Fuel switching questions.... got the orange "CHECK ENGINE" light came on

[miamibob]

Makes sense.....thought you were going to use as a DD with all stock parts.

[Hearsesrock427]

@miamibob: I could never DD a panther in the salt-tastic roads in the winter here. It's not worth it. Haha. Plus, a stock AOD would die even faster mated to a hopped up engine. You got me thinking though..... a rebuild with some upgraded components is probably the best idea here. I've perused a couple threads on lightly built AODs here. Some stuff about valve bodies, input shafts, and clutch packs. We don't need to go nuclear with an AOD capable of withstanding 700 wheel horsepower. But we want something better than stock..... hopefully some people versed in AOD upgrading can chime in and steer me in the right direction.

[L1011tristar17]

T-5 swap?

[gadget73]

The 2 piece input shaft is only a problem over some amount of power. You will never break it with a stock engine or even most reasonably streetable 302's. You also will give up the lockup torque converter if you change to something else which will require a nicely sized trans cooler to deal with the extra heat output. It ought to have a cooler anyway, but it needs to be bigger without the lockup.

A stuck TV piston inside the valve body can cause it to not upshift, or overly tight valve body bolts that are causing something to bind up. Gut feeling tells me you have valve body problems but I don't know nearly enough about transmissions to prove that. They work on black magic and chicken blood as far as I know, or at least I believe thats really why the fluid is red.

[Hearsesrock427]

@gadget: Ah shoot. I read that upping shift firmness even at or above medium settings with the TransGo AOD-HP kit will eventually kill your crappy 2 piece input shaft. There are five firmness settings. I'll start at level 2, and see how it goes. I plan on replacing the valve body, so hopefully that'll facilitate the rebuild. I may not even need a full rebuild, assuming it's just a valve body issue. And yeah, there's a fair bit of sorcery at work with these automatics. I attempted to read up on how planetary gears n' stuff work..... with small degrees of success. Haha.

Updates. After reading Baumann Electronic Controls' guide for upgrading an AOD. I want to make sure I've got everything before pulling the trigger:

-Stronger OD band/A band. Parts #s for the (presumably) Ford Racing catalog are:
E9SZ-7F200-A - Servo Piston
E9SZ-7D027-A - Servo Cover
E9SZ-7F201-A - Return Spring
E9SZ-7D024-A - Piston Seal
E0AZ-7D026-A - Cover Seal (two required, fits all servos)

-TransGo shift kit. Plug in the part #s at various online parts vendors: http://www.transgo.com/products.php?...dcountview=Yes

-ReCal Pro™ AOD Valve Body Recalibration Kit. Buy from Baumann Electronics.

-AOD Pressure Regulator Boost Valve Kit. Buy from Baumann Electronics.

Once I know 100% this is the right stuff, I'll order it. I like the idea of a tranny cooler. Any good brands to buy from?

I'll shop around for an AOD rebuild+beef up. What should I expect to pay for such a job? $1000?

[sly]

I've been banging on my AOD-WR (has the 4R70W wide range gearset as the only real modification) with a stock valve body and a transgo kit for 40K miles. And I mean launch from damn near every light (just because I can without chirping the tires on dry days). And mine is an 88. They supposedly made the casing stronger in the 89+ models. The stock setup should handle 400hp/tq with little issue. 350hp/tq would last forever unless there's a manufacturing flaw somewhere. Most streetable 302s seem to top out at 340hp/tq... so I don't see any issue with keeping the two piece shaft. Now if you add boost... you will break something.

[gadget73]

Talk to 88grandmarq about the parts. Thats well out of my element. I know a guy who knows a guy. He did mine, and it works nicely. I paid in cash and tipped a bottle of vodka, and thats all I know about it. Beyond servicing them and switching the shift levers, I'm kind of lost with automatics.

[lincolnlarry]

Anyone tried the Summit AOD for 1,500? They claim to handle 400hp...

[Hearsesrock427]

@sly: Haha! So it's torture tested tough. I don't think I'll get far past 350 HQ. I've got ~270 stock, and with these go-fast parts, I might just break 300. Maybe. So Ebyt's AOD must've had a manufacturing defect.... seeing as how many were produced, it's not as unlikely as one would think. Here's to hoping the '91 CVLX and the '88 GMGS I'll be buying enjoy better trannies! If not, I'll just get em' rebuilt & toughened up a bit.

So would the wide ratio gearset would improve durability? And where would I get me a set of those gears? I'll order the TransGo shift kit in the meantime.

@gadget: Will do. If what sly says is correct, then my mild performance rebuild should be more than enough for all my hooning desires.

[sly]

the wide range gears improve get up and go... so I would imagine they would improve durability just a fraction of a bit due to making it just that much easier to move the beast. They are definitely butt dyno approved.

All that said... neutral drops WILL break the input shaft... that's not a matter of if, but when.