New member looking for transmission advice

santonel

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Hi everyone,

Just joined the forum because I had my transmission go on me and I'm trying to decide where to go from here.

The backstory is that I bought a 2007 V6 mustang back in 2017. It was a high mileage car (about 225,000km when I bought it, 249,000km now which is roughly 155,000mi for non-metric folks) but in nice shape. I like Mustangs and couldn't afford a GT so I took a gamble (and lost) and bought the V6. The transmission went in 2018. It sat for about a year and I had it rebuilt by a transmission shop in 2019.

Well it quit on me again this afternoon. I heard sort of weird... I want to say grinding or rubbing noise but not metallic grinding. I pulled into a parking lot to investigate, nothing leaking or obviously damaged so I turned around, put it back in drive and didn't go anywhere. First is gone. I still have 2nd and reverse, didn't check 3rd, but if last time was any indication if I drive it any more they'll go too eventually.

Everything's closed for labour day so I had it towed to a family member's house so I could at least put it into a garage and give myself some time to think about what I want to do with it.

I like the car and want to keep it but I don't want it to become a total money pit.

The only thing I've decided so far is I want that POS transmission out of there. I'm not having it rebuilt again only to have it break again, I'm pretty set on that. I think I'd also like to convert to a manual transmission because a) to get more of a real muscle car experience and b) less parts inside that could fail. I have no faith in the 5R55S and wouldn't willingly get another one.

Then I started thinking, "if I have to replace the trans maybe I could do a motor swap too?". The 4.0L V6 hasn't given me any problems (yet). My only complaint is that it's slow.

So then I started googling coyote swaps and they seem to start around $10,000 which is too steep for me right now and the process doesn't seem to be entirely straightforward. I'm not so much concerned about racing or making crazy power but just making the car a bit faster and more fun to drive. The 3V 4.6L would be a more natural choice but unless it's significantly cheaper than putting in a Coyote it doesn't seem worth it.

I planned to put it away for the winter anyway. I'm just doing it a couple months sooner. I just bought a car (today in fact - perfect timing) as a winter driver. I have time to wait to afford this or that part depending on what I want to do.

Anyways, that's all sort of a pipe-dream right now. I guess the question right now is, what are my options for transmissions? Is there a better, more reliable transmission I can upgrade to? Ideally, is there a better transmission that will fit my 4.0 now but can bolt on to a 4.6 or 5L later if you change the bell-housing or something?

Sorry for the wall of text.

TLDR; 5R55S trans is broken. Want to replace with a more reliable (probably manual) trans and want to keep options open for possible engine swap. Is it possible? Suggestions? Advice?
 

Racer47

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Sucks about the trans. The shop must not have done a good job. A rebuild should have lasted for the life of the car. I'm not sure about the bellhousing bolt pattern but TR-3650 5 speed transmissions are reliable and not expensive. I have one out of my 06 GT with only 15,000 miles on it. I'd sell it for $400 with the throw out bearing, crossmember and shifter. You would need to add manual trans pedals (brake and clutch are together), clutch master cylinder and reservoir and probably a driveshaft.

Look around the V6 tech section here. Someone must have done this by now. It's certainly doable and way easier than a 3V or coyote motor swap. No computer issues that I know of outside of maybe the speedo pickup.
 

Juice

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You can only put a v6 trans in there. Bellhousing is integral.
I happen to have a good v6 t5 leftover from my swap. But since you are metric, you must be outside of.the US.
 

Iceman62

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Why not go back to the shop who didn't fix your tranny correctly the 1st time? I say they owe you something b/c 1-yr on a re-build is horseshit.
 

santonel

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Why not go back to the shop who didn't fix your tranny correctly the 1st time? I say they owe you something b/c 1-yr on a re-build is horseshit.

I called them earlier this week and had a conversation with the owner. They only guarantee their work for 90 days but they said they might be able to give me a break on the cost if I brought it back. He said we don't know what's wrong with it yet (which is true) and you never know it might be an easy fix.

I'm not sure if I'm going to do that yet. The last rebuild was kind of an ordeal. Aside from me not having much faith in the quality of the transmission, I didn't like it much when it was working properly anyway and I'm considering swapping in a manual instead. From most accounts I've read, the T5 is a pretty well respected transmission.

I'm not impressed with the engine either but having sat down and thought about it for a while I decided I'm not ready to take on a full engine swap. I was hoping there would be a compatible transmission that would bolt up to a V8 if decided to do it in the future but maybe that's just wishful thinking.
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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The 5R55S seems to have a design life of 150k miles so I think your tranny has run its course. Unless it's a cheap fix, and I seriously doubt it, you're better off considering other options than repairing it e.g.:

1. You could search for a good used tranny from another 4.0 V6 Mustang with a lower mileage.

2. Buy a totaled (not flood damaged) but complete '05-'10 GT with a TR3650 and scavenge all the mechanical parts from it plus ECU/wiring harnesses/gauge cluster.
 

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