My t-5 is whining in all but 4th gear. And the pitch of it changes as I disengage one gear and go to another. I'm wondering if maybe it's something to do with the shifter, since the sound really changes anytime I move it. I looked in the chilton's, but it didn't say anything about adjustments that could be made to the shifter, so I don't know. I just added some more tranny fluid today, but that didn't help the whining any. Anyone have any idea as to what it could be and where I should head from here? Transmissions are definently not my cup of tea. Thanks, Joe

 

not a good sign captain......
start shopping for a backup trans, as a worst case scenario.
killed my 83 t-5 years ago shifting into a slow second from a redlight.
they aren't great transmissions to begin with, as they are mostly brass parts inside.

yours is supposed to be stronger than the early ones, but being a 2.8 car, why would GM bother retooling for them, as torque isn't much of an issue?

if its had a hard life, it may be wheezing heavily, looking for the oxygen tank!

 

So would I be better to just pull it and do a rebuild now? A used tranny around here would put me back about $600 and I thought I saw ppl on here using a rebuild kit for like $250. Is that gonna be the cheapest way to go?

 

The bearings on the countershaft are worn. I'm not sure if the V6 got the Phase II (aka WC) trans or not. You're looking at about $200 in parts alone to replace the countergear shaft and bearings, and the rebuild kit won't include the shaft (~$150).
Surely you can find a V6 T5 for less than $600 (unless that includes installation).

Pete

 

The local (sacramento area) yards are WAY overpriced. I had to pay $150 for a fender, and they didn't even have a front bumper, I had to buy that new at the dealer. There are some places listed on car-parts.com that are a few hours away that have some in the $350-450 range. The local one wants $550 for one There's a place in the bay area that's sells "reconditioned" t-5s for $425. Would I be better doing something like that where the tranny has already been rebuilt.

Is this something that will give some warning before it dies, or is this pretty much it? I don't want to get stuck anywhere and have to get the car towed home. At the same time, money is kinda tight right now, so any streching I can do would be good.

Thanks for all the help guys.