Play by Play AOD Removal

[BBMK790]

Anyone have a pictured thread or video of removing and AOD?

[1987cp]

I have a play-by-play description from memory of swapping a C4 five or six years ago, if that helps any .... :3gears:

[BBMK790]

Did you have to change out the driveshaft? My AOD is leaking from every possible place and Im not sure if I want to rebuild it or just go with somthing else. I have a FMX in the garage. I was thinking about putting that in but Im not sure about length and how it will fit.

[1980c10]

Get the car on ramps or Jack stands. Unhook the battery. Pull the exhaust off. Take the pan off to drain the tranny. Unbolt the driveshaft from the yolk on the rear, make a mark on the driveshaft and yoke before you pull it, they are balanced together and need to be lined back up like they came off. Take the tranny loose from the crossmeber. Put a Jack under the tranny. Remove the cross member from the car. Lower the rear of the tranny. Unplug the speed sensor. Unplug the nss and reverse light hook up. Remove the cable from the shift linkage. Unbolt the torque converter from the flex plate, there are for bolts, have a buddy rotate the engine for you when you finish one, so you can get to the next. Take the top 4 bolts out of the bellhousing. Jack the tranny back up and get it nice and leveled/balance on the Jack, a buddy helps here also to balance if you don't have a tranny Jack. Remove the starter and bungee or wire tie it out of the way, if you leave it connected to the cables. Remove the last 2 bellhousing bolts. Now give the tranny a jiggle till it comes loose. Reverse steps to re install.

[1987cp]

Change? No. Remove, yes. But I was doing a direct replacement, C4 for C4. I do know that C4 driveshafts are slightly longer (think that was right) than AOD ones, and I kept the driveshaft when I junked my C4 car and reused it when putting the same C4 in an original AOD car, but the concensus among other folks seems to be that the difference in length is insignificant and the shorter shaft works fine.

Assuming your FMX uses the same slipyoke as the AOD like the C4 does (verify this!), you might start by checking whether the transmission's overall length is the same. I also expect you should anticipate some weirdness when attaching the shift linkage, BTW. When I put a C4 in my '81 (which came with an AOD), I obtained the bits necessary from a C4 car (or rather, Scott did and then sent them to me via GMN Rattler Express), and that made it fairly easy. But that was for a C4. For putting an FMX in place of an AOD, who nows?

[BBMK790]

Get the car on ramps or Jack stands. Unhook the battery. Pull the exhaust off. Take the pan off to drain the tranny. Unbolt the driveshaft from the yolk on the rear, make a mark on the driveshaft and yoke before you pull it, they are balanced together and need to be lined back up like they came off. Take the tranny loose from the crossmeber. Put a Jack under the tranny. Remove the cross member from the car. Lower the rear of the tranny. Unplug the speed sensor. Unplug the nss and reverse light hook up. Remove the cable from the shift linkage. Unbolt the torque converter from the flex plate, there are for bolts, have a buddy rotate the engine for you when you finish one, so you can get to the next. Take the top 4 bolts out of the bellhousing. Jack the tranny back up and get it nice and leveled/balance on the Jack, a buddy helps here also to balance if you don't have a tranny Jack. Remove the starter and bungee or wire tie it out of the way, if you leave it connected to the cables. Remove the last 2 bellhousing bolts. Now give the tranny a jiggle till it comes loose. Reverse steps to re install.

Thanks

[BBMK790]

Change? No. Remove, yes. But I was doing a direct replacement, C4 for C4. I do know that C4 driveshafts are slightly longer (think that was right) than AOD ones, and I kept the driveshaft when I junked my C4 car and reused it when putting the same C4 in an original AOD car, but the concensus among other folks seems to be that the difference in length is insignificant and the shorter shaft works fine.

