When doing some Tremec TKO conversions in older muscle cars and hot rods where the original or an aluminum bellhousing is being used there may be a need for some additional room to clear the taller height of an after market Tilton hydraulic release bearing. To solve this issue Tilton has designed a replacement bearing retainer that gains an additional .125″ over the OE Tremec bearing retainer. In some cases, it may still be necessary to acquire the QuickTime RM-197 spacer for additional clearance if needed to gain the required .125” of air gap to successfully run the hydraulic bearing. Below is a quick overview of making the change over to the Tilton retainer.
First step is to remove the existing Tremec bearing retainer. The 4 bolts will need to be saved and re-used for installation of the new Tilton retainer.
Once the Tremec retainer has been removed check for the input shaft bearing race and bearing shims. Sometimes they will stick to the backside of the Tremec retainer. It is imperative that these are transferred to the new Tilton retainer.
Thoroughly clean the bearing race and transmission case surface to ensure no residual red sealant is remaining on those parts. Then transfer all the bearing shims to the Tilton retainer. Each TKO is shimmed individually, so there may be one or several shims, the important step is to make sure all shims that were in there when the Tremec retainer was removed are transferred.
The bearing race can be put into the case or into the back of the new Tilton retainer for re-installation.
Before bolting the Tilton retainer on, be sure to add some RTV sealant to the sealing surface of the retainer and spread it evenly across the mounting surface. Use the sealant sparingly as you want to avoid excessive sealant pressing into the transmission.
Slide the new Tilton bearing retainer over the input shaft and re-install the 4 original Tremec bolts to secure it to the transmission case. Torque the bolts to 15 ft/lbs.
The bearing is now ready to be installed onto the retainer. Please follow all instructions on setting the correct bearing height based on the distance from the bellhousing surface to the clutch fingers. For any additional questions or information please contact us directly at 618-943-4856 or email sales@bowlertransmissions.com
