My Camaro's got the 2.8 and a T5, im putting in a 350, I have been told I can use the tranny but need to replace the bell housing, clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel. Is that correct?
and was there a light-duty T5 used in the 2.8's and a heavy-duty T5 in the 305's? I know no T5's ever came with the 350's, is that because they were too weak or just because GM decided not to offer it?

 

umm the world class t5 should handle a mostly stock 350 if you just drive easy on it, no like dumping clutch and speed shifting.

a 350 wc t5 would be a nice daily cruiser, some people here run 12s with t5s and some break them with stock 305 engines.

hit or miss you will find out if u ran a search on the subject.


i guess GM didnt feel like they wanted to be putting in new t5's all day from people beating the crap out of them with 350 tpi's

 

Your best bet is to go to a yard and get a T5 from a 305 car. It will have everything you need to bolt up to your 350 and will be stronger than your V6 unit. Do a search under "V6 T-5 the same as V8 T-5." The imput chafts are different and a whole other slew of things.

 

The only problems you'll have with fit are the clutch/flywheel and the bellhousing. The bellhousing is easy, just bolt the right one on. The clutch and flywheel are a little more difficult, however. Because the input shafts are different, a V8 clutch disc will not fit onto the shaft meant for a V6. So, you can do one of two things. The first option is to use a disc meant for a V6 with a V8 pressure plate to fit your new V8 flywheel. The problem with this is that you end up with the smaller V6 clutch (although I never had it slip). The second option is to have the hub for a V6 clutch put on the disc for a V8 clutch. That way you get the larger diameter with the correct input shaft spline count to fit your V6 transmission. It may be difficult to have that done, although the local clutch guy did it for me no problem.

Just a little more info to help you out. I know I've posted a lot of this type of information before, so I know a search along the lines mentioned previously would bring up some hits.

Good luck.

 

Do not run that trans behind a 350. You will be very angry when you have to remove it because it is broken. The input shaft is different, so you would have to get a new clutch and bellhousing to make it work, and it just isn't worth it. The trans used behind the 2.8 is much weaker than the one used behind the 305.

If you are set to use a T5 get the newest World Class one you can find. A lot of the T5s bad rep is undeserved. Plenty of people run them in cars in the 12 second range, some even dip into the 11s. The T5 routinely takes twice the power for which it is rated and comes back for more. That being said, eventually the third gear will explode under this kind of use, especially if you are powershifting. A good shifter is cheap insurance against missed shifts, which can ruin synchros and gear engagement teeth.

Obviously a T56 would be stronger, but a T5 is fairly cheap, and parts are really easy to get and cheap because of the Mustang contingency. A full rebuild kit runs about $185. You can't even put bearings in a T56 for that!

 

Super,
It is entirely up to you. I don't know what your plans are for the car, or what your money situation is. Unless you are planning on making a lot of power and knowing you'll be able to put it to the ground, you're fine. I ran a V6 trans behind a 350 for a long time, never had any problems. Didn't have the traction required to have any problems.

Even if I had broken the tranny, I was only out $145 for my bellhousing and clutch. I know I got a lot more use than that out of it!

 

I've had one for about a year in mine and have yet to have any problems. Like MikeS said first gear is so low that traction is such an issue that you would probably have to try to break it. (3.94 to 1 I believe)

If you have to use it and you don't thrash it, it should last, but if you are interested in performance the WC V-8 T-5 is better suited.

 

my buddy had a built 355...348hp/397tq.....had a T5 setup....went through 3 of them ....twisted front subframe 2.5 inches ......so theres my input on the matter

 

A good condition WC T-5 will hold up just fine under a mild 350. My buddy ran a similar 400hp vortec motor with a T-5, and the only reason he removed the T-5 a year later was because he fried the clutch. My old vortec 350 motor in my firebird could ran 12's all day long, and I beat the living CRAP out of that T-5, slipped out the clutch from 4 grand, speed shifted/powershifted the bejesus out of it, and guess whats, two years later it still works just fine. Go figure.

However, it is finally being removed tommorow and a Th350 with a 3,200 stall is being installed in its place because I'm tired of replacing clutches and getting inconsistent track times. The only thing you should be worried about breaking is the clutch. The stock T-5 clutch really can't hold power past a stock 350, it will begin to slip as you shift into 2nd/3rd. So if you're running a mild 350 (mild to me means that its got an aftermarket cam/intake/exhaust, but stock heads, no power adder) then by all means keep the T-5 as long as its a GOOD running T-5 with a GOOD clutch.

Its funny to me that so many people on these boards swear up and down that a stock 14 second TPI 350 engine will tear up a WC T-5, even though in the mustang realm, running 10's on a STOCK T-5 is not unheard of. Dont' believe me? Go to the store, get "5.0 mustang and super Fords" magazine April 2004 issue, page 175, picture on the top left of page, read captions. Now thats not to say lets all put T-5's in our 10 second hot rods, but saying that a 14 second (if that) 350TPI or equivelent small block is going to blow the guts out of a WC T-5 is just plain nonesense. But dont' take it from me, because I mean I haven't been driving my firebird around with a 400HP 350 and a T-5 for a few years........

 

Oh, and concidently, I will have a complete World Class T-5, bellhousing, clutch, slave cylinder, ect.....for sale as of Tommorow.....CHEAP

 

The truth about the T5 is that it's an unknown. Plenty of people run them in high powered cars that turn very fast times. Plenty of other people also manage to break them with a bone stock car. I have seen guys running slicks and nitrous on a 347 stroker 5.0, propelling the car to the low 10s with a T5 behind the combo. I have also replaced my share (and possibly yours too) of blow 2nd and 3rd gears in T5s used in much milder combos.

I beat on the T5 in my old 5.0 savagely and never had a problem with it, but plenty of my friends have blown their T5 to pieces with my exact same combo.

It depends on how you drive it, traction, clutch technique, and probably a healthy helping of dumb luck.

It will probably hold together for a while, but if you're hard on the car it's probably living on borrowed time. You may get several years out of it, but the fact is that you are pretty far beyond the torque capacity of the T5 (300 lbs/ft for WC). I'll provide the information, but ultimately the choice is up to you.