Tko600 Warning!!!!

[eschaider]

I just checked my new TKO 4617. The countershaft alignment problem that Greg (Fordfan) has also exists in my new, never used, still in the box untill I opened it TKO.

My transmission appears to have the countershaft shimmed backward towards the rear of the case. The effect of the apparent shimming was to share the total misalignment between second and third gear rather than having third gear absorbing the total misalignment. Come to think of it, the rearward placement of the countershaft will affect every mainshaft gear that meshes with it!

When I bought the transmission the reseller strongly encouraged me to have them 'blueprint' the box before shipping. The cost was just under a hundred bucks. For cheap money I thought what the heck, why not, its just good insurance in case the factory missed something that could come back to haunt me later.

I am now of the opinion the reseller already knew of the problem and in 'blueprinting' was attempting to stack the longevity deck as best as possible by spreading the load reduction across multiple gears, given the Tremec design flaw.

This problem appears to be a Tremec design error. More significantly it defies rational thinking that the folks at minimally Tremec and probably Keisler were unaware of the design error. It is even more troubling that Keisler would misrepresent the cause of failure as a partially engaged third gear resulting from a missed shift.

What each of us, with a TKO 600 TCET4617 appears to have is a transmission with a faulty countershaft design that does not fully engage the tooth face of one or more mainshaft gears. Greg (Fordfan) was aggressive enough in his cry for help and the potential of a broad based foul play that at least one of the websites he posted on (Club Cobra) unraveled the ball of fishing twine.

Keisler is a major disappointment, along with Tremec. It could well be that Tremec advised their dealer network that Tremec would not honor warranties for failed third gear gearsets. The dealers, in this case Keisler, in turn then assigned the cause of failure to the owner with misrepresentations and disingenuous statements because they wouldn't/couldn't carry the expense of warranting Tremec's design error.

Tremec has the real responsibility to both stand good for the repairs and most importantly to produce a countershaft replacement that engages all mainshaft gears correctly. Resellers like Keisler need to be very carefully scrutinized to determine if they deserve our business. Keisler's behavior and deliberate attempts to obfuscate the truth really give reason for pause and reflection.

Ultimately each of us will have to make his own decision. When you do, think about the events that have transpired here, put yourself in Greg's (Fordfan's) place and ask yourself if this is fair treatment and how would you feel if the tables were turned. Remember that if you have a TKO 600 (and probably 500 also) this failure could be just down the road waiting for you!

Ed