JMUBullnose Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Alright - my truck is back up and running and I've driven it a bit and refreshed myself on what needs to be looked at! Background on the truck: 1984 F-150 that belonged to my grandfather. He was the first owner and bought the vehicle new back in February 1984. The irony is that my wife and my truck are the same age...but only one gets "antique" plates ;). Truck has the 302 Windsor V8, 2BBL carb and AC from the factory. The carb has been rebuilt once before while my grandfather owned the truck. He had it repainted and the interior reupholstered as well. It has a slight leak coming from somewhere under the engine (but may have just been related to the vehicle sitting too damn long recently!). Things that have been worked on recently: new choke element last year, rear seal replaced as well. New drum brakes on the rears. Things that I need to start working on: -Possible Transmission work: The gear that is used between 35-50mph seems to slip if you're in traffic and slow down quickly and need to speed back up or if I'm cruising at 35-40mph and then folks slow down to go up a steep hill. Shudder shudder and then gear goes in. I'm guessing this is 3rd gear -AC/Heat Blend door: Currently the blend door is 'fixed' so that the defroster and floor vents work. Shop did this so I could pass safety inspection (defroster required). I need to figure out just what's busted under there so I can fix it and have main vents again. -AC System: System was converted to R-134 ~10 years ago. However, I hear the compressor clicking constantly if I try to run the system. I have a feeling there may be a leak. -Paint polish/correction - paint needs some TLC in the form of cleaning up oxidation, put a good seal on it again (still shiney, just oxidized really). -Bed cap: Don't have a clue what to do with the original LEER cap on this bad boy. It's dented all over from a hail storm - grandfather never had it fixed as the vehicle would have been declared total due to cost of repair v. value of truck (according to the insurance company). Hopefully now I can start tackling these projects now that I've outlined them for myself! Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMUBullnose Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Follow up on the transmission - I was reading the transmission section of the site and came across this! "AOD is a whole different ball game, the throttle cable or linkage calls for a pressure gauge and setting gauge to get the pressure correct, too low and you will burn up the OD and maybe direct clutches, too high and the transmission will “hunt” between 3 and 4. If you are experiencing this, on a carbureted engine back the screw for the AOD throttle rod out about 1 turn and test drive..." I wonder if that's what i'm experiencing - too high of pressure. Now where the heck does the throttle rod come off of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 The irony is that my wife and my truck are the same age...but only one gets "antique" plates ;). I like that and will tell my wife when I get home. My wife being a 1973 model year, I'm sure she'll be impressed...lol. Good luck with the truck rehab. She's a beaut'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Follow up on the transmission - I was reading the transmission section of the site and came across this! "AOD is a whole different ball game, the throttle cable or linkage calls for a pressure gauge and setting gauge to get the pressure correct, too low and you will burn up the OD and maybe direct clutches, too high and the transmission will “hunt” between 3 and 4. If you are experiencing this, on a carbureted engine back the screw for the AOD throttle rod out about 1 turn and test drive..." I wonder if that's what i'm experiencing - too high of pressure. Now where the heck does the throttle rod come off of? On the side of the carburetor, there is a lever inboard of the main throttle lever. There is a rod attached to this lever. The lever should be free to move, meaning you can push it to the rear and it should go back moving the rod back and down, then come forward when released. There is an adjusting screw on the upper part of this lever that should be touching the "tang" on the throttle lever, this is your adjustment point. Turning the screw in (head clockwise viewed from the back) will make the shifts later and firmer, turning it out earlier and softer. If the carburetor has been changed from the original Motorcraft and the replacement was not for an AOD transmission, then Lokar makes a cable system to replace the rod, anyone who has done a 2 barrel to 4 barrel swap on these needs this to get the shift quality correct. In case you are wondering, I am the one who wrote the automatic transmission information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myrl883 Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 The irony is that my wife and my truck are the same age...but only one gets "antique" plates ;). I like that and will tell my wife when I get home. My wife being a 1973 model year, I'm sure she'll be impressed...lol. Good luck with the truck rehab. She's a beaut'. Congrats on keeping it in the family. That's a good looking truck! The AOD is a pretty rugged trans in a light truck. The advice given so far is perfect. Adjust the TV linkage and go from there. If you don't have the tools, it shouldn't be expensive to have a transmission shop take care of it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMUBullnose Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 On the side of the carburetor, there is a lever inboard of the main throttle