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Thread: 01' TKO 600 Swap

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Default 01' TKO 600 Swap

    Hello all, this is my build thread for swapping out my NV3500 (swapped out the auto a few years ago) with new Tremec TKO. Attached are a couple pics of the new parts just sitting in the garage ready to worked on. Below is a parts list that I have ready to go, I'm sure little things will come up, but thanks to Jmaack's good information, I will be able re-use ALOT of OEM parts (Flywheel, clutch pressure plate, starter, slave cyl, TO bearing, pivot arm, etc..)

    Current part read for install:
    -New Ford Tremec TKO 600 2.87 1st, .68 OD, 7.21" Input shaft length
    -Modified Bell housing - needed 4 tapped holes and a press fit index ring (Bell is from an 04' 2wd Ram 2500 - NV5600 w/Hemi)
    -12" Chevy Clutch Disc - Dual Friction CF - 1-1/8" x 26 spline
    -Aftermarket Pilot bearing w/ modified housing OD
    -slip yoke

    Still Need:
    -Driveshaft
    -Shifter stick/knob
    -center console
    -transmission mount/cross member mod

    More info and pics to come

    0226150617.jpg10308337.jpg
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

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    dakrt23's Avatar
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    Im in the same all-the-parts-in-garage boat as you. Get er done!
    HI. I like beer, burnouts, and boobies...


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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Hell yeah man! Likewise!
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

  4. #4

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    Hey Harsh! It was your conversion thread over on Dak-Dur that prompted me to jump in and do the auto/manual swap on my 4.7. Got a lot of helpful information from your thread. It's running fantastic and tons of fun now with the TKO. Only thing I would have done different would have been to go with the .68 OD rather than the .82.
    For the shifter lever went with Lokar (light as a feather) http://www.summitracing.com/parts/lo...FUo8gQoddYsABQ
    That is the 8", I went with the 10", but I think the 8" would be better. Did you get the White Lightning shifter with the offset? I did and it put the shifter in a much better position and a bit slicker shifting.

    For shift knob went with this one: http://www.americanshifter.com/catal...th-metal-flake
    But they have a pretty big selection.
    Hope to hear you have it on the road soon!

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    stealthRT's Avatar
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    Do you have a red regular cab? If so I also read your article on the swap it was a great read, and you have a bad ass truck

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Thanks FLRT & Stealth! I very much appreciate the compliments!

    FLRT - I'm glad my build prompted your swap and that its running great for you! That's what makes forums like these so ideal for information sharing. I don't blame you on the OD, .82 for strictly a track rat would be fine but lil too high revs on the highway. I like the lokar shifter, but I will need one that's strait instead of the layback as I don't plan on going with any offset shifter style....although I will keep that in mind as an option if you have had good success, thanks for the info.

    Stealth - Yes I have a Reg cab, thanks man! I did a thorough write up about it and submitted it to Allpar and they ate it up, I will also be submitting an update once the TKO swap is complete.
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Crossmember, nv3500 tranny and clutch assembly are now out of the truck. Going to try to make progress each night after work this week and I'll post up pics.
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Made great progress today and installed the pilot bearing, clutch disc, pressure plate ass'y, TO bearing and pivot arm, BH, transmission, cross member and motor mount. Still need to work on the mount for it be complete but other than that all I need to do is put that exhaust back on and get a new driveshaft made. Woot woot!


    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

  9. #9

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    What offset dowels did you end up using?

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FLRT View Post
    What offset dowels did you end up using?
    What offset dowels are you referring to? As far as the shifter goes I recall you mentioning an offset plate....now that everything in I will be installing a 2" offset plate forward and will be considering that lokar stick you noted.
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

  11. #11

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    The TKO requires being installed within .010" to centerline of crank. Many, if not most, bellhousings are not that accurate. Old transmissions did not require that close of a tolerance. Due to the design changes made in newer trans it is now very important.
    From my original swap thread:
    I originally ordered Lakewood dowels, very soft, had a hard time getting them in. Once started, figured better to keep going. Bolted bell all back up, setup dial indicator and was worse by .003". Figured I must have damaged dowels, sure enough. I had only found Lakewood dowels as Moroso only makes GM dowels. While researching my problem, found several who had this issue with Lakewood dowels and Mopar bells/blocks. Turns out Lakewood dowels are for Ford/Mopar. Well Ford is .500" dowel so I assumed, dangerous thing assumed, that Mopar was also. Mopar dowels (at least most) turn out to be .496"!! This explains why very hard to install. Anyway luckily there is someone who makes quality dowels for GM, Ford, Mopar and have ordered a set from http://www.robbmcperformance.com/products/dowels.html

    I have the instructions on how to align the bell for the trans. If you like can send to you.

