[sixt9coug]

ok.. so yesterday i was leaving my buddy's house and as i was pulling away, i heard a loud WIIIISSP from under the car. sounded almost like a turbo Blow off valve but deeper. ok it was weird, but i thought i ran over something. maybe a dog or a few small animals, but nothing that was a big deal ( jk jk jk... sheesh lol ). i turned around and went home. was pretty uneventful. today as i was leaving class, i was at a stop and i take off. just normal, no chirping the tires or anything. im going along for about 5 feet and i get this BAD shaking throughout the front of the car. after the usual " oh **** " when something goes bad i go along and i dont feel anything. stop at home and bid on the bench seat Cougar on Ebay ( high bidder, but didnt meet the reserve.. DOH ) and after a bit i go back to class. i get there, hit the gas again and get a wicked SHaking again. i put the car up and look around the U-Joints and shake the driveshaft. feels fine. do the motor mount test. fine. tranny mount seems fine too. change the vacuum modulator to the one from the 70's tranny ( still sitting at school ) and theres no change. fluid color, smell and level is all fine. so im at a lost. i think my tranny took a crap on me.. short list here of the symptoms ----

- car sometimes shakes violently after taking off from a stop

- car will shake and make a hi pitch whine when shifting from 1 - 2 sometimes. sounds like a turbo blowoff valve or when you hold 1st gear.

- Takes car about 4 seconds to engage 1st gear when shifting into it from Park or Neutral.

- no strange smells or anything or any leaks.

now.. heres my dillemma... i now cant buy the 69 Project car i want because taking care of this im sure wont be cheap. thats no biggie because now I CAN UPGRADE!!!!. im thinking of going AOD or MAYBE even a T-5. i want an overdrive tranny and ive always told myself that id change out the tranny if it ever blew out on me. this might be my chance to do it. i know several people on here have done the AOD Route and the T-5 Route so id just like to know what i would need to do either one. cost would be great to know as well, because although i am not rich at all right now, i think i can probably afford to handle this. im not mechanically great either so im not sure if the average shop can handle this. anyone in the Southern California area know of a shop that can tackle something like this? thoughts? suggestions? ridicule?

 

[sixt9coug]

im being a selfish guy... just bumping my thread up

 

[gt390xr7]

Sounds like your trans craped out. I had a C4 do that to me, you step on the gas and it would lock when hot. When cold would be fine, but no 3 upshift. Dropped the pan and there was at a 1/8 inch of metal and clutch material on the bottom.

Bruce

 

[leonbray]

Steve

Contacy Wiley Live for details of the T5 swap and Mark P for AOD.

Wiley is in LA somewhere

Mark uses FirstEliminator handle. You can get hold of Wiley at [email protected]

Good luck - I think you'll have more fun with the T5 but us old folks prefer AOD

 

[sixt9coug]

thanks Leon.. as far as which one i would choose... more than anything its a price issue. id rather have the 5 spd, but if its too expensive ill go AOD. figure that it would be a cleaner install as well.

 

[CrazyCat]

Did you drop the trans oil pan and check the filter and pickup?

Do the T-5 swap. You could find a used T-5 from a stang for cheap. I have seen T-45 (bolts to 4.6 modular) on ebay go for 400$.

You can do the swap, you pu$$y. Just think of how much $ you would save.

 

[FirstEliminator]

Jimk has recently gone the T-5 route and it cost him about 1800. Jim is using a few good parts and a used T-5 I believe.
You can go with an AOD for as low as 400 or so. I believe John Hudson installed an AOD in his 70 for under 500. If you do go with the AOD try to get one from an 89 and up 5.0 Mustang. This AOD has the short output shaft and good internal componants. You will need a custom crossmember and a different slip yoke, but you can use the same driveshaft. I like to use Lokar's KD2-AOD-HT kick down cable. You cannot use an AOD without a kickdown, or what is properly called a throttle valve cable. The cable controls shift points and pressure rise. No matte what ever website you read says, the FMX flexplate is the same as the AOD flexplate. You do not need to change your block plate unless you really want to reinstall your inspection cover. I never reinstall the covers on my cars, I feel it helps with cooling to allow air to circulate though the bellhousing. Although if you happen to drive down a lot of dirt roads or through rabbit farms, you may want to reinstall your inspection cover. The shift lever ont he side of the trans needs to be modified for the correct geometry for use with the stock shifter in the car. I have built a jig to correct the shift lever"s geometry and sell the modified shifter levers for $32. I was making crossmembers, but I have dismantled the jig which I used and haven't made a new one yet. I usually make a crossmember to fit the induvidule car I am working on since the exhaust some poses a problem---which is the reason I took apart the first jig.
Let me know if you have any specific AOD questions. I think you may have a valve body problem with your FMX.
Are you going to drop the pan to see if there is any debris?