Assuming your FMX uses the same slipyoke as the AOD like the C4 does (verify this!), you might start by checking whether the transmission's overall length is the same. I also expect you should anticipate some weirdness when attaching the shift linkage, BTW. When I put a C4 in my '81 (which came with an AOD), I obtained the bits necessary from a C4 car (or rather, Scott did and then sent them to me via GMN Rattler Express), and that made it fairly easy. But that was for a C4. For putting an FMX in place of an AOD, who nows?

Ill measure and ask around but Im guessing the only response ill get is "just rebuild the AOD its easier".

[1987cp]

Around here, very possibly, though of course that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with doing something different.

I will say, there are a handful of good reasons for using an AOD, notably a bit more aftermarket support than I've found for full-auto 3-speed automatics (seems performance types usually run a C4 as full-manual only). WOT automatic shift points have been my particular headache, as no-one-but-no-one seems to have leads on C4 governors, while for an AOD you can get a 5000rpm governor kit for $25 from Summit. Full-auto aftermarket valvebodies also seem to differ in availability.

[BBMK790]

If I was to go AOD i was thinking about getting a core. I was told that there not all the same. They vary by length. Is this true? Can I only swap a AOD out of a Lincoln?


"AOD is an AOD is an AOD. AOD fits ANY SBF pattern 3.8, 4.2, 4.9, 5.0, 5.8, and some larger odd FE engines (390). The Lincolns and trucks come with LONG tail versions. "

[1987cp]

That is what I've heard, but I own only Fords and Mercurys. I take it your car is a Lincoln?

[87_crown_vic]

if using transmission jack you should be fine... if using regular floor jack, use a board balanced on the jack head to avoid screwin up the pan... i usually start by

car on ramps or car on jack stands... i usually jacked up the car and sat car on ramps
disconnect battery
unbolt starter and exhaust
unbolt the transmission bellhousing bolts
mark and disconnect driveshaft... 12 point 1/2 inch socket or wrench
unbolt the filler tube from exhaust manifold so you can work it loose from transmission
i would drain transmission and reattach pan to avoid bigger mess
disconnect the linkages
remove the inspection shield to get access to unbolt the torque converter from flywheel/flexplate
unbolt the transmission mount from transmission and from crossmember
unbolt the transmission crossmember from frame
jack up transmission with board on the head to avoid transmission pan damage
remove transmission mount and remove the crossmember

after that, should be ready to drop out...
might need a helper to get off the jack and slide out the side of the car from underneath

i might have forgotten a few lil things... but that is the jist of getting it yanked out

[86VickyLX]

Yes, Lincoln AODs are longer than the ford/mercury car AODs.

Replace the trans mount, since I'm almost willing to bet money, that the rubber is a jello consistancy now.

Does the trans slip? Miss any gears?

[1987cp]

Good call on tranny mount. They're cheap, too - $10ish for a rubber one and $20ish for a poly one. IIRC, I bought a Prothane for a '73 Mustang that bolted right in.

I just got the trolley tranny jack from Harbor Freight for $103 after bringing a 20%-off coupon and a printout of the $130 Internet price. The stupid scissor jack isn't much less than that, is a huge headache to use, and is good for dropping transmissions on your head (at least in my experience).

[gadget73]

the FE motor has a totally different bellhouse. No idea why they'd say a 390 will bolt to an AOD. The FE motors don't share a bell with anything else as far as I'm aware.


and yes, Lincolns take Lincoln AODs. The shift levers are different depending on application. Mark VII is floor shift, Townies and Contis are column. 90-92 AOD Towncars are cable shift, which is yet another different lever. They are interchangeable but it requires minor surgery on the trans to swap it out.


if this is a Mark 7 as your name and avatar seem to imply, the trans mount is odd and unique on a VII. Its 2 rubber biscuit things that go under the crossmember. the trans bolts straight to the crossmember instead of to a rubber block like Panthers and most everything else uses. You also need to remove the H pipe assembly from a VII to get the trans out.

[BBMK790]

That is what I've heard, but I own only Fords and Mercurys. I take it your car is a Lincoln?

Yes asking for the Town Coupe