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Ah I see what you mean now..... I dangerously did not dial indicate my crank shaft to bell housing ID. My reasoning for this was because I had a local precision machine shop that I use for work machine the BH. They averaged the ID and press fit the index ring and then bored the ID to .002" slip fit to the transmission. I figure the amount of misalignment is going to be within .005" recommended from Tremec as my bell housing went on very snug to the engine (assuming no dowel pin damage)...... the transmission pilot slipped right into the bearing with no issue and I only really had to hand work the trans into the BH for that .002" slip fit. The pilot bearing is .004" over sized compared to the trans pilot shaft so I feel pretty confident about it..... but thank you for sharing this, I will keep an ear out to make sure I'm not getting any bearing noise.
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

  13. #13

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    I hope it works out ok. Mine (QuickTime SFI bell) was .021" offcenter to crank. Had to use offset dowels to bring into spec. Not sure you would hear bearing noise even at .021" out but you might notice harder shifting. On my TKO it was rather notchy shifting even when dialed in. Asked around and heard they usually smooth out considerably as they break in. Mine did, noticeably smoother after 800-1000 miles. Can't wait to hear you have it back on the road!!

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Thanks man, I hope so too. I'll definitely be mindful of difficult shifts, I'm shocked that your quicktime bell was over 20 thou out!
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

  15. #15

    JDreamR/T's Avatar
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    Subscribed!! I plan on doing the same thing someday and have collected half the parts already...just missing that one big expensive part tho, the one that sits between the drive shaft and the clutch!
    1999 R/T CC Flame Red (what's left of the paint)
    //SHAKER// 408 Forged // TKO600 5spd // Spintech-Mids // HiPoTek 106 LOPEYCAM // FRP Tuned //

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    Just as an FYI if you use the mid shift position it will come up in the factory location.



    03 CC 4.7 NV3500

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Thanks J! Can't wait to see you post your progress.

    Thanks mtl - I did know this, but I did not want to spend an extra $350 plus my time for doing the mid shift conversion... Bit glad you mentioned it because the way my set-up is now I could re-use the big oem center console. However, I found that even with my NV3500 the shifter position and console height all felt somewhat awkward and I'm not sure I want to re-use my console now. I'm going to browse the scrap yard for the small manual console and worry about whats between the seats later.
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    PS - Picked up my driveshaft, the shop screwed up and made it out of steel....even though I EXPLICTLY stated several times aluminum.... they apologized and made the price right so I can't complain I guess. I threw a quick coat of paint on it and she'll be going in the truck soon.
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

  19. #19

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    For comparison, this is rearmost mount with additional rearward 3" offset. The stock ('01 Sport automatic) console fits snugly between seats (at least the seats using).
    Sorry for the mess, working on that dash/wiring area now.
    jh-int-shifter.jpg

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    JDreamR/T's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FLRT View Post
    For comparison, this is rearmost mount with additional rearward 3" offset. The stock ('01 Sport automatic) console fits snugly between seats (at least the seats using).
    Sorry for the mess, working on that dash/wiring area now.
    jh-int-shifter.jpg
    That's awesome. Looks much more comfortable having the lever further rearward like that, I personally wouldn't really even care about a center console, if anything just make one up out of MDF and wrap it in vinyl.
    1999 R/T CC Flame Red (what's left of the paint)
    //SHAKER// 408 Forged // TKO600 5spd // Spintech-Mids // HiPoTek 106 LOPEYCAM // FRP Tuned //

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    Nice! I also Like that set-up. My carpet is cut-out though for the stock location. My shifter and knob will be here tomorrow so I'll see how the whole set-up feels and post pics up.

    FYI - Thanks FLRT for recomending the Lokar shifter stick, I bought the same black 12" one so we'll see how the setup looks.
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

  22. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by HARSH-R/T View Post
    FYI - Thanks FLRT for recomending the Lokar shifter stick, I bought the same black 12" one so we'll see how the setup looks.
    I hope that shifter works, bit afraid it may not clear dash in stock location? Guess we will know soon
    You must be close to hitting the road with it soon! Then you just have to suffer through the long break in period!!

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    HARSH-R/T's Avatar
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    Transmission mount fabbed up and installed, driveshaft installed, gm synchromesh fluid in, y-pipe installed and shifter installed. I made 2" offset plate forward and angled the shifter so it has more layback as well as 2" spacer rods to move the shifter closer to the driver. I'll post pics sometime this week after work.
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

  24. #24

    JDreamR/T's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HARSH-R/T View Post
    Transmission mount fabbed up and installed, driveshaft installed, gm synchromesh fluid in, y-pipe installed and shifter installed. I made 2" offset plate forward and angled the shifter so it has more layback as well as 2" spacer rods to move the shifter closer to the driver. I'll post pics sometime this week after work.
    Sounds like you got a lot done! Looking forward to pics...
    1999 R/T CC Flame Red (what's left of the paint)
    //SHAKER// 408 Forged // TKO600 5spd // Spintech-Mids // HiPoTek 106 LOPEYCAM // FRP Tuned //

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    Pics below, I ended up abandoning the shifter location you see in the pic, too far forward and the shifter throw is too long for a 10" stick. So I ordered a core-shifters 25% short throw shifter a couple days ago and I will install it as far rearward as possible and add another floor cutout. But man I'm really close to completion, got my wheels back from sandblasting so its off to powder coat and I should be driving by next weekend hopefully!






    Last edited by HARSH-R/T; 04-25-2015 at 01:15 PM. Reason: meant 10" shifter stick
    01' RC Dakota 5.9L R/T - TKO 600 - 1st ever 01+ Manual Tranny Conversion w/ NO CEL - SOLD
    98' Durango 5.2L 4x4 - T/S Lift with 33x12.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's - SOLD
    If it aint broke, fix it till it is!

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