Bad Torque Converter 87' Mustang Gt W/aod?

[DM87GT]

I have a 1987 Mustang GT 5.0 with a mild built AOD trans. and 2500-3000 stall convertor and the car is only driven to and from work. Coming home from work, about 2 blocks from my house, I hear a mild thud, not a hard jerk, but a quiet thud come from under the car. The noise came from the rear I believe. Now, I have no drive or reverse. I have a B&M Hammer shifter made for the AOD Mustangs and the shifter is fine, goes right into park as it should and goes through the normal shifts as intended. I am wondering if my rear gears 3.08 went to hell? If that was the case, I would hear chatter coming from the rear axle. My u-joints are not the problem or the aluminum drive shaft. I am thinking the torque convertor died on me! Any input or advice will be very helpful. Thank you

 

[mikestang63]

check

1. fluid level and color
2. TV cable
3. pull the inspection cover off and see if the converter spins on the flexplate. you may have broken the 2 piece input shaft

 

[DM87GT]

If the 2 piece input shaft is broke, is it a relatively simple fix without pulling the AOD completely out? I did check the fluid and it's full to the cross-hairs on the dip stick, and a clean pink. No leaks under the transmission pan.TV cable?

 

[84Ttop]

If you broke the input shaft then the entire trans is coming out. TV cable is referring to the "kick down" cable that comes from the throttle body down to the transmission. This is used to down shift the trans upon acceleration and from what I understand controls some aspect of the line pressure in the AOD.
I'll be optimistic... Maybe you just broke the pinion in the rear. It's all guesses at this point

 

[DM87GT]

I checked the rear pinion and all seems to be just fine. I came home from work today and found a huge puddle of dark red/gray colored trans fluid on the garage floor right under the transmission pan near the right front corner where the dipstick tube goes into the case. I took off the inspection cover and found that the two-piece input shaft has snapped! So, Out with the AOD and in with a TCI c4 trans.! The C4 is primarily for strip use but can be street driven also. The changeover should be a direct fit with a couple easy modifications. The new TCI C4 automatic with 3,000 stall will make the Foxbody like night and day compared to the AOD!

 

[mikestang63]

Sorry- that is what I thought. Remember you will lose overdrive with the C4. You can buy a 1 piece hardened input shaft for the AOD.

 

[DM87GT]

Yeah, I figured this was going to happen sooner or later, especially when the guy I bought the car from put the engine and transmission in from a wrecked 1988 Mustang LX 5.0 He didn't even put a shift kit in the AOD like he said he did, the only part that was hi-performance was the 2500-3000 stall converter he put , which is probably the reason why the 2-piece input shaft broke. I had already purchased the TCI C4 with 3000 stall, and the AOD is ready to come out. I may keep the AOD and have it rebuilt heavy duty with a shift kit and keep it as a back-up in case the C4 fails. For this reason, the overdrive will help me in gas mileage! Thanks again!