[jim_howard_pdx]

Thanks for the heads up on Art Carr AOD stuff. They were decent for C4 or C6 street transmissions. I prefer to run B&M parts in my race transmissions.

Regarding the 89 AOD, you have the narrow gears 2.4 first, 1.68 second, and 1.0 third. 1.0 and .67 final gears are the same for all AODs.

Motorsports sells a wide ratio kit for the AOD which is what goes into the truck AODs and the newer AODE. These get 2.8 first, 1.84 seconds, high rpm one way clutch assembly.

Personally I would go with the one piece non lockup power shaft. Alway with a 351's torque. The 393 will be a brute.

When I said a nearly stock AOD will survive 700 hp let me define nearly stock for everyone. I am glad some out there have a sense of humour and did not just bash on ol jim here, (not that I don't deserve it once in a while).

The stock AOD is a piece of junk. Eric is right, and someone else out there said pretty much the same thing. They do just fine running through first and second gear, then third just kills the race, OD band will grenade eventually, and if you run it past 5,500 RPM the one way clutch will END EVERYTHING.

So here goes the education.....

AOD's are really easy to disassemble. When you remove the pan PHOTOGRAPH the way the linkage goes into the valve body controls OR YOU WILL BE A SORRY S O B.

Then dissassemble the AOD following the rebuild kit's instruction. I would use the B&M kit but I have had some ok experiences with ATI (hope I did that better than my lentco for lentech error).

You can use the narrow gears, (what you have got now), especially if you are running 4.30's and up. If you are running 3.70's or down you should go with the wide ratio. You need the high rpm one way clutch. Without it you are asking for problems. Most lunched AOD's I look at have the one way clutch looking like a pretzel. Then use most of the most modern AODE seals, accumultors and such.


Listen to the one's that know....Buy the LENTECH control valve if you want to keep the automatic shifting action. If you quarter mile with a smile, you must go with a trans brake set up.

I really hate automatics other than the consistency in ET's. So I set up all my automatics with fully manual valve bodies and trans brakes. I like really high stalls. I would go with a 3500 stall. Then buy an air conditioning condensor from your local recycler shop, mount it in front of your radiator, and use it as your transmission cooler. You may think I am kidding, but seriously I AM NOT KIDDING.

Heat and slow soft shifting is what wears out a transmission. The stock cooler is a joke. Aftermarket coolers are a joke. Air conditioning condensors work REALLY well. They keep the transmission cold. Also go for the trick flow AOD deep pan. This will put an extra quart in and has fins to help cool.

Ford Motorsport has the racing clutches and steels that allow you to increase the grip. These are essential.

The big thing I go for is the solid power shaft. I do not like lock up torque converters. Art Carr does, and that may be a big reason their stuff breaks.

I usually don't build an engine under 375 hp. Even my Honda engines have this much power or more. So lock up torque converters are the first thing to go. END OF STORY.

Finally, you want to use the 2" over drive band. You also probably want to use the super coupe accumulators and seals. Something I learned in racing is to drill 4 to 8 holes right under where the bands grab the drums. This allows the fluid to be displaced sooner. This allows you to dramatically reduce the temperature of the transmission, plus shifts are firmer, faster, and you will have a blast with the consistency in the ets.

Remember to chamfer the holes so a burr doesn't eat up your bands.

A local transmission shop will probably help you evaluate all your old parts and will help you order replacement stuff. If not, the magazines are full of AOD rebuild articles. I must have 6 or 8 of them in my file cabinets.

So Eric and the others are right when they say a stock AOD is junk. But the changes I make and the changes LENTECH makes are all basically stock parts from ford and a little ingenuity from guys that fix the mistakes.

The thing is not to be afraid of the unit. It is solid. With a fully manual valve body, a trans brake, and a one piece power shaft I have seen AOD's campaign in the 9 second brackets without failure or hickups. This is a real testament to FORD.