Putting a TKO-600 with hydraulic clutch on a stout 455. I've snapped input shafts and welded torque convertors on a turbo 400. What are my chances of keeping this setup from failure??????
It is rated at 600ft/lbs of torque. I'd think that would be the minimum before you break something and they probably have a healthy margin for error. Got a buddy with a TKO in his big block Camaro and loves it. I'm guessing you got traction to snap those things? In my 70 Stage car I snapped an input shaft on a T400, too! NOT fun! Also blew a sprag and lost 2nd gear. It certainly will be your last, best hope for keeping it together. I'm going to try the Richmond 5 speed (loooow 1st and 1:1 5th) in my car though I have no where near the torque in my 350 car. Just need to do something besides an M21 with 3.08 gears.
No. Did this with street tires. The transmission builder is pretty well known. Can you say "midlife crisis". Instead of chasing women, I hit the streets in the Burn-out Buicks. I'm hoping the 5-speed cures me a little.
What are the specs on your 455? No problems with my TKO 600 and I should be a bit over 500hp. The hydraulic clutch sounds very nice though.:3gears:
I have over 80,000 miles on my TKO-600 and two drag weeks with drag radial's on the car among other occasional test and tunes. Never an issue. There are upgrades you can do to it for even more power, but also usually come with some "behavior" caveats to keep it alive. Folks are running them in cars down to bottom 9's as far as I know and maybe even lower.
Just curious what did you use for a pilot bearing/bushing on your TKO600 conversion? I'm having a hell of a time. Trashed a bearing trying to get it in; got a TA bushing to go but the diameter of the pilot hole compressed to where it's too tight for the shaft.
dremmel will fix the hole up, not sure how many guys have luck installing the bushing without having to touch up the pilot hole. I used a McLoed hydraulic throwout bearing on my richmond 5 speed. Gord
Hmm, I've never had any real issues with a NAPA or Autozone sourced pilot bushing. Is your crank drilled for a manual transmission bushing? I do use a red scotch bright pad to give the bushing a quick rub down and the inside of the crank journal a quick rub down just to ensure they are clean and smooth, but I wouldn't say I was aggressive with it enough to remove any serious amount of material. I've installed three** pilot bushings in that 80,000+ miles due to various engine upgrades that involved crankshaft work (original install, one swapped crank, then a crank balance when I got new pistons) and never had anything I'd call "excess" difficulty. I have always test fit the bushing on the nose of the nose of the TKO prior to install, but never experienced noticeable shrinkage once installed in the crank. They are soft and easy to mess up. A medium sized long'ish Grade 8 bolt with a washer and nut to put against the bushing with a rubber hose sleeved on the threaded end in the bushing hole makes a decent driver to hammer on. You could probably "press" it in with a jawed puller, but I've never tried, I've always used a calibrated hammer. **Edit, make that four, I recently installed a new bushing last Feb-March with the clutch when the pressure plate failed/locked up on me and the bushing came with the kit, so I used it as part of the "replace everything to do with the clutch" when I had a problem with it. Used the pack with grease and hydraulic the bushing out method.
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I decided to go with the Dick Miller Racing DMR-5022. It fits into the torque converter hole so it doesn't go as deep. I'll use a block plate and even a spacer to if necessary to get the tranny at the right depth.
