AOD rebuild, pulling engine, other fox mustang issues...

No. First you should just do a fluid change and see if the problem goes away. Then you should consider either buying a good rebuilt transmission or a junkyard manual transmission.

You don't want to open an automatic transmission. Trust me. There are just too many things that could go wrong. Even the professional rebuilders seem not to get them right much of the time.

I suggest you get some random automatic and tear it down to see basically how the thing works and how all the hydraulic control stuf in there is set up. It's scary. Get a manual.

--scott

Isnt it more difficult to put a manual in an automatic? You need a different driveshaft, doghouse, etc

Like I said

You bet! Plus the shifter and all the linkages and the clutch. And all the body trim to go with them. It is a major, major pain.

But that's nothing compared with what's inside the automatic....

--scott

k. I have had the car since 1992. I have developed a rear oil leak that I c ant tell if it is the pan or rear main seal or intake manifold. I was debat ing pulling the engine and transmission and replacinf the gaskets and seals . I have gone back and forth on replacing the head gaskets. Someone told me I am opening a can of worms if I take the heads off in terms of creating/f ixing more problems. The car runs fine I just don't like the oil leaks. Tha t is the car ran fine until last night.....

would act like it was in neutral. This would last a few seconds then it wo uld act normal. Well, last night, I lost overdrive. The car runs fine other than now I have no overdrive. Which got me to thinking....

ission and attempt a rebuild on the aod with a manual and/or video? I have a small;l shop and this is not my promarry driver. (Although I had intended to drive it more because it gets 20 mpg compared to 15 for my truck.

cars over the years. I like to think I could build a nuclear bomb if I want ed to if I had clear written directions.

nsmissions and to be honest a little afraid of getting a bad one. I am assu ming the overdrive problem is the overdrive band or the servo from what I h ave read but not even sure what these parts look like.

So honestly, a person can not do it without the AT or Haynes manual specifi cally for the Ford AOD?

Visit a library and spend some quality time with a typical auto slushbox rebuild manual (year& model like yours). You will understand better why wiser heads suggest you not do this.

tock. I have had the car since 1992. I have developed a rear oil leak that I cant tell if it is the pan or rear main seal or intake manifold. I was de bating pulling the engine and transmission and replacinf the gaskets and se als. I have gone back and forth on replacing the head gaskets. Someone told me I am opening a can of worms if I take the heads off in terms of creatin g/fixing more problems. The car runs fine I just don't like the oil leaks. That is the car ran fine until last night.....

car would act like it was in neutral. This would last a few seconds then it would act normal. Well, last night, I lost overdrive. The car runs fine ot her than now I have no overdrive. Which got me to thinking....

nsmission and attempt a rebuild on the aod with a manual and/or video? I ha ve a small;l shop and this is not my promarry driver. (Although I had inten ded to drive it more because it gets 20 mpg compared to 15 for my truck.

me cars over the years. I like to think I could build a nuclear bomb if I w anted to if I had clear written directions.

transmissions and to be honest a little afraid of getting a bad one. I am a ssuming the overdrive problem is the overdrive band or the servo from what I have read but not even sure what these parts look like.

cifically for the Ford AOD?

to rebuild it and that is with me taking out and installing the transmissio n.

No you wouldn't do it without a FACTORY manual that covers the exact version of the AOD in that car. There are at least 10 different types that I know of. They are built to match the engine, weight of the car, gear ratios and then programmed as well.

Add in a new converter since they do wear internally, plus any special tools and the rebuild kit and hard parts.

