TR-3650 PROGRESS!!!

I called Ford and they said that The parts for the TSB came in late today.

They told me they are also installing a new throwout bearing and pilot bearing also covered under warranty.

They are really hookin' me up! And all that its gonna cost me is my 100$ deductable as per my E.S.P warranty!

Well I picked up my car from ford on monday buy only got to drive it 1/2 a kilometer as I was going on a road job for work and arrived back today.

So today I get home and look over my Receipt from ford and this is what was done.

1 3R3Z-7124-AD - TSB synchro kit
1 TA-24 - Adhesive
1 TA-25 - Adhesive
1 TA-29 - Sealant- SILI
1 CXC-66-A - Trans Shampoo (get all the gunk off before dissassembly)
1 F7ZZ-7548-AA - Throwout Bearing ASY
2 N811341-S101 - Stud (exhaust removal)
2 N800419-S301 - Nut Hex (exhaust removal)
5 CXT-5-LM12 - Mercon Trans Fluid

So i havent driven it more then 2 kms and back to the dealership I went to talk to the service manager about 2 things.

1. There is an exhaust tick now, meaning the exhaust didnt get bolted up tight during reassembly.

2. NOTICE THE TRANSFLUID, they USED 5, their bottles are quarts and 5 quarts = 4.73 LITRES. The dumb ****s overfilled the transmission and didnt put the new TSB amount of 3 liters.

So my car is at ford right now, the service manager is going to have the exhaust tightend and drain all that fluid and put exactly 3 liters in.

That is mind boggling to me that someone has the knowledge to take apart and rebuild a transmission but is dumb enough to overlook the details of HOW MUCH OIL to put in.

I only shifted into 2nd once and did a double clutch granny shift, becuase im scared from before, but it DIDNT grind, so hopefully all is well there.

It just angers me/pisses me off that they would do 2500$ worth of work and overlook the LAST and FINAL step which is filling the transmission to the correct level . On a good note at least they used the right fluid.

Anywhoo, I will have my car back sometime today and I will report back on this thorn in my side.

Had the TSB done, 3.0 Liters of mercon fluid. Still when cold 1-2 grind. Its the same as before except a little better. These transmissions are pieces of ****.

And now my exhaust has a tick/annoying sound to it that was not there before when I brought the car in. Bring it in for one problem and leave with another.

I guess ill wait till I have the 600km break in on it, but I doubt that will make a difference in shift quality.

My last and only resort which I have not tried yet is the Royal purple Synchromax fluid.

Once i put about 1000km on the car im going to have the tranny fluid changed to that.

If that doesnt solve the problem the car is going for sale in the spring, and some other sucker can deal with the worst manual shifting car that I have ever experienced.

I would LOVE my car if it werent for this transmission.

gsjohnson said:

There is also a TSB regarding a clutch engagement problem. It causes hard shifting, especially when cold. The end result if the adjustments don't remedy the problem, is to replace the clutch assemby. I certainly would have had the dealer replace the clutch while they had the trans out. Additionally, it is next to impossible to over fill the trans as the fill plug also doubles as the level indicator. Meaning that any excess fluid would drain out of the fill plug. I submit to you that the amount of fluid on your repair order was a typo and they did nothing to correct a problem that really never existed.

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The clutch was fine, there is only 50k on it and does not need replaced.

You dont fill it until it runs out of the hole, if you read the TSB you would see the proper level is 3.0 liters and it is .75" below the fill hole.

They filled it until it did run out of the hole (tech set the gun for 3.75 liters. They drained out .75 liters and it has 3.0 in it now.

It is possible to overfill these transmissions. AS PER tremec they take 3.0 liters but hold 3.75-3.8.

hotmustang331 said:

Well that sucks man! Mine doesnt grind at all, but it was tough to shift with the stock fluid. I changed to RP synchromax and that made a WORLD of difference...shifts GREAT now for the past 30-40K.

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I see you live in Texas....

I live in ontario it was -10 here yesterday. I think most of you people with "good working" tr-3650s never see the cold. Give it some -10 weather and your problems will rear their ugly head.

well here is my last and hopefully final update.

Switching from 3.75 liters to 3.0 Liters MADE NO DIFFERENCE. I think this is complete bull**** as it had no effect on my transmission.


I brought the car to my regular mechanic today, Ive had enough of the dealership. Also I brought with me 4 bottles of royal purple synchromax fluid.

I was there with my mechanic talking to him while he changed the fluid. We put all 4 bottles in, since i figured I have no use for a 1/2 bottle in my garage so in it all went.

4 bottles = 3.78 liters, Minus the little bit left in the bottom of each bottle and the little bit left in the pump plus the small bit that dripped out of the pump I think its fair to say that there is 3.4-3.6 liters in my transmission.

From my personal experience (yours may differ) the fluid level MADE NO DIFFERENCE what-so-ever to the shift quality/operation hot or cold. 3.0 liters to 3.8 liters. Doesnt matter pick a number in between and use it.

HOWEVER since putting in the royal purple fluid the transmission its noticbly much much smoother, and it fixed the grinding/cold clash that umpteen trips to the dealership AND the tsb could not correct.

Its amazing to me that a particular fluid can make such a huge difference on the operation of these transmissions. Also im surprised that in their fluid recommendations the royal purple appears no where on tremecs list when it clearly is the best fluid for these transmissions hands down.

The ultimate test will be tomorrow morning when i cold start my car after a night of sitting, but i assume all will be well. Not one nibble/clash/anything odd from the tranny in the 120km's since the royal purple was put in.

Anyone and everyone should switch to the RP Synchomax fluild in ther tr-3650 EVEN IF you have no problems. I guarantee a smoother/quieter/less notchy tranny will be the result.

Funny how my last resort and the one thing I thought wouldnt do a single damn thing made the most difference out of everything.