Am I Nuts To Buy A Used Tko?

not really a buddy of mine had a 26splined T56 in his turbo cobra and had started to twist the input shaft on it. hes going to a TH400 now
Well he should have went auto in the first place with a turbo lol. I think a viper t56 is good to 800 or so isn't it? I still think for a street(non turbo) car a person would be ok with it.
 
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Well he should have went auto in the first place with a turbo lol. I think a viper t56 is good to 800 or so isn't it? I still think for a street(non turbo) car a person would be ok with it.
hard to say what would be harder on a drive line. turbos make big power but it brings it on pretty smooth.

he never power shifter the car or or ever even tried to launch the car hard. on the 2 passes he had on it before the junk "built" motor the car had in it let go were both 1.7+ 60's lots of RPM but let the clutch out smooth
 
hard to say what would be harder on a drive line. turbos make big power but it brings it on pretty smooth.

he never power shifter the car or or ever even tried to launch the car hard. on the 2 passes he had on it before the junk "built" motor the car had in it let go were both 1.7+ 60's lots of RPM but let the clutch out smooth
Again learning something new. I've always heard they were fairly indestructible. I'm more for faceplated TKOs but I know Nik isn't going to want to drive that
 
Meh, the T56 is heavier, more expensive, and requires more conversion effort. It would be neat to have 6 gears, but that's about the only thing that appeals to me about that. If I somehow manage to break a TKO 500, I can always upgrade to 600 specs.
Pretty well sums up why I went TKO 600 instead of T56. 600 won out over the 500 due to the close ratio gearing and power handling, mostly the gearing though.
 
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The TKO is built to the exact same technical spec as the T56. You can't build a T56 any stronger than you can build a TKO. The only reason people are getting away with putting 800ftlb of torque on these Viper Spec T56s is because they aren't launching the car hard on slicks. The Magnum T56 is built to a higher technical spec, can handle more torque, but can't be shifted as quickly due to the engagement setup on it. From what I've learned over the years, pouring money into a T5 is pissing upstream. The size of the case is a huge limiting factor. All the bandaids in the world won't keep you from cracking the case. The gears are too small. The only way to overcome the size of the gears is to put straight cut gears in, which cause the transmission to make a horrible whining noise.

The 3550 series was not originally designed for drag racing, and that is why it has trouble shifting quickly at high rpm. There are ways to modify it to shift faster without going all the way to a face plate setup. Mine shifts pretty quick. As quick as a T5 at least. When buying a used one, the main item to look out for is gears. One gear set in a 3550 will run you $300. The rest of the parts cost more than T5 parts, but no where near as much as T56 parts. Put the transmission in each gear and rotate the input shaft. If it is notchy at any point, it's probably a cracked tooth. The 3550 series is very easy to take apart and put back together with simple hand tools. It is very needle bearing happy inside. So long as you don't mind spending a little extra time stacking needle bearings, it's real easy to deal with.

As to whether or not it's a good deal? The first thing we need to clarify is your location. Are you really located in a Province of China?

Kurt
 
The TKO is built to the exact same technical spec as the T56. You can't build a T56 any stronger than you can build a TKO. The only reason people are getting away with putting 800ftlb of torque on these Viper Spec T56s is because they aren't launching the car hard on slicks. The Magnum T56 is built to a higher technical spec, can handle more torque, but can't be shifted as quickly due to the engagement setup on it. From what I've learned over the years, pouring money into a T5 is ****ing upstream. The size of the case is a huge limiting factor. All the bandaids in the world won't keep you from cracking the case. The gears are too small. The only way to overcome the size of the gears is to put straight cut gears in, which cause the transmission to make a horrible whining noise.

The 3550 series was not originally designed for drag racing, and that is why it has trouble shifting quickly at high rpm. There are ways to modify it to shift faster without going all the way to a face plate setup. Mine shifts pretty quick. As quick as a T5 at least. When buying a used one, the main item to look out for is gears. One gear set in a 3550 will run you $300. The rest of the parts cost more than T5 parts, but no where near as much as T56 parts. Put the transmission in each gear and rotate the input shaft. If it is notchy at any point, it's probably a cracked tooth. The 3550 series is very easy to take apart and put back together with simple hand tools. It is very needle bearing happy inside. So long as you don't mind spending a little extra time stacking needle bearings, it's real easy to deal with.

As to whether or not it's a good deal? The first thing we need to clarify is your location. Are you really located in a Province of China?

