Is the AODE serviceable?

Interesting...

Last year, I changed the fluid on my AODE. A few months later, it was dead. (It's now totally rebuilt with "racing" internals).



I did change the fluid on my 4R70W 4.6L Thunderbird and never had any issues.

I have been told its best to change it if it has been done all along, but not if it has never been done and you have high miles, not sure if that is true or not though. Just what i have been told.

More so than any debris in the fluid, if fresh fluid is introduced in a system which has had old fluid in it for a long time, the detergent in the fresh fluid can remove varnish and build-up and cause the trans to act up. They say if you make it 100 miles afterwards, you are probably ok.

Do you know if she is running Mercon or MV? How does the fluid seem? Is it fairly light redish? Does it have an aux cooler?

You could do a complete fluid flush. I wouldnt.

You could do a filter and some fresh fluid from the pan drop (like 3-5 quarts). I would probably do this - the dilution of the new fluid with the old should hopefully not be too solvent-laden.

You could do nothing. Judgement call on that one.

I am glad I could clear that up.

Good luck Jeremy.

I would get her serviced. Check the color of the fluid. Clean fluid should is red. If it's closer to brown, or it's brownish-red, change it. Get a sheet of white paper, and drop a bit on it. Then compare it to clean fluid for an idea of how bad it is.

I serviced mine 15K ago. Shifts hard, and crisp. Never better. Barks the tires when I hit 2nd gear.

Speaking of this, when Im driving and sometiems it feels like the entire car studders. Its like those strips on the highway that prevent you from drifting over and it makes your car vibrate the tiny bumps on the side. It usually happens like in 2nd gear going up a hill. This IS my AODE right? Maybe its a good excuse for a t5.

Uh...sounds like overdrive shudder to me....a symptom of worse things looming on the horizon.

Install a cooler for sure.

I really don't know what to advise about fluid at this point. Seems like a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

I really do like my new kevlar/hardened steel internaled AODE now though...

I think you're talking about "Torque Converter Shudder". Do a search on the internet and you will find a lot of tech articles on it.

My tranny had a similar shudder in second gear but I tuned around it by changing my lockup parameters with my TwEECer. It basically told the EEC not to lock up the converter unless my speed was high enough.

Concerning the original post, I changed my tranny fluid last summer just for routine maintenance. This summer I had an issue with the torque converter slipping so I replaced the fluid again. A month ago, the same thing happened. Lots of slipping and I was barely able to make it home. The tranny fluid was scorched and full of metal filings. Another fluid change got me through at least today.

I'm picking up my T5 tomorrow so hopefully my AODE problems will be gone for good.

First, re: Flush & Fill Tranny

There is absolutely no reason not to service (flush and fill) a high mileage AODE, as long as you use Mercon V tranny fluid. Any other tranny fluid has the wrong friction modifiers for the AODE and may well mess it up. This line about "by-product" remaining in the system is bull. It's the friction modifiers in the tranny fluid that make the internals work right, not microscopic pieces of clutch pack surfaces floating around, etc.

Second, re: Torque Converter Clutch Shudder

Torque converter clutch shudder in AOD-Es in 94 through 98 Mustangs is a know problem. Ford has issued about three or four different Technical Service Bulletins regarding the issue, but no recalls! (Of course, why should Ford take care of their loyal Mustang buyers?!?!)

At any rate, the symptom is a shudder coming from the transmission (feels kind of like you are driving over a series of those little speed bump strips) when you are driving at “light to moderate throttle” (the words in the TSBs).

The problem as stated by Ford is two-fold. The first cause is a breakdown of the friction properties of the older Mercon IV and earlier transmission fluid due to heat build up. The second cause is undersized friction plates in the torque converter clutch in the torque converters on all AOD-Es from 94 to 98. The combination of these two problems results in a grabbing-slipping, grabbing-slipping, etc. of the torque converter clutch during shifts at light to moderate throttle. As soon as you “get on it” the shudder goes away!

I had this problem on my stock 95GT. I followed all the advice in Ford’s TSBs. Replaced the tranny fluid with the new synthetic Mercon V and installed an auxiliary tranny fluid cooler. For the first 2,000 miles after that, I had no more shudder, so I thought it was fixed. But then it came back. (The Ford TSBs say that if the symptom returns within 10,000 miles you have to replace the torque converter because the clutch is just too far gone.)

At any rate, I wasn’t about to go through that expense yet, and I heard about a product by LubeGard called, “Dr. Tranny’s Instant Shudder Fixx”, that was supposed to work some magic on the tranny and stop the shudder. It’s a small 5” long red tube of what looks like regular tranny fluid, but its actually a friction modifier that acts on the torque converter clutch friction surfaces. About $10.00 to $15.00 bucks a tube depending on where you get it.

I put one tube of that stuff in my transmission, cycled the gear shift lever through the gears, backed out of the driveway, and drove off. No shudder!!! Gone!

So, for $10.00 bucks or so, I’d say give it a shot. It’s only 2 oz. of fluid so you won’t have to drain any out before adding it. Just add it to what’s in there now.

If you can’t find the stuff at a transmission shop, here’s their web site. You can buy it direct from them on line.

www.lubegard.com/automotive/index.html

From their home page, go to Transmission Products, then to the link for Dr. Tranny’s Instant Shudder Fixx.

After about another 2,000 to 3,000 miles the symptoms returned. After that, even another tube of this stuff would not stop it. The problem is that the torque converter clutch friction plates are just too burned/glazed to recover.

You’ll eventually have to replace your torque converter.

MLC Stang said:

There is absolutely no reason not to service (flush and fill) a high mileage AODE, as long as you use Mercon V tranny fluid. Any other tranny fluid has the wrong friction modifiers for the AODE and may well mess it up.

Click to expand...

When I changed my fluid and filter I used Mercon II or III or whatever was called out in the shop manual. I'm 99% sure it wasn't Mercon V. Are you saying that using the "recommended" fluid (Mercon III) instead of the Mercon V could cause the transmission to fail prematurely? The AODE has about 115,000 on it so it could just be getting old. Also, the TCC shudder was first noticeable a couple of years ago, so it sounds like it's been dying slowly for a while. Nice description of the TCC shudder.

There is absolutely no reason not to service (flush and fill) a high mileage AODE, as long as you use Mercon V tranny fluid. Any other tranny fluid has the wrong friction modifiers for the AODE and may well mess it up.

Click to expand...

I did exactly this. Perhaps it was coincidence, but I never had trouble until after I changed the fluid and filter.

Hmm, I always thought that one could use either M or MV on the AODE. If experiencing shudder issues, a full flush and switch to MV would be in order (one cannot mix the two types with good results, as I recall. Correct?). The MV is a blended fluid that helps shudder control with regard to the electronic control of the trans.

For you guys with the shudder, to test whether it is the converter, do you lightly hit the brake pedal when it starts to shudder (hitting the BOO switch unlocks the converter) and see if that gets it to go away? Sounds reasonable to me.

Interesting stuff (we are hurting for AODE threads on here).

Well it definitaly goes away if I give it more gas. I will try the brake thing.

Yeah, you dont even need to push the brake enough to apply the brakes - just enough to turn on your brake lights/activate the BOO. I do this going up hills if I dont feel like standing on it, and you will feel the revs climb as the converter unlocks (like a mini-upshift).

Good luck.