Smoove

It was a major ordeal, doing the transmission swap in my 00 C5 FRC. My day started last saturday morning, around 8am, with the intention of installing my 2010+ TR6060 ZR1 Transmission and 2012 C6 Z06 diff, mounted to a C6 cradle, coupled to a C6 torque tube, and a C6 quick time bellhousing. Pretty much, the entire day, the car fought me. It was by far, the most difficult Y body drivetrain install I have ever worked with between the Corvette and Cadillac Brands. Here is the quick run down of my journey into hell and back.

For one, it fits. It didn't want to fit but, we made it happen. Can I do it again, is the question lol. Anyways, the car is already space confined, more so then the normal Y cars I work on with all it's custom pipes and such. There really isn't any bolt on's on the car other then the bolts themselfs lol. That said-

1) Had to modify rear cradle. Why? Because this is a HUGE housing. I bought a C6 cradle,...a C6 diff(Z06) and I had to notch a pretty good amount out of it, to make it work. First I expected to cut the opening for the diff cooler line,...which I did right away...









So I went to install it, with just the rear opening for the cooler cut,...but didn't work/fit.







this had to go...



will box it in soon...


So then, once I got that all back in the car..ready to go in,..and once we got about 3 inches away from getting the cradle to the chassis of the car,....I heard something.... we stopped,..couldn't see,...got closer,...snap..snappppp.... Oh....the diff cooler line is hitting the floorboard.... hmm,...cut it. We can fix later....easy.. Cut.... Reinstall..... 1 inch away from cradle meeting chassis......snnnnnnnnnapppp....

wtf..... oh,... wait,...the diff, is on the floorboard of the trunk of the car..... That's cool. Yea, not so much but,..there was no going back now...had to relieve the pressure ......







So,..Obviously, I will have to take care of that, which honestly, really isn't a big deal. I wann redo my mini tubs and do a cage anyways so...there you go. So, once it was cut, I installed the drivetrain. The drivetrain did fit, which again, is the C6 bellhousing, C6 torque tube, Tr6060/C6Z06Diff/ standard C6 cradle, C5 control arms with coil overs. It didn't look like it was gonna line up on the dowel pins but,...it did somehow.....here's the proof....

















..and here is the audio,..kinda drowned out by some fans we have on full speed at the shop but,..here it is..





...unfortunatly, I have to take everything apart again, as my slave cylinder, is leaking. Either I hyper extended it by not having a pedal stop in, or I have some sort of a defective part. Either way,...this was the hardest install in my life to date,...I worked from 8am sat till 10:30pm sat,..then sun 9am till 4:30pm trying to get this thing together. And now,..I have to undo everything. Lol.. I wasn't too happy of a person the last 24hours but,...I am over it now,...and already planned on taking the car back apart, this coming saturday.

Pretty much...the lamest thing that could have happened. Anyways, if anyone has any questions about the swap,..lemme know. But everything seems to work so far as far as fitment.

JMBLOWNWS6

I dont understand why you had to cut the trunk area. I have a ZR1 diff which is bigger and it still fit. I did use the OEM lines for the cooler. It is alot of work and a PITA! But we used a C5 Quicktime scatter shield and notched the c5 TQ tube

69ls6

Yeah This..

I counldn't use the cooler because of lines hitting the trunk but did have to grind the cradle in one spot do to the housing touching.

turbotuner20v

Would banjo fittings not work?

Ah, nevermind, didn't see the dif itself was hitting the floor

JMBLOWNWS6

It was super close but it clears. Same thing on the cradle we just had little notch. Its alot of work and that sucks that he has to take it all apart again. How much clearance do you have on the throwout bearing to clutch pressure plate? If there is too much you will overthrow it and blow out the seal that way also.

69ls6

I keep my stock c5 torque tube so nothing changed there. I'm also using c5 a arms. I only used the trans pump and had a hose made to return fluid through one of the fluid check hole so gear set will have oil all the time

b16gsr

damn bro what a mess.

FourG63 97GST

oh man, that was an Event, This made me look to see what ZR1s are going for

JoeyG

Holy Sh&t Jamie

At least your almost there man.

Smoove

I dunno either man. Maybe due to the C6 TrqTbe? I dunno. It was a slight beoootch getting the dowel pins for the cradle to meet up with the chassis at first but, it went in with a very mild amount of force. there was no other option I don't think for me...it was just resting on the fiberglass. I have pfadt trans/diff mounts.

I first grinded the fiberglass for the fitting,..then as it got closer, there was just no other choice in this.




I don't know how much clearance I have, I do have a clutch pedal stop I need to attach, and I did not...so it very well could be MY fault....i won't know until I call Tilton or take it apart. All of my paper work on the assembly is up north, in the car ...so, I wanna call them when I have the part numbers in front of me to find out what they're opinion is. Either way, I accept it,...especially the part that sucks.


Nice.

Very much so.

Yup,... next street car I build,...is gonna be a turbo only(or twin) and a fuel system. Everything else radical,....I am either doing for friends/customers or sticking to tube chassis race cars from now on. I guess cause I am getting older,...I want more seat time, less wrench time. I would love to have a ZR1....the money in my car now...lol... oh well, thats a whole other story.

Smoove

So,..I get to the shop....get set up to remove the drivetrain...had to move a couple of cars around first.....so, ofcourse, the first car I jump in,..the TT GTO...



