[jim_howard_pdx]

Just make sure there is at least 1.5 inches of travel in and out of the transmission output shaft.

To measure this you disconnect the driveshaft from the rear end, push in on the transmission yoke until it bottoms, Make a mark 1.55 inches out on the yoke. Then install it on the rear end.

If you cannot see your mark, you are too long and when you bottom out your suspension travel the drive shaft will pound your output shaft and internals which grenades the transmission.

If the line is way far away from the transmission seal, then when you unload your suspension the yoke might pull out of the transmission output shaft. If that happens I would not want to be in the car at the time.......Hope you get the drift.......

This is not rocket science, just make sure the tranny yoke goes in 1.5 inches or take it to a drive shaft shop and have them review your options.

Good luck with your project, and I am sorry you have to go through all this while school is in session. My 66 mustangs C4 stopped shifting into second during my first year at UCLA. This is really a long time ago. It would start out in first, then rev really really high, and slush shift to third.

Ends up the second gear band had broken, and the parts fell into the control valve, shifter area. So next morning, I could not get the car out of park. I called a tranny shop. They told me to drop the pan, pull out the band adjustment pieces that were blocking my shifter, and reinstall the pan and fluid. I drove it this way 1-3 shifts for a week while I got together a 67 valve body so I could do lockout in 1 and 2, and the B&M rebuild kit. I rebuilt it for racing with high pressure, fast shifts. This reduces heat, a good thing, and was fine for part throttle driving. When I shifted during power the tires would bark, and I would grab some rubber which is always fun when you are 19.

Any how. I was really surprised how easy it is to remove and repair the Ford Autos. You remove the starter, disconnect your exhaust tubes, remove the converter observation shield, remove the 6-8 bolts holding the engine to the bell housing, disconnect the shifter, drop the drive shaft, remove the bolts on the converter to the pressure plate, and remove the tranny mount screws. Use a floor stand to wrestle the thing around a bit and it is out. There are dowl pins that align the engine and the transmission, just be careful not to crack the tranny case. I like to push the transmission back , clear those and then slowly drop the floor jack.

Disassembly takes maybe an hour???? Take your time, snap some polaroid pictures of the control valve to shifter connections, and the position of certain pieces like your pump assembly and such. If you have a digital camera you can go wild. Video is even better cause you can talk through what you are seeing.

Follow the kit's instructions to a tee. They make alot of improvements along the way. Build it to race level, not the street level. This gives you better pressure, cuts the soft shifts, and will improve the longevity of the steels and clutches and the bands.

I am pretty sure your one way clutch is gone, and that the 3-4 band is broken. This is really common. A good kit should use a stronger band, sometimes wider too.

If you upgrade to the truck AOD internals, you will have the wide gear ratio set with the wide overdrive band, space for extra 3-4 clutches and more.....

Often, instead of rebuilding a mustang AOD I will recommend that people just source a 93-95 truck AOD and put that unit in their car. These are tougher, and better built AOD's and when it is time to rebuild, you already have a bunch of the motorsport racing components right there inside the case.

Or you can slap in the T-5 and bang some gears. I really like the manuals. Nothing like them on an autocross course, canyon racing, or for just sheer driving "feel".

A good AOD is great for drag racing when you rebuild it to delete converter lockup in third gear, run a looser converter, and add a transbrake. You can run 9 and 10 second quarters cheap and easy. You save alot of wear and tear on UJoints, rear gears, axle shafts and the like, because that torque converter applies the torque smoothly and easily.

Just some food for thought.