T-56 swap

I did a D and D Performance Viper T-56 swap in my 1997 Cobra in May.

There is nothing really out of the ordinary. If you are getting a kit from D and D with the Viper unit they will set you up with the proper clutch setup, a new transmission crossmember, shifter, and driveshaft. The tranny crossmember needs to be relocated towards the rear of the car about 2.5 inches. I reused the one existing hole and drilled the other. On my exhaust(Bassani X-catted) the rear 02 sensors wound up being right in the middle of the now moved crossmember so i had to plug the holes and relocate the sensors back a couple of inches. I guess the sensors could possibly be eliminated with a chip since the are for cat effeciency rather than engine operation like the ones before the cats but I chose to keep them. The wiring harness needs to be rerouted as some of the sensors are in different location(VSS and reverse switch) The Viper unit uses an electric solenoid unit for reverse lockout but I did not bother wiring it up-it just makes it easier to put it in reverse without it just takes a little muscle to put it in reverse and keeps wives/girlfriends from wanting to drive it! I had a low mileage centerforce dual friction 10.5 in clutch when I done the swap so I just put in a new clutch disc rather than the whole ass'y. If you choose to get the tranny with out a kit you will need a 26 x 1 1/8 splined clutch disc, a shorter driveshaft with the proper spline(can't remember spline count right now but can find out), a transmission mount adapter plate(the D and D unit came with a new crossmember and a adapter plate but the existing crossmember was identical to the one that came with the kit. The kit also came with the stock shifter but I replaced it with a Pro 5.0. By the way D and D was great to work with and I highly recommend them if you are going to do it-they can answer all your questions better than me I am sure. I will be glad to try to answer any more questions that you may have. Also I went from the stock T-45 with the stock 3.27's to the T-56 with 4.30's and my speedo wound up being a hair fast at 60(indicated 60 is about 54-55 actual) I bought a speedcal from brothers performance to correct that.

waynemc1 said:

There is nothing really out of the ordinary. If you
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more questions that you may have. Also I went from the stock T-45 with the stock 3.27's to the T-56 with 4.30's and my speedo wound up being a hair fast at 60(indicated 60 is about 54-55 actual) I bought a speedcal from brothers performance to correct that.

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How do you like the setup w/ 4.30's? I've got a T56 from a 03 Cobra and am going to do a gear swap (with friends help) in a couple months. I was planning on going 4.56's (if they fit).

djtech said:

How do you like the setup w/ 4.30's? I've got a T56 from a 03 Cobra and am going to do a gear swap (with friends help) in a couple months. I was planning on going 4.56's (if they fit).

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I love the setup for playing on the street but you better have plenty of sticky tire if you want it to hook in first, second, or third(at least for me anyhow- I am Kenne Bell supercharged) When I first went to this setup I had 315/35/17 BFG Comp T/A ZR's on 17 X 11's and it was pretty scary in the lower gears and then I went to 315/35/17 Nitto Drags on 17 X 10.5's. They still will not hook in first but second is usually good to go. Most of the time if I am launching on the street I do it in second gear at about 3400-3500 rpm's and it will spin about 15-20 ft and hook. I will probably drop back to 15" wheels and go with MT ET streets in the future to be able to hook it up unless someone can point me to a set of 17" or 18" tires that will hook me up. If your worried about rpm's with the low gears don't be at 60 mph in 6th I am only taching about 1600 rpm's(gotta love the overdrives) I am not really for sure of the gear ratio's between the Viper and Ford units but they are probably similar. I would not be afraid to go as high as 5.13's if they would fit and still drive it on the street.

waynemc1 said:

I love the setup for playing on the street but you better have plenty of sticky tire if you want it to hook in first, second, or third(at least for me anyhow- I am Kenne Bell supercharged) When I first went to this
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am not really for sure of the gear ratio's between the Viper and Ford units but they are probably similar. I would not be afraid to go as high as 5.13's if they would fit and still drive it on the street.

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Awesome thanks. Sorry for the hijack JETSOLVER.

I can't wait to get the 4.56's in! I just ordered MM IRS brace and bushings. Figured it'd be good me to put those in when the gear is changed. I plan on getting MM full length SFC's installed shortly after the gear swap too.

I have not even finished paying off my T56 yet . Oh well what are credit cards for if you don't use 'em

I'll be getting the best tires I can afford for my AFS wheels. My bald ass stock wheels and tires won't do me any good.

I am also getting ready to do the t56 swap into my 98. the one im getting is out of an 03 cobra. what i need to know is how do you hook the speedo up? the speedo on the 03-04 cobra tranny's is electric while my car is mechanical. will a speedcal or something similar fix this? and i dont have to upgrade to the 11" clutch correct.

I also did the swap in my 97 with 4.56 gears. But i took the transmission back out and am selling it and the car. Let me know if you are looking for a transmission. I have everything you need.

97kobra - i just did the t-56 swap in my 98 over the weekend... i too am still trying to find the fix for the speedo... a local (so called) "mustang specific" tuner shop, told me that the speed sensor cannot be calibrated for a 98 because the 03 sensor sends a digital signal and the 98 ecm uses an analog signal? i have seen many people do this swap so i figured they dont know what they are talking about... any thoughts? which speedcal should i use? i need help asap as i have mine unplugged currently so as not to break the needle on the readout...

btw, i have the t-56 and 4.30's and i love em'!!

if a t-56 has a .62 overdrive and a t-45 is a .67 how are you guys say that your not worried about rpm's on the freeway it's not going to change that much if you put low gears in your gion to be revin on the freeway

98stangalang4v said:

...the speed sensor cannot be calibrated for a 98 because the 03 sensor sends a digital signal and the 98 ecm uses an analog signal? i have seen many people do this swap so i figured they dont know what they are talking about...

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I would like to know the answer to this, as well.

Regards,
John.