jpattt24

I have a new tko 500 5 spd in my 71 vette. and it will not down shift from 4th to 3rd. it will upshift in all gears fine and downshift in all gears except from 4th to 3rd and no grinding at all. the shifter just stops at 3rd like its locked out. if I go out of 4th and bump 2nd gear lightly it will go right in 3rd gear. I sent trans back to American power train where I bought it and the say nothing wrong with it. but it wont work right. I can drive car fine but I need this fixed I have a lot of money in this trans. tia

PainfullySlow

Everything that I have heard says that American Powertrain is a solid company that knows whats what. Assuming that they are correct and that nothing is wrong with the trans, you should be looking at your shifter. Are you using a complete kit from them or did you fabricate something?

jpattt24

no I bought complete kit from them. I would not call APT to solid as I have trouble getting phone calls to them they allways put you on hold and never answer the phone. when they sent me the trans the first time my installer was pouring gear oil in trans and it was coming out trans as fast as it was going in. they milled the tailshaft down to far and put a hole in it. and I had to pay double labor to have trans taken out and sent back. then reinstalled and APT wont reimburse me for the screw up. total head ache wit these people at APT.

71VetteLover

Your shift linkage isn't adjusted correctly.

jpattt24

there is no shift linkage on a tko 500

PainfullySlow

Then you have no choice to go back to AP. If you purchased an entire kit from them, there is no reason why it should not downshift.

Best bet is to just hammer them until they replace/repair it.

cagotzmann

I know how you feel. I purchased a white lightning shifter from them for my T56 magnum that never stopped leaking. They sent me 3 boot shifters seals so I could experiment on how to fix the poor design of the shifter. (that was my choice) I live in Canada and after 1 shifter replacement I was not going back to AP.

Now you may what to check the transmission indexing to the bell housing and check the TOB Release clearance to make sure it can shift as smooth as possible. When they test the transmission at there shop I would guess its without a clutch and bell house / flywheel attached.

It is possible if the indexing to the bell housing is off enough it may add a load to the main input shaft causing a binding somewhere that happens to show up during 4-3 down shift.

jpattt24

yes I had transmission installed by Jamison custom corvettes they checked the run out on the trans and it is in spec. they have done 10 or 12 of these conversions and no problems before.

SilverOverdrives

^ This is about your only option. It wouldn't hurt to call TREMEC and talk to them to see if they can offer any insight regarding the shifting issue. They will not warranty anything since the trans has been modified; repair/replacement will be up to the selling dealer.

TREMEC customer service:

Customer Service (Open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)
Toll Free: 1-800-401.9866
Email: customer.service@tremec.com

Jamison's is an installer for us as well so I would not expect there to be any issues regarding the bellhousing runout or other aspects of the installation. If bellhousing runout or clutch disengagement were out of spec, I would expect there to be issues with other gear positions as well. Difficulty getting into first gear from a stop is a good indicator of incomplete clutch disengagement.

Jeff

jpattt24

yes I spoke with Darren at tremec yesterday.he has no idea whats up with this tranny. my friend says the 3rd gear synchro is sticking when I come out of 4th and unsticking when I go to 2nd and then back to 3rd ?? American power train has been no help with this situation at all. they should man up and give me another trans. when I first got this trans they shipped it with a hole milled in the tailshaft case gear oil coming out as fast as Jamison could pour it out. and they wont refund me any of the extra labor to pull it back out. and its there fault they sent it to me that way. if I cannot get this resolved I am gonna buy a trans from SST. don't no what else to do. I have almost 7000 dollars in this trans kit and all the extra labor involved. thanks jesse Patterson

SilverOverdrives

I tend to agree there seems to be a potential issue in the synchro assembly assuming all else is good. I'm probably best reached by phone if there is anything else I can do. 865-609-8187

Jeff Kauffman

PainfullySlow

Jesse, I hope you paid with a credit card. Start by calling your CC company...

jpattt24

yes I did pay with a credit card.

CheezMoe

I would Google for their GM and find his email addy. Send him an email and express your extremem displeasure, and give them 48-72hrs to either agree to replace the trans or take it back and issue a full refund. Failure to do so will result in legal action starting with a dipsute with the CC and ultimately legal/small claims pursuit of all out of pocket funds! Not to mention that you will post in detail your experiences with his company. If they refuse or ignore you, lawyer up! At some point they will cave! Good luck!

jpattt24

just filed a dispute with the credit card company. will see what happens with this. the owner of American powertrain Robert hall will not call me back.

CheezMoe

FWIW I purchased my TKO kit from Hurst Drivelines and got outstanding CS and tech support from them. The first trans was shipped via ConWay who managed to smash the pallet, break the shipping bands and lose the boxes with the extra parts. The trans looked intact, but rather than risk anything Hurst shipped a complete new kit immediately via special handling on a different carrier, while Conway took their dear sweet time processing the claim. The tech support during the install was also outstanding. So if you get this resolved and still want a TKO, you might give them a try! Good luck with this mess! Vendors can really suck sometimes.

jpattt24

thanks for the info what hurst done for you was great. American powertrain does not no what customer service means. terrible company they take your money and no service after the sale.

jpattt24

I ordered a new transmission from SST and my installer has received it. I will take the car over to them this Monday for them to install the trans. I will follow up on how it goes.

PainfullySlow

awesome! SST would have been my first choice =-) Looking forward to some updates.

Gordonm

I have put in 3 TKOs from SST. I have a 4th due on my door step today. They have been excellent to deal with.