Ok so im going to do my best to show everyone what i went through swapping in a tko-600 transmission into my 89 Camaro. Ive read up on this subject as much as i could before trying to tackled it, and have found several problems people have run into. The first is the shifter location, the next is the driveshaft length, and the third is crossmember. Im going to do my best to show before, during, and after pics of the install process.
So here are the before.

Here is a view of what my shifter looks like now in neutral.

Now a successive first, neutral, and second gear shot...


And now a view of what the shifter location looks like with the boot and plate off.

 

Here is a view of the tail shaft of the transmission and my drive shaft. Note the yellow line shows the end of the transmission. I will mark the end of the tko after its in as well to give a comparison.


and one more before shot of the transmission its self


Here is a shot of my current stock crossmember.

Im not sure what im going to have to do to the crossmember to make it work. I ordered the crossmember relocation kit from fortes.

My F-Late TKO600 kit will be coming in from fortes tomorrow. So the updates will be rolling in.
Let me know if there are any more pics you want taken while the car is up on jack stands, it makes taking pics alot easier!!!

 

By the way that hurst shifter base is for sale if someone wants to pick it up, im going to try to re-use the stick. 100 shipped. Its a great shifter i LOVED it! well worth the money.

 

Ok i got off work today and came home to a nice present.


I unpacked the box and made sure i got everything i ordered and i did. So i started installing the spacer plate on the bell housing.


And i ran into my first delay... had to go to the parts store and buy a big number 10 allen wrench to install the spacer to bell housing bolts. Not a big set back im sure ill be making many more runs tomorrow when in trying to drop the trans in.

Next i went outside and drove the new Pilot bearing in. Unlike my stock bearing this one installs in the big hole on the back of the crank not the smaller hole on the inside.

 

Next i measured up for my hyd. TOB. and installed the spacers i needed to align it with the clutch.


Heres what the whole thing looks like as it sits on my living room floor. Its 29 degrees outside right now and i didnt feel like working out in that tonight.

 

Ok here is a quick update before i take pictures and let you see the final product.

I got the transmission installed friday. My stock drive shaft did NOT have to be cut, it fit perfect with the new yoke installed with new u joints. I did have to make a bracket to relocate the shifter back, ill show a pic of this tomorrow. i got everything hooked back up to the engine and fired her up and the car woudnt go into gear. The clutch pedal was very soft, like it had air in it. So i bled and bled the clutch again and again. Had no air coming out but the pedal was soft for the first half of the stroke then solid. So i was fed up. i was sure i would have to pull the motor and start all over again, then someone looked at one of my pictures and said make sure the bleeder on the throw out bearing is pointing to 12 o'clock and not 3 o'clock where i had it installed. So i moved the bearing and got air bubbles again. Fired the car up and she went into EVERY gear i was very relieved!

 

Here was my problem.

 

nice job with the swap, sounds like everything went pretty smooth besides that TOB... what did you use for a x-member? I'm going to be doing a tko 600 swap with a mechanical clutch.

 

well good question, ive been meaning to put pictures up of the final product. I originally used the stock t-5 x-member. I bought the x-member relocation kit, but didnt use it, so i wouldn't buy it again. and if u do want it id sell it to you. Its just 2 pieces of aluminum about 3/4" thick to space the x-member down. I couldnt figure out how it worked, they dont send directions, so i just used about 5 washers between the frame rail and the xmember to space it down about 3/4". i did have to elongate where the tranny mount bolts to the crossmember, i had to elongate but that made it fit perfect. Since then i have been working on my welding and have fab'd a custom crossmember ( double hump design ) to give me some extra exhaust clearance. If you wanna see the finished pics ill make sure to throw em up this weekend when im back home from school.

The only reason i went with the H-TOB was b.c i had clearance problems with my headers and the clutch fork. The exhaust pipe show in the pic is in the correct location, my headers are hanging down b.c ive already unbolted them. I actually had to grind off most of the part where the slave cyl mounts to get the headers to fit.

 

I will definitely go with a different shifter when i get the money. After having the billet hurst shifter on my t-5 it feels like im shifting a dump truck lol.

 

yea def post them pics... so the x-member has to be relocated down too? I thought it was just back. How much did you have to elongate the holes? I was gonna custom fab my x-member too... what was confusing about that kit you got? shouldnt it just be a plate with holes drilled in it?

Also did u use a adapter plate between the bell and tranny to rotate it straight up?

 

Well the x-member relocation kit came with some bolts that were like the regular bolts that go into the frame rail, it also came with bolts that look like wheel studs. I couldnt figure it out so i just used washers to shim the x-member down, b.c the top of it hit the trans tunnel. When doing it like this i also had to elongate the hole in the center of the x-member, had to make the slot go further back towards the rear of the car. Making a x-member wasnt to bad but some of the angles made the welds a little rough, but im sure its strong enough. I weigh 200lbs and jumped up and down on top of it lol.

