Ok....I'm going to keep this thread as short and to the point as possible, but I need professional/knowledgeable info immediately.....with that said, please allow me to thank you in advance.
Right to business: The T56 in mention is in my 2003 Cobra, and to the best of my knowledge has 60,103 miles on it. The previous owner did the anti-venom mod, 26 spline input shaft, MGW shifter, and bolted it back up with a Spec 3+ clutch and a Fidanza aluminum flywheel. It also has a Ford Motorsports adjustable clutch cable and quadrant. About 500 miles ago I began noticing that the shifter was becoming increasingly more and more difficult to get into first gear when sitting stationary after the tranny was hot....I would always have to put it into a few other gears to finally get it into 1st. Once moving the shifting wasn't really anything out of the ordinary for a T56, and as far as speed shifting smoothly (or not so smoothly into 3rd gear). Tonight heading to a car show it got rally bad.....bad enough that I spent a good amount of time mucking with the firewall adjuster, and actually got it set correct enough that it would slide into 1st gear smoothly while at a stop.... as well as the other 5 gears. However, at the end of the evening, while backing out of a parking space that was on a slight grade, I noticed a violent shudder in the tranny....this happened 3x's tonight. Along with the shudder is a loud rattle/clunking noise with bad vibration...it feels like a shaft with reverse on it is terribly out of balance and/or bent. The forward 6 gears seem to be working just fine. As a side note, earlier today I drained the royal purple lube that was inside of it, and replaced it with new clean fresh Dex/Merc III (4.8 quarts). Before something inside takes a real shit and really causes catastrophic (more expensive) damage, I am going to pull the tranny and have it rebuilt. This is where I need the expert opinions as to what MUST be addressed, and what SHOULD be addressed while it's apart. I would like to strengthen it some, smooth the shifting out if possible, and generally make it able to live behind my 643 WHP motor for a while. The car sees limited drag strip duty anymore since our track closed....so all abuse is from the MT drag radials on the street. PLEASE be very specific on what to do or what part you suggest and why it's recommended. I don't have an unlimited budget , but I don't want to cut corners either. Any help will be greatly appreciated. If anyone knows of a top notch tranny builder in Kansas or the surrounding states, send me their contact info.
Right to business: The T56 in mention is in my 2003 Cobra, and to the best of my knowledge has 60,103 miles on it. The previous owner did the anti-venom mod, 26 spline input shaft, MGW shifter, and bolted it back up with a Spec 3+ clutch and a Fidanza aluminum flywheel. It also has a Ford Motorsports adjustable clutch cable and quadrant. About 500 miles ago I began noticing that the shifter was becoming increasingly more and more difficult to get into first gear when sitting stationary after the tranny was hot....I would always have to put it into a few other gears to finally get it into 1st. Once moving the shifting wasn't really anything out of the ordinary for a T56, and as far as speed shifting smoothly (or not so smoothly into 3rd gear). Tonight heading to a car show it got rally bad.....bad enough that I spent a good amount of time mucking with the firewall adjuster, and actually got it set correct enough that it would slide into 1st gear smoothly while at a stop.... as well as the other 5 gears. However, at the end of the evening, while backing out of a parking space that was on a slight grade, I noticed a violent shudder in the tranny....this happened 3x's tonight. Along with the shudder is a loud rattle/clunking noise with bad vibration...it feels like a shaft with reverse on it is terribly out of balance and/or bent. The forward 6 gears seem to be working just fine. As a side note, earlier today I drained the royal purple lube that was inside of it, and replaced it with new clean fresh Dex/Merc III (4.8 quarts). Before something inside takes a real shit and really causes catastrophic (more expensive) damage, I am going to pull the tranny and have it rebuilt. This is where I need the expert opinions as to what MUST be addressed, and what SHOULD be addressed while it's apart. I would like to strengthen it some, smooth the shifting out if possible, and generally make it able to live behind my 643 WHP motor for a while. The car sees limited drag strip duty anymore since our track closed....so all abuse is from the MT drag radials on the street. PLEASE be very specific on what to do or what part you suggest and why it's recommended. I don't have an unlimited budget , but I don't want to cut corners either. Any help will be greatly appreciated. If anyone knows of a top notch tranny builder in Kansas or the surrounding states, send me their contact info.