need help w/ decision!!

ok, i can almost feel the life of my transmission slipping (literally) away!! ive got this feeling that it isnt gonna be too much longer before something goes wrong, so ide like to get an early start on things. ide like a tranny for performance whether it be automatic or standard. by the way ive got the aode and the car is an everyday driver. i dont know whether to keep the tranny ive got and rebuild it and slap a shift kit in, or if its possible put in a c6 or even swap to a t-5 WC or tremec. i just really wanna hear some other peoples opinions on what i could/should do. thanx for any and all replies!! keep in mind PERFORMACE, i originally planned on building my motor but im gonna have to put that off for now knowing how costly this tanny issue could be :banghead:

Hey that sucks that your tranny is goin. If i had an auto i would convert to a 5sp. My reasons for this is i love to drive manuals, and a manual with the tourqe of a v-8 is a blast to drive. I don't really like autos, mainly because 90% of my cars have been autos and i am tired of them.

I 5spd can be fun to drive, but I've been driving one for years and I'm sick of it. Sucks in traffic, where if I had an auto all I would have to do is let the car pull itself a little. But you can have am AOD built to be pretty nice, Its just costly. You could swap in a C-4 but you would need a new shifter and console.

I'd say go with the built route. stock AOD's aren't known for their outstanding performance, and there are a few companies out there that build them pretty well.

ford transmissions tend to jsut suck horsepower like a $500 whore on the CEO of Enron. unless they're built. i'd go that route. get a good oil pump, new seals, a lower planetary gearset with a high overdrive and a shift kit. personally i'd go with a C4 for just a daily driver or whatever.

or a 5spd swap would be fun too. lot of work tho.

yeah i know the agravations of haven a stick in bumper to bumber stand still traffic while goin up a bridge...im leanin towards buildin the tranny ive got...should i get a rebuild kit and put a shift kit in or what...im not too educated when it comes to trannies...can someone tell me what all i need to do to have the performance and quickness of a 5spd but the luxuries of an auto?

You need a c4, or a fully rollerized/lightened AOD. Here is a list of HP losses through common transmissions:
Transmission - HP Loss
Powerglide - 18
TH350 - 36
TH400 - 44
Ford C6 - 55-60
Ford C4 - 28
Chrysler A904 - 25
Chrysler 727 - 45

These readings were taken by TCI, and were published in a 1991 issue of Hot Rod.
I know AOD isn't on there, but I'd put it at least up with the C6. I have a built c4 in my '69, should suck around 25hp. I had it built for 550hp and 550lb/ft. by Dynamic Racing Transmissions, it cost me around $800-900.

wow, that makes me wanna cry...is a c4 a 1-2-3-d
would i need a new driveshaft shifter or console... how much abuse, as in torq, can a stock c4 take? thanks you guys for your enlightenment

C4 is a 3 speed. bringin the shifter down from the front of the car, the pattern is P - R - N - D - 2 - 1. Mine was built with a reverse manual valve body, so it goes P - R - N - 1 - 2 - 3. Stock, they can take probably in the range of 350ft/lbs. They don't have any real bad weaknesses, just a few usual type things that need to be upgraded. One common problem is snapping the input shaft.. you can get a hardened input shaft for around 100-200 bucks if I remember correctly. Then there is the planetary gear that eats itself up, you can get an aluminum 6 gear planetary(stock is 3 gear iron) for another $150 or so. Then get a rebuild kit with kevlar bands, etc, new performance valve body, torque converter, etc, and you'll be good to around 500ish hp.

well w/ the engine mods i have planned im not gonna be goin anywhere higher than say 375bhp...so i dont know how much of those upgrades are necessary, but would i need a new drive shaft or console, basically anything critical? one more thing, this is probably a dumb one but, when you say its a three speed, does that mean that it only has three gears? the tranny only shifts 3 times? my common senses tell me this couldnt be possible but just for self assurance :rolleyes:

I think the c4 is shorter than AOD, so you will most likely need a new driveshaft. You'll need a new shifter. And yes, it has 3 gears, so it will only shift twice(1 to 2, 2 to 3...). The AOD was ford's first auto with more than 3 gears. The GM powerglide is a two speed auto. C6 is a 3 speed also, but much beefier than the c4. The c4 does not have overdrive, so you will have a lower top speed, if everything else is the same. Cruise RPMs on the highway will most likely be higher, unless you normally cruise in 3rd gear with the AOD.

Sounds like you should go the built c4 or c6 route, and that seems ot be the way you are leaning. but just FYI if you want to swap to stick, consider the work of cutting the firewall, mounting the clutch pedal, routing the cables, changing out the console, blah blah. It is a lot of work. Good luck with whatever you decide.

well from the looks of it, i think im gonna go the c6 route only cuz its got od...i do alot of highway driving. from 35 to 55mph and about 35 to 40 miles a day. i dont know, w/ the c4 it just seems like alot of wear on the engine to be running over 2k rpms all the time. i wanted the to swap trannies mainly cuz the aode sux so much power but ide be in the same boat w/ the c6. so i would prob be better off w/ the aode??? im stuck in a rut....i wish i had jsut bought a frigin 5speed!!

Go to TCCOA.com and look in the transmission part of the tech section. There's an article written by ,(Jerry W. I think), anyway, he's a ford engineer and one of the designeres of the aode. A lot of good info on how to improve it. Handle more hp, shift faster and firmer, stuff like that.

Sounds like you should go the built c4 or c6 route, and that seems ot be the way you are leaning. but just FYI if you want to swap to stick, consider the work of cutting the firewall, mounting the clutch pedal, routing the cables, changing out the console, blah blah. It is a lot of work. Good luck with whatever you decide.

The work for switching to a stick does not involve firewall cutting, changing the console. Routing the clutch cable is not hard, the only real pain in the but is putting in the clutch/brake pedal assembly.

The C-6 would not be an option for me at all. It's heavy, is a lot more difficult swap than a C-4, and the C-4 can take a ton of hp when built.

The advatange of the AOD is it is a straight drop-in for you and can be built to handle power and still have the OD for highway driving. Downside is AOD always cost more to build up than the C-4 route.

Uh, the c6 is also a 3 speed. AOD is the only 4 speed auto trans made by Ford in cars. Any other Ford auto, c4, c5, c6, c10, FMX, etc are all 3 speeds. I think Ford also made a 2speed auto at some point. Definately do not get a c6 over a c4, especially if you're only expecting 375hp. I would rather use a c4 up until around 700-800hp when the brute strength of the c6 comes in handy. I recently swapped out the c6 in my Mustang with a c4. I don't run very steep gears(3.50s right now, might be going lower) because the car is being turbocharged, so my highway rpms are around 3000. But if you put a 3 speed in front of 3.90 or 4.11 gears, your highway rpms are going to be between 3250 and 3500. If you're doin lots of highway driving, definately rebuild the aod or put in a 5 speed.

thank you guys for all of the feedback, i feel alot more confident in my decision! :sunglasse