Official Tremec 3650 Issues Thread

[firemickp2]

Tremec 3650 Cold shift issues

Wow! cant believe what i am reading. I have a 2005 GT convertible, love the car, a bunch of Steeda mods added to it from the previous owner, I have had this car for about 18 months. I started to notice the shifting was difficult when cold but thought it was the Tri ax shifter and did not pay too much attention to it. After about 10 minutes, as it warmed up the problem went away.

When the tranny is fully warmed up, it changes gears very nice with no crunching but I do have a little noise from the bearing and general noise from the tranny.. This winter here in Virginia it has been colder than the previous year and the gear shift was becomnig annoying. I done the whole Ford thing, they just told me there was nothing wrong with it and charged me near $50 dollars for their trouble.

Reading these threads it seems the 1st to 2nd shift problem is common with this tranny. Anyway I have managed to get hold of a 2007 tranny new and am having mine replaced this weekend at performance autosports. I will be installing a stage 1 spec clutch and alloy flywheel at the same time. I am going to replace the shifter with a new one and a new slave cylinder as well. I think I will take the previous advice and put the Mercon 3 fluid in instead of the current purple and have it filled to 3.2 litres.

Watch this space for an update, hope it works!!

 

[stanglover0526]

ive had all the problems to and put up with all the dealer bs. i finally one day i twisted the input shaft in half! with cheap street tires and just a few bolt ons. the car was still under warranty and when i took the car to the dealer they told me tough luck and charged me over $500 for the tear down and simply shoved me out he door. so i relaced the input shaft and am living with the other troubles for now.

 

[metroplex]

If you thought the stock S197 shifter was bad, try a Mazdaspeed3 or Cobalt SS. Those shifters feel flimsy like toys and are very rubbery. I thought I was going to snap it off and I frequently shifted into 3rd instead of 1st because the shifter was too vague.

When I went home to drive my GT, the shifter felt VERY precise/crisp and clicked into each gear. Give it a try. Test drive a Mazdaspeed3 or Cobalt SS and you'll see how great your TR-3650 is in comparison.

 

[four six]

I recently started having problems with the 1-2 shift. Also kicked me out of 2nd a few times. (T3650)

 

[devil7]

2003 with 72,000 miles just bought it 2 months ago and it won't go into reverse anymore and fifth gear is hard to get in and out of. really hoping its not the synchros..hoping only the forks..

 

[devil7]

just realized how long ago this thread was...my bad..probably old news to the rest of you

 

[silver04steve]

I had mine rebuilt once blown out 3rd gear snychro and replaced gear. No problems with 1-2 but 2-3 hangs up and causes a missed shift going down the track, ive about had it with it. What could be causing it, are the synchros bad or am i just poor at driving.

 

[silver04steve]

synchros went bad around 4000 miles... my 2nd to third shifter is tough, and before I put it into reverse I need to put it into first or else it will grind

-Ryan

sounds like we have identical trannys 2-3 is horrible at high rpm it hangs up like no other and my reverse grinds i say we cut out losses and get a tko.

 

[My2003Mach1]

sounds like we have identical trannys 2-3 is horrible at high rpm it hangs up like no other and my reverse grinds i say we cut out losses and get a tko.

TKO 600 will be my t3650's replacement. For now, i have updated the input shaft to a custom built 26 spline input shaft. I was told that the 3650 should hold up pretty well being my car will be tuned safely to 690 RWHP soon. IMO i'm thinking that good enough .lol

 

[BlackSpirit]

After reading several threads on this board as well as others. It is apparent that the Tremec 3650 Transmission has a known flaw. You can call it 1-2nd grind/clunk, cold gear clash, bent shift forks, whatever it is, it seems that Ford Dealers are told to tell you that "It's Normal"

I would like to get a list going of everyone that is experiencing difficulties. It is a long shot, but if we get enough people gathered maybe Ford will do something. Strength in Numbers.

I'll start the list:
Name Vehicle First Noticed Problems

Jason Prokosch 2002 Mustang GT 8000miles

Add me to this list. My 2006 Mustang had the 2nd and 3rd go out, I ordered a trans from a 2007, and sure enough this one too has the same problem. TREMEC and FORD should be sued!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mustang5L5]

You ordered one? Why wasn't it covered under warranty?

