1988 Mustang 5.0 auto tranny problems

Joel5.0 said:

These AOD trannys use a throttle valve cable that is attached underneath the TB, check to see if it is not connected to the linkage....If it's not :sosad: ... I hate to give you bad news....the transmission will need an overhaul.

The use of the car with that cable disconnected causes de OD clutches to get burned after 5-10 miles of driving, reason why Ford has a TSB that requires the change of the nylon based bushing that holds it in place to the TB linkage for a metal one. Same thing happened to a friend of mine.

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Reviving this thread... Does anyone know if the TSB that Joel mentions here was just a TSB, or an actual recall or "campaign for replacement"?

In searching the net, one site said it was a recall, another said a "replacement campaign"... whatever that means...

It's possible that it's neither of these but simply a TSB. Number of this is 93B31.

I've called Ford and so far, they've not been able to do anything other than confirm the number 93B31 and it referring to "Throttle Body Lever Grommet." Because this is from 1993, they're saying it's expunged from their computer records. (??) Clearly I've been on the phone with the wrong division.

Any insight/help is appreciated!
Thank you.

Joel5.0 said:

TSB.... not recall. If you need to, I can send you copy of the document.

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Thanks so much, Joel. Didn't see this post before getting a subscription to All Data today (I shoulda checked first), so I just got the documents today. I don't know if there's a difference between a TSB and a "Replacement Campaign," but all dealers were notified to replace this part in all (or most) AOD's from '87 - '93. All Mustangs from '87 - '93 with AOD included.

Here's the killer for me. My '92 Mustang tranny was replaced in '98 by Ford under my warranty. The dealer that did the repairs? They put in a new plastic grommet with the new transmission -- not the brass one with steel retaining clip as instructed by the replacement campaign. I didn't know, I never even knew about the replacement program from '93, they never notified me. So they put in a part that was essentially recalled, AFTER the recall, with my new transmission in '98. This is insane.

I have proof of all this (plastic grommet part listed on the service order from '98). Service manager last week said he wasn't aware of any issues with this grommet; I asked him how long he'd been at this dealership... "7 years." He was unaware of what the failure rate was, or even if there was any, and refused to do anything because of the age of the car. I will discuss with the general manager tomorrow, but I doubt they're willing to do anything. I will likely have to sue to get reimbursed for a new tranny. And I'm not spending $2400 for a new one from THIS dealership (their price to replace).

This is just plain crooked. Especially when the price for the brass grommet vs. the plastic one was the same.