Ok, well, all of these problems started when my local mechanic put in my Centerforce Dual Friction clutch and flushed my tranny to put new ATF in.

1st to second ALWAYS grinds, no matter if I push the clutch in a million times, or let the engine rev way down or whatever.

1,2,3 all whine very loudly, like there is no fluid in the tranny (but there is!)

Also, I have heard that GM went back and forth between gear oil and ATF for the T5... what should I have in mine for 1988?

Is my tranny down for the count? A guy locally sells them for $300, but who knows how many miles are on them (he parts out 3rd gens as a hobby... I HATE him lol)

 

First order of business is to toss that Centerforce clutch. That's the cause of all the gear grinding. I recommend using a SPEC clutch. They are much better than the Centerforce units, which seem to cause problems with the T5 and T56 transmissions.

If the 1-2 shift grinds you may have a bad synchro, or the engagement teeth on the 2nd gear could be wasted. Did you powershift it a lot? That's how I smoked mine.

Your T5 should defiantely run ATF. Gear oil is too thick and won't allow proper endplay, plus it will clog passages meant to lubricate bearings.

You should be able to totally rebuild your trans for $300 in parts. That's a better bet than buying one that is an unknown. If you aren't mechanically inclined PM me and we'll talk, because I've built several already.

Don't hate the guy that parts out the F-bodies! These guys keep us on the road. Once a car reaches the end of its life it is good to know that the parts is has that are useful are available to keep the remaining cars on the road. Hate the guy that just crushes the cars out and doesn't allow people to pull any parts first.

 

i dont see how the centerforce clutch could cause that problem....other than i grabbing alot harder than an OEM clutch....

these clutches cause major problems on t56's in 4th gens or any car with a hydraulic throwout bearing....but the slave cylinder usually holds up fine.

I had a centerforce dual friction in my car for 2 years (granted this is with a tremec TKO) and it did wonderfully......80+ passes on slicks with 1.6 short times.

it didnt quit until late this past season....and i bought a spec, because im interested in trying out their product (its a stage 3)

The first one welded itself to the flywheel the first time at the track, after a 600 mile break in.......200 more miles than SPEC requires.

they replaced it free, and resurfaced my flywheel.....should be OK now...i cant vouch for its performance because i havent had a chance to beat on it yet.

However.....thats a very common problem in T5's.....ive had 3 of them die....and thats how they all started

 

I heard rumors about some T5's from 82-92 (don't remember what years) where GM decided to use gear oil vs ATF.

This is where I am scared though, as my tranny has junk yard #'s on it and I do not know what year it is out of.

So, might my transmission be one of the gear oil ones and I ruined it by putting ATF in?

 

i doubt it

 

I just realized that 383, you are in Dracut. If you went to the last NE fbody meeting... I was the guy with the unmatched rims... lol

Well...

Next question, tranny rebuilding! Is it something someone with a Haynes manual can fix?

 

oh hey, whats up man:lala:

 

Look on the side of the casing....I noticed a diff between my
'83 non-WC T-5 and the WC I'm running now. If it says "Basic-1"
it's a 82-87 trans.

If it says "Basic 1A", it's a 88-92. That's what I noticed at least.

Don't know what the junkyard numbers mean however.....

 

Are you saying T5's eat up clutches??? If so that would explain my problem. I'm on my 3rd one in 4 years!

 

transmissions dont eat clutches.....drivers eat clutches.....or sticky tires

 

It must be the tires.....

 

Where on the side do I look?

By junkyard #'s I mean yellow/white chalk or crayon or whatever they use having stock #'s written on it.

 

look on the side there should be a metal tag get the numbers then can tell you what the tranny is.