I am going to attempt to take this on. I can get the manual and rebuild kit off e-bay for $136 and they are genuine GM/tremec parts. The questions I have are: What level of difficulty is involved? Any special tools needed? What is the best tranny fluid to run in it? Any need for a press?
Thanks

 

you'll need a press and bearing seperator. not really hard to do.

 

I highly recommend the video from www.hanlonmotorsports.com it made the rebuild a snap. The manual works too, however the video makes it a breeze.

 

I've rebuilt mine.

My only advice is... DONT FORGET THE OIL FUNNEL that goes in the end of the countershaft. I forgot to put it in and had to open it back up to put the funnel in .

 

I've rebuilt about 9-10 of them. The first few are difficult, and it just gets easier after that.
Chances are that you probably need all new synchros, blocker rings, keys & springs. You should be able to get all the parts for about $85. I've found that it is very rare that you would have to replace bearings/races, or gears.
Make sure you have a good size workbench. Lay all the parts out exactly how you take it off the shafts, in order. Also, you shouldn't have to even remove the counter shaft (unless ,of course it's damaged). Make sure the 5th/reverse shift rail doesn't come out of place when assembling the tranny.
I rarely use my shop press to remove the slider gears. Usually, the gears will tap right off with a brass punch & hammer. Make sure you have a brass punch, so it won't damage the gears.

 

My experience is somewhat different....

I've also rebuilt quite a few. Apart from ones that were just torn up, I've never had to replace blocking rings. I've never even seen a worn out one. The only defective one I've seen was one where the gear blew up inside of it. I typically put new keys and springs in them just so they shift as clean as possible, even if they look OK. I always replace the little plastic pads on the forks. They ALWAYS need new bearings and bushings and seals. That inculdes the countergear bearings, in fact those tend to be the ones that wear out and require a rebuild in the first place. I often replace the clutch gear bearing retainer, because the throwout wears a funky groove in it, and makes the clutch act weird.

If your trans is from 89, it's the 2nd design, so you have to preload both the countergear and the clutch gear bearings. Make sure you're getting the right kit; a 1st design should retail for around $150-180, and a 2nd design for around $225-275. Sounds like the kit you're looking at is for 1st design. The kit will contain all the bearings, the rollers that go between the shafts, the selective fit snap rings, shims for the clutch gear bearing, seals, extension housing bushing, and maybe a tubular style gasket. It won't have pads, keys, springs, or rings in it; you'll have to buy those separately if you want them.

You'll need a press to take the parts off the mainshaft if you want to replace the synchronizer parts; a pair of snap-ring pliers; and feeler gauges and a dial indicator. Some sort of fixture for holding it still REALLY helps.

 

Yea with the right equiptment its not very hard, I rebuilt mine a month back and it wasent too hard even without a manual. I found a few cheap kit for 2nd design T5's that were under $200 but they dident have syncro rings which just happens to be what wears the most.

This is probably one of the kits you should look into.


http://www.kdsperformance.com/t5worclasreb1.html

 

By first design and second design are you refering to non WC and WC? the kit I am looking at is for a WC trans.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW
Will this one not work? Thanks for all the info!

 

Yes, that's what I was referring to. I just have been on too many PIT teams and in charge of too many ISO9001 certification efforts and kaizen events to be able to mouth that Six-Sigma On-Minute-Manager buzzword without puking all over my keyboard. Thank the good Lord, that phrase has largely left genuine business communications, and is only rarely heard any more. My stomach still turns every time I hear it though. I refuse to use it even though B-W "adopted" it when it was trendy as the name for the 2nd design of their gearbox.

That's not a rebuild kit; that's just some other parts in a box. There are no front or rear countergear bearings (the ones that make the whine), no clutch gear bearing, no rear bearing, and no Torrington bearing for going between the clutch gear and the mainshaft, and no selective fit snap rings.

That, plus a rebuild kit, would be a pretty complete overhaul though. It does include keys, springs, pads, and rings. All you'd have left over between the 2 would be the loose rollers, the seals, and the bushing.

Better than trying to determine whether that kit is a good price or not, would be to determine what your transmission actually needs, and what you need to buy to take care of it.

Just exactly what is wrong with your trans? What are you trying to repair?

 

Well, 3rd gear syncro had been on the way out for quite some time. But I kept driving it when I wanted and getting on it when I wanted. The last time I nailed it into 3rd gear (around 6400rpm) it popped back out at me and started making a chattering noise, and now 3rd doesn't even seem to be there. All the other gears are there and I have even driven it up and down the road in 1st and 2nd to keep the engine from seizing. The chattering is even still there when it is at Idle in neutral but not nearly as noticible as when the RPM's come up. Where is the best place to get a true rebuild kit?

 

Somebody posted a link to KDS, which I looked at, and that's the cheapest I've ever seen. Or, it's not impossible that the same guy that has that other, has what you need. It really doesn't much matter who boxes the stuff up, it's all the same, from the same sources; the front countergear bearing, for instance, is a single-source item, made on;y by Timken.

Otherwise, gearzone.net and hanlonmotorsports.com are places people here use alot.

 

So what do you think I did to it?

 

Guess it's just the luck of the draw I always have checked the bearings, and every time, they have been perfect. Also, I'm sure I didn't really need to replace the blocking rings, but the place where I buy my parts sells it all in 1 kit for just $72, so I just replace it all. It couldn't possibly hurt anything. Add the $12 for keys & springs and I'm right at $84 & some change. I, too, replace all the keys and spring, even if they look ok. The way I see it, its cheap insurance, and will insure smooth shifting.
Anyway, just figured I'd throw my experience in there. Good luck with everything

 

The place where I buy my parts is Wade Transmission & Gear in Dallas, TX. It seems they have excellent prices. Since I'm a "shop", I get 15% off

 

I just put a g-force kit in mine as well as a rebuild, I will always buy my parts from www.hanlonmotorsports.com there video made it a snap and when I called them they were friendly and were very knoledgable and willing to help with some tech issues.
There service just sells

 

yea hanlon really gets the job done..they also can do some stuff not many people know about...they take the GM WC mainshaft and turn the tip down to a cobra tip and instead of those 15 roller bearings theres a roller pilot bushing inside the input.....They said its about twice as strong as the "stock" way.....so you get the mainshaft turned, the cobra 26 spline input with new retainer, all nessesary bearings (torrington included) for 300 bucks....not to bad if you ask me...