How many people didn't have problems with their Tremec 3650?

[Yanos]

I almost bought a GT 2001 with 12 000 miles this weekend. Before officially signing everything, I obviously wanted to read a bit about this generation. I found this forum and began to read about the huge tranny problem. Is it THAT spread? Will I AUTOMATICALLY blow my tranny after X miles? Who did NOT have tranny problems after a good amount of miles and do you drag race often? The Stang is sooooooo nice that I would be ready to take the risk.

Is it possible to swap for the tranny of the older gens (1999-2000)?

Thanks for your help

 

[StangLou]

Honestly the T-3650 is a good racing tranny imo. I have had 0 problems out of mine when I drive it hard and powershift ect... Its just normal easy driving that it seems to get notchy in the 1st-2nd shift in. I dont have the grind a lot of people do, so I guess I am biased to think its an ok tranny.
As for how widespread it is, again it just seems luck of the draw. Probably a lot of the shifting problems people encounter are from their own bad shifting, ect... I know I am guilty of this sometimes, but Im probably one of the few to admit that I can mess up lol. Some of these cars do just seem to have bad luck with these trannys though. Odds are you will find something you dont like about any car you buy though. A clunk here, a pop there, a squeak from around this area, ect...
My .02c

 

[just some guy]

my tranny was fine, then i raced the car, made about 150 passes and destroyed the thing. 2-3-4 rebuild. its a crapshoot, if i had the money id get a TKO v.2

 

[Yanos]

Would any tranny last after 150 low to high 13s passes? I currently own a 944 Turbo (to be changed for the Stang) and the clutch/tranny would blow after 15 or 20 passes. That's why I'm selling it, to get a drag queen that'll be tougher. Currently, after all the reading on the forum, I'm not ALL that sure that the 2001-2004 Stang is a drag queen with its weak tranny.

 

[Screwed2V]

Never had a problem with mine.

 

['96&'01Stang]

No problems with mine

 

[twogts4us]

No problems with mine either, other than needing a rowing thru the gears when it's cold. But this has simply become the routine. Most people in the know will tell you the Tremec is a better transmission than the T-45. I've got both, and I know that no two cars, no matter how similiar, are going to drive exactly alike, so I really can't exactly compare them, but still, I prefer the Tremec.

 

[Yanos]

Thanks for your comments guys! It convainced me to buy the Stang in question. A nice '01 GT with Bullit wheels.

 

[FallenPhoenix]

I've had zero problems aside from just learning a new trans. I'm not real sure what I'm looking for as far as problems go but just cruising around town seems good aside from the relatively narrow shift gates ('95 nissan pickup was my previous ride). I haven't had her over 3.5k RPM yet anyway, still less than 200 miles on the clock

 

[BlkDragon]

No problems here either. It's a little clunky but a solid tranny.

 

[flappy3]

Zero problems. Obviously, there have been enough problems to warrant these types of threads. It is no doubt the notchiest 1-2 shift I've ever encountered, but no grind for me. I've only got 4500 miles though. Time enough for the sucker to go.

 

[pony_vert02]

maybe you should have asked " How many people DO have problems with their transmissions.."

 

[SonicB]

30k miles on mine with no problems.

btw - replace the stock shifter - it sucks.

 

[BLUE03GT]

18k miles on my 03GT and no problems .... guess im lucky

 

[Modular2v]

11k miles on my 03gt and close to 50 passes....no problems so far By the way what is the difference between a TKO v2 and a regular TKO?

 

[GinoGT]

Mine's just fine. Only when it's very cold out will the 1-2 shift feel a little rougher than normal, but it's far from even annoying me. Especially after it warms up, it just slides right into gear. The only thing I can say against it is that it might "pop" when I'm shifting from 2nd to 3rd, but this happens very rarely.

 

[DarkHorse02GT]

Mine is great after almost 40,000 miles of fairly hard driving. Just a bit notchy from 1st to 2nd (but its always been that way, doesnt bother me .). I'd say go for it. Get a Steeda Tri-Ax or some other aftermarket shifter ASAP. The stock shifter is so sloppy in comparison.

 

[XtorT'r]

61,000mi's on mine and it just started popping out of 4th and reverse when it is first engaged. It doesn't do it often. I get a weird vibration between 1300-1600 RPM(may be a engine mount issue). Other than that it has been good .
No more than a hand full of street drag races, but my wife learned to drive a stick on it too.

 

[cjist1]

40 K miles, No problems whatsoever. It is a bit bulky feeling in parking lots and at really low speeds...but I dont drive at low speeds too often

 

[GinoGT]

Tremec changed the fluid fill specs on the 3650 to 3.4 quarts of Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF. Some people get noticeably smoother shifts by lowering the amount of fluid to the new spec.