I second Steve W's advice about not doing it without the factory service ma nual. I did one last year (with my teenage dughter) in a Lincoln and it tu rned out fine, but you have to be meticulous in laying out all the parts, t aking pictures as you go, keeping everything scrupulously clean, etc. I bo ught the set of plastic cups (another $120 or so) that help make sure you g et the pistons back into their bores without cutting the O-rings and ending up having to pull it all out again. (Some say you can do it with plastic report covers.) One piece of interesting advice I got was to be absolutely certain as to what parts were bad before ever pulling the trans out of the car,using multiple pressure gages and driving the car, power load it in dr ive, etc. He said this because, what if you take it out, pull it apart and don't find anything obvious wrong? Doing all this this took another book ab out the trans itself and lots of study. Not sure many people actually go t his far, though. Incidentally, that trans was toasted because of the plast ic throttle body bushing that notoriously breaks off where the tansmission TV cable attaches and then wipes out the trans in 50 or 100 miles. The rep lacement bushing is brass.

manual. I did one last year (with my teenage dughter) in a Lincoln and it turned out fine, but you have to be meticulous in laying out all the parts, taking pictures as you go, keeping everything scrupulously clean, etc. I bought the set of plastic cups (another $120 or so) that help make sure you get the pistons back into their bores without cutting the O-rings and endi ng up having to pull it all out again. (Some say you can do it with plasti c report covers.) One piece of interesting advice I got was to be absolute ly certain as to what parts were bad before ever pulling the trans out of t he car,using multiple pressure gages and driving the car, power load it in drive, etc. He said this because, what if you take it out, pull it apart an d don't find anything obvious wrong? Doing all this this took another book about the trans itself and lots of study. Not sure many people actually go this far, though. Incidentally, that trans was toasted because of the pla stic throttle body bushing that notoriously breaks off where the tansmissio n TV cable attaches and then wipes out the trans in 50 or 100 miles. The r eplacement bushing is brass.

How would I diagnose it refusing to upshift into overdrive?

I'll have to dig out the literature I have and see if I can find out about not shifting to overdrive. Tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Maybe you could take a look at the TV cable grommet on the Mustang and see if the cable is still attached?

t not shifting to overdrive. Tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Maybe yo u could take a look at the TV cable grommet on the Mustang and see if the c able is still attached?

I replaced the grommet last year when I replaced the valve covers and I dou ble checked and it is attached. I have done some reading. According to what I have read there is a high likelihood it is a stick 3-4 valve. This cause s a failure into shifting into overdrive. If it were a band or something el se, it said when attempting to shift into overdrive it would "neutral out" and rev as if it were in neutral.

So now I am thinking of removing the valve body while the transmission is i n the car and taking it apart and cleaning it. I have never done this and u nderstand there are a lot of small pieces. Is there a cheap "rebuild kit" t o replace all the seals and gaskets in just the valve body? I know a person can buy different shift kits and things but I am looking for something che ap just to go through and clean it to see if this is my problem. I hate to spend a lot on just the valve body and it end up not fixing the problem and then I have to rebuild it anyway. On top of that it would probably re intr oduce garbage into the re done valve body.

Is just tking it apart and cleaning it acceptable? Does anyone know if ther is a diagram online where everything goes along with appropriate torque va lues?

Again I appreciate your patients and time.

RE: diagnostics. There's a 1993 TSB 93-23-18, Transmission - AOD - No 3-4 u pshift or slipping 4th gear - diagnostic information. I had found it on mu stangforums.com but I can't find it there now. I could scan my paper copy in (later). I scanned in 2 pages about the details of operation in overdri ve from the book mentioned below but don't know how to attach files in this forum. I bought the 100 page Ford book "Automatic Overdrive Transmission operation and diagnosis" from a library on ebay; it has way more info than I actually needed, but no actual "unscrew this nut, etc" instructions; thes e are in the factory service manual. The book is actually a training cours e #1720-001 from Ford Parts and Service Division. I'm keeping it as long as my son still owns the 88 Lincoln.

Re: valve body work. Scrupulous surgical cleanliness is important to keep dirt out of the parts if you do pull it out and apart. Don't burr up any p arts by dropping them on the floor. Instructions are in the service manual . I suppose the usual sources from whom one buys rebuild kits would sell s maller gasket, etc kits for just the valve body. Steve W posted a link to such an outfit.