TKO600 shifter

[jeclarke]

Hi folks. I'm getting a new superformance roller and will be installing the powertrain myself. My trans will be the TKO600. What do most folks do for a shifter? I've seen some posts referring to Hurst but I have not found anything that Hurst sells for this vehicle. I know what the stock shift lever looks like but is the mechanism that the lever attaches to made by Hurst?

Is the stock setup good or is it worth changing over to MGW, Steeda or, Pro50. I'm not going to race but do like a short, crisp, positive shift linkage.

Do most folks leave the shifter in the rear position on the trans?

Thanks,
John

[Mark IV]

The shifter supplied with the roller attaches directly to the TKO stub. Nothing more is required unless you want to go aftermarket. It should be shown in the install manual I sent.

[Texasdoc]

Lots of posts on this. Search is your friend.

I love my MGW.

[tortuga]

I've tried most of them, the Jordan, short hurst lever, and ended up back at the replica dog leg...the short shifters made my 600 feel too notchy. Pay a lot of attention to how smoothly the throw out bearing slides and slave alignment...

[rodneym]

I've had 3 TKO600s (have 2 now). The one I don't have anymore was stock, then one with synchro upgrade by Liberty Gear and another with an upgrade by Anaheim Gear.
The Liberty doesn't have the 2-3 issue but the tranny as a whole isn't friendly.
The one by Anaheim Gear shifts better than my old 3550 (and no 2-3 issue at all). I don't know what they did, they just said that it would solve the feel, and it did.
I'd love to test another Liberty TKO and compare it to mine.
The shifters are all stock, btw. That is NOT your/an issue, although there are nice ones out there.

[patrickt]

I've driven several TKO600s, and they all vary -- including those with mods made to them. The one in my ERA shifts like butter; no complaints and no mods to it at all. I've come to the conclusion that the TKO is particularly sensitive to bell housing alignment -- which took the better part of the day on my FE with a Lakewood on there. Either that or the QC on TKOs is like a roulette wheel. I tend to think it's bell housing alignment.

[Ron61]

Mine has always been kind of notchy but has gotten a little better the longer I use it. My main problem is getting it into reverse at times. I have thought of trying a longer shift lever but after reading these posts I am not sure that would be worth the money.

Ron

[Chilibit]

I tried a well regarded short shifter and I concluded that the 'pace' of the stock shift lever was better suited to my TKO 600. It takes a bit more time to make the shift with a longer arm and that rhythm works very well. For me. Shift to first and then to reverse and it seldom hiccups.

[jacobsed]

And that’s how you do it because there is no synchro for reverse.

[Dwight]

Spend your money on a street upgrade for the 600. A shifter will not help that much.

There are several companies that sell the parts to upgrade a Tremec 600.
I used parts from Liberty Gears. They give you a list of parts to remove from your tranny and ship to them. They rework / replace the parts and ship back to you. I had a local Ford mechanic to do the work. Took about an hour to remove and 1 1/2 hrs to rebuild. What a great tranny! You could not miss a gear!

Bronze Shift Fork Pads
Surface Enhancement Processed Hubs & Sliders
Internal Shift Linkage Upgrade
Liberty’s Exclusive Threaded Front Cluster Bearing Support
Carbon Fiber Blocking Rings—2nd, 3rd & 4th Gear

Dwight

[ACHiPo]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I've driven several TKO600s, and they all vary -- including those with mods made to them. The one in my ERA shifts like butter; no complaints and no mods to it at all. I've come to the conclusion that the TKO is particularly sensitive to bell housing alignment -- which took the better part of the day on my FE with a Lakewood on there. Either that or the QC on TKOs is like a roulette wheel. I tend to think it's bell housing alignment.

The ERA I drove that I loved shifting so much had a TKO600. It shifted great--stock transmission and shifter--and was what I imagine "butter" to shift like!

Hope my TKO600 has similar performance!

[Varmit]

I replaced the stock shifter in my Tremec 600 with one from Cobra Valley, shifts great very smooth and no notchy. It's much improved over the stock one

[FUNFER2]

Originally Posted by Dwight

Spend your money on a street upgrade for the 600. A shifter will not help that much.

There are several companies that sell the parts to upgrade a Tremec 600.
I used parts from Liberty Gears. They give you a list of parts to remove from your tranny and ship to them. They rework / replace the parts and ship back to you. I had a local Ford mechanic to do the work. Took about an hour to remove and 1 1/2 hrs to rebuild. What a great tranny! You could not miss a gear!

Bronze Shift Fork Pads
Surface Enhancement Processed Hubs & Sliders
Internal Shift Linkage Upgrade
Liberty’s Exclusive Threaded Front Cluster Bearing Support
Carbon Fiber Blocking Rings—2nd, 3rd & 4th Gear

Dwight

Dwight, how much was the total bill ?

[Dwight]

About three years ago I paid about $360 for parts and $200 labor.

Dwight

[FUNFER2]

Is there enough members here that have experience's of these most noted shifters for Tremec's, to have a poll on moet liked and why ?

I had a 3550 Tremec back in 2000 and worked well. Now with my new engine, clutch and trans build, I just bought a new 600 series and looking into a aftermarket shifter. I'd rather install a shifter onto the trans out of the car, to make better & easier adjustments before installing into the car.

What makes the Hurst so much more expensive than the rest, the name factor or better quality ?

Steeda
Pro 5
Hurst
Jordan
MGW

[FUNFER2]

Originally Posted by Dwight

About three years ago I paid about $360 for parts and $200 labor.

Dwight

Was it worth the money ?
How much better did the mods make, 1out of 10 ?

[jeclarke]

What exactly does Hurst make for a TKO600 in a superformance mkiiii?

[Sawdust]

Check out this shifter.
Cobra Valley's Pro 5.0 Shifter

[FUNFER2]

Originally Posted by jeclarke

What exactly does Hurst make for a TKO600 in a superformance mkiiii?

The Cobra manufacture does not matter, which shifter you buy. Any model of Tremec and shifter will work in your Superformance.

[FUNFER2]

Originally Posted by Sawdust

Check out this shifter.
Cobra Valley's Pro 5.0 Shifter

The Pro5 is on my list above. You can buy it elsewhere for less, than Cobra Valley.
They are a great business though.