1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

I have had my trans for 2 summers and put about 20,000 miles on it. The whole time I have had it, it has given me no real problems other than that it does not like to downshift to 3rd gear at speeds obove 60mph or so. You have to double clutch it and stab the throttle road race style, then it will fall right in. I am using a RAM power grip clutch, full weight GM flywheel, stock bellhousing, adapter plate, and the brass offset pilot bushing that Forte provides. All this was being used with my one peice rear seal 305.

Now to the issues I had. I am swapping to a 383 and when I pulled the 305 and trans out I discovered that the input shaft was pretty severely damaged. I also noticed that the input shaft was not being supported very well, the bushing was way out on the end of the shaft (see pic). I also noticed that the pilot bushing was trashed (see pic). I checked and the adapter that bolts to the bellhousing has no more than .006" runout from the crank centerline so I know the trans was running straight. The clutch also showed not signs of a misaligned input shaft. My dad said that an input shaft should never look like that, that a brass pilot bushing should never even be able to scuff a hardened input shaft. He suggested that I got a bad input shaft.

So I called Mike Forte and sent him pictures of my problem. For those of you that have dealt with Mike you know it is a challenge, but he was helpful, it just took patience on my part. Mike said he wasnt really sure what had happened. He too suspected that I may have gotten a bad input shaft. He wanted to move the pilot out to better support the input shaft, so he sent me a brand new input shaft for free and also sent me a new custom pilot bushing and sleeve for only the cost of machine work. He left the aluminum sleeve long so I could measure and cut it to the proper length to properly support the input shaft. See the pic for details.

I am now running a GM lightweight flywheel, on the 2 piece rear main Callies crank in my 383. I am re-using my RAM clutch, bellhousing, adapter, and trans. I put the pilot bushing in and bolted the bellhousing and trans up to the engine. I was able to reach through the starter hole and the input shaft spun easily while inside the new pilot bushing setup so I know my alignment is correct. Last night I installed the clutch, flywheel and everything and hung the trans on again. I am stilll able to spin the output shaft easily in any gear so there is no binding with this new pilot. We will see how it holds up. Just wanted to post this so you guys could see it. I will post dimensions very soon. I was going to post them now but forgot my sheet at home. I'll edit this post with all of the dimensions of the pilot bushing and sleeve. Forte says this may be an update for his thirdgen kits.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

I don't understand why you had to run an "offset" pilot bushing in the first place? I have one of the older 3550 style thirdgen TKO's in my garage that I'm putting in eventually. I just bought a roller bearing style pilot for it. I switched to the roller style from a solid one with my Muncie trans a long time ago, and it works fantastic. My input shafts used to show some wear running the solid ones, but not with the roller ones.

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

Well first, on my 600, the pilot diameter is larger than a stock T5, so a stock pilot bushing or bearing will not even fit over my input shaft. Second, I have a 1" adapter plate between the trans and bellhousing. This adapter bolts to the 17 degree rotated bellhousing and then allows the Tremec to be mounted straight up. Since the trans is 1" farther back, you have to set the pilot bushing back as well which is why you need the offset pilot bushing. Did I make that clear enough?

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Yeah, it makes more sense to me now. I didn't realize the TKO 600 pilot was bigger than stock. I got a stock diameter roller pilot bushing, and it slipped right on the end of my 3550 style TKO's input. I also have the 1" adapter plate with mine, so I might end up in the same situation there, with only the very tip of the input shaft going into the pilot. In fact, I remember another member here, I think it was Big Dreams 92, who had the same problem with his TKO 600. He played hell trying to find a pilot bushing that would fit.

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

Well I may be wrong, but unless someone handed me the wrong pilot bearing in the parts store a while back, a stock 3rd gen pilot bushing wont fit over my input shaft, I took it out of the box and tried it. I dont think a Mustang one will either....

As far as getting a pilot bushing, the only place you can get one that will be offset to accomodate your adapter plate, is from Mike Forte. He has them custom made and they are like $17 or something.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

I'm wondering if it's a problem that's specific to the newer TKO 500 and 600 models maybe. The trans I have is the older TKO, which might explain the difference. It still has a 26 spline input, but the shifter is different(3550 style), and mine is only rated at 450 ft. lbs. IIRC. They upgraded quite a few things when they introduced the 500 and 600 models around 2004.

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

Yes mine is 26 spline as well. for what it is worth, I am pretty sure the 3550 and TKO share the same rebuild manual. There are specific notes for the TKO, but they are similar enough to use the same service manual.

EDIT: I just checked and my statements are correct. Go here.

http://www.ttcautomotive.com/English...-0510-0199.pdf

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Yeah, the internals are virtually identical between the two, other than a few upgrades on the newer ones. The upgrades I can remember off the top of my head are: more shifter locations, redesigned billet shifter made by Hurst, one-piece countergear assembly vs. the older 3-piece style, cast iron shift forks w/pads vs. aluminum, and all the gears were upgraded to 4615 steel, whereas the older ones only had the 4615 on 2nd and 3rd gear IIRC. When I looked up parts you can buy for them on a couple of sites, almost every part works in both of them. D&D performance carries the full line of replacement parts for them according to their website. I just looked up mine on Tremec's website, and it's model #260-0708=TKO, rated at 425 ft. lbs. My model was phased out of production and replaced with the TKO 500. If you click on the pic of the 3550, and then the pic of the TKO 500/600, you can see the difference between the shifters on each one.