Ford AOD Transmission Install - Y-Block Aod Upgrade

...and discovered the Bendix starter drive was ready to grenade.

A CP pneumatic impact wrench made short work of over-tightened stubborn bolts.

The pressure plate and clutch were removed.

Typically on older engines some of the special factory hardware has been lost through the years. Notice the factory bolts are shouldered, while the bolt held by hand is non-shouldered.

Anytime one is disassembling an engine and transmission it's a good idea to check for any trouble spots.

A closer look at the purple hot spots on the flywheel indicates the clutch was slipping. The next step is to remove the flywheel and investigate the problem.

Bingo! The source of the oil leak is coming from these two pipe plugs with threads that were incorrectly sealed.

On a stick to automatic conversion the pilot-bearing is removed and discarded. The snout on the AOD's thrust-plate (starter ring) will take its place. We improvised our removal tool by inserting a Morgan Nokker with a hex bolt into the bearing, and side-loading it to get a grip.

The Morgan Nokker worked like a champ-and hey look, it comes from the same town as our cover truck.

The Y-block's breather tube (this is the best type of breather to use on a Y-block) interfered with the Gearstar Y-block adapter plate so it was removed. It will be refitted after the job is complete.

Next, it was necessary to ensure the new starter motor that is included with the Gearstar Y-block adapter had proper clearance before it was permanently installed.

The area Gearstar showed in a template was ground out before we moved any further.