Cammer08

Good morning gentlemen of MustangFourms (2am isn't exactly morning, but still) I picked up a 08 GTCS 5 speed in September, and have already ran into shifting issues at high rpm with the TR3650. Everytime i tried to shift from 1st to 2nd at 6k, it hung a little before going into gear. if you pulled hard or tried to quick shift, it would make a quick grind before falling into gear before long, the whole 2nd gear synchro was shot but thankfully my warranty covered a new transmission. however i noticed that it still hung a little at a high rpm shift. So i started trying to figure out why it was so hard to do it. Knowing that the synchros were redesigned in the pre-05 3650s, so at the cost of being a little abusive to this poor 5 speed, the first thing i did was check if the clutch was fully engaging. after checking the fluid and bleeding it, i did a shift at mid rpm 3.5-4k and slowly put it in 2nd, i noticed that after the synchro slowed down the gear something was still trying to spin it back up again, under normal shifting this is un noticeable, Being that this is my second trans, i didn't think it was the synchros, so i looked at the clutch. mainly the slave cylinder. from what I've been able to dig up, I've learned that these clutches don't fully engage at high rpm because of limited slave cylinder travel. Most people fixed this by installing a mcleod slave cylinder, but at 300+$ and dropping the transmission, i started with the small things first. I though to myself "What else could limit travel of the slave cylinder?" Only 2 things i could think of were the hydraulic line and the master cylinder. So for the sake of ease, i replaced the line first with a steel traded line. Having only helped a little, I looked into the master cylinder as it has a direct connection with slave cylinder movement. With a plastic body and a fairly small piston, i wasn't impressed. So i set out to find something to replace it with. So i did some research and found that the s197 t500 master cylinders were made out of a nice aluminum body and has a decently sized piston at around .75". Even managed to pick one up from my local oreillys from PowerTorque for $103. So for changing it (Which is kind of a pain) You do have to remove the clutch and break pedal assy. I tried to get it off with it on, but failed. There are 4 nuts around the break master cylinder and 2 bolts on the top of the pedal assy that have to be removed, (Pics coming soon) Once removed, disconnect both cruise and starter sensors on the clutch pedal, and the break light sensor, once thats done, remove the break pedal pin connecting it to the break master cylinder hailed on by a cotter pin and a yellow plastic cover. once out, disconnect the clutch master cylinder from the break fluid tank, and remove the clutch line (A tool from ford was supposed to be used to remove the the retainer for the line, but no one around had one, so i used a flat blade screw driver and got off with relative ease. once both are disconnected, back under the dash, the whole break and clutch pedal assy will wiggle right out. Once its out, No more laying backwards on the drivers seat with your head under the dash and your spine will thank you. There are 2 allen bolts that hold the master cylinder on the pedal assy, 1 of which has a 10mm nut on the back side. take those 2 off and slap on the t500 cylinder, no cutting or modding whatsoever had to be made to replace it with the gt500 one. Slap everything back on under the dash and before putting the line back on the master cylinder, i connected it to the break fluid reservoir to prime the master cylinder, than hook everything back up. After its all back together, pump the pedal 10 or so times until you don't feel any or little free play in the pedal (You could bleed it again if you want, but this worked for me) Top off the break fluid and give it a test! Night and day difference! I can only assume that because of the larger piston dia. that it gave the slave cylinder a little more travel resulting in power shifting all day. 1st to 2nd still has a touch of hang under quick shift conditions, but i hardly notice it unless I'm next to an srt8 and my 3rd to 4th shift can be done with 2 fingers from 2k all the way up to the rev limiter. next on my list is 3.2qt of RP Synchromax, and i should be set. I hope this helps as i have seen very little on fixing this problem with the redesigned tr3650, yet so many threads about how it grinds at high rpm. (On a small note, power shifting is never good for these transmissions, but if such a need ever arises, because these clutches have such a long range of motion, having the pedal all the way to the floor before trying to put it into the next gear helps. The clutch starts to engage 1.5" from the floor and is noticeable at about 2" if not than the friction will cause it to over power the synchs and grind as you try to slam it into gear)