 

[BlackSpirit]

You ordered one? Why wasn't it covered under warranty?

This was bought from an 07 at a wrecking yard.

 

[rnbrbe]

Tremec 3650 problems

I have an 05 GT with a Tremec 3650 and I have been having problems with 1st to 2nd shift at high RPMs. I will definitely join the complaint petition. I am even considering putting a different trans in it. I am so pissed about this problem.

 

[#1668]

Sup Guys? I got a 01 Bullitt w/ 48 miles and I also had the grind 1-2, and now to add the headaches, 4th grinds when going in, so 3rd to 5th it is till I get some money to get it fixed. Any ideas on what could be happening? synchronizer? How much would it cost?

Does anyone know if there was ever a lawsuit filed?

Thanks,

Bullitt1668

 

[unistang]

I don't mean to be a downer like this, but Ford is never going to admit to this problem even if it was true. I've had this problem (1st - 2nd crunch) on every 3650 i've ever driven and even on my '03 cobra's T-56 when it only had 20,000 on it. The dealer replaced the trans and it had the same problem soon after. It's a flaw in design, but there are ways around it. Proper fluid level is critical as stated over and over again in this thread. Second, what i've learned is to just slowly pull back into second gear when first driving from a cold start. You'll feel the syncro matching the gears (not grinding) and it will eventually stop at which time pull it all the way in. I do this a couple times and the car is fine from that point on. Also made a habit out of starting out in 2nd gear. There is plenty of low end torque in these cars to easily take off in 2nd... 1st is only needed at the track or for top acceleration out of the hole. These trannies hate being cold, so they need some TLC until they warm up.

As for your problem #1668 - sounds like the fork is messed up or toasted a couple of your syncros. If you have an adjustable clutch cable, make sure that's on key. Either way you're going to be forking over a good chunk of cash for an 75-80% labor intensive job if you aren't able to yank the trans yourself.

 

[#1668]

As for your problem #1668 - sounds like the fork is messed up or toasted a couple of your syncros. If you have an adjustable clutch cable, make sure that's on key. Either way you're going to be forking over a good chunk of cash for an 75-80% labor intensive job if you aren't able to yank the trans yourself.

I talked to Ford back when I first noticed the problem back in 2004 (car had about 15k miles), at the time they replaced all the gear rings, but nothing else.

Would it be best to get a new tranny all together? Or just take it to my local shop and try to take apart and fix whatever is wrong?

Thanks,
Bullitt1668

 

[unistang]

I would definitly try and get whatever you can out of ford for free. If you're out of waranty, local shop is your best bet. Shop around. Just and FYI, it will be cheaper grabbing a good used one and paying someone to just swap it if you can't accomplish the task yourself. This is a good time to upgrade if you were thinking about it

 

[#1668]

I would definitly try and get whatever you can out of ford for free. If you're out of waranty, local shop is your best bet. Shop around. Just and FYI, it will be cheaper grabbing a good used one and paying someone to just swap it if you can't accomplish the task yourself. This is a good time to upgrade if you were thinking about it

Upgrade? I like the sound of that! Being not too familiar with transmission on what is good or not.... do you have any suggestions? where can I look? what should I look for?

Sorry for all the question, hope you can help a bit.

Thanks again,
Bullitt1668.

P.S. If it's easier, you can email me at [email protected]

 

[unistang]

I've never really gone balls out modding the 4.6. All of my experience is from the old fox body. Never had the cash flow to get crazy on my '02. Try posting a new thread asking people their thoughts. I know tremec offers a couple of beefier versions of the 3650 depending on what you want to spend. I remember seeing them in my MMFF magazine the other day. I know corral.net gets alot of action if no one is responding on this board. Just an FYI.

 

[xxdieselxx1716]

problem with the 3650

I have an 04 and it grinds/clunks into 2nd gear. Its definitely worse when it's cold. Went to ford and they supossidly rebuilt it. Same problem remains. Also when in neutral with my foot off the clutch it sounds like there is marbles in the transmission. Ford likes to call this noise gear rollover. Sounds like a POS. Anybody else have gear rollover?