I've pretty much given up hope on my T-5. Now the thing doesnt like to shift out of 4th gear, while it goes into fourth easy getting it out is another story feels like your trying to move all the gears at the same time. and when it does this when shifter is in nuetral position it's still in gear.

Now I have no desire of putting a automatic or a t-56 in the car. I recall a trans the mustang guys used and it was a direct replacement for their T-5's, but I don't know of the company. Does anyone here know of it and did they ever make one for our f-bodies ?

 

tremec TKO i'm guessing is what you mean.
There are other T5 replacements I think, perhaps richmond makes a new one?

 

Yes, the Tremec, Borg Warner, and Richmond are all replacements for a T5, all with varying price tags.

If your T5 is stuck in 4th, its the "dogs" on the 3-4 gear slider that are broken. It happened to me twice with my T5 before I finally broke 3rd gear completely.

 

borg warner is who made the t-5 for the mustangs and f bodys... tremec is probably the best for a direct replacement but can get pricey 3-5 grand range for a good one... richmond has been around for years and is well known among hot rodders they take a beating and last forever... you could even look into a world class borg warner instead of the plain BW it is a huge difference between the two... stronger better gears and clutches... although you can rebuild a plain old t-5 to world class specs fairly cheep too.. manual trans are some of the cheepest to rebuild.. most expensive ive ever had was 750 bucks for a complete rebuild and upgrade...

 

Back to rebuilding. do any of you know if fords Z-box internals would work in my T-5 ... for those of you who don't know the Z-box was in fords mustang cobra. And does anyone in southern california know a reputable (from experience) rebuilder.

this "dogs" issue which you described does sound like my problem. for now I just do 1st .. 2nd .. 5th shifts and it does good as long as theres not gridlock.

My car isn't raced by any means so maybe this world class 5 speed would be good good enough for my car. these were 88-92 correct but were these transmissions found in TBI cars as well and were they the same as the TPI cars. only problem I have is I don't want to get stuck with another POS trans like this one has been which is why I have considered new.

How about companies that sell rebuilt T-5's anyone know of a few out there

 

My father Dyno Don rebuilds T5's but unfortunately he's backed up right now moving his shop. Come over to the SoCal forum and see.

G-Force and Rockland Standard Gear sell rebuilt T5's, but they're pricey. Your best bet is to search the classifieds. Yes you can use a TPI or TBI T5 but not one from a V6. I do not know about the Ford Z-trans, but I figure the internals are similar but the exterior is different.

 

All 88-92 F-body T-5's are world class units whether it's a TBI or TPI. The only difference is the TBI version has a .63 fifth gear and the TPI version has a .73 fifth gear. Both have the same ratios in 1st through 4th gears. Probably one of the best sources to get a Tremec TKO that's a direct swap into a thirdgen would be Forte's Parts Connection. It runs about $2300 for a complete kit from them. There is a company making a gearset for the GM T-5 that's virtually identical to the Cobra T-5 or "Z" gearset. Astro Performance just recently came out with these gearsets for the F-bodies. The only thing that's different from the Ford gearsets is the GM style input shaft. So if you decide to stick with a T-5, you could always go with this option. You will need a world class unit though. The kits are only offered for world class units and there's no way to convert a non-wc trans since the cases are different. Do a search on the boards for Astro Performance. There was a thread discussing this not too long ago on the drivetrain board. One thing to keep in mind is if the costs end up being pretty close to each other, you'd be better off going with a TKO since it's much stronger than the T-5 units.

 

From my experience, if you are buying parts or rebuilding your own transmission, Medatronics (561-743-5600) aka 5speeds.com is knowledgable and reasonable on their prices. If you are buying a replacement, I suggest you search threads on this forum about the available T5 alternatives. I highly recommend you search threads that refer to the G-force brand T5 (buyer beware).

 

Or you could buy my slightly (<7K miles) used WC T5 that was upgraded to the super alloy gears, etc. by TKO Performance to hold 450+ torque. I had to go to a T56 (which I'm still installing) to get the second (.5) overdrive due to my 4.11 gears and the fact that it's a daily driver...

 

vern

and how much are you asking. and do you gaurantee it to be good and that there is a speedo gear in it. tell me everything about it, I'm very interested in it.

