I have a 302/Edelbrock 4 barrell and an AOD just installed and I understand the setting of the down shift cable is critical to the life of the AOD. Is there an easy way of setting this adjustment or is there a technical sequence I should be aware of.
Any comments or links for procedure would be greatly appreciated

 

It's not a downshift cable. It has much more to do with the operation of the trans. You're correct that proper adjustment is extremely critical or you'll burn up the trans in no time at all. There is a proper procedure for adjusting the TV cable, as it is known. You can check with a trans shop, which I would highly recommend, or you can probably google 'AOD TV cable adjustment' for more info.

 

I need an original 3 speed follow shift transmission for my 1950 ford f1. Since you changed to an AOD, do you have the 3 speed that came out of your truck for sale. Thanks, Bill

 

I put a high voulmn valve body from summit in mine so it can't burn up. I was told by trans guy no slack in the chain but not to tight.

 

Hey Fontime,
Hmmm adjusting AOD's.... We've got a 1950 F1 with an AOD in it -
There is a special spacer tool you need to get - the tension on the cable needs to be right. There are several links on here for AOD adjustment that link to videos.

From personal experience - It's expensive to make a mistake on the AOD cable. We went through 2 AOD's before finally getting a better shop to install one successfully. We then had to take it to another shop to get the Lokar connections right so it would actually shift.

AOD's are trickier than other transmissions I've seen - You can't drive them even just down to the shop with the cable set wrong. Depending on how much HP you are producing a lot of guys upgrade the AOD internals to avoid failures.

o Use the Larger Thunderbird "A" servo with the 2 inch Overdrive band.
(A common failure is the overdrive belt slipping off the smaller A or B servos & their 1.5 inch bands).

o Use an Overdrive belt made from Kevlar.

o Upgrade the Valve body as Arrowhead Fred discussed above.
If you search for Silver Fox Valve Body you will find volumes of info.
on the better valve body.

o Install a Baumann shift kit to get smoother shifts.... etc...

Good luck over there. I'd get an experienced person to set my
AOD cable - it's a couple of hundred bucks well spent..

Ben in Austin

 

If i looked up the right invoice from summit the aod high volumn vavle body was 251.00. That alone was a good price just so i didn't have to drop the trans. Cause like said before you can drive one mile and it will burn the trans. My aod shifts perfect !!!! If i remember right it not only keeps you from frying your AOD it will run cooler prolonging the life of the trans.

 

Hey Fontime,
If you are still up for adjusting yor own AOD - Here is a
link I came across that walks through the process in a
discussion format. You will need a Pressure Gauge &
the little adjustment tool that seems to come with the Lokar
kit.

Ben in Austin

Technical AOD Ford trans pressure [Archive] - THE H.A.M.B.

 

Hey Fontime,
Here is the thread that has the video for AOD adjusting.

Ben in Austin

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ont-shift.html

 

I followed this procedure and it is exactly what "Lokar" instructs how to set the TV cable
and so far it seems to work great,
Be sure to add another spring to be sure the TV cable returns to it's stop. You check this by your pressure gage returning to zero.
The return spring Lokar supplys is to weak. I added another spring. All is well.

AOD Setting - YouTube

 

I agree with fontime, exactly what I did including the extra spring. In fact, I could not get pressure correct without the extra spring. I disagree that they are so sensitve, I probably drove mine 20 miles off and on trying to get it sorted out. I did drive it easy though. Mine is a 1984 that I bought with 65,000 miles on it, probably put another 20,000 on it. Works great, I love it. After saying that I will probably have to replace it tomorrow. LOL.

 

Nice looking Truck. Typical Ford at the gas pump LOL!

 

Thanks. No kidding about the pump.

 

This AOD we have been talking about is in a 64 Falcon. The motor is a roller 302 with GT40 hds and edelbrock 4 barrell. I am just about done with this car and am putting my focus on a 51 F1 with a 351W. It has a C6 attached , but am thinking of putting in the AOD which I have. Lotsa decisions, but also a lot of fun. I usually find a good donor and cannibalize it and make a good driver out of something.
Enjoy
Roger from Minnesota