Auto Transmission woes - '92 5.0 Vert

[twogts4us]

My son has a '92 5.0 Vert with an automatic. The transmission has begun leaking and slipping and, at this moment, seems to be overfull of fluid. (When we noticed the leak, which seems to be rather substantial, we immediately topped it off and continue to watch the level) The dipstick is impossible to read when the fluid is clean. (When will someone invent a dipstick that we can actually read?!?!) It appears to be wet way up and over the designated hash markings.

My son states when he uses "D" and when needed shifts into "AOD", he has no slippage. But if he leaves it in "AOD", it slips.

We had it in the shop for an oil change and while up on the rack we noted that the main seal is the source of the leak (at least one of them...!).

So I have a 2 part question - Any idea if this would be worth repairing, or should we look for a used or rebuilt trannie? He doesn't have the money for a shop to go on a expedition thru his trannie and thru his wallet only to find out that they'll spend way too much to fix something when he could have just bought a rebuilt...know what I mean?

And what type of trannie is this? (Manuals have names like Toploader, T5, T45, T3650, TKO 500 & 600, etc...) Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!
Chris

 

[2000xp8]

The trans is an AOD 4r70w. This trans is not to be confused with the AODE which is more computer controlled.
If money is an issue just get a used one. May not cost too much since to most people they are just really big paper weights.

I wouldn't pay to have it fixed, that could easily exceed the cost of just putting a T5 in. (which if you guys are handy, is something you should consider).

 

[Haus]

The trans is an AOD 4r70w. This trans is not to be confused with the AODE which is more computer controlled.
If money is an issue just get a used one. May not cost too much since to most people they are just really big paper weights.

I wouldn't pay to have it fixed, that could easily exceed the cost of just putting a T5 in. (which if you guys are handy, is something you should consider).

His car did not come with the 4r70w.

Its an AOD if its stock.

I have the same Issues so im subscribing

 

[gearheadboy]

Generally if the automatic trans is pooped (worn from normal wear) it will first start slipping in the highest gear range. Make sure you are using the correct fluid and possibly a simple fluid and filter change could buy you some time. As far as fixing it, I'd purchase a rebuilt one from ebay. (Capitol transmissions in Michigan has treated me well on about 10 occasions and are CHEAP. Plus you don't have to send your old one back)

 

[2000xp8]

His car did not come with the 4r70w.

Its an AOD if its stock.

I have the same Issues so im subscribing

It would appear you are correct, my bad, i guess i'm just used to call it a 4r70w because that's what my explorer uses.

Never the less, my opinion on fixing it is still the same.

Also for the record i've been told by reliable sources that PA or performance automatic offers a setup where the cut the bellhousing off of an 05+ 4.6 trans and put their bell on it and you can use it in a fox, supposidly it's superior to a fox auto in every way possible.

 

[notchback]

yes it is actually called an AOD, the 4r70w and AODE were later auto trannies

anyways, i went through 3 aod's on my first 5.0 and i bought the car brand new. it was a 1990 GT

i say NO, it a waste to rebuild it.

my opinion is to do a t5 swap at this point, it is more fun, and the t5 will actually feel like you freed up 100 horsepower. it really is that different. aod cars mod for mod are about 1 second slower than a 5-speed car. thats roughly 10 car lenghts in the 1/4 and roughly equals 100 hp to gain it

anyways, the od is usually the first to go, it too narrow of a band, and gives up early in life. once the band is toast it just causes more contamination to the fluid from trying to clamp the shell. the converter alone runs $500 so a stock basic rebuild with NO HARD parts involved will run $1500-$1800

if you really really wanted to keep it auto, i would check out lentech transmissions
http://www.lentechautomatics.com/

but for the same price as a stock rebuild you can have a MUCH more fun car to drive

check out Welcome to D&D Performance - The 5 & 6 Speed Experts! for better than new t5's

the other downfalls of the aod are mostly due to gearing, it has a 2.40 1st gear as opposed to the t5's 3.35

if you multiply rear gear by 1sr gear you will have "total" gear

do the math and you'll see that a aod car needs 4.10's to equal a t5 with stock 3.08's

i can go on and on.... but after personal experience i would only use a aod to recycle it or as a boat anchor

my last rebuild was even with the motorsport "low gear" set, that swaps out all the internals for the better geared and wider od banded aode

yes done by a shop and it lasted 8 months in my stock 14 second GT

cost me about $2200 with the converter

as far as a converter... if you stay AOD, use a precision industries "stallion" 3000 stall speed. it will only add about 500 rpm to the launch and be very tame in street driving. i used a 2200 and it seemed stock on my GT, a stock mustang will flash MUCH lower than advertised stall speed , they are lighter than the test vehicle and typically have 100 hp less as well... both of which lower the advertised stall speed

 

[LX302]

anyways, i went through 3 aod's on my first 5.0 and i bought the car brand new. it was a 1990 GT

i say NO, it a waste to rebuild it.

Maybe I was just lucky, but I have a performance rebuild on mine, and about 80K miles later it's still running strong.

I agree on a T5 being more fun. If I had to do all over, I would have did the swap. Maybe someday when the motor pukes out I will swap in a new drivetrain .

