I'm not familiar with AOD shift levers. My AOD has two levers on the left side. The small one is spring loaded. What is it's purpose and do I need it? There was a small 7/16ths nut holding it on and when I pulled off the nut the bracket slid right off the end of the shaft but the bigger lever which shifts the gears didn't. I didn't want to pry on it and break something. Does it slide off the shaft like the small lever or does the whole shaft have to come out to get it off. I don't have to pull it but I'd like to as it would be a big help in fabricating a column shift linkage...

 

Both brackets should slide off but the shift bracket may have "cut itself intothe shaft slightly and thus be stuck.

I believe (and I'm not 100% on this) but I think one lever is to shift and the other connects to the carb/throttle linkage as a kickdown.

 

That spring-loaded (center) shaft is in-fact the "throttle pressure valve" lever..it operates a little differently than the old standard "throttle kick-down".,,which is a "mechanical" adustment,..the AOD is a "pressure" adjusted shift and a very critical adjustment is needed between the throttle and the trans..otherwise a very short life can be expected from the trans..basicaly,, in factory form (please refer to the shop manual),..a small spacer (see factory manual) is inserted in the carb/throttle-body...just off it's idle position...then with a pressure gauge installed into a port on the side of the trans..move the lever and take the slack out of the cable.."at the perscribed pressure",and lock things down, again refer to the service manual for specs and details..in a nutshell..at a certain throttle opening-the trans needs a perscribed pressure before optimal shift occures..

As for your original desire to make the AOD work with your steering column,which column are you using? Some are easier than others of course.I used an Ididit column and also decided to use the Lokar "solid-shaft" vs the "cable" setup.I have seen way too many cable housings melt in tight confines ..next to exhaust pipes to put much faith in the reliability/peace of mind dept..opinions will vary. I can say the solid shaft set-up operates very nice.

Either way, the Lokar kit comes with a new "shift-lever" in either choice (cable or solid shaft),and it's not very difficult to install...r+r trans pan,remove a few pieces and "swap" the shift lever shaft with the one included in the kit,..the new/replacement shaft is "indexed" , and allows 360 deg placement on the trans shift lever..a very nice piece/pkg.( also a good opportunity to install a shift-kit...why not??..you already have trans fluid dripping in your face,..let's keep it fun!!) LoL!

Your on your own trying to fiqure out the angles for the throttle lever though..Lol!

Some experimenting with a protractor and a tape measure should get you very close.."on paper"..then transfer that to something more permanent..I'm kinda doing that as I try to do the other gazillion things I'm trying to do...think "multi-tasking" with time/availability and priorites...LoL! Good Luck! and look up the Lokar web-site and instructions...If you decde to go the cable route .. I've got one in stock ..Cheap!

 

and I can confirm Mertz's comment about short tranny life due to mis-adjustment. we put a 5.0/aod in my daughers 4 cyl mustang, and I 'thought' I had it adjusted right.. wrong.. gone in 10 miles.. $1250 later it was adjusted properly!..

take (not drive) it to a tranny guy to adjust, or get the gauges..

I also used the solid rod shifter, altho on the stang the throw is so short the shifter arm moved all the time as you accelerated/decelerated. thus the reason for the cable..

Sam

 

I'll be using a solid shaft linkage with a GM column and have that about figured out. I had planned to get the Lokar kit to control the throttle valve pressure lever since I'll be running a carburetor...

 

You may want to check with Parr Automotive I got my AOD cable from them and it was a little cheaper than the lokar but not as shiney but easier to clean so you can spend more time driving and hauling / towing it.

I installed my cable fairly easy and adjusted to allow full tension on the tv lever at 3/4 throttle and after that just some small adustments. Now I did have a friend of mine that rebuilds transmissions to check it out for me and he just drove the truck and said it could not shift out any better. He told me I just got lucky, which he was probably right. If your in doubt get it to a tranny shop and have the pressure checked out professionally.

good luck

 

I don't suppose you have the part number for that cable do you? We have no tranny shops around here so I'll have to get the adjustment right myself. The condition of the tranny is unknown anyway so if it craps out I'll just look around for a C4 to replace it with...

 

Let me find that for you bear with me.

 

Here is what I found at ParrAutomotive.com. I do not know what you have priced already but I will continue to check around for you. I do remember that I tried to use the stock cable and I did have much luck at that.

LOKKD2AODHT 71.95

Price has went up and it is an unpolished Lokar cable.

 

Yep, that's the one I found. Seems Lokar is the only manufacturer around making this cable. Thanks.

 

Someone asked about fabricating a column shift linkage for an AOD some time back. Below is a picture of what I'm doing on mine. The part in the picture is a GM column linkage shortened and fabricated to bolt to the AOD shift lever. Since it will bolt on I can rotate it to whatever angle I need to align the shift pattern with the column indicator...