Official Tremec 3650 Issues Thread
- Thread starter Twisted
- Start date
slomod said:
I have. I think that it is worn syncros. The syncros are supposed to bring the next gear to the same speed as the other one. when they get worn it takes a second to get the gears to the same speed. If you speed shift instead of powershifting it will cure it for a while. at least it did on mine. If anyone knows of a company who makes upgraded syncros for this tranny i would appreciate it if youd e-mail me the name of the company
mustang023yes, your stupid
Either deal with the issues or get another trans. If it's grinding now, save up yer money.
Sad but true, Ford is in the business to sell cars, not fix them. This is evidenced by how little they will pay for warranty repairs. Your dealer/local garage is there to fix them. And if the dealer can convince you to foot the bill for a repair, TSB or not, that is more money for them.
It's part of what motivates them to charge you for a repair first. Also if you get to many warranty repair issues, as a dealer, Ford starts checking into each one and makes it harder for you, as the dealer, to get approval for a warr. repair. And if the service depart says OK it's under warranty and Ford says no, the dealer eats it. This is what I learned from my problems.
Either deal with the issues or get another trans. If it's grinding now, save up yer money.
Sad but true, Ford is in the business to sell cars, not fix them. This is evidenced by how little they will pay for warranty repairs. Your dealer/local garage is there to fix them. And if the dealer can convince you to foot the bill for a repair, TSB or not, that is more money for them.
It's part of what motivates them to charge you for a repair first. Also if you get to many warranty repair issues, as a dealer, Ford starts checking into each one and makes it harder for you, as the dealer, to get approval for a warr. repair. And if the service depart says OK it's under warranty and Ford says no, the dealer eats it. This is what I learned from my problems.This one was my fault, I thought!!!
Running with an "02" Camaro SS on Saturday, night I missed 2nd gear. Ground the crap out of it as the rev-limiter has been eliminated in my "04" GT. Now I have the 2nd gear grinding problem. Can't shift up into 2nd nor down into 2nd without grinding or being patient with it. Have a standard GT shifter in it and have missed 2nd gear before. Always thought it was me but now after reading the posts I am beginning to think different.
So, has anyone encountered this same situation? What was damaged in the tranny and how expensive were the parts? I have yet to remove the tranny and open it up for inspection as it is my daily driver to and from work.
Please feel free to email me.
Running with an "02" Camaro SS on Saturday, night I missed 2nd gear. Ground the crap out of it as the rev-limiter has been eliminated in my "04" GT. Now I have the 2nd gear grinding problem. Can't shift up into 2nd nor down into 2nd without grinding or being patient with it. Have a standard GT shifter in it and have missed 2nd gear before. Always thought it was me but now after reading the posts I am beginning to think different.
So, has anyone encountered this same situation? What was damaged in the tranny and how expensive were the parts? I have yet to remove the tranny and open it up for inspection as it is my daily driver to and from work.
Please feel free to email me.
sorry for bringing this up again, but thanks to this thread I went to the dealer and mentionned the tsb and without even trying the car they ordered the kit and will do it next week
i thought it would have been harder to get them to fix it but was really surprised how they handled it
the car is a GT 2002 convertible with 10 000 miles
Martin
i thought it would have been harder to get them to fix it but was really surprised how they handled it
the car is a GT 2002 convertible with 10 000 miles
Martin
Mustang225
Founding Member
- Jul 23, 2000
- 424
- 5
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04gtdrop said:what does TSB stand for?????
Technical Service Bulletin (not quite a recall, but close).
Bring this huge post back from haitus!
03 Mach 1, the 1-2 clunk was noticed by me around 4000 miles (3rd owner).
I tried 3.2q Dexron III, maybe helped a tad
I tried Tri-ax shifter, no help
I tried a manual f/w adjuster and metal quadrant, no help
I tried 3.2q mix of Lucas tranny fix + Mobil 1 ATF, no help
I am out of warranty, the TSB costs $1646.57. I would like Ford to buy me a new transmission.
