Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

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Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

December 23, 2019, 06:29:23 PM

I have been researching on valve bodies and shift kits for awhile, and I am now in a spot where I need some assistance. I want a shift kit for better shifts, performance, etc., and there are A LOT of options. Right now, I'd really like to buy from Performance Automatic or SilverFox, and I see that both offer the valvebodies that have the" HOLD" feature for 1st and 2nd gear. So my question is do any of these companies or another company offer a regular shift kit WITHOUT the valve body that features the HOLD pattern? If not, would it be alright to buy a shift kit by itself and do the epoxy mod? The reason being is I dont want to buy a whole new valve body due to the cost of them, I'm a college student trying to save money afterall. Another question I have is will any of the kits I want keep the car from shifting into overdrive/4th gear just like it does with the stock valve body? I really dont want the car shifting into overdrive when Im at WOT for obvious reasons.

Thanks guys!

Re: Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

Reply #1 – December 23, 2019, 11:41:40 PM

Anything over 1/2 throttle in od should cause it to downshift. I can understand trying to keep it in a certain gear, but with stock motor and gearing 3rd is good for about 120mph.

Re: Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

Reply #2 – December 24, 2019, 09:48:28 AM

I would call Dan at SilverFox and talk with him directly and tell him what you want.

I plan on using his valve body when I get to that point.

I was under the impression that the stock shift pattern is the same, it just holds second gear a bit longer that OEM. I thought you can still keep it in "3" and stay out of OD.

Re: Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

Reply #3 – December 24, 2019, 08:28:17 PM

Quote from: mcb82gt – on December 24, 2019, 09:48:28 AM

I thought you can still keep it in "3" and stay out of OD.

I did that all summer to keep the car from bouncing between drive and od with light throttle changes. Drove me nuts. Mind you that was with 4.10s and stock engine and trans. Tightened up the tv cable a bit to firm up the shifts a little bit

Re: Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

Reply #4 – December 25, 2019, 10:11:19 AM

My car has a valve body with the epoxy mod, so the shift pattern goes 1-2-3/4 instead of 1-3-4. You can manually shift 1-2-3 without having to do the 1-D-1 shuffle. There is no OD lock out, except for throttle pressure. AOD is built though and has a 2" OD band and A+ billet OD servo, among other things. With the epoxy mod you need a servo and switch to lock out OD. My car doesn't have that, but with the trans mods and 3.73 gears it's been fine.

Re: Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

Reply #5 – January 02, 2020, 07:19:00 PM

I've got the TransGo Reprogammer Kit AOD-HP in my car. It required a pretty extensive modification of the valve body, but only took me a few hours. The kit definitely firmed up the shifts and probably helped keep the V6 spec AOD alive behind my 5.0L swap

The trans has over 100K and still shifts great. That being said, I've always kept trans fluid clean and I don't beat on it every time I drive it.

Re: Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

Reply #6 – January 03, 2020, 10:41:21 AM

What was done differently with the V8 Bird AOD's vs V6?

Re: Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

Reply #7 – January 03, 2020, 03:00:50 PM

Quote from: mcb82gt – on January 03, 2020, 10:41:21 AM

What was done differently with the V8 Bird AOD's vs V6?

I believe the V6 AOD's had one or two less clutch plates than the V8 AOD. Also V6 AOD's had "C" overdrive servo for smoother shifting into overdrive compared to V8 AOD with "B" overdrive servo, I did upgrade my trans to a "B" servo from an F150 AOD when I installed the Transgo, since overdrive is considered to be the weak link in AODs.

Re: Shift Kits and Valve Bodies

Reply #8 – January 04, 2020, 03:56:53 PM

Call Bill or Ed at Performance Automatic with any questions you have on their products. I have done business with them since 1990 (C4 and C6), and actually worked there in 2017 and part of 2018. Never hurts to get all the info before making a purchase.