Can anyone tell me about putting a AOD in my 72. I have a 302 in it and want to switch from manual to auto. I have found a good used AOD from a 89 Merc. Grand Marquis, that has a 302 in it but has been wrecked. How in depth is this process. It seems that everyone I talk to doesn't want to do it because it is so time consuming. I have been told I will need a fly wheel and special linkage from carb to transmission. Has anyone else done this and if so can you please give me some pointers. I appreciate this site and any help is greatly appreciated. I guess that I will go with a floor shifter, which I have been told will be easier to do, although I would rather have a column shift. The column in the truck is an original 3 on the tree. Thanks again for any help.
Johnny

 

I put one in my 71 F100. it was originally a 302, manual steering, 3 speed stick.
It's now a 351w, power-steering, power disc brakes with an AOD. It's much more enjoyable to drive.
You will need and AOD specific flexplate with the 28 ounce imbalance for you older 302. they changed to a 50 oz in the early 80's so the one on your donar car won't work. You could order one for a mid 80's F150 with a 351w and aod and it should work. It's what I did. fairly cheap.
You need a Throttle valve cable or TV cable that runs from the trans. to you carb. It controls the amount of pressure in the tranny in relation to you throttle position. It has to be set up correctly or your new AOD will be toast in short order. Do some Goggle searches on the AOD and you'll find several articles on this. You will need a drive shaft. If you have a long bed you may get lucky in the junkyards and find a one peice shaft that works. If not you can have one cut down and resized.
That's all that comes to mind right now except the shifter. i am running a floor shifter right now as I did have trouble getting the ratio correct with my column shifter.
Clint

 

Hey Clint, thanks for the info. I have a short bed. I am really looking forward to doing this. The only thing that scares me is the TV cable. I will do the searches like you said and see what I come up with. Also I guess I will go with a floor shifter, it seems to be a lot easier to do and also may be better on the transmission from what I have been told. I will have a drive shaft cut down and go from there. Again I appreciate your help. I really love this site. I will be taking some picture of the truck as I go and post them so everyone can see my progress. Have a great day man. I think instead of a used trans I will buy a rebuilt one with a shift kit and warranty. It seems to me that in the long run this will be the best bet. Did you do a power steering mount on your truck? That will be a early project as well. Have a great day man.

 

Good luck and have fun. Another thing you'll want to do is a gear change. A 3.25 is about worthless behind an AOD. I changed mine to a 3.73 and thinking about another bump to 3.89 that I have here.
I did do the power-steering and love it. I also did the front disc brakes and also love them.
Clint

 

I am also thinking of putting an AOD in my '72/302/C4. Does anyone know if the AOD torque converter will mate up to my existing flex plate? Also is there a difference in stall speed between the C4 converter and the AOD?

Thanks

 

Don't really know much about them, only what I learned doing mine. I pulled a C-6 to put mine in and the flex plates were different. I've always heard that the AOD has it's on flexplate. I went to the local auto part and asked for a flexplate for a late 80's pickup with AOD and 5.8 engine. It got me the right one It should work for you also if your 302 is the original with a 28 ounce balance.Clint

 

I want to do the same thing, however, I want to put a 4.56 gear in my rear end. I think the RPM drop of overdrive will work great for highway driving. Now, what about the governor in the AOD? Will this give me problems with a lower gear? Also, where can I get all the linkage for the AOD and how much should a good reabuild cost?

Erik

 

Hey Erik, I haven't done the AOD yet. I have been working on other projects. Right now I am working on putting power steering in. I am going to go look for a donor and see if I can find everything I need. I would have liked to have it done by now but just too many irons in the fire. I know there are some quys on here that can tell you exactly what you need. I will probably change my gear also when I do it. Let me know how it goes. Good Luck. Thanks.
Johnny

 

I used the Lokar TV cable on mine. It was hard to get set up though following their directions. I also ended up using a street/strip valve-body from performance Auto that helped though now 3rd gear is too harsh.
The Lokar comes with everything you need to adapt the TV cable to a carb also.
I am dissapointed in my whole set-up though, I was hoping for an increase in MPG and it stayed about the same. Probably because I drive faster on the interstate now.
I could get 18mpg on the interstate when it was a 351w, 3 speed stick with 3.25's now I get about 14mpg but have alot stronger built engine now with a 4 barrle and torquy cam.
If you go with a real high gear in it and need to pull a load you will be past the point of pulling in 3rd so I'd make sure the trans. is built heavy enough to tow in overdrive. Tha's the main reason I stopped at 3.73's I can still tow in 3rd if I need to.
clint

 

Well, I read an article on the internet: https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...250_Truck.html

Although it was for an EFI conversion with an AOD, it still has a lot of usefulness. I never thought of the towing problem, however, I think that towing in overdrive is considered a no no because in stock trucks, the rear gear is too high. Usually it is around a 2.73 or a 3.23 which would make the engine work hard to tow in overdrive and sense so much power is needed the overdrive slips a lot and burns up. If you could tow a load with relative ease in any gear, the slippage would not be such a problem. Imagine, you were towing with an old 3 speed auto. You had 10,000 lbs behind you and another 1,000 in the bed. Wouldn't that be hard on it due to the strain being put on it by the tranny by the load? IDK, maybe I worded it wrong but whatever, it get's your minds turnin. Anyhow, I calculated RPM's and found that around 65mph I would be turnin around 3500 in third gear. That's not good, but fourth would be awsome, about 2600 at 75 mph. Plus in town no one would be able to catch me. I wonder if the trans shop could strengthen my overdrive.

Erik

 

Gents,

Help me out here. I have a 351C with 3.73 in the rear of a 67 SWB rebuild. I'm looking to do the overdrive conversion also. Which AOD are you referring to? Does year or model matter?

 

Yes, it does matter. The ol' origional AOD was a tad weaker than the updated AODE.

http://classicbroncos.com/tranny-aod.shtml
http://classicbroncos.com/tranny-aode.shtml

These sites should be useful. Check them out. I had a buddy with about the same setup (351C with a 4.11 9" in a Grande Mustange.) He ran an FMX for the longest time with no problems. He even left a great big mile long smoky blackmark once. He swapped the FMX out for an AOD. The FMX still works, but he wanted an overdrive. He did this with the anticipation of the AOD breaking but it hasn't yet but he's been away at school so not many miles are on the AOD. Good luck.

Erik

 

Thanks a bunch. I don't plan on hitting the strip at anytime. I'd like to have it last as long as it possibly can. I'm doing a rebuild from the ground up and I don't think my wife would like me spending more $$$ repairing anything soon after I finally get it done. This sites you sent were exactly what I needed. Once I make a determination on what I'm gonna use, I'll have to come back and get some more of your expertise!! Thanks again.

 

Floss, The AOD was used up into the 90s I have one in a 92. Finding one shouldn't be a big problem. Personally I would have it rebuilt before installing, and be assured of it working when the truck is put on the road.

John

 

Have them put a mild shift kit in it and get a new torque converter. Torque converters build up metal shavings in them from the bearings inside them. It's virtually impossible to get all the metal out and that metal will shorten the life of the tranny. If you have a modified motor, then buy a torque converter with a stall in it. Something like 2000rpm or 1800rpm is good cause a modified motor (one with a bigger than stock cam) may not produce addaquette power to push that truck. <<VERY IMPORTANT>>Also, put a big tranny cooler in it. Get one for an RV or something, make sure to put enough fluid in to fill the tranny and the cooler though.

Erik