Lost 3rd gear synchro at the track today, again.

Mike Puckett

SCCoA Member
This is getting old! It didn't quite last a year using Mercon III and Ford friction modifier. I have a rebuilt spare ready to go in and enough new blockers to do one more rebuild. I should have enough good used blockers to do another rebuild and that's it. Maybe, just maybe I'll only have to replace the 3rd gear blocker. Good luck! It's getting close to time for an AOD.
 
There is a bigger change in the ratios from 2nd to 3rd than the other gears. That puts more stress on the blocker to match the speeds of the gears during the shift and wears the fiber coating off quicker. This difference in the size of the gears is real obvious when you look at them.
 
you could try to find a late model m5r2 the ratio's are closer together but I think 1st isn't as steep in the later trans.
 
The first three are different ratio's. Either way, I imagine finding the actual first 3 gears would be a nightmare if you actually damage any of them.

I think you should spear-head the "budget" T56 swap for us Mike. Then I can copy your set up :)
 
I'd love to do a T56 swap. If all'a y'all would send me the parts or the money for 'em, I'll do it. After changing the cats, the cylinder head, 2 sets of headgaskets, adding the boost cooler, and changing the motor, the radiator service, and cats on the 35th, and now the tranny in the racer, I'm broke.:( But, see'n that I have a spare AOD I guess I'll go that route instead.
Ricardo, if yours crunches going to 3rd on a rebuild you probably have the brass blockers in it. Not a problem if you just shift normal. Speed shifting will make them crunch.
 
Well, they shouldn't do that. What sort of thing makes it grind? Sometimes if I'm driving normal and I'm lazy with the clutch I'll crunch it.
 
I've been dreaming of a T-56 swap. I even e-mailed tremec about it. I don't think they took me seriously. If I recall you want a specific extension housing on a late model Firebird. Tremec now has lots of different combos as a lot of T-56 transmissions end up in hot rods. So what was ideal before might be different now.
 
A couple of weeks ago at the Year One Experience at Road Atlanta, Tremec had a tent with a couple or reps and a display. I asked one of them why the '03 supercharged Mustangs had so much trouble shifting. Surely those guys knew how to shift better than that. He told me that they were Tremec 3650's which were glorified T5's, cheapened so much by Ford that they worked poorly. I then lamented the SC's problems with the lowly M5R2 and that Tremec didn't offer us a replacement. He seemed to think that they had something so he took my name, address, and email to let me know. I suspect I'll never hear anything. I would only be interested in a bolt-in replacement myself. I like shifting and I'm pretty consistant in brackets but I'm running out of new blockers and my transmission swap mechanic is moving to another dealer. It's a PIA doing this midseason every year. These transmissions just weren't intended to bang gears every weekend on a drag strip.
 
If I crunch 'em I figure it's my lack of hand foot coordination. I guess it's probably not so unusual after all. I've messed up a time or 2 going to 2nd as well. Just don't miss 3rd gear and stick it back into 1st or do your burnout in 3rd. I discovered a quick clutch foot really helps in those situations.:D
 
With the right parts the T-56 would be nearly a bolt in swap. There has been discussions about it. The T-56 can be had with a bolt on bell housing. That'll let you use a bell housing built for a v8 that will bolt up. Just get the one with the proper extension housing, the higher power gear sets and shafts, and you might barely have to modify the tunnel to clear the shift lever.

http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36402&highlight=t-56
Info at TCCoA
http://forums.tccoa.com/showthread.php?t=55283
 
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