Tremec 600 upgrades

[Detroit Bill]

Is it worth upgrading a Tremec 600? I see Liberty, which is local to me has upgrade packages.

If you buy the trans from them for an additional $300 installed they will
- 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

Brent Lykins also has a Sure Shift upgrade for around the same price. I am not sure what is in that package.
http://www.lykinsmotorsports.com/transmissions.html

Since I am buying a new trans for my car I could get it upgrades already installed and avoid having to pull the trans if I wanted it done?

Searching the internet indicates
- This trans varies a bit and experiences differ.
- Needs to be broken in
- Is difficult to shift from 2-3 fast
- I also read here that unless you are shifting over 6000 RPM upgrades do not help

There is also conflicting information on shifter upgrades.

Any experiences?

I know Brent Lykins works on these, I am hoping he will chime in.

[jhv48]

Do it! Well worth the money. Stock TKO 600 shifts like a truck.

I swapped my TKO 600 for a super alloy t-5. Much better shifting.

[lippy]

I have the upgrade package from Brent. I can't really compare it to one without the upgrade, but there is no problem with the 2-3 shift. It obviously isn't the smoothest shifting trans. Seems fine, no problems, handles the power and suits the car well. You should call Brent for more details.

[PLDRIVE]

Bill moving the shifter position forward and and using a short through shifter will make a big difference.

MIke Forte (one of advertisers on this board) is a good resource to talk to.

Mark

[blykins]

Ok, here's the 411...

I break it down into the rpms that the engine will see.

If you're gonna be at or under 6000 rpm, I would use a good aftermarket shifter like a Steeda Tri-Ax and put some miles on the trans. With miles, they will limber up a little and will shift better.

If you're gonna be shifting hard above 6000, then I would recommend some modifications be done to the internals. That's where the Sure Shift upgrade comes in that we offer. The TKO is a mass produced transmission, which means that everything has tolerances. The tolerances of the surface finish on the synchronizers and gear cones give the most problems if the trans is speed shifted at higher rpms. If the gear can't match the rpm of the synchronizer quickly, then they just won't want to go into gear. We offer them with the synchronizers and gear cone finish enhanced, and we blue print and upgrade some parts as well: blocking rings, shift finger, etc.

Most people don't need it. The guys who are really banging gears up in the rpms do.

The TKO will never be a Toploader or a T5, but the Toploader and T5 won't hold 600 lb-ft of torque continuously as a stress test. It's still the best bang for the buck. The T-56 is a waste of time/money IMO, and other transmissions just won't hold the power of a healthy FE.

[Detroit Bill]

Thanks care to explain "Blueprinted"?

[blykins]

Just like building an engine....

You know what specs and clearances work the best, then you adjust everything until it matches that.

When we have a trans blueprinted, all the thrust clearances are checked and adjusted, gear cone surfaces are adjusted, etc.

[Dwight]

I put 30,000 miles on my TKO600 on the street. It has always been hard to shift. When I was doing burn outs at the 2013 London Cobra Show I missed 3th gear 9 out of 12 times.
I told my buddies I was going to do something to fix my trannie.

Someone told me about Liberty Gears. I emailed them and bought their street up grade for my trannie. $331
I pulled my trannie and a friend help me swap out the parts.

Best money I've spend in a long time.

Not what I would call smooth, but I can not miss a gear. Even 5th is very easy to fine.
Maybe it will get better with a few miles on it.

Yes I would recommend Liberty Gears!!!!!!


Dwight

[lovehamr]

If I were local to Liberty mine would already be done.

[patrickt]

My TKO600 is pretty darn smooth. I can't remember the last time I missed a gear, and it shifts fine at 6000. I attribute all of this to the fact that I read the "IMPORTANT! READ THIS!" sheet that comes from Tremec that says to baby it for the first 500 miles, which I did. I have my rev limiter set at 6400, and I bounce off it maybe once a year, and it shifts just fine just below that limit, which is usually right around 6000 to 6200. I wonder how many "poorly shifting" TKOs were hammered right out of the box before they were adequately broken in.

[patrickt]

Here's the sheet: http://www.tremec.com/anexos/TKO_Ins...ps_117_117.pdf and running GM Synchromesh makes a difference, too.

[Dwight]

I baby mine for the first 1000 miles. About 5000 miles it shifter a little better but got worst.

It's the design of the Tremec NOT the drivers!

Dwight

[patrickt]

Maybe Tremec has a QA issue; I don't know. Bellhousing runout, the QA of the trans itself, who knows. The TKO is only a hundred pounds -- so if you do get one that isn't quite right, shipping it off for a three hundred dollar tune up is not a terribly big deal. DetroitBill, the importance of aligning the bellhousing in these cars can not be over-emphasized.

[lippy]

Mine never misses any shifts, btw.

[SPF1061]

I would say that the people who have stock TKO 600s that shift good are the exception to the rule. They lucked out and I am happy for them. Most TKO600s are very glitchy and shifting can become difficult and unpredictable at high rpm. I've logged 65k miles on three different stock TKO600s and that has been my personal experience. About 5K miles ago I had a complete engine rebuild done and I replaced my stock TKO with a Liberty modified TKO 600. I have not missed a gear since. I would recommend this upgrade without reservation.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by SPF1061

I would say that the people who have stock TKO 600s that shift good are the exception to the rule...

If Liberty is right there for him, then he could look at it as just a $300 one time insurance premium. Jeez, I think I spent that on just a mirror. Yeah, I could easily be sold on just throwing three C-Notes at the transmission.

[Detroit Bill]

Sounds like a no brainer to me. In for a penny in for a pound.

I better stay off the internet. This car just keeps getting more expensive.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

I better stay off the internet. This car just keeps getting more expensive.

You should be able to keep the final, all in, cost in the five figures <seriously>, but you could drift in to six if you don't watch it.

[blykins]

Bill, I can have a trans shipped to you (or Olthoff) with the mods already done if you're so inclined. I'm also a distributor for Quicktime, RAM, and McLeod, if you need a bellhousing and clutch parts.

[saltshaker]

Has anyone had Hanlon Motorsports in PA do a upgrade on a TKO?
Jon