Our C4 was the standard tailshaft model (13 1/8") that was used in most applications." The "shorter" AOD is the one used in all the dimensions charts. 30 and 3/8 inches. A C4 is 30 3/4 inches and an FMX is 30 1/4 inches. The longer AODE and 4R70W comes out to 31 3/16 inches according to TCI. I can't find a length for the longer regular AOD transmission but it is supposed to only be a one inch difference. I bet the 31 3/16 inch length is that one. But here's some more information from a great AOD swap article I have bookmarked at Hemmings: "The AOD used two tail-shaft lengths; a shorter one for passenger cars had an E0AP casting, and the shorter truck castings read F2TP. The longer tail shafts had an E0LP casting on the passenger cars and an E0TP on pickups." That should help you out if you're looking for a used transmission, just remember E0AP and F2TP. This also tells you that 92-93 trucks and vans could have the shorter case length. So that is a seriously good proposition. I bet they put them in regular length vans and regular cab trucks but who knows really. |
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08 Uplander LS, 262K, broken again
08 Explorer EB, 195K, for the wife still looking for another something |
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Mr.lahey
New Member Joined: 11-February-2015 Location: Mississippi Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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lynchster
Senior Member Joined: 07-January-2006 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 2150 |
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I'll have to check. If I remember correctly I basically winged it with a one piece cardboard mock up. I even bolted the cardboard piece in place to test fit and trim it. I t was pretty easy because I didn't have the exhaust or header in place.
That said I'll check to see if I have measurements. |
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Chuck
72 Gran Torino Sport 13 Taurus SHO "Mr Pig" |
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Mr.lahey
New Member Joined: 11-February-2015 Location: Mississippi Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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Any luck on those dimensions? Pickin the trans up Friday and gonna try to stuff it in this weekend.
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