southern4life_99

I am new here and I just got a 87 lx with the 5.0ho. I believe it has the aod (auto with overdrive?) The problem I am having is it wont shift into 3rd gear. It will shift smoothly into 2nd and downshift back to 1st with no problem but it just wont shift into 3rd or 4th. The fluid is full so I am thinking maybe the filter is cloged so i am going to do that and flush the trans. The guy I bought the car from said it has been sitting for a while so i think that would help anyways. Anyone have any other ideas what it might be? I am going to be working on it wensday so ideas would be great before then. Thanks for all the help.

aode08

TAKE AN AOD FROM ANY 5.0 OR 4.6(OLDER YEARS) car, and bolt her up.

aode08

to find a rebuilt AOD, you can tell, because they hot tank the case and spray paint the tranny..

so look for white scaling deposits, / or spray painted tranny.

Also, you may notice the adapters for the cooler lines have fresh teflon on them, or are new brass fittings.

Also, you may notice the bushing on the shifter linkage and kickdown on throttle are new.

I actually look for these, pull them , install em in my car to test, then sell them.

crueheadstang87

sounds lide the bands are friend, or Maybe you will get lucky and fix it with a new filter and a good flush, but i doubt it! transmission probably needs to be rebuilt, usually costs about 800 or better for a rebuild here in alabama, will be cheaper to find a new one!

crueheadstang87

i you manually change the gears will it go in? put in in 1 run it up to about 3000 or better then go to 2nd, do the same, thenpush it up to drive then immediateley back down to 2nd again that should put in in 3rd gear, then go to 4th from there!

cleanfitty

You have a broken input shaft.

You do need to drop the tranny to get to it.

If you are lucky, and it broke nice and clean, you can remove the two pieces out and replace it with a hardened input shaft.
(The tranny doesn't need to be takenapart for this, it just slides on)

If you are not lucky, and the shaft shattered inside, you won't be able to remove it, and will require a tear down/ rebuild.

Blckstng93

You wouldnt happen to know why the last owner let it sit do you? Did he have this same problem? They may have left it sit for that very reason.

This might help, it might not, but i took this from a trans manual that covers the AOD.

No 2-3 shift:
1. check fluid level, color, and condition (should be a reddish pink, not brown).
2. check tv cable (throttle valve) for proper adjustment (cable runs from under the throttle body to the trans)
3. check the direct clutch or reverse-high clutch for damaged piston seals or burned clutch plates.
4. check the valve body for for dirty or sticking valves.
5. check the torque convertor for internal damage.

Doesnt mention anything about the input shaft but with an AOD, anything is possible.

Should you need a rebuild, DO NOT take it to AAMCO!!! Looong story. Let us know what you find out as i have an AOD and after 11 years im still learning the dang thing.

southern4life_99

crap, that is what I was afraid of. He said that it was sitting because it was going to be a project of his. He also claims that the trans was recently rebuilt. The fluid looked like a real dull red color so i am going to do that and cross my fingers and hope. I will try the manual shift tommarow and see what happens. If that works what would it be?

FLcracker9

When you pull the pan to change the filter, look at the bottom of the pan. If it's dark colored, and you can take your finger and write your name in the residue, it's toast. Start looking for a quality rebuild.

southern4life_99

well i didnt get a chance to drop the pan and check anything out because it took longer then expected to do the exhaust. I did try to manual shift it, put it in first took it up to about 3 grand, shifted to D (second I am assuming, it is next in line) took that to about 3 grand, bumped it up to overdrive then back down to D and nothing happened. I did notice when I pulled the intake tube off thata cable that connects to the throttle was disconnected. I saw no way of attaching it to the throttle so i took some zip ties and fixed it on the way it appered it belongs if the entire connection was there and still no luck. The part that is really confusing me is when i first got the car it would go into 3rd and 4th with no problem but about a mile from where i was taking it, it started acting up. How hard is it to drop the tranny? It looks like it is going to be a royal p.i.t.a [:@]. Thanks for all the help so far and for the future help. I need this thing on the road asap to get my wife off my back.