Well I've now put 450 miles on the rebuild. Results? Happy. A lot happy.
The first stab at fixing my 2007 V6s T5 woes involved a SPEC Stage 1 clutch and resurfacing/cutting the stock flywheel along with new ToB, slave, fluids. This did nothing to fix the sticky/notchy gears of the T5. (of course) I was still putting up with hard 1sts, 3rds and reverse.
The Spec clutch fried in just under a year. Very disappointed.
450 miles ago I went all-in, or as all-in as I could afford. The T3650 swap was just too much and I don't have any local mechanics I'd trust with the delicate particulars of that swap. So I did find a transmission specific shop familar with Fords and a place that stocked quality rebuild kits. They had the Ford Racing World Class T5 kits in stock and ready to go.
After examining the stock flywheel, another cut would risk it being out of spec. So I went ahead and ordered up a SPEC aluminum flywheel since that's all anyone seemed to carry in stock and with decent reviews. I paired it with a Centerforce dual-friction (with the weights) clutch kit. Wanted beefier for sure after my Spec issues.
Result...
The T5 doesn't feel like a T5. It's super smooth and engagements are quick and fast. No hang ups. The Centerforce is one of the lightest clutch pedals I've used. It's close to the old SVT Focus in pedal feel. Yet it grabs super strong. The magic is in those weights? I don't know, but it works.
The Centerforce is quiet. The bearing/weight chatter-when in neutral-is barely audible. My old Nissan 350z's stock 6-speed was about three-times as noisy for comparison!
The CF grabs like a monster and sends gobs of power to the rear. The light-weight flywheel is super easy in rush hour as I can just leave it in first or second and ride the brake with the clutch fully engaged. Doesn't stall the motor...to a point. Being a light-weight clutch it took all of a day to get use to slipping it correctly. The only time I "notice" the clutch is when going up hill from a stop. Meaning it makes itself known more so than a stock clutch.
I'm super happy with this rebuild and recommend it to anyone frustrated with their early V6s sub-par T5. Only thing to look out for are build dates on anything past Model Year 2006. My 2007 was born Jan 07 which is before June and that's the cut-off for when Ford switched the flywheel style on the V6s. You can still do it; just requires different parts.
The first stab at fixing my 2007 V6s T5 woes involved a SPEC Stage 1 clutch and resurfacing/cutting the stock flywheel along with new ToB, slave, fluids. This did nothing to fix the sticky/notchy gears of the T5. (of course) I was still putting up with hard 1sts, 3rds and reverse.
The Spec clutch fried in just under a year. Very disappointed.
450 miles ago I went all-in, or as all-in as I could afford. The T3650 swap was just too much and I don't have any local mechanics I'd trust with the delicate particulars of that swap. So I did find a transmission specific shop familar with Fords and a place that stocked quality rebuild kits. They had the Ford Racing World Class T5 kits in stock and ready to go.
After examining the stock flywheel, another cut would risk it being out of spec. So I went ahead and ordered up a SPEC aluminum flywheel since that's all anyone seemed to carry in stock and with decent reviews. I paired it with a Centerforce dual-friction (with the weights) clutch kit. Wanted beefier for sure after my Spec issues.
Result...
The T5 doesn't feel like a T5. It's super smooth and engagements are quick and fast. No hang ups. The Centerforce is one of the lightest clutch pedals I've used. It's close to the old SVT Focus in pedal feel. Yet it grabs super strong. The magic is in those weights? I don't know, but it works.
The Centerforce is quiet. The bearing/weight chatter-when in neutral-is barely audible. My old Nissan 350z's stock 6-speed was about three-times as noisy for comparison!
The CF grabs like a monster and sends gobs of power to the rear. The light-weight flywheel is super easy in rush hour as I can just leave it in first or second and ride the brake with the clutch fully engaged. Doesn't stall the motor...to a point. Being a light-weight clutch it took all of a day to get use to slipping it correctly. The only time I "notice" the clutch is when going up hill from a stop. Meaning it makes itself known more so than a stock clutch.
I'm super happy with this rebuild and recommend it to anyone frustrated with their early V6s sub-par T5. Only thing to look out for are build dates on anything past Model Year 2006. My 2007 was born Jan 07 which is before June and that's the cut-off for when Ford switched the flywheel style on the V6s. You can still do it; just requires different parts.