Did a quick search and didnt find much info

I'm interested in getting the tremec TKO 600 cause its the cheapest and best solution for what i need. I'm in ontario and have been priced at 2200 canadian for the tranny.

The car its going into is a 5.7L auto

Will the torque arm need to be modified? (i dont believe it does)

Will my stock crossmember work?

Will the DS need to be modified?

He said that i would need a bellhousing from the muncie m21 4 speeds. Is this my best solution?

If im using the 4 speed bellhousing what other problems am i going to run into. Where can i get the hydraulics/linkages from to work with this setup.

 

okay since no one seems to be helpful on this issue let me change this to two easier questions.

Is the torque arm on t-5's the same as on 700's?

And if i need to use a muncie m21 4 speed bellhousing, where can i get hydraulics/linkages/pedals that will work with that bell and my car?

Also if anyone has actualy put a tko in their car i would appreciate any other advice they have

 

i am doing the same conversion in a 89 rs, i got the tranny from d and d performance, and i purchased the crossmember and torque arm from spohn performance for the tko, the pedals i got from gm along with the hydraulics from gm for a 97 camaro, the bellhousing i purchased from lakewood #15020 is dedigned for the t-5, i havent put it in the car yet probably going to do the swap next weekend

 

Doug,
I have not looked into the new TKO 500/600 (other than the gear ratio's) to ensure that they are the same case as the 3550 and TKO. ASSUMING that they are I can help with a few of your questions.

The stock crossmember will work but it will require spacers. The TKO sits down a bit lower than the stock tranny and Forte's makes aluminum spacers that (IIRC) are about 3/4" thick. I have a set that I will let go cheaper than new if you decide to go this route.

The stock driveshaft length is fine (see above assumption ).

Torque Arm... In my search of the board I found a post that said that Fortes says the stock T5 mount for the torque arm will work with the TKO. I have no personal experience with this. I am using the Spohn unit.

I can't answer your question regarding the Muncie bellhousing. I am using a Lakewood and recommend it (or any other brand scattershield) from a safety perspective.

My car was an automatic before the TKO. I went to the auto yards and found a donor car for my pedals, switches etc. I bought brand new hydraulics from GM but you could get those from a donor car as well.

There are several board members running TKO's but if you aren't getting answers in a fast enough timeframe, I would call Forte's. I believe that they are the ones that actually modify the Tremec for GM applications.

I have tried to answer your questions and not just say 'search' but I believe all of the answers to your questions are out there. I typed in 'TKO' in the search parameters. You have to wade through some stuff but no big deal.

Here are a couple posts that came up...


https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...&highlight=TKO

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...&highlight=TKO

Good luck with your project. I am very happy with the transmission so far.

-Schultzy

 

i searched with tko but i didnt check every single post. Much appreciated that you found those links for me. If anyone sees something that was missed or your own personal experience please feel free to add your advice.

rover how different are the crossmember and torque arm from the stock pieces? I am on a very limited budget so if i can save money anywhere i would really like to do so. Once you do the swap if you could send me a pm just letting me know how it went and if theres any unexpected headaches you ran into it would be much appreciated.

Thanks a ton guys!

 

the spohn torque arm bolts to the crossmember instead of the tranny

 

Schultzy, what did you do to get your speedometer to work? I originally had an 88 iroc now have an 89 gta. The adapter I got from forte's for the speedo cable worked great, but the gta's speedo is electronic. Can you shed some light please.

 

I just used the adapter and plugged it in???

Post or pm a pic of the adapter and I'll make sure it is the same one.

-Schultzy

 

Here is the adapter I used in my iroc. I have know idea what the other one might look like.

 

I have a TKO 600 in my 86 firebird. I am using the Spohn TQ arm and X member. Dont know if the stock mount will fit the 600 case. I used the adaptor from Forte's for my elec. speedo. It adapts the GM sender to a Ford gear as the TKO uses a Ford sender for the speedo. It took a little fitting to clear the tranny mount pad. Works fine for me so far. As for the bellhousing. I am swapping to a Lakewood scattershield this weekend and have the adaptor that Forte's sells to mount the TKO to the stock T-5 bellhousing if you want to buy it. As for the driveshaft. You have to use a different (C-6 Ford) yoke with an adaptor type u joint. But, the length does not need to change. E-mail or PM me if you want the adaptor. I'll have to see what I paid for it and come up with a price.

 

I was considering going to the TKO 600.......I have heard that this transmission does not like to shift well above 6500rpm.....This really worries me since i will be seeing shifts aroud 7000rpm......

May be worth checking into if you are in the same category. I have no basis to base this on other than what I have heard from a few dragracers at the track. If someone out there can say that this trans works well to 7300, then I'll be making the swap too. Just thought I'd add this in case you were unaware of this, or if its even true.

 

tpi88camaro,
toms84ss got it - there is another sender that attaches to the unit you already have. Call Mike Fortes and he can get you the right parts.

lowflyr,
I can tell you that the TKO's (at least earlier generations) work fine at those RPMs. What you may have heard is that they don't shift quickly at those rpms. I have had that experience. I know one other personally that has the same 'issue' and have heard others online talk about it. It is not really a problem per se, the tranny just doesn't allow me to get it into the next gear as quickly as I would like. I am not an expert so I don't know how much is the transmission (gear cut, synchros, etc.) or how much is in the clutch or other setup.

Just another bit of info. Good luck with your projects.

-Schultzy

 

Thanks Schultzy. I will check into it.