I took the whole Valve Body apart.

It was like me: Full of S**t

The 1-2 capacity modulator was sticking,
The 1-2 Accumulator Valve moved freely, but was hart to get out - like there was an edge.

The 2-1 scheduling valve and low servo modulator were sticking

I took all valves out and placed them sorted by the bore in a plastic cup.



I flushed it first with kerosene.
Then I took different bottle brushes and dishwashing liquid in a sink

There was still debris in the valve body

So I wasn't kidding when I said I'll put it in the dishwasher



So, now it is really clean

Unfortunately the salt in the dishwasher tab caused the surface of the valve body slightly to corrode.
But it is not that bad - I just have to put the valves in with oil.

 

Always a good idea. Make sure every valve moves easily in it's bore. It's also good that you kept every thing separated, now just make sure you install every thing back in it's correct order. All valves pointing the right direction, with springs on the correct end. I like to use aerosol Brake Cleaner to clean valves etc. It washes the sludge right off and dries quickly. But the dish washer looks like it works great in a pinch! Be very careful if you are tempted to "sand" any burrs off, valves need to have square edges, rounding the edges will come back to haunt you with sticking valves again. If I need to do any de-burring I use a fine, flat sharpening stone, and try to keep the stone parallel to the valve.

Sounds like you are now on the last leg of this adventure, at least let's hope so.
Good luck, fingers crossed.

 

That would be the Main Regulator Valve circuit.

 

Some household cleaning products are highly corrosive to much of the metals used in auto parts. Do keep in mind if there is your valve body's surface has been affected its possible its passages could also be affected. Clean, clean and triple clean that before re-assembling!

I'm highly impressed by the patience and persistence shown with this project---I've have given up long, long ago! Upside is Cobra-Kai will now be another go-to guy here on FTE for the AOD transmissions!

 

I'm impressed just reading his last post, and subscribing to check it all out, even though I own an E4OD.

 

Well, I reassembled every valve with oil and the surfaces in the bores gave no resistance.
Every valve moves free and easy.

The corrosion I mentioned looked worse than it is.
As soon as the oil touched the valve body the corrosion dissapeared.
OK, that was an optical illusion, but still....

I put the valve body back in the Transmission, but could not drive yet.
Because I took out the tank breather - the hoses are leaking so I always smelled a bit gasoline around the front axle.

And I changed the Differential Cover and ran out of oil.
The Oil in the Differential isn't that old, but already dirty.

 

Cobra, are you gearing up to re-bearing that diff? I can walk you through that...

I too, am impressed with your persistence.

 

No, the old differential cover was heavily rusted and I got a cheap new one on eBay.
A change in the Ratio would be interesting.
Maybe a little wider gear ratio.
I could not identify the complete tag, but the ratio is now something .55
Propably 3.55
I'm thinking about driving with lower RPM at higher speeds


I have spent too much time and way too much money on my van to stop.
And I'm a skilled auto mechanic - so the work is fun to me, although it gets frustrating sometimes

 

The important thing is to be in your "torque range" while cruising, at what ever speed you choose to cruise. 3.55 is a good ratio for most driving, I had it behind a 351 and thought it was fine even for towing. My newer 5.4 has 3.55 and it's fine by itself, but when towing 3500 lbs, I need to be at 75 mph or above to have adequate torque for any kind of incline. If my rpm drops below 2100 in OD I need to down shift. If I were doing alot of towing with my 5.4, I would go to 3.73 or 3.91. It all depends on your engine's torque range and how you use your van. I'm assuming you have a 302 (5.0) and I have no experience with that engine in a van. I can tell you about a 300 ci 6 with 3.73's and a 3 speed trans. Sucks at any thing over about 70 mph!

edit: Forgot to add tire size into the equation. As an example, right now my 8 lug E-150 has 29" tires. I would enjoy going larger but I know that would kill my towing ability and necessitate a gearing change. My old 5 lug E-150 had smaller tires which probably helped it tow with the same gears. I have driven a 4x4 with 35 inch tires and 4.56 gears, and found it to be pretty comparable to my 29's with 3.55.

 

I don't tow.
I don't have neither a tow hitch or the suitable driving licence to tow.
My driving licence is the "B"-Licence -> that means I can drive any car or truck up to 3.5t admisible total weight, but no trailers
Therefor I would need the "BE"-Licence.

In town I cruise around at 30mph - often in OD at below 1000rpm
In 3rd Gear the rpm at 30mph is 1200 or 1400.
It would be nice to get that rpm range form OD in 3rd so the AOD doesn't need to shift down at the town's exit when I accelerate to 65mph

I haven't measured my tires yet, but they are 275/60 R15
If I calculate that right, that must be 28" in outside diameter.

 

So you would like to get the rpm down when in 3rd gear, about to where it is now in OD? That would be to bring the 1300 rpm at 30 in 3rd, down to about 1000, right? And here I thought you wanted it to increase your top cruising speed. Well it would do both probably. You are looking for a change in RPM of 30%, that's the difference between 3rd and OD in your AOD. So I don't know for sure exactly what size rear end is in your van, I would guess it is a ford 8.8 inch. If that's wrong please let me know. The gear sets I've seen for the 8.8 go down as far as 3.08:1, that's a 15% change from 3.55, and while you would sure notice it, not enough to get you all the way there. May be that's what you are looking for? Summit offers several gear sets from Motive Gear and Yukon. I've used both and would use them again no problem. Make sure you are looking at rear axle sets and not 4x4 front or IFS sets. I would advise you to determine which rear axle is in the van for sure, and contact them to see if you can use your existing carrier with the gear set you choose. You'll also need a Master install set which includes all the bearings, seals, shims, crush sleeve, and pinion nut, every thing you'll need even marking compound, loc-tite and RTV. The whole process is one that can be difficult if you are new to it. There is pounding and prying. Special tools for holding the yoke while you tighten the pinion nut with a 3 foot pipe on your breaker bar to crush the new sleeve just enough so there will be 25 inch pounds of rotating torque needed to turn the pinion gear. And a gauge needed to check back lash on the ring gear when you think you are done. All while under the van, unless you remove the entire rear axle assy and do it off the van. A lot to think about, check into it and be sure it's really worth it.

