Play by Play AOD Removal

[BBMK790]

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?

Leaks from everywhere. Took it to a trans shop and they said all the seals are bad. It sat for 15 yrs apparently and its the factory trans so Im guessing its time for a little overhaul.

But since the truck one is as long as a lincoln AOD could I use one from a 2wd f-150?

[BBMK790]

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).

At that cheap its a must for the mounts.

Good deal on the trans jack. I always see it on sale.

[BBMK790]

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.

Its for the Town Coupe. Since the ford truck AOD is the correct length I wouldnt have to modify anything? 2WD f-150s are column shift arent they?

[gadget73]

I dont know for sure that truck transmissions are the same length. Measure it. No idea about the linkage. I've never worked on a truck with an AOD. I wouldn't really trust one truth to tell. Most of the time things with AODs go to the yard because the bushing fell apart and the trans died. If all that ails yours is leaks, then seals are cheap and easy to install. There are all of 4 on the AOD. Input shaft seal, tailshaft seal, shift shaft seal, and an O ring on the dipstick tube. The fittings for the coolers may or may not be quick connects. If they are, those fail. The pan gasket gets changed when the trans is serviced. For under 100 bucks, you can make that thing tight as a drum, assuming that its mechanically operational. The 80-85 AOD is by far the weakest of the bunch though, so I wouldn't spend any time messing with it unless its known to work and you aren't planning to soup up the motor at all.

[1987cp]

^^ Good info about replacing the seals. I take it they tend to dry out on any AOD that's been sitting?

[87_crown_vic]

if you replace the transmission... forgot to mention to swap out the speedo gear so it matches the gear ratio in rear as long as ratios in transmission are same as your car

[gadget73]

^^ Good info about replacing the seals. I take it they tend to dry out on any AOD that's been sitting?

Not specifically AODs, but just rubber seals in general. Motors that sat for a long time are usually very leaky when brought out of hibernation too.

[1987cp]

Logical enough. Sounds like I should look into doing the same, since I'm intending to install an AOD that's been in hibernation for an essentially unknown period of time. I imagine a transmission shop can provide the needed seals (if I can remember the name of the friendly performance-transmission place I visited once), but is there a particular source you prefer?

[gadget73]

you can get them from most parts stores. the shift shaft seal maybe not but Scott got one for my Towncar at Autozone so it must not be all that impossible to obtain these things. For the output shaft seal, you want the long one if possible. There are two available, one looks like a regular seal, the other looks like its got an extended cone on it. The extended cone is a dust seal that helps keep junk out of the fluid seal so it lasts a little longer.

[BBMK790]

I dont know for sure that truck transmissions are the same length. Measure it. No idea about the linkage. I've never worked on a truck with an AOD. I wouldn't really trust one truth to tell. Most of the time things with AODs go to the yard because the bushing fell apart and the trans died. If all that ails yours is leaks, then seals are cheap and easy to install. There are all of 4 on the AOD. Input shaft seal, tailshaft seal, shift shaft seal, and an O ring on the dipstick tube. The fittings for the coolers may or may not be quick connects. If they are, those fail. The pan gasket gets changed when the trans is serviced. For under 100 bucks, you can make that thing tight as a drum, assuming that its mechanically operational. The 80-85 AOD is by far the weakest of the bunch though, so I wouldn't spend any time messing with it unless its known to work and you aren't planning to soup up the motor at all.

Im not sure what seals they are. He said something about each clutch has a seal and if the first ones bad there all bad??? Im not to familiar with trans work. If its possible for me to do Ill do it. I just dont want to start on something way over my head.

[gadget73]

if its just leaking fluid but otherwise operates, its no big deal. If its got problems that don't allow it to shift and function properly, thats a different story entirely. Can you actually drive the car down the road and have all 4 gears operate like they should?

[BBMK790]

if its just leaking fluid but otherwise operates, its no big deal. If its got problems that don't allow it to shift and function properly, thats a different story entirely. Can you actually drive the car down the road and have all 4 gears operate like they should?

Yea. When its full of fluid it works fine. Then all the fluid drains out and it slips.

[gadget73]

ok, no big deal then. The pan gasket and rear seal are by far the easiest to do. If you can change valve cover gaskets, you can do a pan gasket. The tailshaft seal requires removing the drive shaft, but once thats out its pretty simple. Just pop the seal out and replace it. If the trans lines have those stupid quick connect fittings that leak (look for a plastic ring at the threaded bit where the metal line goes into it), those are sort of a pain in the ass, but mostly because of where they are. Trans dipstick is a simple O ring, but the dipstick is held by one of the trans bellhouse bolts. Mildly irritating to access, but really not that bad. The front seal requires dropping the trans out to fix, and the shift shaft seal could be a little bit involved. Luckily its not a huge leak point.

[1987cp]

So basically those five seals - tailshaft, input shaft, pan, dipstick O-ring, and shift shaft seal? Should be quite easy with the unit out of the car.

[1990LTD]

Are those 5 the only possible leak points? Nothing is leaking now but it would be nice to know all of 'em so I can eliminate possibilities when it DOES leak rather, those 5 plus the front seal