Ok, I know this has probably been talked about before but: I want to put a four barrel carb on my 85 f-150 which has an AOD, was throttle body fuel injected. My Trans has a Shift/kickdown rod similar to all previous ford Automatics..NOT a CABLE like all the articles listed everywhere. I have seen pics of all kinds of CABLES but none with the ROD type like I have. The rod attaches to the throttle body just like the usual kick down lever except that it moves with the throttle cable as one piece, not as a WOT kick down lever. Any thoughts?

 

I have heard that there were indeed a few of the AODs that came with the rod instead of the cable.

I'm not sure what your question is though?

 

Buy the Lo Kar kickdown cable and do not look back.

I had the same rod set up on my 83 daily driver. Have had the cable a few years and over 200,000 on the original AOD. Worth the coin to save the transmission. Advanced auto is now carrying Lo Kar products on the shelf.

 

I put the entire set on my 460. kick-down and throttle cable...came as a kit ans shares the same bracket. Works and looks great!!

 

The Lokar cables are a wonderful thing. I have run a few of their set-ups and have good luck with them. Just a note, on the throttle cable, make sure the aluminum nuts are TIGHT!! I had one loosen and back off which caused the throttle to stick open. Almost ran into the back of a buddy's Mustang. Not fun!!

You can stick with the rod though. It'll take some adjusting to get it set right. Don't know what the current one you have looks like, so the possibility of finding one that will work is there.

The correct way to adjust them is to take pressure readings off the side of the trans, but it's not necessary. I've never done it that way and haven't had any problems. On the AOD, all the pressures are set by the position of the kick-down lever. The more the lever is turned, the more pressure it delivers.
You can also get a Transgo shift improver kit, which solves some of the issues related to the shifting.

 

The 1980 - 1986 model trucks with an AOD used a TV rod. Ford later replaced the TV rod with a TV cable in 1987 when they started exclusively using electronic fuel injection with the AOD. And Ford didn't use throttle-body fuel injection on the F150s. You either got a carburetor, a feedback carburetor, or EFI.

The TV rod directly controls the line pressure in the AOD. If the line pressure is not set correctly or if the TV rod is not connected to the carburetor correctly, it will burn up the transmission.

And if the geometry between the TV rod or TV cable is not exactly proportionate to the movement of the throttle, the TV rod or cable will get pulled out of adjustment. And when that happens, the line pressure is off again. This condition will burn up the transmission.

The problem with the aftermarket Holley and Edelbrock carburetors is that they do not have a kickdown bracket that will work with the AOD TV rod, and their throttle levers are not symmetrical to use a TV cable.

To correct the first problem, you will need to get a Lokar TV cable to replace the TV rod:

Lokar KD2AODHT - Lokar Stainless Steel Hi-Tech Kickdown Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

To correct the second problem, you will need to get a TV corrector bracket that bolts on to the Holley carburetor throttle lever. If you don't, the TV cable will get pulled out of adjustment every time you drive it. Out of adjustment AOD = burned up AOD.

TCI Auto 376715 - TCI TV Cable Bracket Corrector Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Remember: when you get all this set up, it is extremely important to set the TV cable correctly!

 

I used the Lokar kit with great results. Really easy to set and tidy too. The AOD is a real fussy animal to set I thought. I ran a pressure gauge from the pressure tap on the pass. side of the tranny to set the right pressure before I left the driveway. I've seen others set it by feel but the gauge is cheap insurance.

http://static.summitracing.com/globa...tci-431000.pdf

I found that link really helpful to set it. Takes away any guesswork
+1 on the TransGo kit too, heard great things about them. Never used one myself. Another good kit is the Baumann Recalibration Kit (fancy term for shift kit) It worked great in my AOD. Just about put you out the back window on the 1-2 shift with the stage 3 kit!