hey guys i have a major delema cause i have an 89 formula with a 350 and a t-5 and i need sumtin that will hold up, now i looked into it and a 4-speed is massive work and u gotta hack the car, and a tremec or t-56 are way to much money for me. well my question is, was it the case that made the t-5 so weak? cause it flexed? now wut if i was to weld metal bars on it to stiffin it up a bit, woudl the prob be solved and would it take a beating? also why the hell hasn;t any1 mader and aftermarekt case and internals for this tranny?? thanks

 

I dunno about the t5 to much but if you can find a used t56 from a junk yard and do the work your self I think its worth it over the t 5

 

Most of the time I have seen peoples T-5s break 3rd gear. After a while it just fatigues. IMO, the trans is pretty strong, as mine broke 3rd with 100,000 miles on it. 80,000 were from a 305, though! Times in sig ran with a t-5 and long tube runners. So, as far as the bars on the outside to stiffen, I would not do it. To install them properly would take some thought and to weld them properly would take a skilled welder. And if the weld got too hot the heat effected zone may be weakened. If you do do it make sure the trans can still come apart for repair.

 

The front surface of the case stretches due to the load of the clutch-gear-countergear mating. High torque loading over a period of time causes them to spread the case apart across the front; eventually the case gets permanently distorted that way. Ones that leak around the countergear bearing, especially the 1st design, are worn out this way.

2nd & 3rd gears get lunched from speed-shifting. That's the other thing that the T-5 can't stand: shock loading. High RPM clutch dumps on slicks, and speed-shifting even on street tires, will shatter all sorts of internal parts. I have a mainshaft broken in half that way, as well as a handful of other parts including gears.

I've often thought that it would be possible to make one of them stand up to alot more than it will as it is. However I lack the financial commitment to do anything radical like marketing cases, which would be enormously expensive to duplicate, and would sell only in rather low volume, especially with the ease of swapping it out for a T-56. But if you think you can make money at it, go for it.