Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Topic: Price of 4 speed automatic tranny (Read 5604 times) previous topic - next topic

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

May 11, 2009, 04:08:49 PM

Hi, I'm looking for standard automatic transmition for my TC. I have some from Mustang, but it doesn't work well and shows nonsenses on speedometer. I'd like to swap it.
What's the ordinary price of this tranny?

Thanks for help, Trinom.

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #1 – May 11, 2009, 04:50:39 PM

You're looking for a 4-speed auto for your '86 Turbo Coupe? That would be the A4LD transmission which is not a direct swap. The A4LD is an electronic automatic and needs the appropriate computer to function properly. You'd need the computer and harness from an 87-88 A4LD equipped Turbo Coupe.

The proper automatic for your car is the C3 3-speed auto. It's a marginally better transmission than the A4LD, which is known to be weak (that's why Ford crippled the automatic 87-88 Tubo Coupes with 155 horsepower, because they feared 190 would eat up the transmission)

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #2 – May 12, 2009, 11:29:26 AM

It's so strange for me, because I have now 4 speed automatic... So I have two ways: Buy 5 speed manual (step forward) or 3 speed automatic (step backward)? ... or repair that s I have now, but it isn't original part.

Quote from: Thunder Chicken;271707

that's why Ford crippled the automatic 87-88 Tubo Coupes with 155 horsepower, because they feared 190 would eat up the transmission

'86 TC has 190 HP and '87/88 TC has only 155 HP? And what about 3,8 and 5 liter engines? They have what? C3? And what about Mustangs?

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #3 – May 12, 2009, 11:41:42 AM

3.8 v6 cars had either a C5 I think (correct me if I am incorrect) or an AOD. 5.0 cars had an AOD.

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #4 – May 12, 2009, 12:20:02 PM

If your car has a 4 speed auto then it is not stock......

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #5 – May 12, 2009, 12:36:06 PM

I know, it's from Mustang. We bought this car with some automatic transmition but it was dead, so my father and one guy changed tranny to this. I can't ask my father, becouse he has died 1 year ago.

C5 is what? 5 speed automat?

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #6 – May 12, 2009, 02:04:30 PM

Quote from: Trinom;271834

It's so strange for me, because I have now 4 speed automatic... So I have two ways: Buy 5 speed manual (step forward) or 3 speed automatic (step backward)? ... or repair that s I have now, but it isn't original part.

'86 TC has 190 HP and '87/88 TC has only 155 HP? And what about 3,8 and 5 liter engines? They have what? C3? And what about Mustangs?

No, the 86 TC has 145 horsepower with the automatic and 155 with the 5-speed. For 87-88 the 5-speed TC had 190 horsepower, but the automatics were detuned to 155. The 3.8 had 130 or 140 depending on the type of fuel injection, and the 5.0 had 150 in 1987 and 155 in 1988. The 3.8 and 5.0 used either the C5 (three-speed auto) for 1983-86 or the AOD (4-speed auto) for 87-88. The AOD was optional in 86 V6 cars. All 5.0 models had the AOD.

Here's the breakdown of transmission availability in these cars:

2.3 Turbo:
1983-1988: T5 5-speed manual
1983-1986: C3 3-speed automatic
1987-1988: A4LD 4-speed automatic

3.8:
1983-1986: C5 3-speed automatic
1986 (optional): AOD 4-speed automatic
1987-1988: AOD 4-speed automatic

5.0:
1983-1988: AOD 4-speed automatic

The C5 transmission is nearly identical to the C4 3-speed automatic, but with the addition of a lockup torque converter and metric fasteners/specifications.

If you've got a 4-speed auto in your car it's an A4LD (the AOD will not bolt onto a 2.3), which might explain why it's dead. The A4LD needs a computer to run. I know for sure the lockup torque converter and 4th gear need the computer, but not sure about first, second and third gears.

