A dealership by my house has a t-56 that hes willing to part with for 350 bucks. He said all thats wrong with it is that it pops out of reverse. Would this be an easy fix ? is this worth the money ?

 

What year is it? If it's a '94-'97 F-body T56 I would say buy it. It probably has a bad reverse gear and/or synchro. The parts are probably $100 and the installation labor. I fix and rebuild T56s, so if you need help feel free to PM me.

 

should i buy it if its a 98 and up?

 

You want to put it in a 3rd gen right? If so I would say no. Here's why:

You wil have to use an adapter plate to make it work with a traditional small block. The clutch linkage isn't the simple bolt up it is for an LT1 trans. The driveshaft needs to be shortened, and maybe the torque arm too. You'll need to at least modify an aftermarket crossmember. Still, for $350 + the cost of fixing it, it may be worth it. It all depends on what you want to do.

I like my LT1 T56, because if I ever have a problem with anything I only have 2 non-stock parts in the entire setup (crossmember and flywheel). Anything else could be replaced easily and quickly if damaged, without me having to remember what I modified and how.

Another option might be to just convert the LS1 trans to LT1 specs. You need a different input shaft and a different rear plate. You can buy all that stuff. For another $200 or $300 you'd have an LT1 T56 for much less that most people are paying.

 

If it were me, I'd grab it and rebuild the guy. If you don't use it, you can easily unload it and make at least $500 in the process, if not more.

 

Well, keep this in mind. The bearing kit for the T56 is like $200. The synchro kit is $175. Figure $100 for the parts that need to be replaced in the reverse asembly. That's $475 in parts plus a $350 trans. $825 for a fresh LS1 T56. You could probably sell it for $1000-$1200 fairly easily. They aren't as desirable as an LT1 T56 though for swappers.

If you've got to pay to have the trans fixed you will blow your make money idea. Rebuilding a T56 is no joke, and not a first time project. These things are very precise with clearances measure in just a few thousandths of an inch.

 

well i got one hellava bonus today at work so i think im gonna buy it if it is a lt1 t-56. ill check on that tomm

thanks for the help guys

 

For a quick fix you can flip over the slider since its a reverse problem and the other side of the slider is not used and maybe change the brass blocker ring and the fork pads and you might be good to go, parts cost is under $40. Getting to the reverse is not a big deal on this trans, just make sure the teeth on the reverse gear where the slider goes over are not to beat up otherwise you might have to get a new gear but that might only cost $100-120.

This is a good place to get cheap parts for that trans http://ddperformance.com/

 

Yes, if you just fix the reverse gear it is easy to do. You pull the tailshaft housing off and there it is. As long as you don't change any bearings you won't have to check the clearances. Replace what's bad and bolt is all back together.