#2779 gets an RST and a TKO600

[93svt#2779]

When I bought this car a few years ago, it was having issues with the transmission. Mostly 2nd gear didn't like to engage properly, and I had massive amounts of vibration at higher rpms. It was completely drivable, but I knew I had an issue that would need to be addressed. I don't have plans to put down any big power numbers, but I still wanted a transmission that could handle more than the stock T-5. After doing a little research I decided that I wanted to put a tko600 in place of the t-5. I also had a clutch pedal that was so hard to depress, I would do as little shifting as possible to avoid having to push it down. I had to hold the steering wheel and practically stand on it to get it to depress, so I wanted to fix this issue as well. After doing a little research, I decided to go with a McLeod twin disc RST clutch and a completely new maximum motorsporsts clutch cable, quadrant and firewall adjuster.

After I placed my order with MDL, and my parts started to roll in, I did an update video to show what I have been doing for the last couple months. I show and talk about the wifes mustang we picked up a couple months back. It is a 2001 GT with only 43k miles. Very clean and bone stock. Towards the end of this video I show some of the new parts I ordered and talk about the swap I am prepping for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zo029jegdU

In the next video I show the old parts that were removed from the car, and I show what I have got done in prep for the new parts to be installed. I am not a mechanic, I am a butcher, so I don't do "how to" videos, I watch "how to" videos..lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-FNe4WzoCY

After that video I got to the point I was ready to install the bell house (shatter shield). I read the instructions thoroughly multiple times trying to understand what it is they wanted me to do. They wanted me to check the alignment of the bell house to the crank shaft. So I ordered a dial indicator with a magnetic base so I could check the alignment before going further. This video shows what I found.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk51ucYCJxI

Now that I have found my bell house to be out of tolerance, I ordered the .014 offset dowel pins and wait for their arrival before I can continue. Once the pins arrive I get to work setting the dowels in a few different locations before I came up with a reading that was within tolerance. This is the video of my final alignment of my bell house.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5WL2h580lw

Once my bell house was within tolerance I continued on. I got as far as the clutch install, and I wanted to remember what it looked like, so I took a quick video of my clutch after it was in... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4fBS1ZKroI

Everything else went together pretty much as planned until I got to the new slip yoke. The slip yoke that was sent was supposed to be for my car, but it was too small. After contacting MDL and giving them my measurements, they claim that this is not an original driveshaft. They claim it is a driveshaft from a ford explorer. All I know is it has a 3 5/8" universal joint. They got the right one sent out right away and this next video is after it was installed... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Dw1LZ6Jko

I finally get everything installed and the car back on the ground. The next video is of my initial start up after a one month install. This thing sounded horrible upon start up... to me it sounded like a freakin tractor! I think that with it setting and being rocked back and forth, changing the motor mounts, and turning the engine over by hand so many times while getting the bell house in alignment, all the oil from my heads had drained into the pan, leaving them pretty dry. Couple that with the fact that my oil pump probably is original and a little on the weak side, it took it a few minutes to get everything properly lubed. I should have expected this but I was a little surprised by it initially. Also included is my first test drive with everything installed. If you listen in the video you can hear some horrible sounds coming from the transmission and the clutch. This I expected as it is a new transmission and needs to get lubrication moving. The noises get quieter as it gets used and broken in... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhQVYxXJsbU

I did check things over and everything seems to be tight. We went for a pretty decent cruise yesterday and it all seems to be breaking in nicely. We ended up doing about 160 city/back road miles and it just keeps getting better. I did adjust the clutch once just a little and that helped with the chatter I was getting at idle. Overall I don't know if I could be much happier. I truly enjoy driving this car now more than I ever have before. Clutch feel is awesome and the trans is starting to shift like butter. After I post this, I am going to get ready and take my car out for some more break in miles. I am going to do as McLeod and Tremec recommend and give my clutch and trans a proper 500 mile break in before I do any hard shifting or clutch dumps. I am not sure if this is really needed, but I would rather be safe than sorry. I am planning to do a review video after break in and I have a chance to really play with this new set up. Until then Thanks guys, Later!