lever. There is a rod attached to this lever. The lever should be free to move, meaning you can push it to the rear and it should go back moving the rod back and down, then come forward when released. There is an adjusting screw on the upper part of this lever that should be touching the "tang" on the throttle lever, this is your adjustment point. Turning the screw in (head clockwise viewed from the back) will make the shifts later and firmer, turning it out earlier and softer. If the carburetor has been changed from the original Motorcraft and the replacement was not for an AOD transmission, then Lokar makes a cable system to replace the rod, anyone who has done a 2 barrel to 4 barrel swap on these needs this to get the shift quality correct. In case you are wondering, I am the one who wrote the automatic transmission information. Thanks! I'll have to take a look at it this afternoon once I get home. I'm hoping that doing the 1 turn out will fix the hunting issue. I'm pretty sure it's still the motorcraft carb that's mounted to the vehicle but will have to check that and crawl under the truck to make sure I've got my transmission right too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMUBullnose Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Congrats on keeping it in the family. That's a good looking truck! The AOD is a pretty rugged trans in a light truck. The advice given so far is perfect. Adjust the TV linkage and go from there. If you don't have the tools, it shouldn't be expensive to have a transmission shop take care of it for you. Thanks very much! I'm glad to have the truck and to keep it on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMUBullnose Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 On the side of the carburetor, there is a lever inboard of the main throttle lever. There is a rod attached to this lever. The lever should be free to move, meaning you can push it to the rear and it should go back moving the rod back and down, then come forward when released. There is an adjusting screw on the upper part of this lever that should be touching the "tang" on the throttle lever, this is your adjustment point. Turning the screw in (head clockwise viewed from the back) will make the shifts later and firmer, turning it out earlier and softer. If the carburetor has been changed from the original Motorcraft and the replacement was not for an AOD transmission, then Lokar makes a cable system to replace the rod, anyone who has done a 2 barrel to 4 barrel swap on these needs this to get the shift quality correct. In case you are wondering, I am the one who wrote the automatic transmission information. Went and adjusted the screw out a turn and will see what happens on my drive home - thanks for the assist. On the drive out today - I ended up putting the truck in Drive instead of OD and the hunting went away. Gas mileage probably went to poo - but it's an old truck...what do I expect?? ;) One question - how much play should be in that rod that is connected to the tang? I can move it back and forth a good bit, it even knocked against the firewall as I was playing with it. Hopefully that adjustment screw helps solve it - I'm sure a transmission flush wouldn't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Went and adjusted the screw out a turn and will see what happens on my drive home - thanks for the assist. On the drive out today - I ended up putting the truck in Drive instead of OD and the hunting went away. Gas mileage probably went to poo - but it's an old truck...what do I expect?? ;) One question - how much play should be in that rod that is connected to the tang? I can move it back and forth a good bit, it even knocked against the firewall as I was playing with it. Hopefully that adjustment screw helps solve it - I'm sure a transmission flush wouldn't hurt. The rod should move freely as far as the throttle lever will push it and will have some overtravel so it won't bind. Did the shift into direct feel a little earlier and still firm? If it is you are going the right way, these are real touchy, the Ford adjustment calls for a spacer block and pressure gauge, but as I pointed out, feel will get you in the right place, we did the old Hydramatics and fine tuned Torquflites and Powerglides that way along with some even stranger stuff, Ultramatics and Detroit Gear DG 250s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMUBullnose Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 The rod should move freely as far as the throttle lever will push it and will have some overtravel so it won't bind. Did the shift into direct feel a little earlier and still firm? If it is you are going the right way, these are real touchy, the Ford adjustment calls for a spacer block and pressure gauge, but as I pointed out, feel will get you in the right place, we did the old Hydramatics and fine tuned Torquflites and Powerglides that way along with some even stranger stuff, Ultramatics and Detroit Gear DG 250s.Well first drive back from the country and the transmission was still bucking as it shifted up into third and then into OD. Even at 15-25mph, especially going up a hill. Also had it shudder while in Direct at the 25-35mph. Like slam between gears while it was hunting, whole truck shuddering. Not sure if I need to tighten that screw or back it out some more. Also have some issues where the engine stumbles coming out of turns/roundabouts (but that might a carb issue). On Sun, Mar 25, 2018, 2:11 PM 85lebaront2 [via Bullnose Enthusiasts] <redacted_email_address> wrote: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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