Questions about the 2002 GT transmissions

[jonnyquest]

Hey all, i'm looking at buying (seriously) a 2002 GT 5/speed with 89,xxx miles, and i'll vouch for the highway miles. Seems to have been taken care that i can tell, stock for the most part.

My concern is, since doing research on this site, the 3650 trannys are problematic. I was wondering what specifically to ask or look for when i do my final check/test ride of the car?

It's a private seller, who worked at a Ford dealership for a couple years.

Also, any other items i need to pay particular attention to?

Oh, is $6000 a good price?

Thanks!
Jonny

 

[BurningRubber]

Ask him if the TSB (technical service bulitten) has been taken care of for the transmission.

When you drive it listen for whining, grinding, and see if it has any issues with kicking out of a gear.

86k is nothing for these cars, and 6k is a great price.

If it all checks out you are getting a great deal.

 

[jonnyquest]

If by any chance he didn't know, would there be a way to find out, maybe by running the vin# by a Ford service tech and checking?

 

[HOOCBB]

Do you happen to know that TSB #?

 

[jonnyquest]

Worst case it does need a new tranny sometime down the road, what is the average cost to have a new/reconditioned/rebuilt one installed?

 

[SilverBullet00]

1250 for a reman uninstalled. If you drive it and and isnt notchy and engages every gears its probably fine. Mine would only grind going into 2nd on a cold morning, but I fixed that by switching tranny fluids.

With stock power you should be alright..

 

[BurningRubber]

Yes, a Ford dealer could run the VIN and tell you if the TSB has been taken care of or not, along with any recall info, and so on.

I don't know the TSB # but here is a VERY, INCREDIBLY, SUPER long thread about it...

http://forums.stangnet.com/328655-official-tremec-3650-issues-thread.html

 

[rabidscoobie]

Yes, a Ford dealer could run the VIN and tell you if the TSB has been taken care of or not, along with any recall info, and so on.

I don't know the TSB # but here is a VERY, INCREDIBLY, SUPER long thread about it...

http://forums.stangnet.com/328655-official-tremec-3650-issues-thread.html

Yeah,but doesnt ford only keep a record for something like 3-4 years,Ford told me something like that before.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Do you happen to know that TSB #?

TSB 04-15-6





The problem is a design flaw in the synchros that doesn't match speed between shifts well.

The typical symptoms are clunking into 2nd gear and sometimes 3rd gear. Unfortunaltely, if it's minimal, this is to be considered normal as most 2002's will have it. It usually does it the first few shifts when cold or in cold weather

Aftermarket shifters and NON-sytnthetic ATF fills can help with the prob (non-syn fluid is less slick, so it helps the synchros grab better)

You can drive fine like this for many miles. These trans are strong, they just shift like junk.

If it's grinding into gear on the up or downshift to 2nd then it's a bigger prob

 

[Silverstang02GT]

The problem is a design flaw in the synchros that doesn't match speed between shifts well.

The typical symptoms are clunking into 2nd gear and sometimes 3rd gear. Unfortunaltely, if it's minimal, this is to be considered normal as most 2002's will have it. It usually does it the first few shifts when cold or in cold weather

I drive a 2002 (bought it new) and notice these problems. talked to ford and that is exactly what they told me. "it's normal". I race my car a lot at the local track and just had my tranny rebuilt about 2 weeks ago. Did i mention I have 135k on my car. I was happy with how long the tranny lasted for as hard has I drive the car.

 

[BurningRubber]

Yeah,but doesnt ford only keep a record for something like 3-4 years,Ford told me something like that before.

Dunno, you would think they kept that stuff permanently so they could reffer back to it for faliures.

 

[Zoie_daGT]

That sounds like a killer deal if everything is good. You can check the VIN at the Ford Dealership. You can also get a pretty built tranny for about 1k. I had mine done at Hanlon Motorsports for about 800ish. Just check to see how well you can shift it and look for general maintainence. Good luck.