roddy

Not smart enough (or quick enough). I have lost the ability to edit the last 2 reserved spots...could I get a moderator to either allow me back in, or remove those 2 posts and I'll continue below? Thanks.

roddy

Thanks AP.

Now for the fun stuff...

A few weeks back, I started having trouble getting the trans to go into ANY gear. At first I suspected the lightweight gear oil I had put in earlier in the summer was causing synchro/engagement issues as the weather was turning cooler...no such luck. I went back to a thinner ATF type fluid, but things only got worse. This led me to suspect either the clutch slave, or the pressure plate. Sigh...transmission has to come out either way. I don't have a hoist. Just jack stands, and a cold hard concrete floor. It's been almost 20 years since I last did the "T-5 bench press", and I'm not looking forward to it, lol. On the bright side, I got the push I needed to pull the stock transmission, and pitch it.

Options?

Nice Pony's adapter plate and TR3650 (GT 5-speed), or 6060 (GT500 6-speed).
Both transmissions require the corresponding shifter and shift linkage, as well as a driveshaft (my nice pretty aluminum one would have to go), re-locating the front O2 sensors, and some minor wiring changes.

The 5-speed swap would likely cost me $2500 if I do all or most of the work.

The 6-speed also requires a cross member and a custom 26 spline 10" clutch disc to be made. This is the option I would prefer to take, but it's just too pricey for me at this time (~$3500).

Another option is to have a T5OD built with a better gear set.

I'm going to try my luck with option number 3. Modern Driveline put a T5OD together for me with a 2.95 1st, 1.94 2nd, 1.34 3rd, and 1.00 4th gear set, and a taller.63 overdrive. Yay! I'll be able to move more than 10 feet in first gear now.

Now to get the clutch stuff figured out...

roddy

Ah, the mysterious 4.0 Mustang clutch...good for all kinds of head scratching. If you own an '05 or '06, you're golden. '08-'10, a little less so. If you have an '07, I'm sorry. Get ready for an exercise in futility. Somewhere in '07, Ford switched to a dual mass flywheel (DMF), and no-one (including Ford) seems to know when. The two types are not compatible with each other, and can not be mixed and matched unless everything including the flywheel is changed. My local Ford dealer says cars built after Dec./06 have the DMF (some aftermarket companies say June/07). My car was built in mid-Feb/07, so it should have the DMF, right? Wrong. I have the older style, which is actually a blessing...there isn't much available aftermarket for cars with the DFM, unless you get a pre-'07 flywheel, and order a clutch kit for an '05 or '06. There are at least a couple of aftermarket companies that make aluminum flywheels for the 4.0, but most people I have seen use them really didn't like them. The S197 mustang is a bit of a heavy pig, and the weight of a cast iron flywheel helps get you rolling.

Enter LuK, a well known aftermarket clutch supplier (and one of the largest in the world). I've used their products before, and never had an issue. They offer a solution that will work on all 4.0 cars from '05-'10. The kit comes with a new iron flywheel, clutch disc, pressure plate, slave cylinder/throw-out bearing, alignment tool, and a pilot bearing. Most shops wanted $700-$750 for this kit, but I found a local supplier that could get it for $500. Sweet. This is a good OEM type replacement, but if you are pushing a lot of torque through it, it may not be enough (this coming from a clown with a blower on his engine). For those with higher power levels in mind, the Spec stage 3+ is tried and true in the 4.0 cars. I decided to go with the LuK kit after seeing that the friction surfaces on my stock flywheel, pressure plate and the clutch disc were in really nice shape. Once I got everything apart, it took me a minute to figure out what got me to this point to begin with...one of the "straps" that holds the two halves of the pressure plate together was FUBAR. This wasn't letting the clutch fully disengage.

Here's a few pics. pic 1 is how it should look, pics 2 and 3 are how it does look, 4 and 5 are the front and back sides of the original clutch disc respectively.

Autonut

I wonder how many miles your transmission has on it now? Is it still going around in circles?

roddy

No...it went right past Belleville, on to Montreal, then disappeared of the face of the earth...UPS has lost my transmission. Last scan says arrival at Lachine (Montreal hub) Sunday night. I called Montreal, and it did not arrive. They say call Vancouver, I call B.S.

Autonut

Oh man, I would be some pissed. What is problem? Let's hope you get it all in one piece.

roddy

They told me they couldn't do anything for me...the shipper has to call them and put a "tracer" on the pkg. I spoke to the shipper and they called UPS, mentioning that it was 2 days past due, and they are entitled to a refund. Suddenly, after sitting in Lachine for 3 days, it now has a departure scan on it this morning...we'll see. If you are an employee AND a customer, you get a big-*** double order of disrespect. I pulled 166 stops for those poo heads yesterday...didn't even get back to the depot 'till 10PM.

Autonut

I hear you. Not much you can do when they have you by the short and curlies. I learned my lesson from the Agent 47 mirrors I bought. Brokerage fees cost me as much as the mirrors and when you call them to complain they are of no help with their it's "policy" attitude. I sucked it up that time, but now I play the game by my policies. I never tell them the true value of anything, everything is a gift or cost less then $25.00 CDN. But in your case, different situation. That is just unacceptable for a company as large as UPS.

That's my rant for the day.

roddy

Meh, it is what it is...can't do much about it, and stressing over it doesn't help. I did hire my own customs broker though, and that saved me over $100 VS what UPS would have charged me. On one hand, I feel bad for not supporting the company I work for, but on the other hand, if they can't even give their own employees a break on brokerage, well, enough said.

roddy

Woo Hoo!!