Is it quiet in all the gears, does it leak. input spline count, pics if you have them too ..... and also have you sold on here before

 

Don't worry when it comes to buying something from Vern. He's one of the site's premier members and very reputable when it comes to selling stuff. I agree with Time2Fly about G-Force. According to recent posts regarding them, their customer service sucks apparently, not to mention you'll be waiting who knows how long before you even get your gearset from them. On top of that, the price they charge for it is ludicrous! You can damn near buy a complete T56 for the same price as that gearset. If you decide to rebuild your existing unit, you can't go wrong buying parts from Medatronics. They only sell top quality stuff (i.e. no Taiwanese junk!). Good luck whatever you decide.

 

Thanks for the recommendation, Pat - I really appreciate it!!

As for my T5, I described it above. No gear whine that I've noticed, and it's the standard input shaft spline. I know of only one very minor small issue with it - it probably could use a new rear seal. The one you tap in from the back. It has a small and very slow drip of tranny fluid right there. Something like a $15 part. I'll even get a new one put in for you before you get it.

Other than that - no runs, no drips, no errors that I've seen or know of. Have not had a problem with it. I just needed to go with the T56 for that extra overdrive since the car is a daily driver. TKO Performance can testify to the work done on it - send him a PM. Tranny has never seen NOS usage, has not been speed shifted, or suffered high (3K RPM or more) clutch dumps, etc.

As for a price, it depends on how much you want. I've got the T5, a used CF-DF clutch, 2 piece rear main seal external balance flywheel (which is rare like hen's teeth), Pro 5.0 shifter, factory x-member (you probably don't need that), etc.

Tranny only, $875. All the above, $1100 plus I'll throw in my used T5 clutch hydraulics if you want or need them. Shipping is extra and not included.

I spent over $1K for the rebuild on this WC T5 about 2 years ago, not including the clutch, flywheel, shifter, etc. It's rated for at least 450 ft-lbs. Whole set up has less than 7k miles except for the hydraulics, have no idea on them.

This one has the .7 overdrive (not the V6 .63 model). I just want to get the T56 install finished and running for a few days to make sure it's okay before I part with the T5.....

As fpr the speedo gear - this was out of my 91 'Bird so it has the VSS set up. Originally set for 3.42 rear gears, but easil;y adapted to any gears using a Dakota Digital box. That's what I used when I install my 4.11 Ford 9".

I can get pix, but probably be Friday or Saturday. Had to send my Sony camera in for service Sunday.

 

Vern

Thanks for the reply, sorry but I don't need any extras with transmission. My car has a 90 L-98 anyways & already has hydrualic clutch. can you give me a quote on shipping to 92399 residential. If to high guess I could always get a load out to our waxahachie terminal and toss the trans in my truck.

Is the gearing in the trans similiar to my 87 T-5, I kinda thought my overdrive was a bit higher than what yours is. This is a concern since my car has 3:73's & like yours is a daily driver and primarily freeway. at 65 mine turns right about 2100rpm is this close to what yours did.

 

Shipping cost - it cost me $81 (65 lbs.) when I shipped it to TKO Performance for the upgrade 16 months ago, and that was from Dallas to the east coast. I think you're a little closer than that so it would probably be in the $60-65 range.

Also - I take PayPal and will split the 4% fee with ya. How's that sound?

As for the gears, per TKO they are:
1st Gear - 2.95:1
2nd Gear - 1.94:1
3rd Gear - 1.34:1
4th Gear - 1:1
5th Gear - 0.73:1
Reverse - 2.76:1

With my 4.11 at 70 MPH I turned about 2550RPM with this tranny per my data logging. Using a straight ratio calculation, 65 MPH would be about 2350 with my 4.11's, or 2200 with your 3.73's. Not too much if any difference since our speedos and tach are neither one known for being that accurate, probably wouldn't even notice it. I really think you have the same 5th gear as I have, I think your RPMs would be 200-300 lower if you had the old TBI .63 5th gear in your tranny.

As for Waxahachie, I can do that too if you'd prefer. Maybe split the gas cost with ya since I'm in Plano (north Dallas suburb, about 45 minutes from there? Might cost ya $10 that way.... just let me know and give me a couple of days notice, okay? I've got the T56 in, just need to set the DD box so I can drive it - right now it's pegging the 140MPH speedo at about 1800 RPM in first gear LOL ! ! !

As an aside - you know where the word Waxahachie comes from?

It's an North American Indian word for "buffalo dung" to put it nicely LOL

 

I have just under $3k in my TKO600 swap. That's swapping into a original manual car. Bought the trans new from fortes with installation kit, used spohn HD driveshaft and used centerforce DF clutch, and I still managed to spend almost 3k. I feel like it was worth the money though, I love the transmission.

 

So, no longer interested in my T5?