1998mustangcobra

So I have had trouble out of my rebuilt t45 once again. This makes for the third time with the t45. Sent the original off to smartpartsauto to be rebuilt, got it back and installed then it started jumping out of reverse again. Sent it back to them to be rebuilt once again. Got it back and installed and it started jumping out of second along with reverse. Now, (this is all at no cost to me), they have sent me a tr3650 in replacement for the t45. From what the transmission tech has said the tr3650 is supposed to be a much better transmission. So tonight I get it put back in the car and I have noticed some issues. First, the crossmember is going to have to be relocated about 3-3 1/2 inches forward to accomodate for the differences in the trans mount location. Second, the two-prong connector on the side of the transmission (I'm guessing this is for the reverse light) looks like it's going to have to be fabricated as well. The original plug in the wiring harness is too big to snap on to the sensor in the trans. Fourth, I have heard that the speedometer sensor is also different than the t45. I know that the tr3650's are electronic and some of the t45's are mechanical, but I was under the impression that the t45 I had was electronic from what the trans tech said. A new speedo sensor came on the transmission, but I haven't tried to hook it up since I noticed the crossmember is going to have to be moved. What do you guys think about this swap? Is there anything else I should be looking for? From what the man said it should be a fairly easy "drop in, drop out" type deal. I don't think relocating the crossmember classifies as "drop in, drop out". Any suggestions?

Thank y'all for your help and comments!

uberstang1

The spedometer on the t45 was electrical, uses a gear and a sensor to send sognal to dash. The trans mount issue can be solved by running a standard mount instrad of thee offset mount that came with 96 and 97 GTs.

1998mustangcobra

Ok awesome, thanks for the info Uber. That makes me feel better about the speedo sensor. You think I'd be better off getting a trans mount off a GT or would it be better to move the crossmember up? Reason I'm asking is because I just got a new trans mount for it about two weeks ago with the t45 and swapped it over to the tr3650.

1998mustangcobra

Got everything back in the ole car and it seems to be running better than ever. The 3650 seems to have more noise coming from the shifter but from what I have read that is normal. I can handle the noise alot better than I can it jumping out of gear. Just in case some of you ever do the T-45 to TR-3650 swap, this is what I had to do:

1) Relocate the crossmember
2) Had to get a speedometer calibrator from speedo solutions to take care of the mechanical to electronic speedometer sensor conversion
3) Moved the O2 sensors in the O/R x pipe. When I was about to bolt up the exhaust I didn't think about the crossmember being moved. The sensors will hit the crossmember almost in the dead center when you go to put up the x pipe.

That's about all I can think of that I had to do and I like the 3650 MUCH better than the T-45. Only complaint so far is the noise, but like I said it's better than it jumping out of gear!

Hope this helps y'all!

ClassickWorld

I have a 97 GT Manual T45 that has been swapped to 2003 GT PI Engine and Trans TR3650 (also manual). I am having speedo and odometer issues due to the VSS/OSS needing to be converted. I can't find the extended speedcal anywhere because no one sells it. So I bought a FRPP instead. Everything is installed correctly but I can't get the right calculations. Any help? Thanks.