I am contemplating sending my matching numbers non-WC T5 to GForce for a complete upgrade. Total investment in the neighborhood of $2200. Please reply if have any experience with GForce or other companies who specializes in the T5?

Best Regards

 

tremec TKO 500, TKO 600, T56.

 

I don't think they can upgrade a NWC T5. You might be able to get awya with using their case but I think the tail shaft is different.

 

I spoke to them this morning, and they assured me that their 1-4 gear set and upgraded input shaft will fit no problem. In regards to tko or t56 upgrade, and after speaking with GFORCE. It's a considerable upgrade in durabilty, OEM appearance, and considerably less expensive. Remember, when doing a swap there's considerable expense over and above just the cost of the transmission.

In closing, the OEM 3rd generation F body is appreciating at a considerable pass and maintaining OEM appearance is key.

 

The most desirable piece is their main case, which shoots your originality in the foot. And if you're not upgrading what matters, why drop $22 on a T5?

Upgrading gears is great. If they're actually a possible failure point for your build.

Setting your box aside and not going with a T5 makes sense to me, but your goals aren't clear.

 

The strongest weakness of the T-5, is THE CASE. It is WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK. It allows the gears to misalign under high loads, let's say anything above about 150 ft-lbs, which IMMEDIATELY destroys them. You can replace the gears EVERY SINGLE DAY with the very finest others, even those forged in the fiery furnaces of Hell by 10,000 year old gnomes from purest virgin nonobtanium alloyed with traces of asteroid-derived irreplacium, and even do it TWICE on Sundays just for good measure, and you will STILL tear up gears. Quite simply, THE CASE kills EVERYTHING ELSE about that transmission, in a "performance" situation.

THE CASE is different between the 1st design and the 2nd design. 1st design uses straight roller bearings on the countergear; in fact, the rear one is the same part # as the 10-bolt axle bearing.

However the 2nd design uses TAPERED ROLLERS on the countergear, with preload. That makes the case COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Except, it's exactly the same. Almost.

"Numbers matching" is largely irrelevant with these cars. IF you think you have one where it might someday actually matter however slightly, I STRONGLY recommend that you remove that weeeeeenie POS from your car, place it and all the parts along with it that you take off, on a nice climate-controlled indoor shelf somewhere; and go find a T-56 to put IN THE CAR in the meantime. Then, in the unlikely event that "numbers matching" EVER makes enough difference to warrant doing the work, swap the original POS back into it and sell the NICER T-56 setup to somebody that's tired of tearing up weeeeeeeeenie T-5 POSs.

Unless you are racing in a PROFESSIONAL SANCTIONED class with a LARGE purse that REQUIRES the T-5 to be in the car (and the odds of that are... what??), EVERY DIME you spend on that weeeeeeeeeeeeenie underweight gas-mileage 4-cyl POS is WASTED. Might just as well just FLUSH IT DOWN THE TOILET instead of giving it to G-force or whoever else. It'll cause you less gray hair and aggravation to dissipate your wealth that way, than to torture yourself with that T-5. Just do it and get it over with so you can feel what it's like all at once and get it out of your system once and for all.

Oh, and in case I forgot to mention; I don't recommend the G-force kit. Nothing against G-force or "kit"; just, I've lived that life, and now that Algore has invented the Interwebz, I can share my T-5 ecstasy with you so you don't have to go out and enjoy it for yourself. All you gotta do, is pay attention to the voice of experience.

 

OMG! You're a brilliant writter!!! I almost pissed my pants!!! Thank you do much for your techical assessment wrapped in humor!!!! I owe you a beer!!!

 

I bought a G-Force T5 with the upgraded G-Force case, input shaft, etc. I did not send my original T5 to them, I purchased a "new" one outright from them. Third run, I broke second gear, they sent me new parts to fix, I return to track, break second gear again, repeat. If your serious about purchasing one, let me know, I have one ready to go with less than 15 runs on it. G-Force customer service was good, they sent parts free of charge to fix twice, told me no go for a third so I removed it, installed a Jerico and have not had a single issue since. Car was going 10.1x on a 1.30 60'

 

I enjoy writing sometimes... better way of stress relief than lots of other things I could do instead...

 

I too have had experience with them, broke twice, save your money for something better.

 

I don't have experience with G-Force, but also killed the non World Class T-5 I had in my 85 Trans Am twice before swapping in a T-56 I still have the input shaft with a bunch of teeth sheered off for a clutch alignment tool.

 

When I contacted G-force for my T5 rebuild they told me that they only work on WC cases not the Non-WC.

 

Curious question ;

When you say that they "work" on WC cases , what exactly do they do to the cases to make them stronger ? I would think a re engineered case made from stronger materials could keep the case from stretching , but what could be done to a factory (weak) case to make it stronger ? Do they add braces/struts somewhere in an attempt to keep the case from stretching ?

 

IIRC their replacement case is thicker on the front wall approx 5/8 and in other places as well and they also add webbing. When B&W went to the WC t5 they also added some material but more importantly went to tapered roller bearings and also a fiber style syncro.

 

G-force cases have more material across the front. To repair an existing case would involve welding and precision machining to re align the correct distance between shafts. Considering cost of a new one, vs. repairs the G-force case is a good option.

 

Just to add my 2 cents... ....I did all the research when building/swapping in a T5. I've since gone to a TKO 600. If numbers matching matters, I'd take out the t5 and save it. No way i'd use it, or another t5 for a swap.



For "fun" weekend driving, no racing, and highway cruising if you ever road trip...I'd go T56. I had to do some cutting to make my TKO work, which was fine for me, but I know you don't wanna do that.

EDIT*** -let me clarify "no racing". If you're not beating the crap outta the t56, you probably don't have to rebuild it. That makes it a much easier financial decision. t56 is a great transmission. MUCH, Much better than a t5, but it's not bullet proof. You CAN build 'em pretty indestructible though, but that adds cost.

 

Thanks for your assistance.

 

Astro A5 is another alternative to the Gforce setup. They are in FL. Big in the mustang community.

 

The gears in the Astro A5 are thicker than GForce... Also have less of an angle, which makes the case not want to flex as much as stock / gforce gears... they've got cars running in the 10's... They can build you an Astro A5 in a GForce Case... take your numbers matching out, put that one in... I'm happy with mine...

Astro Performance in FL.