Thanks guys.
Read a little, and watched a few videos online so getting a little more familiar with the AOD. Did find out that rebuilding the AOD requires a couple tools and not sure what they are but will find out.

Anyone have the part number for the TV cable on the 85 300 with the feedback setup?

The fact that the Lokar is known to slip sometimes kind of scares me, nothing like killing a new rebuilt trans.

 

You do not have to be scared of the AOD. I have the LoKar cable and a stock AOD in my 83 f150. I had the rod setup and went to the cable. I have no regrets. I may have the 1 in a million compared to the other AOD from the era though. My trans has around or a little over 200,000 miles. I use it everyday. I used the cable and set it by hand after talking to my best friend that owned a transmission shop at the time. I am very tempted to put some of the goodies into it and bolt it to my mildly built 351w.

 

Going by info from the PO's, my AOD has over 200k on it as well, behind a stock 302. I tow a 22ft TT with it. I was going to build up another AOD to go behind my 351W project. In my research I found that the main areas of concern are the direct clutch upgrade, the wider OD band and moving up to the "super servo" for the OD that came stock in the Thunderbird SC originally. Those along with some various TB upgrades and shift improvements make for a strong AOD. They can be built to hold lots of power, just depends on how deep the pockets are... In the end we built a 4R70W, the all electronic grandson of the AOD. I'm going with a MAF SEFI setup for my 351W build so it makes the upgrade easier. Building the 4r70w was also a 1/3rd of the price I was looking at to build the crap out of the AOD. depending on your rear gears you may want to look at the wide ratio gearset out of a 4r70w as well.

 

kedwinh, I have the clutch assembly sleeves for inserting the pistons. Other than that, you need the compressor for the clutch springs and possibly some bushing drivers. If you need the assembly sleeves, pay shipping both ways and you are welcome to use them.

 

Thanks 85lebaront2, I really appreciate the offer. Right now I'm just in the info gathering stage so it might be awhile before I actually start on it. Still have a lot of reading and learning before I think I'll feel comfortable enough to tackle it.
But I will check back with you when I start on it, just not sure how long that will be.

 

The 85 300 with a feedback carburetor didn't use a TV cable. These models used a TV rod.

I have never heard that before. If the cable "slips", it probably wasn't installed correctly. In any event, the easiest way to install the AOD on your truck is to find a stock TV rod and the stock 1985 300 feedback carburetor that used an AOD. These specific carburetors will have the correct kickdown linkage for the stock TV rod to hook to.

I am using the Lokar TV cable on my AOD as well. I had to replace the stock TV rod with the Lokar TV cable when I made the switch to a 4-barrel carburetor. The reason being is that the stock AOD TV rod is made to work on the stock Ford kickdown linkage on the 1980s 2-barrel Ford Motorcraft carburetors. The linkage on these specific carburetors are designed to move exactly proportionate to the travel of throttle lever on a carburetor.

***** VERY IMPORTANT! *****

The stock TV rod directly controls the line pressure in the AOD. If the line pressure is not set correctly or if the TV rod is not connected to the carburetor correctly, it will burn up the transmission.

And if the geometry between the TV rod or TV cable is not exactly proportionate to the movement of the throttle, the TV rod or cable will get pulled out of adjustment. And when that happens, the line pressure is off again. This condition will burn up the transmission.

The problem with the aftermarket Holley and Edelbrock carburetors is that they do not have the kickdown linkage that will work with the AOD TV rod, and their throttle levers are not symmetrical to use a TV cable.

To correct the first problem, you will need to get a Lokar TV cable to replace the TV rod:

Lokar KD2AODHT - Lokar Stainless Steel Hi-Tech Kickdown Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

To correct the second problem, you will need to get a TV corrector bracket that bolts on to the Holley or Edelbrock carburetor throttle lever. If you don't, the TV cable will get pulled out of adjustment every time you drive it. Out of adjustment AOD = burned up AOD.

TCI Auto 376715 - TCI TV Cable Bracket Corrector Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

**********

I replaced my Motorcraft 2150 carburetor with an Autolite 4100. Among other things, the great thing about this carburetor is that the 1965 - 1967 models have a symmetrical throttle lever that can easily be used to control the AOD without the use of a TV corrector bracket. In the picture below, you can see my Lokar TV cable and the tab that is used to connect to the bottom stud of the Autolite throttle lever:




Remember: when you get all this set up, it is extremely important to set the TV cable correctly!

 

Thanks LARIAT.

Are the feedback cards the only ones to use the rod? Might make it a little hard to find. Well guess my junkyard shopping list just got a little longer.

I've heard the adjustment was very critical, but it doesn't seem to be that hard, at least with the cable. Watched a couple videos on You tube that explained the procedure pretty good but haven't found one for the rod adjustment.

 

No. My truck originally came from Ford with a feedback carburetor and the 5.0/AOD combination. The second owner switched the feedback carburetor out for an earlier, (pre-1984) conventional Motorcraft 2150. Both of these carburetors had the correct linkage for the AOD TV rod. I don't know what years the 300 used the AOD, but as long as it is before 1984, any stock Ford/Motorcraft carburetor that was used with the AOD should work.

The TV rod is set a bit differently. It is a solid bar that uses screws to adjust the tension of the bar to control the shift points and is attached to a separate linkage on the carburetor that moves in tandem with the throttle lever. The TV cable controls shift points by the tightness of the cable and is connected directly to the carburetor throttle lever.