[silver_pilate]

Just a little FYI for the future.

If you're planning on keeping the AOD, there are some things you can do to make it run with the stick boys. Now everyone you talk to (mostly) is going to tell you that the AOD is a dog. They're right. The AOD is a dog in stock form. The worst part of the tranny is the valve body design and another major problem with the AOD is overdrive breakage.

First, an OD band, no matter how strong you make your AOD isn't going to live up to much torque. It just isn't designed for that. It's there to cruise down the highway with. Therefore, treat it accordingly. I would suggest running around town in D rather than OD to avoid excessive shifting back and forth from 3rd to OD. Also, avoid flooring the car while cruising in OD. This will cause a harsh downshift into 3rd which is pretty hard on the OD band I would guess a cause of a good number of breaks. If you do want to get on it while in OD, pull the tranny back into 3rd, wait for it to shift, and then step on it.

Also, get a tranny cooler. Heat is enemy number one of trannies.

To make the AOD run better in the future, think about investing in a 2800 or so torque converter from the likes of PI, Lentech or PA. This, in my opinion, is the absolute best mod you can do for an AOD car. Also, you need a shift kit from Transgo or Baumann. Makes 'em tons more fun to drive. Or, if you want to go the extra step, look into a manual shifting valve body as to avoid the 1-D-1 shuffle to hold 2nd.

Alot of information and suggestions here. Just stuff I've picked up from others and stuff that has worked well for me for four years.

--nathan