AOD Transmission not shifting out of 2nd gear?

[ericbee]

I am having one hell of a time with my Automatic AOD transmission. I cannot tell if I am in 2nd, 3rd or 4th gear. I have tried counting shift points and I never hear it get out of 2nd gear.

I have a 400hp motor and I can do 65-70 right now but, it is winding out and the rpm's are up there. Is there any way to know for sure what gear I am in? I have no tachometer but, from what I read, AOD owners can cruise at 70 mph around 2-3000 rpms and this bad boy is way higher than 3000 rpms at 70.

I think I am stuck in 2nd and this is also causing a great deal of transmission oil overheating which is also not so good.

Anybody know a way to tell for sure?

 

[kc15842]

Did you set the tV cable?

 

[Broncobowsher]

Clicks go...

Park
Reverse
Nuetral
Overdrive (all 4 gears)
Drive (first 3 gears but on overdrive)
1st gear hold (or second gear hold if shifted here at too fast of a speed)

So can you get any shifts or just one gear only?
Is this a new transmission or something that you have seen work before but suddenly died?
By chance if you run in overdrive position and get up to speed will it shift first to second, hold second when it should be in third, then go to nuetral when it should go to overdrive?

Give a lot more history about the transmission. I need to know a LOT more then what you are stating. Can't answer your question without details about what is actually going on.

 

[ericbee]

The TV cable was originally not set and was adjusted to smoothly shift from 1st to 2nd. Originally it was getting high into the rpm's and then would aggressively shift into second. Now it is smooth and at a proper shift point.

Thats where it ends. I have a flaming river column with 3 speeds on the column. D, 2, 1 as well as P, R and N. I always run it is D and I assume that is the correct place to keep it in order to shift through all of the gears.

The transmissions is a factory Ford that was just freshly rebuilt and checked. It never worked then suddenly die, it is a brand new install and just never gets out of 2nd.

"By chance if you run in overdrive position and get up to speed will it shift first to second, hold second when it should be in third, then go to nuetral when it should go to overdrive?

It will shift from first to second, hold second when it should be in third and never leave 2nd. No neutral, no third and no overdrive.

Stupid question..is there some button or way to force it into overdrive or some setting I need to make somewhere to get it engaged?

 

[needabronco]

I would revisit your TV cable adjustment. Set it by actual line pressure and you sh.ould be able to get all 4 gears. If your line pressure is too high your valve body will think your at full throttle and will not shift out of 2nd ever.

Speaking of valve bodies, the AOD has one of the most complicated valve bodies out there. There's lots of valves and orifices, any varnish or contaminants can cause a valve to stick and not function. If you can find a diagram of the valve body, and you can stay organized and CLEAN they aren't that hard to do. I've cleaned out a few AOD valve bodies and fixed shift problems, but if the TV cable isn't correct the valve body doesn't really matter.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I would be interested in monitoring the direct clutch pressure.

If the direct clutch isn't engaging correctly it will never get past 2nd gear. Now for not getting the direct clutch to engage...
Missing input shaft, if someone removed or forgot to put the small diameter inner direct drive you won't have a direct drive
Broken shaft
Split/stripped direct clutch hub
Burnt up direct clutch.
Really odd would be an issue with the torque convertor not driving the shaft.

All the above is possible IF there is direct clutch pressure.
If the direct clutch pressure NEVER comes up then you have issues on the hydraulic side. TV cable, governor, sticky valve in the valve body...

The direct clutch should apply when 3rd (and 4th) is commanded. There is a pressure tap on the side of the transmission case. Threads are standard pipe thread.

 

[01Dudley]

Agree

I would revisit your TV cable adjustment. Set it by actual line pressure and you sh.ould be able to get all 4 gears. If your line pressure is too high your valve body will think your at full throttle and will not shift out of 2nd ever.

Speaking of valve bodies, the AOD has one of the most complicated valve bodies out there. There's lots of valves and orifices, any varnish or contaminants can cause a valve to stick and not function. If you can find a diagram of the valve body, and you can stay organized and CLEAN they aren't that hard to do. I've cleaned out a few AOD valve bodies and fixed shift problems, but if the TV cable isn't correct the valve body doesn't really matter.

Yes you need to set the TV pressure up by using a guage and a gapping tool. Not sure brand of cable you are using, but the LOKAR cable comes with the tool and complete instructions on what your pressure should be and where to check it.

This is a touchy transmission and they will burn up pretty quickly if the TV pressure is not set correctly.

The correct way to manually shift a AOD is like this. This is not a fix for your problem. When in 1st shift the lever up to the next gear. It will shift into 2nd. Now to keep it into 2nd pull the lever back to the 1st gear location. Then for 3rd gear shift the lever forward 1 notch and then 1 more notch for Overdrive.

You are correct that if you put it into "D" then it will shift thru all 4 gears properly. Again this will only happen if the TV pressure is correct.

 

[G's Baja Bronco]

Eric, sorry to hear you have the same issue I have been chasing on my AOD for a while now.

Bowsher, do you have a picture or diagram of where the tap for the direct drum is?

I set the TV on mine with a gauge and no luck, I get 1st from a stop, then stays on second, first is super short. I have tried a VB with a transgo shift kit and one w/o and still the same results.

I just got a new TQ and will drop in as soon as my back is healed, but i would not mind checking the pressure on that direct drum, maybe both VB's require further cleansing!

Good luck Eric I will keep you informed of how it goes with mine,

The reason for the new TQ is that I killed my trans by not installing the shift rod properly and burned up the Direct clutch, governor and maybe TQ, this was deciphered by Baumman for me.

 

[Broncobowsher]

I don't have an AOD case. The 4R70W it is one of the 3 test ports on the passenger side of the transmission. I would expect the AOD to be the same.

 

[G's Baja Bronco]

I don't have an AOD case. The 4R70W it is one of the 3 test ports on the passenger side of the transmission. I would expect the AOD to be the same.

no worries Bowsher, thanks for the help , I found this: http://www.mustangforums.com/mustan...SLIPPING-4TH-GEAR-DIAGNOSTIC-INFORMATION.html

 

[01Dudley]

http://lokar.com/downloads/pdf-instructions/ford_aod_kd_kit.pdf

Here is the instruction sheet from Lokar.

 

[ericbee]

New Mechanic still cant figure this out. Not new as in just starting out but, new as in another mechanic trying to figure out my problem because the last one couldnt. He has been working on cars/trucks for 25 years.

TV cable was looked at and so was electronics, this thing is a mystery now as 2 mechanics cant get it to shift out of 2nd gear. Any one else have any thoughts....

 

[G's Baja Bronco]

I had the same issue. Turned out that I had the wrong extension housing and it killed 2 governors till I caught it. Make sure that it is completely round to clear the governor.
Disregard if using aftermArket adapter.

 

[scrapman1971]

what gears and tire size?

 

[ericbee]

Cant tell you the gears on the tranny but, the tires are modest 33" BF Goodrich AT's. 10.5 wide on 7 or 8 inch slot rims/wheels.

 

[G's Baja Bronco]

are you sung an aftermarket adapter to mate the AOD to the Dana 20?

what gears do you have in the axles?

 

[sstclair]

It sounds like you might be beyond it already but for what it's worth, I used BC's TV cable and found out the hard way that I had to put a return spring on the TV lever at the tranny. Without the spring, the tranny thinks you are under full throttle and will not shift beyond 2nd. Stock cables have a pusher type return spring.
-Steve

 

[ericbee]

I am not beyond it. There is still no resolution with the shifting. I appreciate the input sstclair and I will forward the info to the tranny guy.TY!