'05-'10 V6 manual trans upgrades
10-11-2014, 07:25 PM
#1
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'05-'10 V6 manual trans upgrades
Bear with me, this may take a while...I'll get to the upgrades eventually.
Simply put (and out of pure frustration), the manual transmission in the 4.0 V6 Mustangs (as it comes from the factory) is a steaming pile of poo. It is weak, balky, has wonky gear ratios , and doesn't like to be rushed (especially into 3rd). Feels like driving a truck.
This transmission is the T5OD, and is a derivative of the T-5 available back in the Fox body days, so it shouldn't be as bad as it is. A quick shift into 3rd under power, or at higher RPMS often results in a missed shift. For those who haven't experienced this, is hard to describe...it's almost like you are "locked out" of 3rd...the shifter hits a brick wall at neutral. I don't remember the Fox body car being hard to get into 3rd, rather, it was hard to keep 3rd gear IN the transmission, lol. Oh yeah, The gear ratios in the T5OD are 1st: 3.74, 2nd: 2.19, 3rd: 1.43, and 4th is 1.00. 5th/O.D. is .73. No wonder it feels like driving a truck. With anything more than 3.55s in the rear end, 1st gear is pretty much redundant.
More to come...
Simply put (and out of pure frustration), the manual transmission in the 4.0 V6 Mustangs (as it comes from the factory) is a steaming pile of poo. It is weak, balky, has wonky gear ratios , and doesn't like to be rushed (especially into 3rd). Feels like driving a truck.
This transmission is the T5OD, and is a derivative of the T-5 available back in the Fox body days, so it shouldn't be as bad as it is. A quick shift into 3rd under power, or at higher RPMS often results in a missed shift. For those who haven't experienced this, is hard to describe...it's almost like you are "locked out" of 3rd...the shifter hits a brick wall at neutral. I don't remember the Fox body car being hard to get into 3rd, rather, it was hard to keep 3rd gear IN the transmission, lol. Oh yeah, The gear ratios in the T5OD are 1st: 3.74, 2nd: 2.19, 3rd: 1.43, and 4th is 1.00. 5th/O.D. is .73. No wonder it feels like driving a truck. With anything more than 3.55s in the rear end, 1st gear is pretty much redundant.
More to come...
Last edited by roddy; 10-12-2014 at 05:22 AM.
10-11-2014, 07:25 PM
#2
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Solutions:
To help shifting in this platform with this transmission, there a number of things that can be done, though no one thing has proven to be a complete cure.
Shifter: Going with an aftermarket shifter such as the ones from Hurst or MGW does help to some degree. The shifter in these cars is considered "remote" as it is bolted to the car body and the transmission, as opposed to the older t-5, which had the shifter mounted directly on the end of the transmission. Having the shifter connected to the body and the transmission at the same time seems to cause some binding issues under load. A tighter aftermarket shifter with harder polyurethane bushings will help to limit unwanted movement. Poly engine and transmission mounts or a pair of torque limiters will also help, but this engine is known for some weird harmonics, and engine/trans mounts will really bring them out. I have a Hurst in my car, and it did help a bit with the 3rd gear thing. If I could do it again, I would gladly spend the extra $100 for the MGW.
Fluid: I've experimented a bit with fluids from a lightweight Dexron IV through light gear oils like synhromesh and Redline's MTL. The transmission does feel a bit different with various fluids, and seemed to work best with a thicker Dexron III type ATF (Amsoil's Torque Drive to be exact). The lightweight gear oils (thicker than the Torque Drive ATF) did cut down on the rattle that comes from the transmission in neutral at idle with the clutch engaged. I think this rattle is another by-product of the harmonics mentioned above. Ford attempted to remedy this sometime in the '07 model year by switching over to a dual mass flywheel (more on that later).
There is one known solution...swap the transmission for a TR3650 from a GT, or a TR6060 from the GT500. This is made possible by Gaylon Nunn (Nice Pony on some of the other Mustang forums), who makes an adapter plate for the 4.0. More info here... http://www.actionadaption.com/v6-tra...n-adapter.aspx I have considered this option for a couple of years, but never got the push I needed until recently...
To help shifting in this platform with this transmission, there a number of things that can be done, though no one thing has proven to be a complete cure.
Shifter: Going with an aftermarket shifter such as the ones from Hurst or MGW does help to some degree. The shifter in these cars is considered "remote" as it is bolted to the car body and the transmission, as opposed to the older t-5, which had the shifter mounted directly on the end of the transmission. Having the shifter connected to the body and the transmission at the same time seems to cause some binding issues under load. A tighter aftermarket shifter with harder polyurethane bushings will help to limit unwanted movement. Poly engine and transmission mounts or a pair of torque limiters will also help, but this engine is known for some weird harmonics, and engine/trans mounts will really bring them out. I have a Hurst in my car, and it did help a bit with the 3rd gear thing. If I could do it again, I would gladly spend the extra $100 for the MGW.
Fluid: I've experimented a bit with fluids from a lightweight Dexron IV through light gear oils like synhromesh and Redline's MTL. The transmission does feel a bit different with various fluids, and seemed to work best with a thicker Dexron III type ATF (Amsoil's Torque Drive to be exact). The lightweight gear oils (thicker than the Torque Drive ATF) did cut down on the rattle that comes from the transmission in neutral at idle with the clutch engaged. I think this rattle is another by-product of the harmonics mentioned above. Ford attempted to remedy this sometime in the '07 model year by switching over to a dual mass flywheel (more on that later).
There is one known solution...swap the transmission for a TR3650 from a GT, or a TR6060 from the GT500. This is made possible by Gaylon Nunn (Nice Pony on some of the other Mustang forums), who makes an adapter plate for the 4.0. More info here... http://www.actionadaption.com/v6-tra...n-adapter.aspx I have considered this option for a couple of years, but never got the push I needed until recently...
Last edited by roddy; 10-12-2014 at 07:14 AM.
10-12-2014, 04:57 AM
#4
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I have reservations why those posts were reserved, can anybody get in, or do you have to get past the bouncer at the velvet rope? Watupwitdat? IB Confused, which don't take much on a good day. 
10-12-2014, 05:20 AM
#5
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Sorry AP...I'm very slow at putting posts together, and with all the things I'm working on for this thread, it will flow better if everything stays at the start of the thread. For example, it took me one hour to put my thoughts together and type out those few lines in post #1.
