A couple months back I got a screaming deal on a clean, bone stock 90 LX with tranny issues, so I just went ahead and swapped my T5 for a TKO 600. I watched several videos and read other write-ups before tackling this, but I wanted to add my 2 cents to the mix for others who are contemplating the swap.
I ordered everything individually since I couldn't find a kit I liked. Here's the parts I used...
Needed for swap:
TKO 600 w/.082 OD
McLeod Street extreme clutch kit (comes with alignment tool and new throwout bearing but not new bolts)
Ford performance tremec bellhousing
Ford performance aluminum driveshaft
Stifflers tubular cross member w/TKO kit
Recommend to do also:
Pilot bearing
Rear main seal
Clutch fork
Clutch cable
Trans mount (you can reuse the stock one, but mine was pretty beat up and replacements are cheap enough to make it hard to argue. I used the energy suspension one)
Thermactor plugs (for smog delete, much easier to access while bellhousing is off)
New bolts for driveshaft, flywheel, bellhousing, and pressure plate
1) First and foremost, save yourself some headache and beg, borrow, buy, or build an actual trans jack. I did this without one and will never do so again.
2) If you have any desire to remove the smog pump, just do it now. You'll have to pull the exhaust any way and it is much much easier to plug the heads while the bellhousing is off. I know LMR sells that delete pulley thing, but why? I simply removed the pump and ran a shorter serp belt.
3) if you want the whole process to be less messy you should drain the T5 oil before you remove it, and wait until the new trans is installed to fill it. Seems obvious in hindsight but I did neither and had some spillage to deal with.
All in all, the swap is pretty painless and didn't take too many hours of actual work. It took me much longer than it should have because I didn't decide to order a lot of the miscellaneous parts above until I had disassembled the old stuff. Hopefully this info helps someone
I ordered everything individually since I couldn't find a kit I liked. Here's the parts I used...
Needed for swap:
TKO 600 w/.082 OD
McLeod Street extreme clutch kit (comes with alignment tool and new throwout bearing but not new bolts)
Ford performance tremec bellhousing
Ford performance aluminum driveshaft
Stifflers tubular cross member w/TKO kit
Recommend to do also:
Pilot bearing
Rear main seal
Clutch fork
Clutch cable
Trans mount (you can reuse the stock one, but mine was pretty beat up and replacements are cheap enough to make it hard to argue. I used the energy suspension one)
Thermactor plugs (for smog delete, much easier to access while bellhousing is off)
New bolts for driveshaft, flywheel, bellhousing, and pressure plate
1) First and foremost, save yourself some headache and beg, borrow, buy, or build an actual trans jack. I did this without one and will never do so again.
2) If you have any desire to remove the smog pump, just do it now. You'll have to pull the exhaust any way and it is much much easier to plug the heads while the bellhousing is off. I know LMR sells that delete pulley thing, but why? I simply removed the pump and ran a shorter serp belt.
3) if you want the whole process to be less messy you should drain the T5 oil before you remove it, and wait until the new trans is installed to fill it. Seems obvious in hindsight but I did neither and had some spillage to deal with.
All in all, the swap is pretty painless and didn't take too many hours of actual work. It took me much longer than it should have because I didn't decide to order a lot of the miscellaneous parts above until I had disassembled the old stuff. Hopefully this info helps someone