Automatic transmission dont

Ok, setup is 87 ford aod behind a 302. In the challenge car.

Trans wirked great when pulled from the donor Lincoln town car. No issues. Fluid clean.

Now, it wint get any gear or pull on the converter when in drive, foot in brakes, and throttle revved.

Trans fluid reads high on dipstick after 4 quarts. I jept adding the 12 that came out.

Not overflowing anywhere, hasnt changed level on the dipstick.

Aftermarket trans cooler, factory lines and fittings.

Torque converter seated properly on flexplate and bolted down.

Tv cable hooked up.

What am i missing? Did the thing die on the stand or something?

I have no ideas.

Shifter working right?

Yup. At this point, in process of trouble shooting, im reaching down and shifting with the lever on the side of the trans. No change.

It has puked 1/2 quart or so now that i shut it down from the speedometer pirt.

And the trans cooler lines are bone dry.

Im berkeleyed, ain't i?

Converter seated properly in pump?

Filter fall off in pan? I'd check that first

Will do. Heres to hoping.

If the converter is not seated properly (my fear) is the trans now garbage?

the aod isnt well known for surviving dry/low fluid runs. Hopefully its just a filter problem.

Aod. Non e.

If im honest, Im about frustrated enough to torch the whole damn project at this point.

Im praying its just a filter and i didn't junk the trans.

all else fails a c6 is nearly bulletproof

Were out of budget. Honestly if the trans now garbage, we're out of the challenge.

Are you done for the night? Pull pan first. Hopefully you dropped filter into pan while moving things around.

Converter seating... did you have a small gap between flywheel and converter that pulled together when bolting them? If so you should be seated correctly there. I find it hard to believe anything besides those two things could have happened. I am not sure if my buddy has any more AOD's around but I might be able to scare up a free one if needed, but i doubt you'll need it.

If you can get to me or get a driver to me I'll straight up give you a 4r70w to keep you in the challenge.

Not sure how much power your 302 is putting down, or if they'll adapt easily, but if it will keep you in the challenge it's yours.

Filter is bolted to the valve body on these according to the google.

I called it a night. Im done.

Tomorrow I think im goung to clean the shop and walk away from it for a few days Do something else entirely.

I remember when we put the motor and trans together that is seemed different from a gm automatic. Im pretty sure that we got everything seated properly, but i have no way to know if im right.

A fun side note is i don't think i can get the trans out independently of the engine due to clearance issues.

I will check filter first, in the hopes of that being the issue.

Thanks for the offer to check with your buddy. We'll see what i find as i go.

Right now, i think im going to go to bed. Seems lime a prudent course of action with how my head is. Things will look better tomorrow.

Is there any chance in hell of checking pump engagement with the trans still mounted up? Or is it a pull it the whole way prospect?

Don't stress. Get a good night's sleep.

Come back tomorrow and fix the thing.

In reply to RevRico:

Thank you. Ill keep it in mind.

Pittsburgh isnt all that far....

Dusterbd13 wrote: Trans wirked great when pulled from the donor Lincoln town car. No issues. Fluid clean. Were out of budget. Honestly if the trans now garbage, we're out of the challenge.

I would think you could possibility enact "the alternator rule"
This rule intends that, as an example, if you have a good working alternator that quits you do not have to budget the replacement alternator.

A trans is a little extreme for the intention of this rule but you know you previously had a fine working trans.

Either way, get some sleep. Regroup and reconquer another day.

All hope is not lost.

In reply to John Welsh :

Ive been thinking about this a lot, and im still not sure how i feel.

In the supreme court thread, i asked about a starter solenoid i dropped and broke. Was not applicable to the alternator rule. I cant see how this would be any different, though i WANT it to be.

Im not nearly as hopeless this morning, but still not in a great head space. If i remember right, to get the trans down will require pulling it attached to the engine. Which means essentially everything, including the steering column, has to be dissassembled. Thats at least a 1w hour day to get it on tge ground. This is due to clearance issues.

Is there a snowballs chance in hell of checking pump engagement with the trans still mounted up to the engine?

In reply to Dusterbd13:

You are right, this is best handled with direct communication with The Powers that Be and/or Supreme Court.

Either way, none of this will actually make the trans removal any easier.

Some separation and some distance may make for some clearer thoughts.

All hope is not lost.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Is there a snowballs chance in hell of checking pump engagement with the trans still mounted up to the engine?

Yes, if you remove the flexplate to converter nuts you should be able to slide the converter back easily. If it doesn't slide then something isn't lined up correctly. I don't believe that it'll go back far enough to clear the studs but it should slide back and easily turn enough that the studs rattle in the holes.

APEowner wrote:

Dusterbd13 wrote: Is there a snowballs chance in hell of checking pump engagement with the trans still mounted up to the engine?

Yes, if you remove the flexplate to converter nuts you should be able to slide the converter back easily. If it doesn't slide then something isn't lined up correctly. I don't believe that it'll go back far enough to clear the studs but it should slide back and easily turn enough that the studs rattle in the holes.

Awsome. And that test should indicate wether its engaged in the pump properly, correct?

What are the chances of the trans being ok at this pount?

Should I start hunting a free trans, or.....

If you can acess a flywheel and a clutch P/P I have a toploader 3 speed w od that was Given to ME, by a GRMer and then to you. Plenty strong for a 302, I have a Clutch plate but for a Le mans shaft T/L you can use for trade. Junk yard Bell,P P Fly wheel From Mustang and peddles too. If TQ wasn't in right you wouldn't have gotten the eng. bolted togeather without noticing, Has to be in the Pick up

The torque converter and the TV cable scare the heck out of me when I think of the AOD. More so since I had to spend 2k to get the thing rebuilt. If doing this over, I would have gone C4 and a lower gear.

The converter requires three "Klunks" to seat. That has been drilled into my mind by the shop that rebuilt the thing. If it doubt, remove and retry until you hear the three distinct klunks. How you keep it from slipping one stage while installing I have no idea. Not seating it will kill the pump.

The TV cable takes a bit more time and gives some warning.

I have been over this page several times in anticipation of the upcoming event where I need to make the AOD to the engine.

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/installing-a-torque-converter.2400/

If you do need another box, forget the AOD as they are $$$ and not really suited for performance. The C4s are to be found much cheaper and are rebuildable at home. The AOD, not so much.

That said, if it is the pump, can it be swapped from a donor box without having to get into the seals that require all the special tools to install?

let me look for a C4 before you waste time with that AOD, the south is Ford Country,and My Area IS the Center of the world for FORD

You guys are awesome. Thanks for bringing my spirits back up.

Ill see what i find tonight.