89 mustang AOD to 5-speed Swap...Help please!!!

[Stang514]

Im new to the forum and I was hoping to get some peoples feedback. I have a 89 GT in perfect conditon but my AOD tranny is blown. I was thinking of swaping the AOD to put a 5-speed in. Was wondering what everyones opinion was, should I keep it AOD or make it 5-speed manuel and if I swaped it what tranny would you recommend.

Thanks, Tom

 

[wythors]

The AOD to T-5 transmission swap is regularly done and a little work with the search function will yield tons of information. On a stockish car, a standard stock T-5 is a perfectly adequate piece. One note for you: While every thing is a direct bolt-in, this is a very labor intensive job. Unless you can do the work yourself, it will be much more cost-effective to rebuild your AOD. If you are doing it yourself and haven't done one before, plan on 25-30 hours of your time. I took my time over three weekends to complete the job. On the plus side, it REALLY wakes up the car.

 

[DrMaxit]

If you plan on doing alot of mods in the near future, I would go ahead and upgrade to a tko or something while you're at it. the stock t-5 especially if you get a used/worn/beat on one wont handle much. other than that its not a hard swap, the worst part is the pedal assembly. G-force trans are also an option. Let us know if you need anything else.

--Chuck

 

[Stang514]

Thanks for the info...I desided to go ahead to swap in the 5-speed. Im going to go with the tremec tko 500. do i need to change the computer? from what ive read some recommend that you leave it. someone also told me something about hearing a pinging noise or something like that, does that sound right? and how is the shifter on the tko 500 is it any good or should i put a new one on? i also heard that the 5-speed is harder on the car and it could tear some stuff apart on the car like the torque box. is there anything i need to do with that. If theres anything else I should no i would appreciate it...Thanks