03 Mach 1, the 1-2 clunk was noticed by me around 4000 miles (3rd owner).
I tried 3.2q Dexron III, maybe helped a tad
I tried Tri-ax shifter, no help
I tried a manual f/w adjuster and metal quadrant, no help
I tried 3.2q mix of Lucas tranny fix + Mobil 1 ATF, no help
I am out of warranty, the TSB costs $1646.57. I would like Ford to buy me a new transmission.
Mattstang04
15 Year Member
I have the 1-2 bump and the high rpm 3rd gear problem. The problem hasn't improved or gotten worse in the past 11xxx miles. Been that way since I got my 04 GT with 13xxx on the odo. Thus far I have just adapted my shifting style but it still stinks.
Twisted said:
There's a whole bunch of pages here, but I just wanted to chime in with what I have found regarding the latest TR-3650s.
According to Tremec, the use of Mobil 1 ATF will cause a "nibble" when the ATF is cold. They recommend the use of Texaco/Halvoline DexIII/Mercon non-synthetic ATF only to prevent this from happening.
1st to 2nd grind too
Bought my '03 GT in August '06 with 26k on it. I now have a little over 29k. Have had the 1-2 shift grind since I bought the car. Local Ford dealer said condition was normal. Have tried all kinds of techniques to get it to go into 2nd smooth. Nothing works consistently and grinds 9 times out of 10. Every so often it doesn't go into 3rd that great either. Installed a Pro 5.0 short shifter, but had no effect on the problem.
Reading pretty much the entire thread here, there seems to be no guarantee that even the fix per the TSB is a definite.
I have had real good experience with AMS OIL products and will be trying different tranny fluid in the short term. Hope it helps shifting some, until a proven fix is found.
Is there another tranny model that will swap in without much\any modification for an 03 GT?
Bought my '03 GT in August '06 with 26k on it. I now have a little over 29k. Have had the 1-2 shift grind since I bought the car. Local Ford dealer said condition was normal. Have tried all kinds of techniques to get it to go into 2nd smooth. Nothing works consistently and grinds 9 times out of 10. Every so often it doesn't go into 3rd that great either. Installed a Pro 5.0 short shifter, but had no effect on the problem.
Reading pretty much the entire thread here, there seems to be no guarantee that even the fix per the TSB is a definite.
I have had real good experience with AMS OIL products and will be trying different tranny fluid in the short term. Hope it helps shifting some, until a proven fix is found.
Is there another tranny model that will swap in without much\any modification for an 03 GT?
BlackenedSVT
Active Member
30 miles on the TR-3650 total and it buzzes while idling, and grinds gears while downshifting at sub-40 mph if I don't rev match or double-clutch to downshift. Upshifts are pretty damn smooth though, and downshifts are buttery smooth if I double-clutch. If I try just rev-matching or downshifting, I will hear the turbine whirring sound of the synchros (takes about 3-5 seconds before I can actually put it into a lower gear unless I want to hear grinding). It still has the factory fill ATF.
Rickey_Bobby
New Member
...that buzz your talking about.... does it sound like marbles in the tranny bouncing around?
Cause thats what mine sounds like, but I have NO shifting problems at all. I can jump right out of the S2000 and into the stang and shift the same. Granted the 3650 is notchier feeling, I can still shift as fast with no grind at all.
But the noises this tranny makes at idle and when under heavy load at an RPM lower than 2K scare the poopy out of me...
Ricky Bobby: Yep, it sounds almost like the sewing machine sound of the 4.6 3V V8 engine (and yes, it made the sound since it was brand spanking new) but more muffled. As soon as you pull the clutch in from the flywheel, the buzzing stops. I agree that the 3650 is a pretty notchy shifter. Without double-clutching the downshifts, I have to muscle my way around the shifter. I've gotten used to it enough that it isn't a problem anymore, but I wish it was a tad more refined. Ford and Tremec can't even agree on a uniform fill capacity.
Rickey_Bobby
New Member
How long has it been doing this? Have you noticed any affects or worsening of the noise over time?
-Steve
Rickey_Bobby
New Member