Just want to add that the master install set does not include the outer axle bearings or seals, often they are fine, but most of the time they still get replaced. The axles themselves also need to be checked, drive splines can twist or they can wear at the bearing contact area.
When my pinion bearings were getting loud at 175,000 miles, I did my own 8.8 in my '95. My gear set was fine, but I replaced all bearings and seals, one axle shaft and the spyder gear set and drive pin. I put on another 70,000 mi before I sold it. I will tell you, the worst part of doing it on jack stands, was tightening the pinion nut. Very hard to put enough torque into the nut when laying on your back, and not much room to swing a long bar.

 

It was just a thought.

I don't want more top speed - the speedometer ends at 130km/h (80mph).
The fastest I drove for a short time was approximately 170km/h (105mph) and that wasn't top speed, but the Van got pretty unstable.

If there's a lot of prying and physical strength requiring actions, then it's nothing for me.
Because it is still unsure if I need surgery on my back -> got a lumbar disk hernitation.
And I had a cervical disk hernitation that had been operated on.
So no more power feats for me.

If the Diff stays intact - it don't get touched


But I'm getting more and more sick and tired with my AOD:
Today I reinstalled the charcoal filter with new hoses,
The Vacuum Canister next to it got new paint (because it was so rusty),
I weldet new bolts onto the Canister Bracket, cause the old ones snapped off
filled new oil into the differential
and fixed the Vacuum Line to the Air Pump Valve

After that I drove a bit.

- The 1-2 shift is a bit late, but in "normal range"
- The 2-3 shift normal, but it doesn't shift up at full throttle - might be the shift kit, but it is nowhere mentioned that the 2nd gear will be holded
- No Overdrive

I didn't drive much, because the rear fuel tank is almost empty and the selector valve doesn't work.
I have to switch the lines at the Valve to drive out of the front tank

 

I'd forgotten about the 85 mph speedo's we had in that era. I thought since you are in Germany you may be driving with unrestricted speed on the autobahn, and could be cruising at 80-90 mph. I have been in the range on occasion with acceptable handling.

I have seen some mechanics use a powerful impact wrench to tighten the pinion nut. And while I would not hesitate to do this to "get close" to the final setting, it is very easy to go past and over tighten the nut. You should not ever need to loosen the nut back to specs, so I only will tighten one with hand tools ( A holding tool, which is a steel plate bolted to a long piece of thick-wall square tube, the plate is bolted to the pinion yoke or flange and the other end of the tool is chained to the leaf spring on the vehicle. And an inexpensive, Chinese made, 3/4 inch drive ratchet with a 36 inch pipe fit over the handle.), and check rotating torque as I go to insure that it is reached with out going over.

For what you would gain by swapping ratio's, it's not worth the effort or possibility of injuring you self in the process.

 

There are two ways to address this.

Increase Governor pressure. The rubber ball/shim procedure was intended to help with this very condition, by tightening the governor to shaft fit you reduce leakage in that area, and gain a slight increase in gov. pressure. Most noticeable at lower speeds/RPM where a slight leak can make a greater difference.

Reduce Throttle pressure. If your shifts are late AND a bit firm, you may be able to adjust your TV(throttle valve) cable, to reduce the amount of pressure applied when you depress the accelerator. A very slight adjustment can make all the difference.
It's possible that the cable bracket may have become bent away from the the lever, increasing the pull on the TV lever on the trans. You might try bending the bracket slightly back in the direction of the lever, to reduce it's pull. Otherwise proper adjustment requires you removing the doghouse to gain access to the top of the cable at the throttle body. You can make small adjustments and test drive with the engine cover loose until you get it set. If you can get all your shifts with out causing slippage or flare (rpm goes up between gears), you will be fine.

Cable operated trans. like the AOD, need a balance between Gov press. (speed signal) and TV press. (load signal) to shift properly. The Gov tries to upshift the trans against the springs in the valve body, which are in down shift mode and must be over come by the Gov., while the Throttle valve boosts line pressure and at the same time, tries to downshift the trans. With out TV press your trans would shift way to early and slip until the band and clutches burnt up. Too much TV or too little Gov press and shifts will be late or not at all. Too much TV also has the effect of hardening the shifts by boosting line pressure, so you can usually tell if thats the problem by how the shifts feel. Keep in mind though, your shift kit is doing that as well.

Hope this is helpful, keep at it, you are close Cobra.

 

It's true I could legally cruise around as fast as i want on the Autobahn, but I usually prefer the "Landstraße" (country road) and there's a speed limit of 100km/h (62mph).
I don't try to accelerate too much and drive fast, cause the Gasprice is (if I calculate it right) at 7.91 $/gal

I talked to the owner of a nearby "US-Car-Workshop".
He said the AOD has the Problem that the lubrication of the Overdrive breaks down while driving for longer times at higher speeds.
I don't know if it is true.

That gives me a whole new Idea.
I have a BBK 61mm Throttle Body and a Trans-Dapt Throttle Body Spacer installed.
One of them came with 2 Brackets to relocate the Bracket of the TV Cable & Throttle Cable.
Maybe there's the fault.
The TV-Cable self is mounted without tension and a play of about 1mm.

I tried to get rid of the spacer when I installed the Throttle body, but I used sealant at the TB-Gasket.
So the Spacer is now "glued" to the intake manifold.