Hi Folks,
Hopefully i'm in the right place for some transmission information!

For the sake of my rambling (and oh boy I can ramble) I'm just going to pin point what the truck has and what I'm looking to do.

truck - 1984 f-150 came stock w/ c6 auto & 4x4.

8 months ago I had to replace the rear axl with a scavenged unit off craigslist. The "new" unit has a different axl ratio so I had to disconnect the 4x4...semi-permanently.

I don't forsee myself needing 4x4 anytime in the near future. This is my work truck and with the amount of blood, sweat and tears I've put into her to make it a work rig, it's hopefully going to stay that way for several more years.

To help increase my fuel mileage a bit more I want to swap in an AOD trans. I've heard mixed opinions on this however the MPG is seriously important to me. Can anyone give me a good reason not to do so? Aren't they used behind some serious duty racing mustangs? How hard are they to rebuild yourself?

If I were to do an AOD swap, what do I have to do to mount it to my current transfer case. My thought is this: if I can leave the transfer case then decided to take the truck off the road and do a resto down the road, I don't have to worry about the transfer case part, just making sure the front axl ratios match.

I suppose I could pull the transfer case and shed some weight while using a 2wd transmission. But then won't I have to have my driveshaft extended? I'm trying to do this as seamlessly as possible. As I noted its my work truck so aside from having better fuel mileage, I also can't have her off the road for a month.

Any input is much appreciated. I've handled some pretty big projects before so I'm not afraid to get into it, I just don't know much about the ford mechanics (in this case the AOD trans).

Thanks Guyses!!!

Al C.

 

OK, the AOD can be a troublesome beast. The one to find is from behind a V8 or out of a truck from '88 to '93. Ford "improved" the AOD every year, as they were buried in warranty claims for the first few years.

Installation and adjustment of the "TV" cable or linkage is essential. Trans failure is guaranteed without this done right.

So what is your current MPG? Figure out a 20% increase, which you may or may not get. Do the math on the savings vs. the cost of finding, fixing and installing an AOD.

You can probably slow down 5 mph average, and be out less time and ahead more money in the long run.

ymmv

 

I'm already slowing down as much as possible!!! Ha-ha. I'm averaging around 12/13 mpg on a good day. I try not to run over 60 mph (I find keeping the engine rpms below 2100 rpm seems to be a good comfortable cruising place) and avoid highways/interstates like the plague!

I would def love the overdrive plus after much thought I think removing the existing 4x4 components (transfer case mainly) that I don't particularly have a use for will help shed weight and help with the increase in mileage.

Ill keep an eye out for later 80's aod models. Thanks!

 

Swapping to an AOD can be helpful saving gas money, but durability of a C6 is much better. Cable adjustment is very critical on AOD, but as far as swapping it will pretty much go right in, you may have to fabricate a kickdown lever (had to on my '66 F100). If you can lose the 4wd then it will be much easier swap.
Good Luck!

 

AOD won't fit all engines. What is yours? You will have a problem mating to the transfer case as well as output shafts are different diameters.