 

how did you set up the crossmember you fabbed so that you had all the dimensions correct? I was thinking that I would bolt the brackets to the frame then bolt the center to the tranny mount then weld everything while its on the car.

 

Thats exactly what i did. But was hard for me to get a good tack weld on the connecting pieces. Being that i didnt really have enough room under the car to maneuver, let alone pull my mask down hold the piece and make a tack weld upside down. but i got it done lol. just took 4 hrs.

 

yea would prolly be a bit easier with a lift huh? Have u been driving the car with it in?

 

yes i would have loved to have a lift! I havent had a chance to drive with it in the car i finished it up right before i had to ride back to school. in fact the car is still up on the stands so it will be real easy to take the pics of the trans and everything.

I almost thought about building another one with the remaining metal i have, and use the one i already made as a template.

 

damn, too bad u didnt drive it around, prolly was eatin away at u ... i no it does to me lol. how far away from home is ur school? If u have the time might as well make another one and maybe sell it or something.

 

Yea it was killin me. And i just bought a pair of LCARB to weld in to try to fix some wheel hop so the car will prolly stay up in the air most of this weekend too. My school is about an hr. drive from where i live.

 

That is the stock T5 bellhousing, correct? What brand of headers are you running that you had to cut up the hydraulic mount so badly?

Keep the posts coming on your shifter and x-member mods. Shes looking good..

 

Im running the hedman LT's and yes that is a stock t5 bell housing.
on summits site it says this:

135 - Transmission size limited to 700R4 and 350 turbo.

ill put the pics up of the new x-member along with the LCARB's and the tubular control arms ima make this weekend.

Hopefully this will = no more wheel hop!

 

What clutch are you running?

 

i did the same swap...t-5 to tko600...i didnt have to bleed or do what u did at the throwout bearing...just installed it...didnt have those two hydrolic lines going to it...i did have to bleed my clutch...it was also soft...for the xmember i just bought a umi 700r4 crossmember ( it was only a 100 bucks felt it was quicker and eaiser then modding stock on)which a fellow tgo member told me bolts right to it....you just have to add some spacers between the frame and xmember to lower it to get the correct pinion angle...i do plan to get the correct xmember but i wanted the one that has the torque arm mount and driveshaft loop on it and could not afford it at the time...i did not have to shorten my driveshaft either...it fit perfect...for my shifter i ordered a shifter handle from pro 5.0 although it ended up being way way smaller then i thought so i had to weld a bolt on to the top of it to get it up high enough...but my shifter handle is in the stock postion...if my boot would stay up you wouldnt be able to tell the difference from stock postion...although i havnt got around to it im going to order the shifter made by Steeda Tri-Ax the handle puts it in the correct position and i was told the shifter quality is top of the line...http://www.jegs.com/i/Steeda/957/555-7456/10002/-1

 

i did the same swap...t-5 to tko600...i didnt have to bleed or do what u did at the throwout bearing...just installed it...didnt have those two hydrolic lines going to it...i did have to bleed my clutch...it was also soft...for the xmember i just bought a umi 700r4 crossmember ( it was only a 100 bucks felt it was quicker and eaiser then modding stock on)which a fellow tgo member told me bolts right to it....you just have to add some spacers between the frame and xmember to lower it to get the correct pinion angle...i do plan to get the correct xmember but i wanted the one that has the torque arm mount and driveshaft loop on it and could not afford it at the time...i did not have to shorten my driveshaft either...it fit perfect...for my shifter i ordered a shifter handle from pro 5.0 although it ended up being way way smaller then i thought so i had to weld a bolt on to the top of it to get it up high enough...but my shifter handle is in the stock postion...if my boot would stay up you wouldnt be able to tell the difference from stock postion...although i havnt got around to it im going to order the shifter made by Steeda Tri-Ax the handle puts it in the correct position and i was told the shifter quality is top of the line...at first the trans shifter rough but now that ive had it in for about 8 months it shifts great...

http://www.jegs.com/i/Steeda/957/555-7456/10002/-1

 

sorry bout double post...i went to post first one and forgot about something and hit stop on browser before it loaded page but i guess it alrdy went threw...Admin/mod can delete my first post please

 

Im using the Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch and love it.

As for the other H-TOB i've never seen one without the two lines going to it, but im glad u didnt have all the problems with it that i did, and i plan on getting that tri-ax shifter as soon as i can, it looks real nice!

 

if you are using a T5 bell don't you have to use an adapter plate to rotate the tranny a little?

 

Yes you do and here it is,

 

nice, are those allen wrench bolts that are countersunk so the head sits in the part?

 

Yes, the stuff from fortes was real good quality, i couldnt complain about anything from them.

 

yea looks pretty good... how much was it?

 

haha that part you dont want to know, lol i dont even wanna know how much i spend.
I already had the H-TOB from my t-5 along with the hurst shifter stick and ****.
The trans and F-body kit was $2800 shipped to my door.
The GM oil was about $40
Out of that $2800 i had about $150 in parts i didnt really need that i ordered. But i have the crossmember relocation kit and speedometer adapter if someone needs it.

