Do any of the manual transmission gurus here have any tips and sage advice on prolonging the lifespan of the TR-3650 and its clutch (or any standard gearbox for that matter)?

 

don't powershift

 

I agree. Don't powershift... Don't slip the clutch... Don't drag race... Basically drive you have alot of common sense and no testosterone.
Scott

 

What about moving the vehicle from a stop? How much clutch slippage should I give? Should I dump the clutch after each upshift and forget about a smooth ride?

Is powershifting where your go-pedal foot never leaves the WOT position and you stab the clutch to shift? I'll make a note not to do it. Is speed shifting still acceptable?

 

From a stop, slip just enough to get it going ... just a few feet and you should be fully engaged.

For upshifts, should be no slippage, just get the rev's right and it will be a smooth transition. If you find you need to, you are shifting too soon. If you find you are, stop it ... break the habit.

For down shifts, rev matching ensures a smooth transition. Or you can slightly let the clutch slip to let the transmission and engine match each other. Might find yourself doing that around town.

Power shifting (as you described) will take its toll on transmission useful life. Quick shifting up thru the gears should not be all that harmful unless one is really uncoordinated between the throttle and the clutch/ Anyways, IMO.

 

exactly

basically don't do any of the things I do

 

Exactly...don't powershift and change the fluid every 15k miles. It worked on my 2000 with that crappy T-45. Over 120K and not a single problem. Just my $0.02

 

I've powershifted once in my life and you have to be pretty quick on the clutch to not grind the gears and it certainly takes it's toll on the tranny... I don't advise it unless you have "spare change" laying around for another one.

As for daily driving to get hte most out of it..... life wise.... drive like a normal sane human being, oh and don't ride the clutch and you'll be fine.

 

all of this reminds me that i still have to teach the Mrs to drive a stick.

btw, do you think the mustang will ever have hill hold assist?

 

Hopefully not.......

 

How many decades do you want it to last.
Drive it and enjoy it.
If you don't beat on it it will last okay (as with any standard gearbox).
Have some fun.

 

I'm no guru although I play one on the internet anyway in addition to above advice use only the trans fluid that Tremec recommends.

Also, the weakness with the stock clutch setup is the friction disc not so much the pressure plate. I have run dual-friction discs with stock replacement pressure plates in other cars and that combo worked out fine. In fact, the 11" Centeforce Dual Friction clutch & plate setup for older GM applications used a stock replacement pressure plate that was only painted (a bad masking job too, LOL) and had those goofy, good-for-nothing weights added. Valeo makes the PP for those Centerforce apps and when I contacted Valeo tech about it they said in as many words that all centeforce did is just that, paint & weights, and call it "high perf". What a con job.

What I would do is get a McLeod dual friction disc and while you're at it an aluminum flywheel (had one in my '67 GTO). One of the best mods hands down. McLeod make good stuff, I'd run it anytime without concern.

Another thing to avoid: Don't listen to the old Beach Boys song "Shut Down" or you'll be powershifting to be cool.

 

How hard is it (or involved) to replace the clutch?

Tremec recommends non-synth Havoline / Texaco Dex III / Mercon, but Ford simply states "Mercon ATF" and the part # is a non-synth multi-purpose ATF. The 2002 Mustang GT manual called for a full synthetic Mercon ATF. What do you use?

 

It's easy...Just take it to someone that knows what they are doing. Sorry just kidding with you. It's no fun if you have to lay in the driveway and do it. Trust me.
Scott

 

Sounds to me like Tremec and Ford recommend the same thing. Obviously they recommend different things for different year cars for a reason...I think I would use what they recommend for this year's car...

 

Tremec doesn't view their 3650 as model year transmissions. They make thousands of these things that go into different applications. The Tremec engineer said Ford used to spec synth ATF and it would cause shifting problems when cold, but I hear people on TMS use RP or Amsoil or Redline w/o any problems Should I use just any non-synth Mercon? Or would an ATF that meets both Mercon-V and Mercon be acceptable?

I've also read that the fill level is also very important. The FSM says 3.15-3.17 qt, while the owner's manual uses a measurement level from the bottom of the fill hole.

I'm not the only one who has pondered about the inconsistencies for the pre-S197 GTs:

http://www.mach1registry.org/forums/...ad.php?t=10740
http://forums.svttexas.com/showthread.php?t=7000

There is another thread on Stangnet (7+ pages).

 

Since these seem to be so sensitive to what fluid you use, I would say use exactly what is called for, which is NON synthetic Mercon, not Mercon V (which is synthetic). A fluid that meets both Mercon AND Mercon V is going to be synthetic, which evidently led to shifting problems.

On a sidenote, what other applications use the 3650 manual?

 

That's simple enough... 3 quarts of the cheapie non-synth Mercon ATF. I think the Stang is turning into a nice cheap date

The Tremec webpage only lists the BA Falcon and Mustang as applications using the 3650, and I think that covers a wide time span of different Mustangs and Falcons (at least 01-04? Mustangs and 02-05 Falcons). The current BF Falcons don't use the 3650. FWIW their webpage is pretty outdated since they don't even mention the TR-6060 that is used in the GT500.

 

Looks like your aren't going to do any damage to it other than talking it to death. What is that part # again for the 3rd synchros?

Butterbean