Tremec 3550 problem

v8power4life · Nov 19, 2007

Hi all, I have a 88 notch with bolt ons, maybe 250hp. I bought a new 3550 tremec with cobra clutch and ive since put maybe 15,000 miles on it. Almost all of these miles are dailiy driven street miles. I have raced it a lot on the streets but who wouldn't if they had this tranny. So far I've had nothing bad to say about this tranny. But just in the last say 3,000 to 4,000 miles its been miss shifting from 2nd to 3rd and now im worried. Ive always heard great things about these trannies and ive been a manual tranny guy all the way. Im starting to think that if i was to build a monster motor for this tranny, it would never take the power.(since the stock tired motor is messing it up) I guess my question is what would you guys do in my shoes. Ive been researching AOD's and shifting it manualy.

oh by the way my notch is stripped of everything inside just two front seats and the dash. Im trying to deside to make it full drag car or put some money into it and get it back to a true dailiy driver. I have welds with BFG drag radials and skinnies up front.

Pictures of my car on my myspace page http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...dID=72378832&albumID=1233760&imageID=15598736

thanks for the help

Jay

85_SS_302_Coupe · Nov 19, 2007

Sometimes when i really pound on mine it'll lock out of 3rd and 5th...no idea why.

v8power4life · Nov 19, 2007

the tranny doesn't do it all the time but Im just thinking its going to start doing it more now.

Disturbed90gt · Nov 19, 2007

i also have a bit of an issue with shifting but mine is into 2nd. its like no matter how hard you try to grab the gear it gives you a hard time goin into gear when your on it hard

jrichker · Nov 19, 2007

Do you have the correct fluid in the trans (GM Syncromesh black label)?

Disturbed90gt · Nov 19, 2007

thats a really good question.....im thinking that it doesnt honestly. i was thinking about that the other day. i think im just going to get the fluid and change it and see what happens myself. how many quarts of fluid should that take

v8power4life · Nov 19, 2007

I know im running GM Syncromesh but as for black label i don't know. What is the difference/types. I think the bottle was blue?? that could be my problem as well. Also how often should I change my fluid? I only have 15,000 miles on the tranny.

jrichker · Nov 19, 2007

Disturbed90gt said:
thats a really good question.....im thinking that it doesnt honestly. i was thinking about that the other day. i think im just going to get the fluid and change it and see what happens myself. how many quarts of fluid should that take

You need 3 quarts at about $10 a quart. It uses about 2 3/4 quarts.

You can fill the transmission by removing the shifter and pour it in that way. Or you can use a 6 foot garden hose with a funnel on it. Stick the garden hose in the top filler port ( pipe plug on the passerger side of the trans). Then sit down on the door sill and pour 2 3/4 bottles of fluid into the funnel. You will probably want a drip pan under the trans to catch any overflow.

Disturbed90gt · Nov 19, 2007

thanks for the insight bud

85_SS_302_Coupe · Nov 19, 2007

I've always used Synchromesh and i bought it new....still, especially after i've made a few passes at the track, it'll lock me out of 5th (i shift into 5th at the end of the track to take some RPM's off the motor). It may be the clutch interfering.

millhouse · Nov 19, 2007

Mine shift's great up past 6k rpm in all gears.

FYI, you can pick up syncromesh at many auto parts stores for a fraction of the cost of what you would pay at a GM stealership. It's packaged in a gear oil container and is made by Pennzoil.

Hissing Cobra · Nov 19, 2007

Welcome to the club of non-shifting Tremec 3550's. Mine has ALWAYS had a problem shifting from 2nd to 3rd gears at high rpms. I bought it brand new in 2004 and they stopped making them shortly thereafter. My instruction manual stated that you can fill them with either the GM Synchromesh or the MERCON V fluids. I chose the Mercon V. If you type in this transmissions name on www.corral.net , you'll find a lot of other people who have problems shifting them too. It's more than just the type of fluid that is causing these problems.

Two months ago, I broke something inside the transmission while at the track. Once home, we found that I broke 2 roll pins in the shifter mechanism. While those are an easy fix, we also noticed that the synchros are pretty worn and I will need to replace the 2nd and 3rd gears, plus the slider assembly. I have less than 25,000 miles on this tranny.

To make matters worse, Tremec built two different styles of this transmission, an early and a late model. Mine is a mongrel, built with parts from both era's. I wonder if this is why I've had problems since day 1?

For now, I have a stock T-5 in my car that my brother rebuilt and it shifts 100% better than the Tremec ever did. We're going to rebuilt the Tremec this winter and we'll see what we can improve inside to allow for better shifting.

This is one of the few decisions that I made during the buildup of my car, that I wish I went in a different direction.

Hissing Cobra · Nov 19, 2007

SuperStang83 · Nov 19, 2007

What shifter are you using?

Hissing Cobra · Nov 20, 2007

SuperStang83 said:
What shifter are you using?

It's a Pro 5.0 shifter that I've had different length sticks on, thinking that the length of the stick may have been contributing to the hard shifting. I also have a brand new clutch cable, quadrant, firewall adjuster and clutch. Everything was brand new at the same time, including the transmission.

millhouse · Nov 20, 2007

Hissing Cobra said:
It's a Pro 5.0 shifter that I've had different length sticks on, thinking that the length of the stick may have been contributing to the hard shifting. I also have a brand new clutch cable, quadrant, firewall adjuster and clutch. Everything was brand new at the same time, including the transmission.

I use the stock handle bolted onto the Pro 5.0 and like it quite a bit. Another thing worth mentioning is the 3550 has internal shift stops, so the external stops are not necessary. You could try backing the externals out to allow the tranny to stop where it wants to.

Hissing Cobra · Nov 20, 2007

Currently, I have the stock stick on it. When we adjusted the external stops, we did it to where the transmission was in each gear, so those aren't "in the way".

I have to wonder why mine is made up of parts from both the early version and the later version. Obviously, they updated some things inside and mine didn't get all of the updates.

Tremec 3550 problem

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