 

[sixt9coug]

i think i might pop the pan off tomorrow and see whats going on. i wouldnt really know what to look for beyond alot of debris. oh well, time to take a look at it all.

 

[sixt9coug]

You can do the swap, you pu$$y. Just think of how much $ you would save.

lol.. given the time it would take i probably wouldnt necessarily want to do it. i havent had alot of experience with replacing major parts like this and its something that i really dont want to cut my teeth on. besides.... if i mess it up ill look that much dumber if i have to take it in to a shop to screw up my mess lol. reminds me of the sign i see in alot of shops....

$65 an hour for mechanical work
$75 an hour for electrical work
$85 if you worked on it first

 

[wvcat]

Mark is right, I did the conversion with under 500 dollars in it. I bought a good used AOD for 250, a lokar cable for 69.95, a shift kit for 69.95, a set of used trans lines for 10.00 and made my own crossmember. I already had the yoke. Oh yeah I bought a trans cooler too,I think it was aroung 40 bucks. You will also need a speedo gear, 6.00 from ford. Let me know if you need details. BTW I'm going to be doing it again in the wifes 66 stang.
John
wvcat

 

[CrazyCat]

I see what you mean Steve, but thats how you learn to do stuff like that. You just have to jump into it. I havent swapped a tranny either, but what better way to learn?

I would help you out if I was closer.

 

[Cougar Kitty]

FMX

So far, I've had no trouble with mine.

 

[sixt9coug]

its no problem CrazyCat... i understand. i still might try it out myself but the car is a dail driver and i really dont like alot of teething problems that i might have to deal with either. still might. save a few hundred.

JOHN --- yes, id like as much detail as you can give me. you can email me as well. that might be better. [email protected] . as far as teh yoke, i just use the AOD one right? if i hit the yards ill just pull the one from the tranny i find. thanks.

 

[phastlane]

if you swap it out, and you have no plans for the FMX, email me.

 

[phastlane]

almost forgot, do you (or anybody else here) have any pictures of this, or any other, FMX tranny?
I want to make a 1:25 scale FMX transmission, but I need to know what they look like, I have C6/4's, and AOD's, but for an upcoming project, I'll need this one.

 

[sixt9coug]

i DO have another FMX lying around. i might be able to do something with that if you are interested. but im sure shipping will be a pain in the ass. if you want i can just take alot of pics of it seeing as that one is outside of a car

 

[phastlane]

yeah pics would be good if its not a problem. I got to thinking that swapping in a built C4 or C6 might make sense (when I get mine I mean).

 

[wvcat]

