AOD to NP435 in an 86 F150 4x4

[freebird01]

well since my beater truck decided to puke the trans before i even got to drive it i decided to ditch the slushbox for a real mans transmission..

what i thought was a T18 turns out to be an NP435 from a 78-79 bronco.

ive slowly acquiring parts for the swap. some ive been carrying around for years from place to place (bellhousing,trans, etc...) some will be junk yard parts and some are new..

my list:
bellhousing for ford SB w/ hydro clutch(old stock)
trans and spacer plate (old stock)
pedal assembly from 80-83 linkage clutch (old stock)

pedal assembly from 84 hydro clutch (junkyard)
clutch master and slave w/ hose (junkyard)
slave cyl bracket (junkyard)

flywheel (new)
clutch (new)
clutch fork (new)

i plan on reusing the original tcase thats in the truck now.

special thanks to jared (jred) for the tcase adapter housing and to dieselcrawler for the steering column.

i stared to get a few things done tonight. I got the adapter housing mounted to the transmission and i had to mix and match parts to get a good pedal assembly because it turns out the one i pulled from the junkyard had a broken casting. the castings are all the same from 80-86, the only different is the clutch pedal itself. so i swapped all the guts from the hydro pedal assy to the other casting.

no pics yet but i plan on doing a write up as i go along. im hoping saturday i can get started on this as i need the truck before the snow flys. i will have to drill the holes in the firewall for the clutch master cylinder so while im in there i will install one of my fabricated firewall reinforcement brackets.

 

[Optikalillushun]

Cant wait, oh "This thread is worthless without pics!"

 

[subway]

glad the adapter fit, it should though since it came off a 435. they had the better low range anyway.

 

[KyleQ]

You will love the NP435, I just installed one in my Early Bronco - NP435/AtlasII 3.8:1/4.11/37" = 105:1 crawl ratio

 

[freebird01]

yea ive had an f150 with that trans before and driven plenty others...the only reason for the swap is i was able to piece together all the stuff to do this cheaper then a new AOD

it was on the list for my 66 bronco before i sold it but never got to it...still got the proper trans and adapter plate to do it when i manage to build another one some day

 

[freebird01]

well i made some good progress today. i had to quit because of a party i need to go to but i started around 9am and by 2pm i had:

1. removed the t-case.
2. removed the trans
3. removed the steering column

the trans fought me all the way. i busted 3 sockets tryin to get the crossmember bolts out. i finally used the bluewrench...

if anyone is interested i now got a toasted small block 4x4 AOD sitting here. your welcome to come get it free of charge.

there are not many pics. its just dissassembly, nothing special...

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the culprit

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here is the start of the firewall plate write up. keep in mind im doing an auto to manual conversion so not all of these steps will apply.

here is a pic of the column on its way out.

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hopefully more to come tomorrow

 

[subway]

any more progress? i got my heap together it took me about 3X as long to put it together than take it apart though.

 

[freebird01]

nope none yet. its supposed to be nice over the holiday weekend so im going try and get it together then

 

[freebird01]

well time for a small update. since my wife had to work today i have to keep an eye on our son so the heavy work will have to wait till tomorrow but i did manage to get a bunch of the light work done today.

I started by removing the old auto pedal assembly then i pulled the cowl panel...

you do not have to pull the pedal assembly to install the firewall plate but it helps to get a regular drill in there to drill the holes.

then i proceeded to drill the holes to mount the new clutch master cylinder. there are 3 dimples on the firewall that tells you where to drill them. i used a 3/8" bit for the stud holes and a 1-1/2" hole saw for the main hole.

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I then mocked up my firewall plate. I had to massage the firewall with a hammer to get it to fit (as per the TSB) then I bolted it into the place with the 5 screws used at the base of the steering column. i used the plate as a drill template and I drilled the three holes through the firewall then the two that go up into the cowl.

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I then proceeded to slather the whole back of it with silicone caulk and bolted it in place. I also smeared up the bolt plates and bolted it all in...

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no more pics but i proceeded to get the clutch master bolted in and and the manual pedal assembly

 

[freebird01]

no pics until tomorrow but another update...

i swapped in the steering column from my 88 diesel, installed the flywheel...and when i went to install the clutch i found that i bought the wrong size bolts. so since the wife was out and about i made a call and had her bring me home what i hoped would be the right ones.

while she was still gone i cut and welded a gusset into my crossmember since the front drive shaft was hitting from the lift. i also hit my air cleaner cover with some paint.

when she finnally got back she ended up bringing home the right size bolts but the wrong length. had to fix them with a grinder and get about 1/4" of each one.

now i got the clutch bolted in and began to wrestle with the 120# trans and adapter. after dropping it on my leg twice and almost pinning myself under the truck...two floor jacks and lots of swearing later i managed to get it in to where it will sit on the cross member. Took me about 2 ours to get it in and the bell housing bolts tight.

so tomorrow i plan on tackling the t-case and hopefully maybe if I'm lucky it will move under its own power...

 

[riotwarrior]

.....i got the clutch bolted in and began to wrestle with the 120# trans and adapter. after dropping it on my leg twice and almost pinning myself under the truck...two floor jacks and lots of swearing later i managed to get it in to where it will sit on the cross member. Took me about 2 ours to get it in and the bell housing bolts tight.

so tomorrow i plan on tackling the t-case and hopefully maybe if I'm lucky it will move under its own power...

OK so that is funny....really it is, I tend to think that trans jobs require thinks like big inner tubes and lots of air and a piece of plywood...just inflate the tube with the trans on top of the plywood on the tube and voila...lift is effortless..and you can slide that around quite well...too!

Ok so I have a question for you about your reinforcement kit, how well did it fit? Did you read the TSB and tech article....*****

Seriously though how was it installing your own product? Learn anything or feel you need to change anything?

 

[freebird01]

No i didnt read the tech article or the tsb lol...

It wasnt bad. The only thing im going to change is use 3/4" long bolts and weld the bolts to the nut plates and put the nuts on the inside. That will make it easier for one person to do the job.

The truck is up and running now. Drove it about 15 miles over the weekend. I still got to shorten the front driveshaft. And ill need to get the rear one lengthened or get a new one cause its a hair short for my liking.

the wiring under the dash is a rats nest that will need fixed, and the radio needs to be mounted properly.

It will be a work in progress but now its driveable and useable at least.

 

[riotwarrior]

No i didnt read the tech article or the tsb lol...

It wasnt bad. The only thing im going to change is use 3/4" long bolts and weld the bolts to the nut plates and put the nuts on the inside. That will make it easier for one person to do the job.

The truck is up and running now. Drove it about 15 miles over the weekend. I still got to shorten the front driveshaft. And ill need to get the rear one lengthened or get a new one cause its a hair short for my liking.

the wiring under the dash is a rats nest that will need fixed, and the radio needs to be mounted properly.

It will be a work in progress but now its driveable and useable at least.

Sounds like it's come along quite nicely, good stuff. Did you have to "bend" the plate much? Or dimple the sheetmetal? I did a tiny bit of both and it was a perfect fit!

 

[freebird01]

Mine required a good bit of clearance. I beat the firewall into submission until i could get the column bolts in. Then bolted it fast then hammered the reinforcement into the firewall and pulled it together with the bolts. It doesnt look bad either