TKX Install in the Coupe

[AeroCoupe]

Finally quit raining here and was able to get some work done today.

Was able to install the new reverse light, VSS sensor, and NGS harness in the car. Pulled the driver seat and got the carpet pulled back and the new harness installed. The reason for replacing it is that my car was originally a 4 cylinder and Ford quit putting NGS’s in the 4 cylinder Mustangs starting in 91. More on all that here:

Drivetrain Thread '91-93 Four Cylinder Five Speed Cars - No Neutral Gear Switch (NGS) Wiring'

Feb 4, 2023

Went through the T5 and have it back in the car and I decided to finally look into why the NGS has no place to plug in on the car. After some digging around what I am understanding is the four cylinder T5 cars starting in 91 no longer have the NGS. My car was originally a four cylinder that I swapped back in 2002 so I now understand why there is no connection.

I bought a new transmission wiring harness from Ron Francis that has the NGS wiring in it but I wanted to make sure this is plug and play. I looked through my EVTM and the wiring diagrams I have for the car and it appears that all...

• AeroCoupe
• Replies: 12
• Forum: Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech

So that went pretty easy and took a couple hours with interruptions.

Next up was the aluminum driveshaft. I have a drive line company here swap out the yolks and check the balance a few weeks back. That went in with no issues other than the typical battle with the torque arm eating up real estate. There is about 3/4” to 1” of the yolk out of the transmission which is what the T5 had so good to go there.

Adjusted the clutch cable and installed the dust cover.

Started on the X-pipe and how I had the exhaust support bracket stacked between the trans and cross member was too low. So in my case the stack of parts between the trans and the Stifflers cross member is as follows:

Stifflers cross member, Prothane trans mount with the upper preload plate, then the exhaust hanger bracket, and then the TKX spacers from Stifflers.

I also had to slot the mounting holes on the exhaust hanger bracket 1/2” towards the trans mission. The exhaust would not move far enough forward without the slots. That allowed me to get the X-Pipe bolted up to the shorties and then get the cat back bolted up.

Put 3 quarts of Tremec HP in the trans and buttoned that up.

Still have the lower shifter boot to install and figure out the setup on the MGW shifter but will do that tomorrow.

 

[AeroCoupe]

Got fresh plugs installed and hooked the ignition wires back up. Fired the motor up and everything sounded good. No exhaust leaks and no fluid leaks. Didn’t get to the shifter stuff as I had things to do while the weather was nice.

Gotta mow tomorrow as there is more rain in the forecast for Tuesday and at that point I will have to bail my lawn.

Was good to get it fired up but it will be better to run it through some years here shortly.

 

[WhiteCobra95]

Thanks a million for documenting this. A TKX is on my Christmas list. Seeing your process is great for planning out the potential future swap. My wrenching time these days is very limited, so anticipating the steps where fabrication or special parts are required really helps.

 

[Noobz347]

Thanks a million for documenting this. A TKX is on my Christmas list.

Pick one up for me too.

 

[AeroCoupe]

Well its been forever but work has finally subsided and I got back on it this weekend and we are done. Fired the motor up and ran through the gears on the jack stands (you hush your mouth) and everything is buttery smooth. Have some pictures of the MGW shifter installation of which you will notice the crazy offset to the driver side but the TKX moves the shifter about 1" to the passenger side vs. the T5. You can see here how I had to offset cut the new lower shifter boot to the passenger side. I hacked up the old one and figured out about what I needed to do then just to small cuts on the new one and got it where it needed to be.

Here is the shifter installed and you will see how I offset the base and handle to get it where I wanted it. You can offset the stock shifter handle on the stock Tremec shifter with a 1" billet block that you can find online and I believe eBay.

Trial fitting the MGW shifter ball

Shifter boot and center console reinstalled

And if anyone asks the two left red buttons are for the ABS and the other two were for my Mark VIII fan before I got the DCC controller so they do nothing now.

Anyhow, its done and now I just have to put about 500 miles on the new clutch and transmission before I can put the drag radials to work. I will be getting pictures of all the T5 stuff and will post up an for sale add for all of that here in a couple weeks. Hopefully someone close will want to buy it all as I really do not want to ship anything due to the high cost of all of that.

 

[nicholase]

How you like it compared to the T5? Were you able to get many miles on it? I'm thinking about doing this myself.

 

[AeroCoupe]

Shifting is a little more notchy but that is to be expected as the shift mechanism is different. My biggest reason for doing this is if I want to push the motor combo any further I was going to kill a T-5. I am wanting to get a Ford Performance M-6010-BOSS302 block and go solid roller so I can push the rpm's which at the hp level I am at would kill the stock block and the T-5.

I will say that everywhere I read that the shifter will move over to the passenger side by 1" was absolutely correct. You can buy a billet block with bolting to move the stock shifter or get an MGW and pretty much make up for it.