Here's an email I sent to sombody else inquiring about the swap. Keep in mind my
car is a 70 with an original fmx but most of this info should be the same.
The AOD swap wasn't to bad. There are some obstacles but they are easy to
overcome. The biggest one is the crossmember, you will need a new one. The are
available from windsor fox or from Mark Piechowski but beware they may not work
with your current exhaust. I tried one from Mark and it would not clear my Hooker
headers and pipes. I made one, it was a piece of cake. The rest is a bolt in really.
First get a trans thats from an 89 or newer 5.0 mustang, I've been told they have
a better lube circut, improved clutches and the right lever to work with our
shifters. You will need the trans, converter, block plate & inspection cover, and
yoke. The trans bolts right up. one of the trans lines from an FMX lines up perfect
but the other is way off. I picked up a set out of the boneyard from a newer style
tbird and cut the ends off by the radiator and installed a cooler with hoses
conecting it. I didn't hook up my radiator cooler because it had been unhooked for
years and I figured it was dirty inside. (I had a 4sp in there but it was a factory
FMX car) Working your way back the next situation I came across was the starter
nose, it fits but the top hole will be threaded on the trans and the tarter, I drilled
the threads out of the starter and used it with no problems. Next thing to hook up
is the drive shaft mine worked but I had already changed the yoke for the 4 sp
swap, the AOD and 4sp yokes have the same splines. The FMX is different. There
is some consideration on the speedometer. The AOD uses an electronic speedo
that comes right out and your stock one fits the hole but the teeth on the gear is
wrong. I went to the ford dealer and picked up a 21 tooth speedo gear for six
bucks to fit a 5.0 mustang and no problems. I am told that if you have a choice
to get a trans that comes out of a mustang with 3:23 or lower rear end gears
because the use a different gear on the trans shaft (7 or 8 teeth are the choices)
thats not replacable without a complete teardown of the trans and a replacment
shaft. The next think to tackle is the shift linkage. Before installing the trans you
need to pull the selector shaft out and rotate it 180 degrees. I was told that my
stack linkage rod would work but when I went to install it it was too short. The
thing is I'm not sure that I was trying my stock one or one from another vehicle
that was laying around the garage...duh I didn't put it in a safe place when I
removed my FMX. Anyway it works out that I have park where its supposed to be
and low in the trans shows 2nd on the shifter but it doesn't create a problem and
looks stock. One more easy project, the throttle cable. I picked up a lokar cable
from a speed shop for 69.95, it was a piece of cake to install but I messed with
the adjustment for a while after I started driving the car to get it the way I
wanted it. The only other thing I did was install a shift kit and a drain plug on the
pan. I'm even using the stock converter. I used the bauman shift kit and it was
easy to install. The car runs great and getts a whopping 14 MPG on the
highway.........lol Of course I am running alot of cam and 3:89's and my motor
would prefer a set of 4:11's. The only downside I can speak of is the inherent
quality of an AOD to be clunky for the lack of a better term when goin into OD.
This is magnified in my car due to the cam, when it hits OD under part throttle it
drops the engine below its power band and it luggs. Under moderate acceleration
its not noticable and your results may be different. I have never had my car fast
enough for a full throttle AOD shift but it chirps when it hit drive a full throttle,
thats probably around the 60-70mph range. If you have any questions don't
hesitate to ask, I'll be glad to help you or take pic of mine. Heres a couple sites to
check out. http://www.baumannengineering.com/aboutbe.html
http://www.windsor-fox.com/
Good Luck
John

 

[sixt9coug]

. I have built a jig to correct the shift lever"s geometry and sell the modified shifter levers for $32

guess who wants one of those now?? he he he. by the way, how will the new crossmember sit now? im not sure what kind of interference i might have with the exhaust and i just want to get an idea of what i might be dealing with. will it move back? hang lower or what?

JOHN - maybe its because im not under teh car at the moment, but i dont really get the starter thing. you mean there is a threaded hole in the starter as well as in the tranny? and i have to rid the threads in the starter? shift linkage - - the stock shifter will work and the reverse lights will still function as well? TV cable -- umm not sure how to adjust that. in fact i dont have a kickdown linkage at all on the car right now since i put a spacer under the carb. cooler lines --- got a diagram? lol

thanks for all the help so far, as i want to get an idea of what im gonna need for this. so far im gonna need this.....

- TV cable
-Tranny and converter ( duh lol )
- AOD yoke
-new speedo gear
- new crossmember
- cooler lines / possibly new cooler ( easier maybe )

anything else? thanks again for the help.

 

[wvcat]

Hey Steve,
I think you got the picture on the starter thing, maybe mine was like that because I was removing a 4 speed but once you try to bolt the starter in you will see what I'm talking about.

The reverse lights work of of the shifter not the trans so they will work as well.

The tv cable(kickdown) has to be there and has to be adjusted close or the trans will fry its self. On an AOD the cable adjusts throttle pressure and if its not tight enough the trans will not have enough lubrication. I didn't have a kickdown bracket by the carb so I had to get one of those chrome plated universal types from autozone.(about 15.00)

I used cooling lines from an AOD equipped thunderbird, I think it was around a 1988-89. They will fit perfect all the way up to the radiator.

Additions to your list were:

The block plate- (I used the FMX one but the cover doens't bolt up right)

Shift Kit-Baumans(59.99)

Filter & Fluid

Pan Drain Plug-Optional

Crossmember- I made mine from 2x2 square tubing.

___ ___
\ \_____________/ /
\_________________/
Hope that comes out right.
John