Official Tremec 3650 Issues Thread
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Any other major issues on the tremac-equiped cars?
Well, I have an 03 GT, same story -- got cold @ 4000 miles, clunk / grind, dealer telle me it's normal & they all do that. I guess he was 1/2 right
So, now I'm 12K away from the end of my warrentee, which translates to between 4 and 6 months. I'm trying to decide if I go in and buy an extended warentee, so I can get a new tranny when this one goes T.U. , or just forget the warentee and buy a good tranny after it does.
So, I have 2 questions. First, do these trannys actually fail, or just get worse and worse? It's easier to deal with a slow failure. I had a car many years ago that progressively lost 1st, then 4th, then reverse over a period of 6 mos. I didn't replace it until I was down to 2nd and 3rd.
The second question is, what other major failures should I worry about? If the tremec is the only "it's gonna fail in > 100K miles" part on the car, then I'll live with it. If there are other fails=alot parts, then maybe I need the extended warentee.
Actually, a 3rd question, as I write this. Can I extend the life of the tranny if I don't use 2nd? I often skip it anyway, and go straight from 1st to 3rd when just putting around town. Does this buy me anything?
I don't do it to help 2nd, I just hate, oh, all of the gear ratios. That's another reason to just let her die
But if it helps, so much the better.
thanks,
dave.
Well, I have an 03 GT, same story -- got cold @ 4000 miles, clunk / grind, dealer telle me it's normal & they all do that. I guess he was 1/2 right
So, now I'm 12K away from the end of my warrentee, which translates to between 4 and 6 months. I'm trying to decide if I go in and buy an extended warentee, so I can get a new tranny when this one goes T.U. , or just forget the warentee and buy a good tranny after it does.
So, I have 2 questions. First, do these trannys actually fail, or just get worse and worse? It's easier to deal with a slow failure. I had a car many years ago that progressively lost 1st, then 4th, then reverse over a period of 6 mos. I didn't replace it until I was down to 2nd and 3rd.
The second question is, what other major failures should I worry about? If the tremec is the only "it's gonna fail in > 100K miles" part on the car, then I'll live with it. If there are other fails=alot parts, then maybe I need the extended warentee.
Actually, a 3rd question, as I write this. Can I extend the life of the tranny if I don't use 2nd? I often skip it anyway, and go straight from 1st to 3rd when just putting around town. Does this buy me anything?
I don't do it to help 2nd, I just hate, oh, all of the gear ratios. That's another reason to just let her die
But if it helps, so much the better.thanks,
dave.
psnous
Founding Member
I've been going 1-3 for several months now milking it til the TSB comes out. If you plan on keeping the car for awhile the extended warranty is a good thing unless of course you're planning a bunch of modifications.
psnous said:
Catch-22. If there's not much else that goes wrong with 'em besides the tremec, I'll let it expire so I can modify it. If I need to worry about other expensive failures, I'll wait until the extended warrenty runs out.
I honestly can't think of anything besides the tranny & engine that is really expensive. Since I know the tranny will go, and I don't think the engine ought to let go, I may just let it expire.
dave.
psnous
Founding Member
Yea just remember that any N2O or boost without an extremely good tune will melt the pistons, usually the top ring gap closes up and pops the top of the piston off.
I'm pulling my motor this winter to put rods and pistons in it then a P1SC with 6-8 lbs of boost and putting a T-56 behind it
I'm pulling my motor this winter to put rods and pistons in it then a P1SC with 6-8 lbs of boost and putting a T-56 behind it
Tremec shift issue
I have a 2003 GT. Took it in to the local dealer in western Okla. today to see what they would do about the shiftinf issue from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. Head mechanic called the Ford hotline and they told him to order the following parts:
3r3z*7124
3r3z*7102
3r3z*7107
3r3z*7230
1r3z*7109 they did not include 1r3z*7H150 as some of the posts did.
The Hotline told him that there WOULD be a TSB issued. They are trying to roundup 500 complete parts kits before issueing the TSB. My parts are on "expediate" order and should be installed in the next several days.
I have a 2003 GT. Took it in to the local dealer in western Okla. today to see what they would do about the shiftinf issue from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. Head mechanic called the Ford hotline and they told him to order the following parts:
3r3z*7124
3r3z*7102
3r3z*7107
3r3z*7230
1r3z*7109 they did not include 1r3z*7H150 as some of the posts did.
