TKX transmission mount

[Flanders 46]

I've got a TKX 5-speed going in, but have a few questions about the crossmember mount that came with the kit.  It's their "x-factor" mount.

 It's quite a different shape than the factory  mount, and instructions (should I choose to read them) are pretty vague.

I'm curious if the attachment points on the frame are on the front-side, or back-side of the original crossmember mounting position. Original mount, for reference:

 

Was hoping someone can shed a bit of light, otherwise I'll just arse around with it and see what fits best once I have the engine+trans hanging in the right position.

[jmlay 80]

While I have no experience with a top loader or the tkx, I feel comfortable stating it goes behind the cross brace. The tkx is a longer transmission than the toploader, based upon the measurements I have seen online. The answer will be clear when you have the transmissions next to each other.

[NeverNervousPurvis 1]

I have a TKX in my 69 coupe and it is mounted with the second bracket that you have pictured, the oblong holes are towards the rear of the car, so based on the picture I would say it mounts on the back 

[maxum96 32]

I have a  TKX in my 70.  But I have a different transmission mount from those.  I have no idea what brand it is as it came with the car.  The first mount you showed should work just fine. 

 

 

[Flanders 46]

that above pic looks custom :D 

I've just attached the mount, and have a few notes for anyone else doing this.

I used this:

 

I had to clearance the corner of the mount a bit, above the elongated hole (left, in the pic).  Otherwise the bracket was hitting the old cross-member mounting point, preventing the bolt hole from lining up.  It does indeed go on the 'rear' side of the original crossmember mount.

Also found that this bracket is not compatible with the JBA H-pipe (for 351W, manual trans).   The right-hand side, lower corner of the mount (in above pic) hits the exhaust. 

 

 

...so now I need exhaust work done again.  Or, I find another transmission mount that fits (the stock one won't work).

[maxum96 32]

On 1/23/2023 at 9:53 AM, Flanders said:

that above pic looks custom :D

Yeah, because it didn't fit right when I bought the car.  LOL   I had do some welding on it to get it to fit right.   Now it fits good. 

[Flanders 46]

The plot thickens.  I've thrown money at this problem, and purchased the Modern Driveline TKX crossmember mount.  Unfortunately, it's a skitch different.  The height of the plate to the frame mounting holes is different.

I haven't gotten under the car yet, but I can instantly tell a) the MDL one is far better quality, but b) it's going to raise my transmission up by > 1", which might actually squish the shifter boot on the top of the tunnel.  I will report back once I've gotten under the car -- maybe I need to swap out the rubber mount on the base of the transmission.

 

For comparison, the MDL mount is the shorter one.  The American Powertrain one is the taller one (which I've grinded to heck, so it works with my exhaust --needs some reinforcements welded to it, should I choose to go this route)

[rwcstang 201]

@Ridge Runner tagged the wrong guy! my bad!

@Flanders do you know which MDL mount you have? I believe they sell two, the low profile and standard one.

I recently bought a TKX, assuming my tko mount is standard and the same as the TKX mount, wondering if I should also purchase the low profile one aswell, looking forward to hows your fits!

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Sorry ,i dont have one 

[rwcstang 201]

35 minutes ago, Ridge Runner said:

Sorry ,i dont have one 

totally tagged the wrong person.

[Flanders 46]

more pics, Modern Driveline mount compared to stock (basically the same).   This is the "low profile" one, I don't see a 'regular' TKX one on their site:

https://www.moderndriveline.com/shop/cross-members-mounts/ford-crossmembers/mustang/1967-73-mustang-cougar-low-profile-crossmember-tkx/

Also a pic of the transmission held by a jack where the American Powertrain mount held it up, showing how much difference there is in height with the bolt holes.

I'm wondering if I need to use the factory rubber trans mount, which is a bit skinner than the one from American Powertrain.  Stay tuned.... also still need to make sure this is going to clear my exhaust, otherwise I'm back to butchering up the american powertrain one.

[rwcstang 201]

@Flanders

Thanks for the comparison, I gotta see if mine is the standard or low profile one when i did the TKO install a few years back. Im running the stock rubber mount that MDL sent me, it should clear your exhaust unless you have it riding up against the floor boards.

[Flanders 46]

Well, I'm stuck.  I've pinged Modern Driveline to see if they can help too.  Posting more pics here for prosperity.

The factory trans mount/bushing is a bit thinner than the American Powertrain one, but not enough to make the ModernDriveline crossmember line up with the bolt holes.  I still can't believe how different in mounting height the American Powertrain crossmember is compared to Modern Driveline.  I can't even raise 'up' my transmission much more to work with the MDL one, since it will hit the trans tunnel support.

Right now I've hacked up my American Powertrain one to make it work with my exhaust, but need to take it to a welder to re-inforce it.  That's my best bet at the moment.