...started, wouldn't engage a gear while running...checked fluid, totally empty...lol...push car back, and there is a puddle of hydraulic fluid directly underneath bellhousing. lol, FML ..so, yea, thats another project I got dropped in my lap.


After that,..standard removal process for my ride...

Gotta drain fuel...E85 smells SWEET.


More...other side...






...and the cause,...self induced(my fault)


Bearing seal failure..due to over extension of clutch pedal.....seal kit on the way...plans to redue everything next weekend. I have pedal stop now attached to clutch pedal...so this won't happen again.





We'll see how it goes next weekend.

The Highlander

you could have just rotated the rear pump and you wouldn't have had to cut the floor....

I ended up eliminating the differential cooler anyways because the feed line was touching the cradle causing a nasty vibration.

b16gsr

damn my friend hate to see that. looks like an easy fix and a major PITA.

Smoove

That's a big negative ghost rider..... believe it or not, for lack of a better saying, "I ain't that stupid." Maybe I didn't post the pic in this thread that shows that actual height of my diff, and the location of my floor board. It is inside the cabin, with or without a diff pump re clocking or not.

Hard to tell from THIS pic but, it is well inside the cabin. Going on a bike ride now, will upload later on the pic that shows how far inside it it.

I am starting to think either A, it's due to the C6 TT that is making it longer....somehow....the bellhousing,....(C6)....or B,...it's happening to more people, and they just don't know it.



No worries, I am just gonna cut the big square out,..make the inside flat...done deal. The show goes on brohym

PEETYZ

Wow man. What a pain. I feel ya on things not working out the first time. While mine wasnt as bad i forgot to put loctite on came bolts and they came loose and i was miles away from serious damage and had to tear front all apart for 5 mins of bolt work.

Growing pains for sure. Keep us posted. best of luck with the build. Looks awesome so far!

SteveDoten

The 6060/C6 diff/C6 cradle has been done a few times, but I think this is one of the first I've seen with the C6 Torque Tube and C6 Bellhousing(one piece)

Does the C6 share the same BH from 2005-2013?

Looks like if the diff H.E. pump was removed, a slight mod would've been needed to clear the top of the diff cover

For anyone else doing the swap,
1. Shifter rod length, changed from C5 to C6
2. Torque Tube length, changed from C5 to C6
3. 2009.......another change; 2 locations on each side for the diff mount(I think this 'may' have also changed the TT/shifter rod length again)
4. 2009, change to the ZR1 diff H.E. (not solid if the ZR1 diff H.E. was the cause for the new rear cradle)
5. 2009, change to the fluid pump return on the 6060's(casting boss still remains on the trans center section)

Cliff Notes: if your locating parts, be sure you know it's C6 or 2009up C6

My question: C5, C6 or C6.09up Torque Tube, which one is optimal?

I've been asking questions to Rodney/Jeremy from RPM for many years, Jamie(Smoove) has also helped out in a recent 6060 conversion I've done by supplying the correct AN conversion fittings, Bret Bradbury was one of the first to do the swap back in 2009(but let's face it, he's from The Republic of Texas, they won't wrench on anything <800whp)

calivette805

Just wanted to let you know that I love your exhaust tips ... Again lol

calivette805

Just wanted to let you know that I love your exhaust tips ... Again lol

Smoove

Thanks man, I appreciate that.

Quick update, installed everything again this past weekend...bled everything up in the car, tested, in the air with no wheels on. I had proper clutch engagement and disengagement.... decided to install wheels and go for test drive...lowered car...tried to start,..rolled forward... dammit,...must have air,...started the car in neutral,...tried to put in gear while idling.... wouldn't go.... figured I had air.

I did... after multiple bleeding attempts,..found no leaks...then finally....found a small amount of fluid....like maybe a honey bee took a leak right there sized drop of fluid... and yes,...my master cylinder, now also, had failed.

New TICK on the way,..which is a Tilton master really,...which is awesome,..so now, it's a full tilton setup(hey, a bright side)..... The good news is, this is the best, worst case scenario. Atleast the slave is now fixed. The car is now off the lift, had time to clean. The story continues..

My pleasure man...happy to help a friend any time.

Unfortunately,..I probably shoulda done more research on my swap. I thought I did a lot but, frankly, I couldn't find the information that I have came across. Clearly, the length of the bellhousing to me, is the root issue in why my assembly is so tight fittings. My cradle barely wants to go on the dowels....it's tight. Like a Tiger.

New problem....I went to mount the CCW drag pack...wouldn't work on my car anymore. The wheels, come in direct contact with the lower control arms... I have C5 lowers... I am guessing I now NEED C6 control arms? So,..no drag pack for me anytime soon.


Thanks!!!
You could say that again!

lol... thanks man,....I do appreciate the compliment. It'll never get old so thanks again,...those are always welcome.

Here's a few pics from this past weekend...

new bearing...piston










Using a skinny spare to make it easier to work in the wheel well...much easier then a 295mm

















Thats a C6 cover....which BARELY fits....BARELY....

Anywho...thanks all. Should have master in next weekend...then I can road test,...and get onto this C6F1X build thats been on pause. Hoping to have videos by this Sunday.

Smoove

..Oh yea, and my sway bar end link cracked in half. I wanted to get sway bars anyways...wasn't in the financial market for them at the moment but...we'll see what happens this month. I guess I could always make/buy end links but,..would rather have the whole shabang.