 

i might be interested in the speedo adapter... what are you doing about your speedometer?

 

I just called fortes and they MIGHT have sent me the wrong part so im going to send them a pic of what they sent me and there going to get back to me. I might end up using the speedo adapter after all. I tell u what i have done as a temp fix. i went to the local parts store and got a speedo cable from a fox body mustang that had a t5 they were exactly the same length, and the end fits down into the tko trans. then i cut the sleeve of the cable, NOT the actual metal cable its self, and joined the other end that came off of my stock camaro speedo cable, this is so it will connect to the speedometer correctly, and epoxy’d the two rubber sheathes together. This worked but its kinda a rigged way of doing it so im hoping fortes will send me the correct speedo adapter and i can do it rite.

 

So here come some updated pics:

First is the drive shaft length comparisons. The yellow line is the stock t5 length of the tail shaft as shown in the before pic, the red line is the length of the TKO tail shaft. The over all length difference is that that the TKO is about .5" longer.


Now we have a couple pics of the custom crossmember i fab'd up.





Now i just have to get my pipes re-run a little bit higher and this will improve my ground clearance a ton!

 

Do you have any movement left in that front yoke? You need a bit for suspension travel.

Looks like you have enough muffler clearance on your crossmember to allow a little extra bracing.

 

On the DS length i had the driveshaft shop take the measurements. They looked at the wear on the old yoke and said my length should be fine on this new transmission for the suspension travel.

As for the crossmember, the stock is pretty thick and its holding up nicely so far.

 

becareful with it you havent driven with it yet.
once you start bouncing it around alot of different forces will come into play
drive it a little and check the steel and your welds before you get your pipes adjusted

 

Thats good advice.
I took it around the block and over a couple pot holes on friday, probably a 10 min drive. Then i jacked the car back up to check for any immediate cracks or anything out of shape. All the welds still looked fine so i took it out friday nite and drove the car to work today, normal driving with some hard acceleration here and there and plan on jacking the car back up again after work. But this time im going to remove the crossmember and give it a close over look.

I also welded in some LCARB this weekend too that i need to take a close look at.

But good advice for any suspension mod!

 

Just picked up my TKO 600 yesterday... can't wait to get that sucker in... Glad to hear everything is going good with ur swap.

Was there not enough room under the car to do another hump on the passengers side?

 

Oh there was room, but i didnt really need it for the clearance. It would have just made the design harder. The straight piece on the pas. side made for plenty of room for the exhaust.

 

oh, nice. Is that crossmember boxed or does it just have 2 90's on the sides?

 

its not boxed but is kinda like a C. Here is what it looks like end on view.

 

Hey there im looking to do the same swap only my clutch is mechanical ...anyway i just wanna get thie right .,.....ur using the stock bellhousing as well as the stock Driveshaft.....no mods to the drive shaft at all

 

Using stock bellhousing with the adapter plate from fortes. the driveshaft i had new universals put on wtih the C6 yoke, but i did not have to change the length of the driveshaft.

 

can u give me a link to the place where u got the adapter plate from

 

Fortes Parts, your best bet is to give them a call, i got my whole kit from them.

http://www.fortesparts.com/catalogDisplay.cfm?cat=95

 

What all comes with the kit? I always thought the TKO600 was a direct bolt in but apparently I'm wrong. Do you have to get a different crossmember?

 

their basic f-late kit which fits our cars comes with the TKO, ford style with a longer input shaft to accommodate the spacer/adapter. the spacer/adapter pushes the transmission back a couple inches to help land the shifter closer to the stock location. Um it also comes with the special pilot bearing. You can also order from them the mechanical speedo drive if you need it, i had to get it on my 89. They have a cross member relocation kit but i wouldnt get it. All i did with my stock t-5 cross member was use about 6 washers between the frame and the cross member to shim it down and inlong the hole that the tranny mounts to back towards the rear of the car. I ended up making my own cross member tho to help with exhaust clearance. You have to come up with your own shifter design as i havent found a good stock style shifter stick to fit. i made a bracket to move the shifter back about 2-3 inches. Its not a very hard swap just takes some fitting to get it all to work rite. The basics you need are the tranny and the spacer/adapter from fortes. Sorry for the long answer to the short question.

 

I'm only really worried about the crossmember because I bought a UMI crossmember with driveshaft loop and torque arm mount and I'd hate to have to get rid of it just for this swap. So you're saying that a little modification to the stock crossmember along with the washers and it should fit fine? The UMI holes are already elongated. I take it that the TKO sits a little lower than the T5?

 

im sure if nothing else you could weld on a tab to the umi cross member for it to be ok. And yes if you dont shim it down the transmission will hit on the tunnel. I probably only had to move the hole back about .5-1 inch at the most. It moved it to the very back of the stock crossmember.