Verdict on current TKO 600 Transmission?

[eschaider]

Scott,

Your point is well made. I guess the part of this whole thing that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up is the response from the distributor and apparent lack of response from Tremec. Daryl summed it up well in his post, how does the company respond when I have a problem.

Jimi G's points are also good. The unit may not have been suitable for the application. This brings us back to a distributor problem again, the distributor should have know this and steered the customer differently. He didn't. When we make choices based upon input from a trusted advisor presumably they will guide us correctly and not allow the loss of a sale to influence their advice.

For what it is worth I would not expect a TKO 600 to be close strength wise to a Jerico, Liberty, G-Force or any other race unit. That was not the design purpose and they don't cost as much! I also don't expect to have the unit designed/manufactured/assembled in a fashion (i.e. misaligned gears) that is inconsistent with industry practice for similar product or norms other manufacturers and Tremec typically adhere to in their other products.

The fact the distributor recommended it and sold it knowing the application and the lack of suitability, in fact made a special kit for the application, speaks volumes about the distributor. To later blame the failure on the customer begs the question what's wrong with this picture? I'll give Tremec the benefit of the doubt and say they didn't come up with the same failure analysis as the distributor. But, they have been unnecessarily quite and absent from the problem resolution process.

Still, no good feelings on these issues.

Ed

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by scott coyle

You guys are making this way to complicated. The tko 600 that broke was in a heavy car with lots of traction, the tranny simply could not get out of the way as there was too much mass, a big spread from second to third, and the over all gear was not low enough. The cobra, because of its light weight will get out of its own way even with a ton of traction.

If I remember correctly, you ran a tremec in your cobra, and had recurrent problems with it, rebuilding it maybe 2 or 3 times. Then you got a jerico, or something like that. I don't think the tremec is as strong as what it is marketed to be.

Originally Posted by Jimi G

As for the "light duty" comment, I have personally sold and installed these transmissions in 55-57 Chevy Belairs, all years of Camaros, Mustangs, Cobras, Pick ups, 32 Fords, 23 T-bucket, all years of Corvettes, all years of Chevelles, Impalas, Farlaines, Panozs race cars, and alot of those cars see the track on a regular basis. This transmission is not designed for heavy competition drag racing, it is designed for street driving

Then why is the TKO marketed as a road-RACE tranny, if it is really designed for street use? Anyways, I think the ratio's are way too wide for serious track work.

Originally Posted by Jimi G

This transmission is not designed for heavy competition drag racing, it is designed for street driving, that is why Jerico's, Lenco's, and all the other racing style transmissions are 2-3 times the price of the Tremec TKO600. Guys Tremec is trying to supply the market with an affordable option to the higher priced alternatives I named above.

Jim, not that I mean to bust your chops, but the tremec is really not an alternative to the Jerico's, G-Force, Lenco's, because it can't take the abuse these other tranny's can.

Originally Posted by Jimi G

I feel like Tremec is getting a bad rap here when all they are trying to do is offer a reliable transmission that will take alot of power, at a reasonable price to the consumer. I can tell you this, I have stated it in the past and I will say it again, for the money you will not find a better or stronger transmission on the market. I can also tell you this when I get close enough on the couple of projects I am working on there will be a TKO600 installed in them, not because i sell them, but because I deal with them everyday and I see how dependable and strong they really are.

David Kee sells new toploader tranny's for about $1600-1800, and you can buy new muncies as well, both of these trannies would probably be in the same ballpark as the tremec in strength, and some people may think they may even be stronger.

I think the tremec is a fine tranny, just maybe not as stout as many people are led to believe.

Originally Posted by eschaider

The fact the distributor recommended it and sold it knowing the application and the lack of suitability, in fact made a special kit for the application, speaks volumes about the distributor. To later blame the failure on the customer begs the question what's wrong with this picture?

I think this says the most, that a "kit" was made to install these trannies in big block B-Bodies, knowing that these cars were meant to be drag raced. If he was running alot of nitrous or had a blower, then I would expect a possible, likely failure. I wonder if the original tranny, A-833 4 speed would have failed under the same conditions ?

[rj8806]

Originally Posted by eschaider

Scott,

Your point is well made. I guess the part of this whole thing that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up is the response from the distributor and apparent lack of response from Tremec. Daryl summed it up well in his post, how does the company respond when I have a problem.

Jimi G's points are also good. The unit may not have been suitable for the application. This brings us back to a distributor problem again, the distributor should have know this and steered the customer differently. He didn't. When we make choices based upon input from a trusted advisor presumably they will guide us correctly and not allow the loss of a sale to influence their advice.

For what it is worth I would not expect a TKO 600 to be close strength wise to a Jerico, Liberty, G-Force or any other race unit. That was not the design purpose and they don't cost as much! I also don't expect to have the unit designed/manufactured/assembled in a fashion (i.e. misaligned gears) that is inconsistent with industry practice for similar product or norms other manufacturers and Tremec typically adhere to in their other products.

The fact the distributor recommended it and sold it knowing the application and the lack of suitability, in fact made a special kit for the application, speaks volumes about the distributor. To later blame the failure on the customer begs the question what's wrong with this picture? I'll give Tremec the benefit of the doubt and say they didn't come up with the same failure analysis as the distributor. But, they have been unnecessarily quite and absent from the problem resolution process.

Still, no good feelings on these issues.

Ed

O.k... we have been sitting by quietly observing since the whole fiasco started. Many on here and the other 3 forums that fordfan went to to manipulate us jumped on the band wagon and ASSUMED an awful lot.
Fact is, when we talk to a potential customer, the FIRST questoin that is asked is what are you using the car for? Are you drag racing? Are you running slicks? If the answer to any of these questions are YES, we advise against it.
The TKO is not designed for heavy drag racing applications. If you are running on slicks you run the chance of breaking the tranny. If you are running in a Mopar B or E-body(heavy car) with slicks, buy a Lenco, Jerico or the likes because a TKO will not stand up to that abuse.
Fact: When Fordfan initially gave us his information, we were told it was for street use and an occasional run down the track on STREET tires not slicks.
Fact: he ran down the track on SLICKS(not what he told us he was going to do) and the tranny broke. Did he miss the shift? Who knows, only he does. What really happened? No one except Fordfan knows.
Fact: Did we speculate it to be a missed shift? YES. To us the evidence pointed to that
Fact:Contrary to some of the beliefs here, we had no knowledge of a mis-alignment in the gearset. Some of you even went as far as to say that we did know and were told by Tremec to "keep quiet". COME ON! That's the most ridiculous thing I've read on here. Not to mention, a very LARGE assumption.
Fact:The original story we got from Fordfan was not what happened. The "story" changed before our eyes and YOURS.
Fact: Our Initial offer to him was for him to buy the parts(at cost) and we fix if for free and ship it back. Keep in mind, this was after the truth came out and he admitted to running slicks on the track. Our warranty, as well as Tremec's, is VOID under those circumstances but we were willing to make an exception and fix it at no cost to him.
The bottom line is you guys are going to continue this "arguement" regardless of what is posted and that's o.k.. That's your right and it is a public forum. Do not make assumptions about us or how we conduct business. You don't work here and don't know.
The Cobra's are what, half of the weight of a Mopar? How many other failures have you guys read about or experienced? As someone on here stated earlier, "you could probably count it on one hand or even one finger?
For the money, the TKO is a really good option for many guys/gals out there and will continue to be regardless of what you say or do.
O.K. Let the flaming start
Richard
Tech Support
Keisler Engineering