Hey Anthony, as much as I'd like to get a new tranny I can't justify the cost after having my stock T45 upgraded. I think I can probably fix this one for ~500 bucks. And maybe if funds permit just get 3rd gear faceplated. Gonna try and rebuild it myself.

Dr Dirt- I'll be back on the road shortly. I may be getting old in my young age but I'm lost when you say diacos. Aren't diacos another word for boobs? lol.

Bret- I did some searching for some C4's and Aod's. There is probably more maintenance in them (and not as streetable IMO) as a manual so I might stick with my T45.

-Mark

 

Yeah, that subject holds more interest for me. While I feel badly about your tranny, I have nothing constructive to offer on that...hence the Diacos quip.

 

jerico

 

Dont forget about the L4-80E, L6-80E (6 speed auto rated up to 800+tq) and the L4-80E that comes in the 96+ GTs. Lot of the 4V guys are running the TH400 and have great results. Like I mentioned the other day, you'll have to get all the parts associated with the auto. Converter, pedal assembly, cable, drive shaft, maybe gearing...etc...etc...for what you do with the car, Id say an auto is the way to go. Perhaps you can band-aid the T45 till the summer and build an auto up in the meantime. Then, this time next year youll be ready for the winter (better weather) race season.

 

What about the geforce t5? Tkos are that bad at higher rpms?!

 

The bad thing about the Gforce T5's are that they are still in a T5 case. T5 case is its worst feature. They flex and distort under load. T45 case is much stronger. The weak parts of a T45 are the shift forks bend after power shifting causing mis-engagement of gears. The input shafts are weak and will twist or break when hit hard off the line. And T45 (And T5's) use carbon (Think cardboard) bushing in the synchro's. The carbon bushings like to flake apart when the tranny's get hot and over time create hard shifting.

TKO's are hit or miss at above 6000 RPM. Particularly the older 3550 based TKO's and the later 500/600 TKO are not immune either.

I've got a 3550 based TKO II in my son's car and its a stout tranny. A little notchy and the shift engagement is not as smooth if your used to a T5 or T45. T5 and T45 shift identical to me. I dont think I could tell the difference between a T45 or T5 if they were behind the same motor. Both can shift butter smooth and very easy to blip the gears at 7000 RPM when they are working correctly.

The best way I can describe what my son's car does at above 5000 is that it starts to hang in between gears. Trying to force feed it into gear at high RPM requires a strong arm. A T45 or T5 goes into gear much easier. T45 may give you a bad grind if it wasnt ready,.. but it will go into gear. If a TKO is not ready,.. its like trying to stand on the brakes when the ABS has kicked in before you can row the gear. I understand now why a lot of guys dont like TKO's. When I'm at the track, I use the clutch to come out of 1st gear and do my best to feather it off the line. But 2nd through 4th gear see only enough clutch for me to throw the next gear. I never let off the gas. It stays matted to the floor. I cant do that with the TKO in my son's car. Believe me,.. I tried. It wont let you.

Supposedly there is a kit where slugs are used to balance out a TKO. Kinda like balancing a short block. Its supposed to make the TKO much easier to shift at higher RPM's. I have one that has had this done to it. But I have not used it in anything yet. My car will be going in for paint and body work in mid January and I plan to have it running and ready for the streets by April. I will be finally using this TKO that I've had for almost 3 yrs now and I will know if they can or can not shift as good as a T45. The guy I got the tranny from swears it does. Being an avid T45 fan,.. I will be the first one to bitch about it if it does not.

Hurst

 

The last time I talked to Tony at Astro he was not having a problem with the stock case with the A5 gears set, and has alot of these trannies in some pretty fast cars. I can tell you I have seen 2 TKO cases busted, one in my car and another tranny I rebuilt for someone. For what little time I had the TKO in my car I have busted the case, pulled the input shaft out the front of the tranny, and busted 3rd.

This tranny should of easily handled the little power that I was throwing to it. The Astro I beat the shit out of the tranny for a year and a half and never broke nothing. I know G Force was having problems with their gear sets especially 3rd, but I don't know if they got it straightened out yet.

 

I've never rebuilt a tranny before. Is it hard to do? If I can't whats a ballpark amount I should be looking to pay?

There is a guy on corral that sells really beefy shiftforks for the T45. With my 26spline input shaft it should hold a lot of power right?

Stupid question...if I cut every other tooth off the syncros would that help high rshared_pm shifting?

 

If you were still running the stock shift forks in your T45 that Promotion built for you I'm willing to bet that was your problem the whole time and possibly lead to the failure of 3rd by not allowing it to be fully engaged. I had a tranny lock in 3rd,.. I took it apart and freed it up. I couldnt tell if the shiftfork was bent or not so I put it back together. Beat on it for a month and 3rd finally took a shit. It wasnt popping out of gear and gave me no warnings when before it took a hike.

The T45 gears are supposed to be pretty strong. They are supposed to be able to handle 700+ HP. This is just what I have read from various articles. Obviously I have no personal experience at those levels. I've broken the 10 spline T45 input shaft running slicks at DH3. Funny thing is I was on the stock 28 spline axles. I would think your fine with the upgraded shaft.

I have some diagrams that break down the T45 if you need some to help guide you taking it apart and putting it back together. Its really not as complicated as it seems. Its like doing your rear end. It seems overly complicated and then after you do your first one,.. its like wow,.. that was pretty simple.

I would try to put it back together using stock gears. Make sure none of the bearings or synchro's were damaged. And replace the stock shift fork with a billet shift fork kit. Kelly should be able to help you out there,.. he got one for his tranny. Make sure none of the rails are bent either.

No idea what tranny labor is these days. If you can do a ring and pinion then you should have no problem redoing a T45. If you pay someone else,.. I would expect to pay at least $500 for someone else to have the privilege.

Hurst

 

I have rebuilt multiple T5s, they are not hard at all. I dont know how different the T45s are. I would highly reccomend the factory repair manual though, i bought mine from D&D.