Hi guys, I have a 83 f150 2wd in decent shape i've been driving for a while and was planning on restoring. Now im thinking i want a Crew cab 4X4 instead. There abit harder to find at least around here. I found a '91 that has a spotless cab and frame thats crew and 4X4 and cheap. It's fuel injected and I want to build a 351 Cleavor for it(carb'd). I want auto with overdrive, but im pretty sure the transfer cases are different. SO, did the earlie F/I veicles have the AOD without electronic controls? Or will the newer transfer case bolt up to a older AOD? Any ideas guys, or do I keep looking for a older truck with what i want. Thanks in advance!

 

Something i assumed was that when they went to fuel injection they also went to electronic controlled transmissions. Is this true?

 

I know my friend's 86 Bronco with a EFI 302 has the 4x4 AOD tranny. Its now on the 3rd tranny as they don't like "abUSE" of playing in the mud.

Most Ford xfercases should bolt onto a AOD as long as it's setup for 4x4 applications. Now if you going to use a 351Cleveland, I don't think the bellhousing will fit the engine. If its a 351 Winsor, it will fit, but I doubt the AOD in stock form will hold up. Got to beef it up or put a C6 in as my friend is doing now!

 

Im building a Windosor Block Cleavland head setup. So its going to bolt up to the block. I heard the 90/ 91 AOD's were built stonger than any previous year, I was hoping to go with one of them, but im not sure if they are computer controlled or if they are still completely mechanical at that age. Im not planning on bieng in the mud alot, more of a driver that might go for some fun occasionally. Thats good to hear about the t-cases thanks.

 

The AOD is not a computer controlled transmission. For what it's worth its barely worth putting in a truck. It's basically a car tranny that had a hard time handling the power and weight of a Thunderbird, let alone a full size pickup. There are a couple builders that still know what they are doing with an AOD but it's going to cost a butt load.

In the long run you would be better off with an E4OD and a stand alone computer for probably the same money you'd have in an AOD able to handle the power of a built motor and the weight of a Crew Cab.

 

A crew cab will have either a C6 or E4OD in it if it's auto, no AOD in anything heavier than a half ton.

 

The c6 is just a 3 speed right? Somone told me that since all tcases are made by mostly the same 2 companies, they all line into the transmission the same throught the big 3. Eg a dodge tcase in a f350. Is this true? And somone is trying to sell me a 2wd tranny saying a tcase can be hooked up to it... tailstock has the o/d unit in it doesnt it? Thanks Matt

 

Yep the C6 is only a 3spd. Most xfer cases are buit by Borg-warner or New process in our years of trucks. But one built for a dodge or chevy may not even fit a Ford tranny, as some are for right side output and the Ford's are left side output. Also the the transmission mounting will be diffrent from the big 3. Best to stick with a Ford xfercase, those for most part are bolt on.

Do not get a 2x4 tranny, most times you will not be able to hook up the xfercase to it. The reason is the output shaft of the transmission will be longer and probly a diffrent spline count. Only way to use a 2x4 tranny is by a "divorce" set up xfercase, that was not a option in the 80 to 86 trucks, but the older Fords like 79 and older did have that set up.

Most transmissions I took apart and fixed had the OD unit in front of the tranny(A4ld tranny from by Bronco 2), not sure about the AOD as I have not detailed info on it. The tail end usually has the governor,parking mech and speedo gears.

 

Oh ok thanks for the info! Iknow dodge tcases are all new process... So you guys are thinking E40D... has any one tried a stand alone computer... impressed with it?

 

you DO NOT want an AOD in anything other than a 1/2 ton 2WD with a crap 302, its all the abuse that trans can stand up to. I went through 5 rebuilds in my old 90, and that truck was stock suspension and only all terrain tires. The AOD is JUNK, and I would not put one in my lawn mower

 

Avoid the AOD. They are not truck transmission and absolutely not suitable for any 4x4 application. Some folks will build them to take the abuse but that gets spendy. Depends on what you want.

Firstly, a lesson I learned a long time ago... Give up on finding an old truck that is everything you want. Buy one that is all around decent, minimal cab rust, etc. and is close to what you want. Then do it up how you want it.

I couldn't find a lifted '80-'86 Supercab F-350 with 460 and 5 speed, so I bought an '68 Supercab F-250 with 351w/C6. Swapped a Dana 60 into it, 4" lift, 460 swap, ZF5 swap... Bam, now I have the truck I want. Easy as pie.

So, if you must have a slushbox, go with either an A4OD o a C6 (A4OD is like a C6 with overdrive). Or be done with the slushbox junk and get a ZF5, or NV4500 if you really wanna abuse it.

 

Well I'm going to present a counterpoint to all those that say the AOD is junk. The one in my '90 ext-cab 4x4 F150 sucessfully survived 8 years behind a cammed up 5.8 with me throwing all the abuse it had at it. The trans was a fresh rebuild with all the factory updates and it has a shift kit, and it's still going and working perfectly. The AOD has know weaknesses which can all be addresses to support just about any power level, so like anything else you have to pay to play. Early versions of this trans are notoriously weak and cannot be upgraded to later spec, the latest versions will take parts from the 4R70W which is still in use today, so an early '90's model is the best platform to start with.

If you think the AOD is expensive to rebuild then you won't like the E4OD.. it is THE most expensive Ford tranny to service. And since it is computer controlled the only way to use it is with the stock ford EFI computer or with a $1000 aftermarket controller.

For the intended use a properly prepared AOD will do the trick, if this was going to be an abused mud truck or a tow rig then a C6 or ZF manual would be a better choice.

 

So guys, i have a question. I just rebuilt my AOD and filled the tranny to full after it warmed up, i have reverse but no forward gears. Any ideas ? This thing is driving me nuts. Thanks for any light you can shead.

 

I'll second that. By the time you buy a rebuilt AODE 4R70W 4R75W buy the Stand alone trans controller buy the the adaptor to fit the TPS to the carb you are going to spend more than a built AOD.

The AOD can be built to handle as much power as the later electric shift versions ,plus the AODE 4R70W 4R75W guts will fit in to the AOD case if you wanna build your own.

The AOD can be built to handle 1500HP and 1000 Ftlbs of torque.
Lentech offers just a such a unit. Lentech is one of the best AOD builders out there, and pioneered most of the AOD upgrades that are common place today. They also offer life time warranties on some of their AOD offerings , but they are not cheap.

There are still many builders that do the AOD for reasonable cost and units fully capable of 450HP are available new for less than $1500.00
Like this one, with a 3 year warranty to boot.
Heavy Duty AOD Transmission, Performance AOD Transmission, AOD Monster Transmission

Stock the AOD is quite fragile the foundation is good, and it does not take much to beef them up.

But do not expect a stock transmission to take a bunch of abuse and expect it to live. Some very minor mods can drastically improve the serviceability of the AOD.

The best stock units were the last couple years of production 92-93 as they had all the factory upgrades.

Damn just noticed this is another necro thread.

 

You went through "5 rebuilds?!" FIVE? That tells me you or whoever rebuilt it did something wrong. Probably didn't set the TV pressure correctly. Or maybe trying to tow in overdrive.

There are still plenty of AODs still shifting on the road today. If they were "JUNK", Ford would not have used them in their cars and trucks for 13 years. Mine went over 150,000 miles before it needed a rebuild - and that was because some "genius" decided to switch out the carburetor with one that didn't have the correct throttle linkage.