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So you are thinking about swapping a different tranny
into your mustang, but are not sure what exactly you need, and what you
might have to do to get it working correctly with your setup. Hopefully
this guide will be all that you need. I have done many of these swaps, and have
gathered info on what I don't have expirience with so you don't have to.
On to the goods!
T-5 to C4-C5:
This is a real common swap for people looking for
a relatively cheap and very strong automatic. The c5 is a later version
of the c4 found in early 80's model Mustangs that features some better
case mods than the earlier c4's, but they are basically the same thing.
The c4 can easily be modified to c5 specifications. One
confusing factor about this swap is the difference between the big and small bellhousings that are available forthese transmissions. If you find an early model transmission (pre ~75), it will have the small bellhousing that is required with the 157 tooth
flexplate. These 157 tooth flexplates are all a 28oz imbalance, so if you
want to use it on a late model 50oz imbalance motor you will need an aftermarket
157 tooth flexplate that has been balanced to 50oz. The later c4 models
have the big bellhousing from the factory, and they use the 164 tooth
flexplate as found on AOD Mustangs.
Parts needed:
c4/c5 transmission
big or small bellhousing
bellhousing backing plate (AOD type works with big bell c4)
shifter and bracket
tranny cooler (B&M part # works excellent with high stall converters)
2 fittings for cooler lines in transmission
2 fittings for the cooler
transmission fluid hose and 4 clamps
5 quarts of ATF
new transmission filter
new pan gasket
converter
shifter cable
valve body
transmission pan
modified crossmember, or a replacement piece
Swap time:
Pull the T-5 and bellhousing, flywheel, backing plate.
Next take out the pilot bearing at the end of the crankshaft with a puller
that you can rent from your local parts place, or using a few other methods
such as with soap jammed into the hole etc. Replace your rear main seal
since you are in there. Once all thats out, its time to pull your pedal/pedals.
The easiest way to do this is to remove the clutch pedal by pulling the
clip that holds it on, and then sliding the pedal out. If you want the
auto pedal setup, that will add a bunch more time to this swap as its a
big pain to get the assembly in and out.
The next thing that needs to be addressed is the
transmission crossmember. The c4 will LIKELY require you to cut off the
welds where the barrel type ends are connected to the crossmember. This
will then allow the crossmember slide it back and forth to change where
the transmission mount lines up with the bolt holes. This can be done before
or after you put the transmission in. The AOD crossmember shouldn't need
modification, but the T5 one will.
Once you have done that, its time find the clutch pedal switch that
allows the starter to be triggered to start the car only with the clutch
pedal engaged. The plug for this is black and has multiple wires coming
together at two terminals. You need unplug it and then cut the wires off,
and then either use an electrical connector to connect them all, or solder
them together as I recommend doing (its kind of hard to get under there
with the soldering gun though). After thats done, you need to climb under
the car and cut the two wires that go into the plug that goes onto the
nuetral safety switch, and then connect them together to effectively bypass
that switch.
Now its time to deal with the shifter setup. There
are many choices here, with aftermarket stuff having its own type of bracketry
and cable that needs to be used with it. I will describe what needs to
be done to adapt an AOD type shifter to work with the c4 as I have done
in my project '88 GT. Once you have the shifter and your center console
out, you will see that the mounting holes for the shifter are different
than the holes you had for the T-5 cover plate. The two back holes line
up perfectly with the floorpan holes and are there for the T-5, but the
front ones go into air as the floor is different. This means its time for
some customization! What I did is find a place as far to the left and right
towards the front of the shifter, that allowed me to get the shifter bolted
down and to use the threaded clips that were in the floorpan for the top
two bolts of the shifter cover plate. This requires that the holes be drilled
towards the end of the floorpan so the clips can go into the new holes
you made. What I did is bolt the cable bracket to the floorpan using my
new holes in the plate and the floorpan on the top left and right side,
and then I bolted the shifter in using the back two holes through the bracket,
and then into the floorpan. Once that was done, I decided to just bolt
the shifter to the cable bracket using two nuts and bolts from the hardware
store in order to get the shifter bolted down good and snug leaving the
two bolts that hold the plate under the shifter. I used a late model 4cyl
AOD shifter, but the mounting should be the same for all AOD shifters.