Overall I really like the transmission and with the MGW shifter it is really nice. I still want to dump the 3.73's and go to 3.55's.

 

[limp]

Shifting is a little more notchy but that is to be expected as the shift mechanism is different. My biggest reason for doing this is if I want to push the motor combo any further I was going to kill a T-5. I am wanting to get a Ford Performance M-6010-BOSS302 block and go solid roller so I can push the rpm's which at the hp level I am at would kill the stock block and the T-5.

I will say that everywhere I read that the shifter will move over to the passenger side by 1" was absolutely correct. You can buy a billet block with bolting to move the stock shifter or get an MGW and pretty much make up for it.

Overall I really like the transmission and with the MGW shifter it is really nice. I still want to dump the 3.73's and go to 3.55's.

What RPM"s are you turning at 70 with the 373 gears? I was going to go 350 in my corvette, but have been thinking more towards the 3.73 gears...
The mustang has 3.50 gears but I have not had it on the road yet to see how I like it..

 

[limp]

I have to buy a TKX like in the pic for my corvette , or I can get the C2 shifter separate and install it on a TKX... This one is from Hanlons..

 

[AeroCoupe]

So I am running a 275/40R17 in the rear and at 70mph it is right around 2300 rpm. With the 3.55's it would be 2200 rpm so not a lot of drop but I think they would make 1st gear a lot more usable.

 

[limp]

What first gear is in a T5?? I know the TKX offers two different gear ratios with a 1st gear of 3.27 or 2.89...
I have the 2.89 1st gear .68 OD in my mustang and want to drive it some before ordering my Corvette TKX..

 

[AeroCoupe]

So I have the 2.89 as well and my T5 had the 3.35 so that really helped but this 331 just blows through 1st. Thinking the 3.55’s would help. Not doing them anytime soon but if I ever have a reason like carrier bearings or pinion bearing they are gone.

 

[86HO5.0]

Have you considered 3.27's? 3.73's-3.55 is a very minor change for a lot of effort.

 

[limp]

So I have the 2.89 as well and my T5 had the 3.35 so that really helped but this 331 just blows through 1st. Thinking the 3.55’s would help. Not doing them anytime soon but if I ever have a reason like carrier bearings or pinion bearing they are gone.

Thats a pretty low first gear in the T5... I " assume " the 3.27 gear offer is for people wanting to run higher rear end gears, 3.30 and higher (lower numerically)..
When I was young the Muncies on our old chevy's were M20 wide ratio, M21 close ratio, and M22 " rock crusher" ... I NEVER saw a Rock Crusher but knew about them... The first gear on the 20 was 2.54 and the 21 and 22 had a 2.20 first gear... This is where all of the 3.73, 4.11, and 4.56 rear end ratio's came from using these tall first gear transmission and it was all about street and drag racing..

I was told one time that 1st gears main function is to get you going from a dead stop... NONE of the other gears can do it, at least not easily... Now from 5 mph and up you can be in any other gear and your car will accelerate.... Makes you think about 1st gear in a different way

 

[nicholase]

Any info on VSS. If you mentioned it I missed it. Did you reuse the one from the T5? I believe the TKX uses the 7 tooth internal gear. So it should be just a plug and play right?

 

[JMG9350]

It's the same VSS.

 

[AeroCoupe]

So the YKX does have its own VSS. There is also a provision for a mechanical speedo so you simply remove the VSS from your T5 and install it into the TKX and plug your speedo cable into that. I believe this is what JMG9350 was saying.

I will add that the TKX VSS and reverse light switch are both on the passenger side so it takes some creative wire routing to hook up the reverse lights.

 

[limp]

So the YKX does have its own VSS. There is also a provision for a mechanical speedo so you simply remove the VSS from your T5 and install it into the TKX and plug your speedo cable into that. I believe this is what JMG9350 was saying.

I will add that the TKX VSS and reverse light switch are both on the passenger side so it takes some creative wire routing to hook up the reverse lights.

I will be depinning alot of my ECU that came with my LS1 and have been following Branden on LT1swap.com... He claims that you need a VSS to tell the ECU the car is moving... I will be hooking up my cable speedo ( I like the stock C2 dash) so the electronic should supply my VSS signal.... At least thats what I hope for... Sending my ECU to LT1swap.com to remove the VATS ( security) and a few other things..
I have been forced into the future with this LS engine.. No carb, No distributor.... I am lost .... LOL

 

[AeroCoupe]

So you can just use the VSS that comes on the TKX and program in the pulse count.

 

[limp]

So you can just use the VSS that comes on the TKX and program in the pulse count.

I am ASS U ME ing that the VSS on the TKX works.. My understanding from LTswap.com is we are not concerned with how fast were going, just that its going so I don't think any pulse count is necessary with at least with my 01 LS1 and its ECU...
You can email Branden at LT1 swap.com and ask him... He has responded to my emails..... Seems like a good guy