AOD Shift Kits

[cjman15]

I currently have a stock AOD transmission in my '89 LX and I don't really have tha time or money to convert it out to a 5-speed and I was looking into maybe getting a shift kit to sure up the tranny a little. I don't know a whole lot about transmissions and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions of what I should buy or do with it. I'm just looking to get something that will give me some nice hard quick shifts, maybe chirp tha wheels a little... haha Thanks for tha help!

 

[408stroker5.0]

All I can say is stay away from B&M Shift Kit's. They Suck. I'm not much of an auto guy so I don't really have any to recomend, but I have and people I know have had poor performance fom there B&M Kits. I've heard some good thing's about Trans-Go Kit's, so you might want to check them out.

 

[ill advised]

I just bought my first AOD so I'm still learning myself. Run a search using "AOD" or "shift kit" and you should get a $h!tload of hits.

 

[cjman15]

Thanks, I will check them out.

 

[rnnhrse]

I had installed a B&M in my AOD before I had to replace the tranny and never had a problem with it. It was a fairly easy install for someone who had never done one and the price was around $25 from Summit. On the other hand my wife didn't like the sharper shifts, but I thought it was great.

 

[bluelx347]

B and M such big time go for a trans go shift kit. It is one of the best for aod's.

 

[408stroker5.0]

BlueLX347 What the hell are you trying to say??????

 

[EMW150]

BlueLX347 What the hell are you trying to say??????

I think he meant to say B&M sucks big time....

 

[davs5.0]

Trans-go makes a nice kit from what I've heard. Baumann Engineering makes another decent one. If you haven't already done it, put a nice beefy tranny cooler on your car. It will go a long way in saving your trans from emlting down. Aod's hate heat and its pretty cheap insurance in my opinion.

 

[willys1]

Trans-go is a good shift kit but,call them up and tell them the gears you plan to have.I have 373's and the trans-go kit I had was good for cars with stock gears,up to 355's.The problem was it wouldnt stay in 3rd gear past 95 mph !! It would shift into "OD" even though the shifter was in "D".I think they make different phase kits.Call them up and tell them what you plan to run on the car.

 

[90pony302]

I'm not sure what kind of shift kit i got in mine but i've heard nothing but bad things about b+m. The guy who just rebuilt my transmission knows his stuff and said i have a pretty high dollar kit in my AOD right now and he also said he has guys bring him b+m stuff all the time and he cant warranty the tranny cuz he has had nothing but trouble with stuff from B+M. Also i agree with the tranny cooler. It is pretty cheap insurance for your AOD.

 

[cjman15]

Thanks

I appreciate all tha feedback. I'll be sure to check out Trans-Go and that cooler. I was reading today about a Trans-Go Reprogramming kit. Is that tha same thing basically? It sounded like a shift kit. Thanks!

 

[myroc]

If you are going to keep your AOD (not change to a standard) just go buy a Lentech value body, this way you can use all your gears 123 at full RPM. Just putting in a shift it will make it shift hard , but you wont get full use of 2 gear unless you do the old 1-D-1. My tranny has a 9.5" TCS 3000 stall with a lentech Street Terminator valvebody # 3 and its SwEEEEEEEEEEEET, so save your money and go valve body $399.00 USD.

 

[cjman15]

How much work does it take to install a new valve body? Would it take much for a pro to do it? Where could I get one? Would I need a different stall converter?

 

[myroc]

Not hard to install but quite messy removing the pan, but i would recomend going to a tranny shop to get it done. Go to the lentech website and see what value body suit your needs http://www.lentechautomatics.com/aodhome.html

 

[sn9550]

I had a Trans-Go in my 95. It worked as expected plus it came with a video of the install. I have a PA valve body in my 88. It's much easier to install a valve body than to take it apart and modify it.

 

[davs5.0]

Changing a valvebody is a snap. Once the pan is off, its just a matter of the 25 bolts holding it down. Remove them, swap it and reassemble it. A little trick is to put a drain in the pan while you have it off. I put one in mine and it makes tranny servicing a breeze. They are less than $10 in most auto parts shops.