Difference between my 02/3650 and buddy's 99/t-45

[helty]

i came home to pa for a few weeks to hang with friends and family before school starts. anyway, my friend bought his 99gt w/19k about the same time i bought my 02 w/22k last december. well, i havent driven my car for 2 weeks since i flew here, so my buddy let me drive his 99.

i cant believe the difference in the overall feel of the drivetrain. ive always heard about the 3650 grind/notchyness, and the clutch pedal on my 02 feels like im holding a small child under water against his will. i thought this was just normal. then i drove the 99, and it feels so much smoother. the clutch is like butta and doesnt take any effort to hold down, and the shifts are so much smoother and quieter than my 3650. now granted, ive heard several times that the 3650 with its notchiness and all, is "close" to bulletproof. i'll take reliability over comfort/convenience any day. but is this right? are the 99-mid 01's like this? is my clutch supposed to feel so heavy?

another thing, my car likes to lunge in first gear unless i really baby it. my friends shows no signs of this at all. ive heard other mustang guys complain about it and guys on here have told them its normal. is it? someone told me its bad u-joints? should i be worried or not

ive always thought all these little imperfections were normal, but after driving an older car, albeit w/less miles, im jealous, and want to make sure im not ignoring an actual problem with my car. help a stanger out

oh yeah, my 02 now has 33+k on it, and my buddy's 99 is up to 23k, and i havent bothered with the 3650TSB yet. thanks for the help

 

[96ninjaman]

I had a late year '01 with the 3650 that I purchased new and I just got a '00 with only 22k miles. The first thing I could tell is that the clutch seemed lighter. I always thought I would have on leg bigger than the other from driving the '01. I haven't driven the '00 in the city very much, but the shifts seem to be about the same. One thing I hate about the '00 is you have to come to a complete stop (or pretty near) to shift into reverse without getting the "I'm just learning to drive a stick" grinding sound.

 

[matts90gt]

Doesn't that suck.......grinding going into reverse.

 

[Mossberg]

I hate that grind going into reverse. None of my cars do it, but my girl just bought a Mazda 3 5 spd and you have to be damn near stopped or it will grind into reverse. I have to get used to that.

 

[96ninjaman]

It's especially bad since I live on a hill. To back into my driveway I have to come to a stop and hold the brake to avoid the grind. It even does it if the car is rolling backwards!!!!!! I used to let the 01 coast back and then put it in gear as it was leveling off. Not with this one.

 

[twogts4us]

I hate the T-45. And my TR-3650 clutch is light as a feather. The KC in my wife's 01 is at least twice as heavy.
The T-45 is like a baseball bat in a rain barrel compared to the Tremec. I have no problems whatsoever with my TR. The T-45 also likes to pop out of rev.