But to answer the original question, rebuilt or used?
Go used, because you already know, once they take apart the tranny, they won't be replacing one part, they will want to overhaul the whole trans since you they already have it apart.

Good Luck!

 

[twogts4us]

No doubt the manual trannie is much more fun (I'd personally NEVER own a performance oriented car with an automatic), but he (my son) never got 100% comfortable with the manual (realize he was learning on my 02 GT and my wife's 01 GT) - not exactly the easiest car to learn the finer points of clutch engagement.

GREAT info guys - I appreciate it all very much thanks!

GearHeadBoy, I know of two people in GreenCastle PA now - you and my brother...! Small world!

 

[twogts4us]

Just found a reman'd transmission on EBay that has a shop less than 25 miles from us...and the trannie is a very reasonable $699.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AOD-...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5193482f24

 

[KamiKaziDK]

Keeping the AOD......You should definately put a shift kit in it and also and aftermarket cooler, those two things along with having a good shop make sure you're TV cable is correctly adjusted will make you're AOD last a lot longer than usual. Make sure the little plastic piece on your throttle body that pivots the TV cable isn't worn out or broken also, cause that happens a lot and people lose their trannies real fast before they knew what happened

 

[twistedwankel]

Just found a reman'd transmission on EBay that has a shop less than 25 miles from us...and the trannie is a very reasonable $699.

That's the route we took on our stock 87GT when OD just quit and never had to replace it in the two hard driven years we kept it. Still running stock 84LX 5.0 and 86GT AOD's with combined mileage of 301,000 with original units = well maintained w/new seals. I still like to be able to drink my coffee on the way to the autocrosses. AND my wife refuses to drive a stick anymore now that we're both retired.

Memo: I find using Drive around town under 45mph and OD only above 45mph probably saves alot of wear and tear on that gear. Our 86 properly pops into OD at 37mph and so did my brother's '92. That's alot of load on a high gear band. The '84 as designed per owner's manual only goes into OD at 45+mph.

BTW: My cars use RED trans fluid which is pretty easy to see on the stick. It is only above the full mark when cold and not running.

 

[twogts4us]

More great advice - folks I really appreciate it. (Makes me think I should buy a Fox and hang out over here with you guys rather than dealing with some of the clowns over in the 4.6L forum...LOL)

My son says he now just drives with the trannie in Drive rather than OD which he says helps. He did indicate that the slippage is in the top gear.

The red color of the fluid certainly helps to identify it on the garage floor , but it's still tough to see on the dipstick. Well let me clarify that. I can see it, I just have a hard time determining the top of the fluid line. Often I'll see fluid streaming up the dipstick further than the true depth of the fluid...

The transmission I found locally on EBay:
Ford Mustang AOD Performance Transmission
Heavy Duty
"The Demon" Up to 550HP

Includes:

* HD Performance Clutches
* Free Torque Converter
* Quick firm shifts
* Transgo Full Race Shift Kit
* Performance Competition Servo (Oversized)
* Wide Band

Sounds like a good deal if it'll stay together for a couple of years. I'll keep you guys posted. In the meantime, here's the only pic I have of the car. It now rides on 5 spoke rims (which look much better), but still needs better tailpipes (I think the previous owner bought the GT catback, rather than the LX kit) All in all, she's a good ride. After the transmission is dealt with we'll be adding an O/R H pipe to go with that Flowmaster catback...and the modding will have officially begun.

Thanks again to everyone - great info and advice.

 

[twistedwankel]

The red color of the fluid certainly helps to identify it on the garage floor , but it's still tough to see on the dipstick. Well let me clarify that. I can see it, I just have a hard time determining the top of the fluid line. Often I'll see fluid streaming up the dipstick further than the true depth of the fluid...

After sitting all nite at about 80F on a level surface both of my AOD cars have about 1/2" above the crosshatched safe area not running (at the end of the STAMPED word Don't) . There is a scribed mark on the back of my dipstick and the normal level is about 1/8" below that. That mark may have been put on by a PO? I consider that the "max fill line" but never run it that full.

Pull it out wipe it and check it again. For some reason more fluid sticks to the dipstick after being wiped once. If you still have trouble seeing it roll it on a paper towel and compare the oil mark to the end of the stick.

So sounds like your clutches aren't burned anyhow with that nice clean fluid!! We drove our 87 for a couple months in D before finally coughing up the money for a replacement trans. It never missed a beat just ran higher rpm's on the highway than we really liked.

 

[twogts4us]

Yeah the fluid is VERY clean, so I don't think anything is burnt yet.

UPDATE - Son o' mine has decided that a manual would be cool, so it sounds like we'll be hunting down the swap materials to do a T5 conversion. I've turned him into a horsepower junkie...sweet! Now I just need to get him to join Stangnet...coming very soon (or else!)

 

[2000xp8]

Yeah the fluid is VERY clean, so I don't think anything is burnt yet.

UPDATE - Son o' mine has decided that a manual would be cool, so it sounds like we'll be hunting down the swap materials to do a T5 conversion. I've turned him into a horsepower junkie...sweet! Now I just need to get him to join Stangnet...coming very soon (or else!)

Good choice.
It's better in every way.