Kurt

There are several examples out there of A5s handling lots of power and going fast. Everybody likes to knock the T5 because they're so frail in stock form, but the A5 really seems to be a robust design.
 
The TKO is built to the exact same technical spec as the T56. You can't build a T56 any stronger than you can build a TKO. The only reason people are getting away with putting 800ftlb of torque on these Viper Spec T56s is because they aren't launching the car hard on slicks. The Magnum T56 is built to a higher technical spec, can handle more torque, but can't be shifted as quickly due to the engagement setup on it. From what I've learned over the years, pouring money into a T5 is ****ing upstream. The size of the case is a huge limiting factor. All the bandaids in the world won't keep you from cracking the case. The gears are too small. The only way to overcome the size of the gears is to put straight cut gears in, which cause the transmission to make a horrible whining noise.

The 3550 series was not originally designed for drag racing, and that is why it has trouble shifting quickly at high rpm. There are ways to modify it to shift faster without going all the way to a face plate setup. Mine shifts pretty quick. As quick as a T5 at least. When buying a used one, the main item to look out for is gears. One gear set in a 3550 will run you $300. The rest of the parts cost more than T5 parts, but no where near as much as T56 parts. Put the transmission in each gear and rotate the input shaft. If it is notchy at any point, it's probably a cracked tooth. The 3550 series is very easy to take apart and put back together with simple hand tools. It is very needle bearing happy inside. So long as you don't mind spending a little extra time stacking needle bearings, it's real easy to deal with.

As to whether or not it's a good deal? The first thing we need to clarify is your location. Are you really located in a Province of China?

Kurt
Province of china called Indiana if memory is correct. And Nik I'd buy that tremec if it checks out ok and he's willing to sign a "contract". You can always send it out to Hanlon or Liberty later if you want them to work some voodoo
 
There are several examples out there of A5s handling lots of power and going fast. Everybody likes to knock the T5 because they're so frail in stock form, but the A5 really seems to be a robust design.

I really like the A5. There is a guy on corral making over 700rwhp on one and hundreds of drag radial passes. I think he did a refresh last year with nothing more than synchronizers.

Joe
 
Province of china called Indiana if memory is correct. And Nik I'd buy that tremec if it checks out ok and he's willing to sign a "contract". You can always send it out to Hanlon or Liberty later if you want them to work some voodoo

Haha yep, Indiana. And I would probably send it to Astro if anybody- Tony has treated me well in the past.
 
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You can put decent power through a T5 if it's set up right. However, most of the people I know who started with like a GForce T5 ended up going to a 3550 setup eventually. Once you get those transmissions side by side with the case open, the reason becomes obvious.

Kurt
 
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If I had my pick, it would be the A5. I ended up with a Gforce because it is what I coul find in my price range. I did find a few 3550s and tko's, but their history and condition was questionable. I will probably never make the 500lbs of torque that this tranny is rated for. And despite my desires, I have been running the recommended clutch. BTW, tony built my trans. The previous owner have me the paperwork on it.

Joe
 
Rebuilt a couple of 3550/tko trannies....3550s have issues twisting the output shaft ..for all who ever consider one, be sure the driveshaft yolk slides in all the way...

The 3550 I built had launch after launch after launch on slicks 300-350 hp at the wheels...for years,...all that happened was a twisted output shaft....I swapped the output for the tko output and tail housing thats thicker..and it was good to go..

Ive built dozens upon dozens of t5s, and the gears are always worn, especially second...the two tremecs that I tore apart..the dog teeth and gears looked like new...after years of abuse...

Pull the lids off the trans and look at the gears, spin the input and output shaft...if that checks out...u should b fine
 
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ive talked with a few pure street guys and most of them feel the A5 set up is stronger then a gforce set up. but the fact that astro wont faceplate the trans they all go with the gforce set up
 
The output shaft on my 3550 is damn near the only original part in it. I've snapped the input shaft, cracked teeth off the gears, broke a few blocker rings, and cracked the case twice. I just had the original 28 spline output shaft out, and did a dye pentrant test on it; not a single crack. The 31 spline is huge compared to the 28 spline shaft. It's a $500 upgrade though.

Kurt
 
I know of at least one coyote stock guy running a t5 based trans. Claimed it used less HP and provided for a quicker ET over the TKO. He said clutch choice and driveshaft angle was the difference for making them last for them.

Joe