My friend and I bought an 83 Z/28 today from another board member. We're splitting it up based on what we need and one of the things I'm keeping is the T-5 and parts needed to swap my 700r4 out.
The car came with a known "bad" 2nd gear so that was no surprise. Hearing that 2nd would not engage when I called about the car kicked in my armchair trouble shooting skills I and immeadiatley suspected a worn syncro. Fast forward.............
Picked up the car today without a trailer so I knew I would have to drive it. Fired it up and took off in first then skipped to third just to make sure I could drive it enough to get home. Worked like a charm, plenty of torque for a 1-3 shift.
Next I decided that even if the syncro was bad I should still be able to pull off a double clutch shift. Not being familiar with the car I was surprised when my 1st attempt was rewarded with a perfect 1-2 shift. I take off for the 20 mi drive not wanting to push it so keep doing the 1-3 shift and avoiding 2nd altogether. Eventually I start getting cocky and do a couple more double clutch shift into 2nd. Now I'm really curious. I take off from a stop and at what feels like the best moment I try a normal 1-2 shift and to my shock it slid home with no drama or grinding. So I try it again and no luck.
So here's the problem: After more experimenting I came to find that during a normal 1-2 or 3-2 shift the lever travels as far as is should and it feels like it goes into gear. There is no grinding or other drama. But when I let clutch out it spits the gear lever back to nuetral. Other than that the tranny shifts beautifully, no whine, grinds, or hiccups, slides easily into 1st while still moving etc, etc... Just won't engage 2nd without double clutching or a "perfect" shift.
I'm not that familiar with internals but could it be the syncro, 1-2 shift fork or?????

 

sounds like a combination of synchros and shift fork

 

So syncro and 1-2 shift fork? I'm really pleased with the way the gear box shifts otherwise and I'm on a budget so I don't think I need an overhaul. I hate to even ask but how difficult is it to crack into the T-5? I'm already pulling the tranny and I'll have some time so thats's not an issue. Just curious if it goes together sensibly like Legos or a fiddly mess like a Swiss watch that explodes in a million tiny pieces.

 

I'm pretty sure I'm going to tackle this myself. Assuming no major damage inside would this kit on ebay have everything I should need?

 

hmm....probably a combination of the two. actually, its really not that bad, especially if you get the repair manual. There are a lot of little pieces, but if you lay everything out the way you pulled it off, it goes back together pretty straightforward.

if everything else shifts alright, its most likely just the 1-2 synchros then. you may even be able to get away with just replacing the those two synchro rings and be alright, just depends on how everything else looks.

also, the kit you linked to on ebay is perfect.

 

Well I'll see how it shakes out over the next week. J-yard wants $300, rebuild kit is @$150, and the local rebuild shop wanted $1500