[rwcstang 201]

Odd, the TKO600 and TKX should be the exactly the same other than a few take aways. Maybe this Low Profile mount requires you to modify the tunnel and you need the standard version?

Hopefully MDL sends you another mount

 

[Flanders 46]

The folks (Paul) at MDL have been fantastically patient with me :D but there is definitely not supposed to be much room between the top of the trans and trans tunnel with the TKX.  This is indeed the proper mount for the TKX.  After a few hours of adjustments, I managed to get the MDL mount aligned and installed.  The below pic shows my clearance issues with the shifter boot/mechanism, so I need to fix this.  Not sure if my car is slightly crooked (?) but it definitely doesn't quite align perfectly.  There is zero wiggle room with the MDL crossmember mount.  Current options:

-somehow get in there with a dremel and make room in the floor for the shifter position.

-hog out the modern driveline mount bolt holes (where base of trans mounts) so I can shift trans over by 1/4-1/2".

I'm open to opinions :)  I'm still amazed at the height diff between the American Powertrain mount and the MDL one, so consider this thread a huge HEADS UP to anyone doing this.

 

[rwcstang 201]

Thanks for info and pics, this helps alot, I will eventually swap out my TKO600 to a TKX in the coming months, so I'm wondering if my old MDL TKO mount will be the same or if I should buy the mount you have. ill need to give them a call later on to confirm.

As for the shifter location, mine slightly does this with the TKO, I think the only way to correct this is to either modify the transmission hole and relocate slightly, or like you mentioned drill holes in the mount for side way adaptability and possibly get some custom motor mounts that are adjustable aswell, maybe someone will chime in that has the same issue.

 

[Flanders 46]

another detail -- This is with the stock rubber transmission mount.  It's a bit thinner than the American Powertrain one.

I think I'm going to hog out my rubber trans mount holes, rather than drill out the MDL crossmember holes.  I'd rather drill through a $30 part than a $165 part :)

Paul at MDL sent me this too -- a shifter that has a flat right-hand side, to account for my fitment.  More things to consider, but I think I'll start with drilling a few holes in the stock rubber mount.  That one is free.

https://www.moderndriveline.com/shop/shifter-accessories/mdl-shifters/shifters-tkx/ford-shifters-tkx/mustang-65-66/65-73-mustang-tkx-quick-stick-shifter-1-back-offset/

[rwcstang 201]

Good to know, I have their MDL shifter on my current TKO600, it moves the shifter 1" back, its not bad, never had an issue with it, but thats alot of money to fork out. 

I was thinking of making an 1" adapter plate or bracket to move the shifter back like MDL and utlizie the stock TKX shifter or purchase something like this from ebay:https://www.ebay.com/itm/225285115663

looks like Lokar is jumping on this aswell: https://inthegaragemedia.com/lokar-performance-axishift/ 

Let us know how the rubber trans mount mod works, definitely following your thread.

[Flanders 46]

The position of the shifter itself is already fantastic with the TKX.  It's already 'back' and has configurable position for the shifter arm position.  I just need one that's narrower where the rubber boot is.

TKX shifter location (purchased 'kit' for '69 Mustang from American Powertrain)

[rwcstang 201]

1 hour ago, Flanders said:

The position of the shifter itself is already fantastic with the TKX.  It's already 'back' and has configurable position for the shifter arm position.  I just need one that's narrower where the rubber boot is.

TKX shifter location (purchased 'kit' for '69 Mustang from American Powertrain)

ah I see, I bought my TKX through Tremec/summitracing, so I dont have that feature and have the Basic Tremec Shifter. 

[Flanders 46]

Worked like a charm.  I measured twice and cut 4 times (doh) but this finally did the trick. I was able to move the trans over by 1/4" (maybe even just 3/16") and it got rid of my rubbing.  My crappy old rubber mount may need replacing soon anyway (it's old.) but it's an easy thing to modify again if required.  Driveshaft goes in next, so fingers crossed all my trans/driveshaft/pinion angles are good.

 

[smh00n 87]

My TKO sits right across on the passenger side too. Using all MDL mounts.

Seems to sit well front to rear in the hole, but not side to side.

[latoracing 256]

The shifter hole is located closer to the driver's side and not in the center of the tunnel. It drove me nuts when I was putting mine in so I did a little strategic cutting and flipped the shifter hole 180 deg so the engine/trans would not have to be installed crooked. Basically moved the shifter hole 1" towards the passenger side to center everything. Got a TKX sitting on the shelf to install if I ever get to work on mine, but set it up using a TKO.

[maxum96 32]

As mentioned, the shifter hole is more towards the left side of the car as vintage manual 3 and 4 speed transmissions had external shifters mounted on the left side of the transmission.  With a TKO/TKX, the shifter is on the right side of the hole.  I slightly clearanced my shifter hole on the right side to clear my TKX's shift arm boot.  My factory in car shifter boot covers the area where I did the clearancing.