Hey y'all, I'm posting here in hopes of faster response times than in the drivetrain section.

My 1990 f-150 5.0 with AOD trans (door trans code is T) has been a project since I bought it. I replaced the engine, last one blew up on me, and after hooking everything up and filling up fluids the trans won't shift from first. The linkage looks solid, not broken or anything, and I've adjusted the TV cable with no luck. It goes in to all indicated gears on the dash, but when I test drove it I reached 40-45 mph and couldn't force it into 2nd gear. Any ideas?

 

was there any metal shavings in the fluid when you changed it?

 

Negative, no metal shavings. Some grayish gunk was in the bottom of the pan, clutch disk or something maybe? I'm beginning to think I'll have to pull it out and pop it open to find the problem. I wanted a second opinion before I do though.

 

Vehicle speed sensor (common problem when engine is removed) could have gotten damaged, not the wheel speed sensor but the one in the transmission that tells it when to shift.

 

I'll check that out, thanks. Is there a ohm test I can do to check it or anything?

 

A lot of the AOD's have a governor for the 1-2 shift. Do some research on yours to see if you have it. It's located inside the tailshaft housing (2wd take off the T/s housing, 4x4 take off the transfer case and reach inside) They stick especially when they're cold. clean it all up w/ scotchbrite and put it back in. You can order a heavier weight (made by Sonnax). It's a possibility anyway.
Make sure the kickdown cable is not too tight. You can disconnect the kickdown to test if that's causing the problem

 

i know my brother had lots of issues with his when he swapped engines. that tv cable is a pain to adjust and it wont shift if it's not perfectly adjusted

 

Awesome, I'll look at that stuff after work. Anything I can test without pulling the tranny is the way I wanna go if I can get away with it. Is the kickdown cable the one next to the tv cable? I'm good with engines but trannys are a new experience for me.

 

Hello! I too have a 1990 with the AOD and I have dealt with this problem before. I did a lot of research before tackling the issue, so I'll list the order of what I did.

1.) full fluid flush/filter change (didn't fix anything)
2.) adjusted TV cable per spec (didn't fix anything)
3.) pulled tail shaft and disassembled/clean governor (didn't fix anything)
4.) removed valve body, cleaned and freed up stuck valves (fixed problem!!!)

So there you have it. My issue with no shift ended being my valve body. The valves were seized up and couldn't move properly under certain fluid pressures, thus no shifting.

 

I do believe it is the valve body. Can that be removed and cleaned without dropping the trans? Excuse my ignorance, this is a learning experience for me.