Are firm shifts likely?
 

Ok my new daily driver is a stock 94 GT auto. Yes I know that the only thing heavier and thus slower would be a drop top of the same variety, but I didn't buy it to be a drag car, just something cool and comfortable to cruise around in while I finish my '83. That being said I want my tranny to shift with a little more authority, but not to snap my neck in traffic.

If I lock it in 1 and bone it the tires just go up in smoke, but if I control my launch and shift it to 2 (still boned) the tires roast again. (I don't know if this is normal for a stock auto.) But if I leave it in D when it shifts to 2nd (boned) the tires don't do a thing it just eases itself into gear and doesn't spin or anything, like you would expect from a luxury car.

Now the last owner had the tranny fully rebuilt at a reputable shop a few months before I got it. He had a new torque converter put in as well and I have a full warranty until July 20something of this year.

What my rambling is leading to is, is this normal for a tranny to be "mushy" in D but firm when being shifted manually? If so is there any way I can get a shift kit for this thing so it will be more firm? Do I have an AODE or just an AOD, how do I know? If its an AODE then how do you go about getting a shift kit? Do I need to have a chip burned, or are the kits like the old AOD valves and gaskets?

Thanks,
Steve

94-95 mustangs have AOD-E tranny's.

That sounds kind of odd. It isn't normal for a stock AOD-E tranny to shift really hard like that. Maybe when the tranny was rebuilt the shop put a shift kit in, but I can't understand why it would be soft when you just leave it in "D" and floor it. Maybe it is just the type of shift kit. I know when I put my shift kit in my car I played around with it to see if it shifted harder or softer whether or not I manually shifted or just left it in "D". I found out that it shifts hard when I just leave it in "D" but when I manually shift it, it goes sideways. I can't explain it.

I have read that Baumann makes the best shift kit for our tranny's. I have one and would recommend it. I got it for $89 through Steeda.

You shouldn't need a chip when you put a shift kit in, only when you put gears in. When you do gears it will make the car bounce off the rev. limiter, kind of sucks. You could get a chip and have it raise your line pressure, that would make your tranny shift harder. It could also change your shift points. But I wouldn't get a chip until you do gears at least. Hope this helps.

-Billy

Thanks
 

Thanks for the info. Maybe there is a shift kit already in it, but I doubt it. The previous owner was a 62 year old guy that "doesn't give a 'hoot' about racing." He didn't seem to know and I'll need to look at the slip if I can find it. The place he had it rebuilt did everything over, they replaced almost everything replaceable, it cost him almost $2000 for the whole rebuild counting removal and install. Seems a bit high to me but I've never had to rebuild a tranny, auto or manual.

Steve