Clutch Fork and TKO 600

HGFireHazard

Member
Apr 10, 2005
460
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17
Michigan
Hey gang, it has been a while! I pulled my car out of a 2 year storage and am back on the road and looking to fix up some of the little issues that I've been having, one of which has me wondering what exactly the problem may be.

Ever since installing my TKO 600 I've had problems with grinding into 3rd gear when under full throttle. When I'm taking it nice and easy it's very smooth and I don't have any issues.

I read back then that we could use our clutch forks instead of a Fox fork without problem, but I'm wondering if that could be part of the problem or not and was looking for some insight on the differences between the two. I was also wondering if I should or may need to adjust the height of the pivot (with washers) in the bell housing. I haven't looked underneath this year yet, but I think I remember back when after installing and hooking up the clutch cable that when the fork/throw out bearing is up against the pressure plate, it didn't look exactly flush. I suppose I can't rule out the transmission as being the problem, but it works beautifully in every other condition and I'm really doubting that's it.

If anyone has any insight that can point me in a direction that would be helpful. Thanks in advance!
 
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If you can use an SN clutch fork, that's the first I've ever heard of it. The 3550 style transmission is suposed to be used with a Fox clutch fork as far as I know.

Kurt
 
If you can use an SN clutch fork, that's the first I've ever heard of it. The 3550 style transmission is suposed to be used with a Fox clutch fork as far as I know.

Kurt

Thanks for that! Well I can tell you first hand that I've been using my stock clutch fork since installed, and the only major problem I have is what I mentioned above. A Fox fork is cheap enough to buy so I'll probably order one tonight and compare the two first hand and see what I come up with.

When I installed everything I also bought a MM adjustable clutch linkage kit (adjusts at the firewall, not the cable itself), and I have the adjustment practically all the way out and I thought that was a little odd too.

If anyone has any other thoughts or ideas I'd be glad to hear them, but it sounds like my plan will be to order a Fox fork and see how things change after switching them out.

Thanks again Kurt :)
 
How old is the transmission? The early TKO 500/600 had issues with 3rd gear blocker rings that caused problems going into 3rd under heavy throttle. Mine does the same thing as you described, shifts fine normally but has problems going into 3rd under wide open throttle. I have a steel SFI bell and have the extended (correct) clutch fork. I bought my TKO600 new back around '04.

Here's a link talking about this issue...
Any TKO 600 Users Had Third Gear Issues? - Ford Mustang Forums : Corral.net Mustang Forum
 
How old is the transmission? The early TKO 500/600 had issues with 3rd gear blocker rings that caused problems going into 3rd under heavy throttle. Mine does the same thing as you described, shifts fine normally but has problems going into 3rd under wide open throttle. I have a steel SFI bell and have the extended (correct) clutch fork. I bought my TKO600 new back around '04.

Here's a link talking about this issue...
Any TKO 600 Users Had Third Gear Issues? - Ford Mustang Forums : Corral.net Mustang Forum

That's an interesting thread over there. Mine doesn't hit a wall as some described, it grinds but I have to de-rev before it will go into gear. I have the Tremec aluminum BH, but I didn't index it. It sounds like I have some more reading to do. If my memory serves me correctly I bought all my driveline parts in '07.

I wonder if I should pull the transmission and see about indexing the BH, getting the correct fork, and then putting it back and seeing what happens, but I'd be unhappy if nothing changed.
 
The cast aluminum ones don't need to be indexed. It's almost worth getting a body mount scatter shield just so you don't have to index the damn bellhousing.

Kurt
 
Well thanks for the heads up on the indexing guys. I ordered my fork today. After extensive reading I believe I'm concluding that I don't have an internal transmission problem as people with 2006ish TKO's did. My symptom is not that of a lock out where the gate is not available, it's a grind. I believe I may just be having a simple total clutch disengagement issue, possibly partially related to my choice of clutch fork and/or adjustment in the system.

I'll be doing some tinkering when the fork comes and attempt to align everything correctly. I'll try to keep this updated with what I'm trying and what changes. Thanks again for the input and help!