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #7 – May 12, 2009, 02:25:23 PM

I didn't write, that the current 4 speed is dead. The previous tranny was dead. The current works, shifts, but is quite noisy and shows nonsenses on speedometer. If you look at the shifter there is P - R - N - D - 2 - 1. I can't shift 1 and 2 do the same as D. I read, that 1 and 2 are for hilly tracks and you can use a motor brake.

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #8 – May 12, 2009, 02:53:13 PM

Swapping the speedo gear will fix the "nonsense". What do you mean it makes alot of noise?

Can you ID the trans by the transpan? I don't know much about the 4cyl trans's. It is still a 4 cyl turbo right?

Go here and identify the trans.
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Transmission_Identification

-dz

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #9 – May 12, 2009, 04:05:05 PM

Quote from: danzajax;271873

Swapping the speedo gear will fix the "nonsense". What do you mean it makes alot of noise?

If I compare it to another transmitions, this makes humming noise while I'm driving. I don't hear another transmitions.

Quote from: danzajax;271873

Can you ID the trans by the transpan? I don't know much about the 4cyl trans's. It is still a 4 cyl turbo right?

Yes, it is :D

Quote from: danzajax;271873

Go here and identify the trans.
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Transmission_Identification

I have my Bird by my grandma and I'll be there probably at the weekend 22th to 24th. If I have a look on the site you linked, my tranny looks like AOD - it has stripes on the bottom, but I'm not sure...

Price of 4 speed automatic tranny

Reply #10 – May 12, 2009, 06:01:34 PM

It can't be an AOD, they won't bolt to a 4-cyl.

The 4-cylinder 4-speed auto shifter is supposed to say P-R-N-OD-D-2-1.

There is a slight possibility it may be a C4. Most C4's have a V8 bellhousing, but there are 4-cyl bellhousings out there. Some 70's Mustangs and Pintos had the C4 with a 4-cylinder. They are quite rare, but they do exist, and if you have one you've already got the best possible automatic bolted to your engine right now, as the C4 is much stronger than the C3 and MUCH stronger than the A4LD.

The easiest way to identify the tranny is by the shape of the pan (and number of bolt holes in the pan). The AOD will be slightly rectangular but almost square with the two corners facing the rear angled off and 13 bolts. The A4LD would be rectangular, much longer front to back than it is side-to-side,with a kick out on one side, and has 18 bolts:

The C3 tranny has an almost square pan with a small kick-out on one side and is held on by 13 bolts, while the C4 is slightly rectangular with a small kickout on the front and is held on with 11 bolts.

Now, about the problems you're having. First, the speedometer. As somebody mentioned, you can make the speedometer accurate by changing the small plastic gear on the end of your vehicle speed sensor. The gears are cheap (I just ordered one for $9 including shipping to Canada for my car, which has the same problem). It's a 10 minute job, most of which you'll spend jacking the car up.

Is the humming a vibration that you can feel in the car, or just a noise that you can hear? If it's a vibration you might have a bent or out of balance driveshaft (one of the factory balancing tabs may have fallen off), or bad U-joints. I just had this problem with my car and swapping the driveshaft out solved it.

If the humming is just a noise, are you sure it's the transmission and not a wheel bearing? One way to tell would be to drive the car on a smooth, level surface. Does the nature of the whine (pitch, intensity) change as the gears change, or does it simply change as the speed changes? Hold the car at a certain speed, say 50MPH (80 km/hr), and shift between D and 2. Does the noise change, or does it stay the same? If the noise stays constant at a constant speed, regardless the gear you're in, the rear wheel bearings could be the problem. It's a common issue in these cars. Unfortunately a bad wheel bearing usually means the whole axle shaft must be replaced because the rollers of the bearings ride directly on the shaft.

Next, while traveling at a constant speed, try gently pressing the gas to accelerate (not enough to make the transmission downshift), and then let off to let the car maintain speed, then release the gas completely (BUT DO NOT BRAKE) to let the car slow down. What you're doing here is placing an acceleration load first, then no load, then a deceleration load. Does the noise change between accelerating (load), cruising (no load), and decelerating? If it does, this could indicate problems in the rear end itself.