The next thing you need to deal with is the cable.
When using the AOD shifter, the easiest way of accomplishing this is by
using B&M's cable kit for adapting their ripper shifter for the AOD
to a c4. There will be a bracket that you need to bolt to the tranny, and
then you have a small bracket that needs to go onto the stock shifter cable
bracket in order for the cable to mount. Besides that, you need to get
the end of the cable onto the shifter. With my 4cyl shifter there is a
bolt type thing that is threaded for a nut at the base of the shift lever.
All I had to do was slightly enlarge the hole on the end of the cable in
order to get it to fit over the bolt, and then I put the nut on and was
done. On some shifters you will need to enlarge the hole to get it over
a ball on the end of the shifter, and then have a washer or just a glob
of mig welder wire welded on to the end of the ball to stop the cable from
coming off.
Now its time to put the tranny in. Bolt in the valve
body if thats not done, and put the bellhousing on, and then fill the converter
with about 2 quarts of fluid and put it in the transmission. It should
have 3 distinct clicks to make it fully seated. Once fully seated, there
should be about 3/4 of an inch clearance between the converter mounting
tabs and the end of the bellhousing. Now is also a good time to put in
your tranny cooler fittings, which I used some hardware store pieces that
had a 3/8 opening for the cooler lines and were 3/8 NPT thread. I used
the same type for the cooler, except those needed 1/2 NPT thread. Once
you have the top backing plate on, and have torqued down the bolts for
the flexplate, its time to put the transmission in. Once you have the tranny
up and bolted to the motor, you need to pull the converter towards the
motor using the access hole at the bottom of the bellhousing where the
lower backing plate goes. Torque each nut one at a time and rotate the
motor to get each flexplate hole where you need it. Now its time to connect
the cable to transmission, then put the access plate in, and pop your stock
driveshaft into the back of the transmission. You can also put the pan
on, and once the pan bolts are tight, its time to fill the tranny up. Put
about 1 1/2 quarts of fluid in and then start up the motor and go through
the gears to get the fluid to cycle through the system, then turn it off
and check the level with your dipstick and add more as needed.
T-5 to AOD/AODE conversion:
So your thinking about putting an AOD in to replace that T5 for everyday
driver duty, or because you want the consistency and easier starting line
hit of an automatic, but still want to have overdrive. If you are planning
on the aode, you will need an aode computer and transmission wiring harness.
A very good choice to program the shift points of your AODE is to go with
the Baumanator TCS.
Parts needed:
AODE computer and tranny harness from 94/95 (for AODE tranny)
AOD/AODE tranny
AOD/AODE backing plates
TV cable
shifter
valve body
converter
shifter cable
AOD computer with harness plug adapter for AOD computer
Pull the T-5 and bellhousing, flywheel, backing plate.
When jacking the car, try to place the rear of the car higher than the
front to keep fluid from dripping out of the back of the tranny. Then take
out the pilot bearing at the end of the cranksnout with a puller that you
can rent from your local parts place, or using a few other methods such
as with soap jammed into the hole etc. Replace your rear main seal since
you are in there. Once all thats out, its time to pull your pedal/pedals.
The easiest way to do this is to remove the clutch pedal by pulling the
clip that holds it on, and then sliding the pedal out. If you want the
auto pedal setup, that will add a bunch more time to this swap as its a
big pain to get the assembly in and out.
The next thing that needs to be addressed is the
transmission crossmember. The AOD will LIKELY require you to cut off the
welds where the barrel type ends are connected to the crossmember, which
will then allow it slide it back and forth to change where the transmission
mount lines up with the crossmember bolt hole slots. This can be done before
or after you put the transmission in. The T5 crossmember will probably
need modification, but if you pickup an AOD crossmember you obviously won't
have a problem.