The Hotline told him that there WOULD be a TSB issued. They are trying to roundup 500 complete parts kits before issueing the TSB. My parts are on "expediate" order and should be installed in the next several days.
bbalzer said:
What exactly are these parts? What are the technical names. I have been studying a T-3650 service manual and am curious to see what they are replacing. From the looks of things, the shift rail system is overly complicated. The synchros themselves look no different then the T-5/T-45 synchros but the setup the T-3650 used to shift them seems over-complicated to me with the use of seperate LONG shift rails. The t-5 setup seems so simple with it's single main rain and 5-R lever. I'm curious to see if they are replacing the rail system or the synchros themselves. I'm also trying to score a local broken T-3650 to pull apart and mess around with myself. Might come in handy learning how to rebuild these. I am already pretty proficient rebuilding the T-5
Also, The ford hotline said they were waiting for 500 kits? Is that nationwide? I would think most everyone would want this done. My T-3650 is tolerable with only a 1-2 notchy feeling, but i would plan on having the work done before the warranty expires anyway. I want to make sure nothing happens in the future
gtrackd02
New Member
well, I just recieved My *upgraded* t-3650 yesterday after nearly a 2 month wait!
I was told that It was on backorder...
Then i was told they were goin to give me an upgraded trans with different syncros 1st-4th gears and also other revised parts in it?????(that was the reason for the backorder i was told) I cannot confirm this as my situation was a lil shady...
Because of the mods on my car they didnt want to touch it... But said i could still warranty it if i brought just the trans in... so i did ...
Anyway I guess they might actually be doin somthin with these things now , I hope the story I got from the dealer was true about getting upgrades throughout the trans... I hope this new one works out for me! and I guess I cant bitch about it if it dont cause i should have had to pay for it anyway!
I was told that It was on backorder...
Then i was told they were goin to give me an upgraded trans with different syncros 1st-4th gears and also other revised parts in it?????(that was the reason for the backorder i was told) I cannot confirm this as my situation was a lil shady...
Because of the mods on my car they didnt want to touch it... But said i could still warranty it if i brought just the trans in... so i did ...
Anyway I guess they might actually be doin somthin with these things now , I hope the story I got from the dealer was true about getting upgrades throughout the trans... I hope this new one works out for me! and I guess I cant bitch about it if it dont cause i should have had to pay for it anyway!
gtrackd02
New Member
Mustang5L5 said:
Mine's still on the shop floor, wanna come tear into the supposedly upgraded one to see if there's any difference?lol
gtrackd02 said:Mine's still on the shop floor, wanna come tear into the supposedly upgraded one to see if there's any difference?lol
Haha, sure, but i need to see a non-upgraded one first to compare.
Actually, some good side by side crisp clear pics should do the trick. Being a mechanical engineer, i'm very interested in what the actual design flaw was and how they decided to fix it.
SilverGTV8 said:
Not to be disrespectful by correcting you, but in the T-3650, it's 1-2 synchro, 3-4 sycnrho, 5th sycnro and reverse synchro.
The problem is the parts bblazer listed address 2nd gear only. They are for the synchro slider ring (which also locks 1st gear as well) the blocker ring and 2nd gear and the shift fork.
It does nothing to address the 2-3 shift notchyness. The 2-3 shift is pretty complex as it returns the 1-2 sycnro slider to the neutral position and changes fo the 3-4 synchro. Most people don't have an issue with 4th gear. It's just the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts.
So i'm afraid if the TSB is for those parts, a lot of guys are still going to be complaining about the 2-3 shift.
WHat we need is a TSB that replaced both the 1-2 synchro and the 3-4 synchro.
gtrackd02
New Member
i was told that both the 1-2 and 3-4 were being replaced, and also a bunch of other parts that i did not get an explanation for were being replaced as well..
He sounded pretty sure of himself on the syncro replacment though..
But who knows how credible a ford dealership's service manager is...
He sounded pretty sure of himself on the syncro replacment though..
But who knows how credible a ford dealership's service manager is...
gtrackd02 said:
I had my tranny replaced at 8k miles, 3rd-4th crunch, a bad one at that.
I have 36k miles now, plagued with just cold tranny crunches from 1-2. I'm afraid to miss a shift, tranny might go boom now that warranty is out. I heard from a service manager that ford redesigned the syncros and they are now stronger than before
.But the tranny is junk. I haven't met a 02 owner yet that hasn't replaced the 3650 at least once before hitting the 10k mark.
Mustang5L5 said:
That's true. Most people think that each gear has it's own synchro but isn't true. As far as the TSB it should not only state the two synchros to be replaced but seals and bearings. God knows what kind of metal shaving destroyed the bearings in the transmission for the guys that grind a lot.
I don't think the syncros are failing here. They are just too small to speed up the beefy 2/3 cluster. The fix kit has thinner gears (read less mass) and I am not sure on the syncros if they are larger or just a different material. Anyways, my car still has the hard 2/3 when cold, but no grinding yet. It is summer though.
psnous
Founding Member
