Raphs50

I have only had this 86 GT for a few months, and the expensive Performance Automatic SuperComp AOD has been nothing but problems. The transmission only has about 1,000 miles on it, but I had to send the valve body out to PA to have it reworked after losing reverse. Got it back, installed it, and all was good for about 2 weeks. Had it out yesterday and when I threw the switch to shift from 3rd to 4th (full manual so there is an O/D solenoid with a switch) the rear wheels locked up and I nearly lost control of the vehicle. Luckily it was a 4 lane divided highway and no one was next to me. Now the symptoms are: shifting from 3rd to 4th adtually downshifts into 2nd or 1st, and shifiting into reverse gives me 1st gear. 1st, 2nd. and 3rd are the only working gears.

I emailed PA (that just rebuilt the valve body), and they said something must be getting into the VB and causing the valves to stick. The ATF dipstick did show some signs of discoloration in the new fluid.

I don't have the knowledge or skills to get farther into the transmission, so if anyone can provide suggestions or recommend a shop in Southern CA that can work on this tranny, that would be great.

hellas85stang

are u adj the tv or kick down right....will burn up stuff if not

92hatchLX

There isn't a TV cable on his transmission, what would he need kick down for on a full manual tranny??? Anways, send it back and have them replace it under warranty. If they won't do that, take it to a tranny shop so that they can diagnose that it's experiencing an internal tranny failure and that it's the manufacturers fault and they will have to replace it for you. Hope this helps.

Foxy5.0

Did you have to fill the tranny with fluid yourself and if you did how did you go about doing this?

Raphs50

Yes, I refilled the tranny fluid after replacing the VB. I did it per the instructions from PA.
Add 4 quarts, run it, add fluid until you reach the "ADD" line, run it through the gears 10 - 12 times, then add to the FULL line.

Raphs50

Correct, no TV cable. I am sure they will probably fix the VB under warranty, but I am worried some more serious tranny problem is causing it keep failing. Anyway, thanks for the input. I will probably have a local shop look at it while I send out the VB again!

92hatchLX

That's wierd, I can't remember how many quarts a bone dry AOD will hold but it's somewhere in the neighboorhood of 13-14. I've usually always thrown about 10 in. Allowed it to run, warm up, and just shift it through the gears with your foot on the brake about 5-6 times, check it, if it's low add a little more and go take it for a short drive, add proper fluid levels and be done. Sounds like the tranny is ****ed up. What kind of torque converter are you running in it? What color is the fluid.

Raphs50

I thought it was a bit low on 4 quarts, too. I ended up needing about 14 quarts to fill it. The TC is a 10" Pro Launch with a 3500 stall speed.
The red tranny fluid looked like it had a little black fluid in it. Oil?

Foxy5.0

I put mine on jack stands and turned the car on and while in neutral then when it was on the full mark I then ran it through the gears. This takes stress off the un lubricated parts. But if you have primed it other ways and not have any problems maybe I'm just too careful?