Now its time find the clutch pedal switch that allows
the starter to be triggered to start the car only with the clutch pedal
engaged. The plug for this is black and has multiple wires coming together
at two terminals. You need unplug it and then cut the wires off, then either
use an electrical connector to connect them all, or solder them together
as I recommend doing (its kind of hard to get under there with the soldering
gun though).
Now its time to deal with the shifter setup. There
are many choices here, aftermarket or oem. Once you have the shifter and
your center console out, you will see that the mounting holes for the shifter
are different than the holes you had for the T-5 cover plate. The two back
holes line up perfectly with the floorpan holes and are there for the T-5,
but the front holes go into nothing becuase the floor is different. This
means its time for some customization! What I did is find a place as far
to the left and right towards the front of the shifter, that allowed me
to get the shifter bolted down and to use the threaded clips that were
in the floorpan for the top two bolts of the shifter cover plate. This
requires that the holes be drilled towards the end of the floorpan so the
clips can go into the new holes you made. What I did is bolt the cable
bracket to the floorpan using my new holes in the plate and the floorpan
on the top left and right side, and then I bolted the shifter in using
the back two holes through the bracket, and then into the floorpan. Once
that was done, I decided to just bolt the shifter to the cable bracket
using two nuts and bolts from the hardware store in order to get the shifter
bolted down good and snug leaving the two bolts that hold the plate under
the shifter.
Now its time to put the tranny in. Bolt in the valve
body if thats not done, and put the bellhousing on, and then fill the converter
with about 2 quarts of fluid and put it in the transmission. The converter
should have 3 distinct clicks to make it fully seated. Once fully seated,
there should be about 3/4 of an inch clearance between the converter mounting
tabs and the end of the bellhousing. Now is also a good time to put in
your tranny cooler fittings, which I used some hardware store pieces that
had a 3/8 opening for the cooler lines and were 3/8 NPT thread. If you
are using a stock converter, you can just go with the stock cooler in an
automatic radiator, but if not then the B&M cooler is the best choice.
I used the same type of plumbing fittings for the cooler, except these
needed 1/2 NPT thread. Once you have the top backing plate on, and have
torqued down the bolts for the flexplate, its time to put the transmission
in. Once you have the tranny up and the bellhousing bolted to the motor,
you need to pull the converter towards the flexplate using the access hole
at the bottom of the bellhousing where the lower backing plate goes. Torque
each nut one at a time and rotate the motor to get each flexplate hole
where you need it. Now its time to connect the cable to transmission, put
the access plate in, and pop your previous driveshaft into the back of
the transmission. You will also need to plug in the nuetral safety plug,
the reverse light plug, and put the speedo cable in the transmission. You
can also put the pan on, and once the pan bolts are tight, its time to
fill the tranny up. Put about 1 1/2 quarts of fluid in and then start up
the motor and go through the gears to get the fluid to cycle through the
system, then turn it off and check the level with your dipstick and add
more as needed.
AOD to T-5/Tremec 3550:
This is a very common swap for people who want a
stick in their automatic equiped cars. This swap is straight forward, but
requires quite a bit of time and effort, mostly coming from the pedal swap.
Parts Needed:
T-5/Tremec 3550
pedal assembly
clutch cable
aftermarket clutch quadrant preferably
shifter
shifter boot
pilot bushing
clutch/pressureplate
clutch fork
bellhousing
bellhousing backing plate
new/resurfaced flywheel
First thing to do is pull the AOD following the direction
you see in the chiltons manual or similar. The next thing you need to tackle
is the pedal assembly. Follow your chiltons or haynes in order to r&r
the assembly to replace it with the 5 speed setup. The pedals are tricky,
so expect to spend some time figuring out how to remove them.
The only issues to really note about this swap is
to make sure you get the right cable gear for your speedo cable, which
depends on which T5 transmission you go with.
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