1992 Tbird Transmission Problems

[92BIRD]

I have a 1992 Thunderbird LX with a 5.0, it's an automatic...
I paid $700 for the car, so it's not like I wasn't expecting problems, when im going about 60 mph with the car in fourth gear, it WILL NOT catch, I can rev the beast to my hearts desire an the car just wont catch. This does not happen in any other gear, just in fourth (im fairly sure that its a four speed automatic transmission, if im wrong please dont be cruel about it, ive only owned the car for two weeks and im fixing things as I go. Anyways, my diagnosis is the valve bodies on the transmission are dirty, are there any other possibilities?
Also, ive seen pictures of thunderbirds with hoods that have a slight scoop built into them, are these stock on the super coupes or are they aftermarket... and if so, where do i find them?

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[007_SuperCoupe]

Your OD band is gone. This is very common in the AOD trans. What it means...you guessed it, a rebuild or purcahasing a remanufactured one or even a used one. If you go used, I HIGHLY recommend you find one from a SC or V8...the n/a 3.8 just won't last for you at all. Also, see this thread as well...I posted some info on it pertaining to the AOD tranny...

Ah...never mind, I see it's your thread! Hehe...

As for the hood, they are not stock, but aftermarket. There's a couple different varieties to choose from, Mach 1 style, Cobra R style and Cobra R with hood scoops...also some cowl induction hoods. As far as selection you can get most of these hoods from Bill Evanoff at Super Coupe Performance. That's where I got mine.

 

[Adrian78017]

Hey i have that same problem
But I don’t know what I should do I’d like more power but I also don’t want to break it. My bird has right under a hundred miles on the original 302 but I also love manual gears. I consider myself a decent mechanic so I’m confident I can’t convert or replace either tranny. Please would love any input as this classic beast is very well taken care of. Please and thank you

 

[1TrueGambit]

Yeah you can do this I'm planning this venture on my SC it's a little more complicated but it can be done on both just make sure that when do this make sure you can get it from a car that has it all complete cause you're going to need everything and I mean everything don't omit nothing or it will cost you and plz for your on sake take a picture of the firewall cause you'll need it for a template to make a template and make sure you take the console top piece and shifter and get it all leave nothing behind and the next time you need OD try manually downshifting it and putting it into OD but it could mean the components on the exterior went bad check them out this is usually the problem I've got an army of these Birds and have rebuilt most of them so if you got anymore questions I'll try and help you out

 

[1TrueGambit]

Oh as long as you use controlled "abuse" lol these things can handle more than you can imagine lol

 

[Adrian78017]

SO what exactly is the answer to my birds tranny??

 

[1TrueGambit]

I'm not sure if you're going to do a 5speed swap but if you are be sure to get everything the goes with it I mean every nut,bolt electronic cause you're going to need it all to install to your bird trust me made that mistake and wont do it again so if the donor car is complete that's great unless you've done it before otherwise tracking down missing pieces are quite a nightmare but if you are going with another auto then I would recommend getting it from a truck has more teeth to it stronger in other words as far as your OD problem there's a component that controls shift range those go out and also there's plug on the side midway up usually white in color kinda round with one side flat forgot the exact name but this sensor also can go out it's up to you on far you want to mess with those parts doesn't mean they're it but I've had luck in replacing them and it working out hope this helps

 

[Adrian78017]

Thank you
Well I have time and a lol bit I’d cash either transmision would be great. But In your opinion what would you do swap over or replace my bird has under 100k. I don’t run her hard but I do like shifting gears auto is fine but I also don’t wanna have a hastle either looking for parts or finding decent parts. So yeah what would you do ??

 

[1TrueGambit]

My bad didn't know you posted back look the 5spd conversion won't be easy but not too difficult seein it's all gonna be out my advice is to look into whats causing problem first but if it comes to having to replace it it's all about choice 5spd is alot of fun but a bit of a hassle for a daily driver if you live where there is alot of traffic due to having to shift it three or so times to get through the light lol if you know what I'm saying but the 5spd can be more maintenance free but you have to worry about throwing a clutch or pressure plate but other than that they're great so weigh it out and go with what's best for you and the situaton

 

[Adrian78017]

Thank you for the input.
I think concert gears have not ever been a problem my only concern is finding the nessesary list or exact vehicle I’d need time I have labor more than willing. I just need to know which vehicle I’d have to find and pull apart.

 

[1TrueGambit]

1989 to 1992 to be safe 1993 also will work as I'm almost positive like 99.95% lol you can contact me for any questions I've not done the conversion yet my self but know exactly what needs to be done going from auto to standard

 

[1TrueGambit]

now if you're going to go auto you can only use 5.0 truck or mustang transmissions only you can use a super coupe if you can locate one good luck on one of those Sc's tranny's are rare and like I said the truck's are much more durable