RyanV

First off, I am not about to talk/type badly about any company that sells mustang parts, and my intention is not to offend anyone who works in retail sales, last time I posted on here it got a little out of control..... with that said.

I pulled the trigger on D and D TR 6060 kit and got some BBK shorty headers as well as the updated dust shield for 2008 models (anyone with the problem on your 2008 where it makes a metallic clanging racket for the first 5 to 10 minutes on start up will know how annoying this can be) and then allotted two days for the install at Dad's garage over the memorial day weekend.

First off, with the installation finished, after spending 3 days getting it done....I must say that the 6060 shifts slicker than goose poo coated in mobil 1 sliding down an ice luge, or at least in comparison to the 3650 I removed.....so, Im in love with my car again and can speed shift 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5 and 5-6 with minimal (read two fingers on the shifter ****) effort.

Now for my impressions on the installation process. The bottom line on the 6060 kit, with a clutch and shipping costs between 4600 to 4700, and that was with a zoom clutch (kevlar). My plans for FI dictated that I upgrade the holding power and the 6060 is 26 spline whereas the 3650 was 10 spline so I went with what they sold at d and d.

The customer service, shipping, timeline, and availability for telephone consultation on a wiring question that I had were excellent from D and D, the only request that I have is that they send some instructions, but I understand that there may be some liability issues or whatever in providing instructions and/or there is an assumption that only experienced or qualified mechanics will attempt the swap. I suggested this to the D and D rep once we spoke on the phone and he was very nice and stated that he would suggest some instructions to the owner of the company, so I was happy and felt like I had been listened to (which is what we all want, right? ).

As for my level of mechanical experience/skill, I did spend 5 years working in the family auto repair business and I have replaced several t-5's in my day, being the owner of three fox bodies in the past. That was 10 years ago and now I eat doughnuts for a living.......haha.

Now for the important tips...........

1. If you are doing this yourself, good luck, as you should have another person available to assist in lifting transmissions in and out and for some other tasks, (mostly related to removing and installing the headers versus installing the clutch and trans but still it is helpful to have an assistant).

2. The wiring harness. This install requires you to slice open the factory wiring harness that feeds the wiring to the 02 sensors and the stock tranny and relocate one of the plugs from left to right and one from right to left (Not the 02 sensor plugs but rather the plugs for the speedo and back up lights I believe). You do not have to make any electrical connection changes, just open the tape and conduit, move the wires and plugs and then use new (plastic conduit is what I suggest) and then cover in tape in order to set yourself up for an easier install. Thus, this is more of a rerouting of wires rather than actual electrical work. If you do not do this step once you have the 3650 out, it will be quite difficult to work around the trans if you wait to perform this step after you put the 6060 in and then realize that this needs to be done. Thankfully Dad caught this before we hoisted in the six speed and saved us a lot of time and aggravation.

3. Reverse lockout solenoid. The 6060 not being native to the s197 GT variant, there is no provision in terms of wiring for the reverse lockout solenoid which is on the 6060. I did some internet research on cars that come with the 6060 and it seems the more popular method of controlling the solenoid (see Camaro, Challenger, and Corvette) is to have a circuit that is controlled by the computer which activates the solenoid (thus making it easier to shift into reverse) at all speeds below 3 or 5 miles per hour. This not being an option in the S197 GT, and it being the weekend when D and D was closed, I fabbed a nice heat resistant wiring harness under the vehicle and into the passenger cabin underneath the cupholders via a hole I drilled and grommetted, basically setting myself up for attaching the wires once I know what the suggested circuit was to use. Once I got ahold of D and D personnel on Tuesday, they advised that a switch (using power and ground from wherever I like) that activated the circuit was one popular option and another was to wire into the brake light circuit AFTER the brake light switch, which plugs into the top of the brake pedal under the dash on the driver's side. D and D assured me that installing this wiring is NOT NECESSARY and that it is optional, only to be used if you do not like the extra effort required to shift into reverse AND that not installing this wiring and thus not using the solenoid WILL NOT HARM the transmission internals. Now, Im sure there will be some differing opinions on this matter, this is just hearsay, what I am saying I was told and I believe that D and D personnel know what they are talking about when it comes to manual transmissions. I did choose to install the wiring to the brake light circuit because of OCD and military background.....It just didnt seem right to do 99.5% of the install and leave these wires unconnected. Oh, and by the way, the pigtail provided in the kit has a pink and a green wire (but the solenoid doesnt care which one you use as hot and which you use as ground, which was another question that I needed answered before I hooked up the wiring). I opted to make pink hot and green ground, for alliterative (sic) reasons.

I also could not find the answer to the information above on the forum (it may be here I just couldnt find it) so now if someone searching for answers to this install on a weekend when the supplier is closed, then perhaps they will find this post and be oscar mike towards finishing the install.

4. Bleeding the clutch. I did find the information necessary to bleed the clutch without having to fabricate a vacuum pump to rubber plug and vacuum bleed the slave......which is what Dad's magic computer said to do. The right front corner of the car jacked up and some pumping (slowly) of the clutch pedal, once at 1 am and then I let the car sit untill 9 am and did it again for maybe 5 to 10 minutes seemed to get the air out. Although this was after the line popped out twice trying to get the clutch bled. Once we got the line installed/seated fully into the 90 degree connector on the trans (a little pry bar action to make sure the hydraulic line was FULLY seated) the bleeding procedure was a cinch and MANY THANKS to all of you who have provided that information on the forum, as I again would have been stuck doing something more difficult but for your postings being available to me.

In summation, the install is relatively straightforward, remove driveshaft, h pipe, starter, old trans, clutch/pressure plate, and then bolt up new clutch/pressure plate (33 ft/lbs then additional 60 degrees on the pressure plate to flywheel bolts) and lift trans into place, then bolt up trans (33 ft/lbs on trans to engine bolts), then install driveshaft, exhaust, and enjoy. Oh and you will need to unbolt the engine mounts (dont remove the nuts, just loosen them) in order to be able to angle the engine to get the old trans out and the new one in..... but the results are worth the trouble, the 6060 is what Ford should have installed in the first place, love it.

For anyone considering this swap, or performing it, please feel free to contact me with any questions/concerns involved in the install, I will answer PM's or provide my cell number in order to assist in any way that I can.

Ryan

red96v6

Awesome write up and congrats on the install. Ive been thinking of doing this, my second and reverse are nearly impossible to get into sometimes. Ill use this post for sure if i do install this.

tigerhonaker

Thanks for the in-depth write-up.
A Buddy of mine is having that done in a few days.

tigerhonaker

JIM5.0

Great write up. Are all of these procedures you mentioned and used in your install 100% the same for installing a T56?

Also, the TR6060 has a much shallower 1st gear, 2.7:1, or something a little over 3:1. The TR3650 has a 3.35:1 1st, so assuming a 3.31:1 rear gear on your TR3650, with a TR6060 with 2.7:1 1st, you would have to install 4.10:1 rear gears to get a similar wheel gear ratio.
Actually, a TR3650 with 3.31:1 is just a little bit better for take off at the line since you get a little gear ratio at the wheels.

Czar22

I was just researching an upgrade to my tr3650 and found this write up!! Thanks a ton Ryan. Phenomenal job!

908ssp

I did the swap a couple months ago very happy with it. I didn't both to hook up the reverse lockout and now don't think I will.