upgraded shift forks for T45

[bhuff30]

Who makes upgraded shift forks for the 96-98 T45? Anyone make a steel piece?

I called Hanlon. They have upgraded forks which are wider and thicker, but still made of aluminum. The price is dirt cheap compared to prices for Ford forks.

Any other options I should consider? I was planning to definately put in a stronger 1-2 and 3-4. Obviously, 5th and Rev will always be granny shifted, but worth putting an upgraded fork in there too? I'd like to order parts very soon, so I can get the transmission back together!!

 

[RandyStinchcomb]

not worth it, imo................ and take it from someone who broke 3 T-45's in 3 years...if you go beefing-up the forks the next weakest link in line will be next to fail and thats the "gear shift selector arms" which is what I always broke, I never had any fork issues and I power-shifted the crap outta' my T-45's

 

[bhuff30]

Riiiiight....

The way I see it, there are very few parts that are deeper inside the transmission than the 1-2 and 3-4 shift forks. Ever had one apart? I'd rather break a different part that isn't so deep. Anyway, the upgraded forks from Hanlon are cheaper than what you'd get from Ford, and considering the labor involved in going that deep, I'd much rather get the stronger fork.

So what is the 'gear shift selector arm'? I've got the T45 all laid out. I saw the shift forks, the shift rod which the forks run on and the shifter mechanism on the top side. Are you refering to a part within the shifter mechanism on the top side? If so, you don't even have to remove the transmission to have access to that! I'd rather break that anyday.

I'm definately buying the upgraded 1-2 and 3-4 forks. The 5-R fork is on the back side of the transmission, and comes out in the first few steps of dis-assembly, and it should never be shifted hard anyway.

 

[RandyStinchcomb]

yeah, I've had quite a few T-45's apart...the shifter selector arms are flat stamped pieces of steel, kinda' like a streched "S"...if you have a shop repair manual the base part # is "7N232" and all the ones I broke, sheared off the end and if you looked in at the metals broken end, you could sea lines of contamination is the metal, which to-me looked like a weak spot... I never bothered to update my T-45's because att there was nothing aval and after the 3rd one broke, I went to a T-3550 from Bobby Hanlon, which I also broke..... then I upgraded to a TKO from Bob which lasted 3 years before I switched to a C-4

 

[bhuff30]

Ahhh, I see. I'll have to take a look for that part when I'm infront of the transmission again.

This is just for my daily driver. I have to admit, I was power shifting it quite a bit for the last 35k miles. I got the car when it had just over 100k miles and the 1-2 fork didn't break until over 135k miles. Then, I had ford replace the 1-2 and 3-4 forks, but their POS 3-4 fork broke after just after another 5k miles because I was working 2 jobs then (yup, they are screwing me on it... first, they said they would claim the syncros were worn causing the fork to break, and now it's because of abuse).

Anyway, it's a daily driver and I love the efficiency and fun of the manual in daily driving. I can still get 24mpg in mixed driving. Far as mods, I'm going to throw on an offroad H pipe and call it good! Should gain some power over the 6 cat setup and get a slightly louder exhaust note without DRONE. Then, I'll just be more careful about shifting. It's so easy and smooth to power shift the 1-2 though. It's the 3-4 that gets you in trouble.

I've got a C4 on my toy as well (88 2.3l stang). Great transmission and not too difficult to rebuild either. Hopefully, my stock rebuild with a shift kit and better clutches will still be happy as I push past 300rwhp.