hey guys i just bought a new 91 rs camaro wit a t5 tranny, the guy did a swap from a 700r4.THE TRANNY IS FRM A FIREBIRD. soo there is a few problems with the car. i need sum info and places to get sum parts that are missing and need. please help me in finding them and why the tranny does what it does. thanx for the help guys

1. speedometer does not work

2. rpm tach is not adjusted corrected. (says rpms are much higher than normal)

3.the clips on the tranny do not match the pig tails on the harness for the tranny.

4.how can i tell if the tranny is bad or if the clutch is bad? (car grinds into 1-2-3 gears.

5.tranny bangs the floor pan when on it hard, (i think im missing hte cross member?)

6.WAT CLUTCH SHOULD I GET?

 

1. You sure the speedo works at all? Is the tailhousing on the tranny using a mechanical cable or is an electrical connector there? You need the electrical connector there since you have a 91. That's called a VSS (vehicle speed sensor). You can get it from a parts store or dealership. Not cheap either way.

2. How do you know this? That sounds like an assumption. How do you know what "normal" is? Do you mean you're seeing very high RPMs and hardly any speed in the process? How would you know with a speedo that doesn't work?

3. What are you talking about? The for plug harness is no longer used. That was for the torque converter lock up. A manual uses a clutch not the torqu converter. The only connectors you should have on the tranny are for the VSS ( vehicle speed sensor) and the back up light switch. The VSS plug on your harness is identical regardless if you have a stick or an auto. The VSS itself though is manual or automatic specific. The hookup is universal.

4. If you're grinding gears, it sounds like the tranny. If the clutch is bad, you will know it. It will slip and you will have a hard time getting it into 1st when you're stopped.

5. That would be you needing to replace your transmission mount. Get a poly one from Energy Suspension. You can get this at any parts store. Go ahead and get a poly torque arm mount while you're there. You will need to modify your torque arm braket but it comes with instructions.

6. That is a hard to answer question. It depends on what your mods are, what type of feel you want to the clutch and so on. It won't matter what you get if you dump the clutch all the time or abuse it. It's going to wear out. It will help if you can shift gears without the use of the clutch. When daily driving, you shouldn't be using a clutch except to start the car, get into 1st gear at a stop, or to downshift.

 

1. Get a VSS for a T-5, and the right speedo gears for your rear gear. Go to http://www.transmissioncenter.net/sp...n_______va.htm and search on the page for "T5DV" for the gears. You can pick up a VSS at the junkyard out of any GM vehicle with a T-5 (S truck for example).

2. Your tach is off, like they always are. That's how they fail: they read high.

3. Right, the wiring is different, because the trans doesn't do the same things. All you need is the 2 wires for the backup lights (green and blue). Get the plug off of the same vehicle you get the VSS from.

4. If the trans grinds into MULTIPLE gears, it's NOT THE TRANS causing it. It's the clutch. Think about it.... what are the odds of ALL the synchronizers wearing out exactly the same amount, all at exactly the same time??? Right.... arbitrarily close to ZERO. Like, I bet in all the history of cars, it hasn't happened more than ONCE, if even that. Grinding going into more than one gear is THE CLUTCH.

5. Trans mount.... same as everybody else that this happens to (which is EVERYBODY that has one of these cars).

6. A new one. The Centerforce Dual Friction is a good one. With a 305 TBI, you don't need anything elaborate or heavy-duty; but you don't want some cheeep POS that either won't last, or that won't work smoothly. A good quality stock replacement one such as the CF DF will do fine.

 

hey thanx for the responce guys. now let me get back to u guys....

1. the speedo gears i understand. but like can i install them when replacing the clutch? or how do u do that??

2. sooo all RPM tachs read high? like 3000rpms higher? so basically i need to get an after market 1?

3. under the car is a 2 plug male connector and then a white 4 plug conneccter. on the tranny i have is a 2 plug and a 2 plug, but when i try to fit the 2 plug in the connect it doesnt fit or match up. and this VSS.... like what does it look like and how do u install it? i need a lil more info

4. thank you for the clutch thing. i thought the same thing. my brother drove it too and sed the clutch, cuz when its in gear it works and drives. but my other boy sed the syncros are shot and tranny is bad, i dunno wat to think. im soo confuesd on this shyt.

5. trans mount and tourque arm? can u please show me linx on wat i need and shyt so i have a better view on wat to look for and buy please.

6. thanx on clutch choice. im gunna get a nice oem 1 and reface the flywheel.

 

1. Did you look at the site I linked to? It has pics.

2. Yes, that's how they fail in these cars. It's a trim package; it's not test equipment or anything. Strictly an image thing. Not built for accuracy. They break by reading higher and higher over time. No they don't read "3000 RPM" high; they read 20%, or 34%, or 61%, or whatever, high. The same percentage of error at all RPMs; so they'll be off 200 RPM at idle, and 400 RPM at cruise, and 2000 RPM at WOT, or whatever. All in proportion.

3. Did you look at the pics on the site I linked you to?

4. See my signature for helpful troubleshooting advice. Once you've read it and thoroughly absorbed what it says, answer the following question: Do you think that it's more likely that 5 individual synchros have failed identically all at the same time, or that 1 clutch has failed? You be the judge. People who want to run off at the mouth blame "synchros" for everything, even though they don't know what they're talking about. Ignore their drivel.

5. Go to summitracing.com or partsamerica.com or autozone.com and look at what the parts look like. Get up under your car and look at those parts. Are they OK, or are they bad?

6. Should do the trick.

 

thanx for the fast reply, i will do more searching and finding info and keep u updated thanx for all your help again

 

hey guys i took sum pix of my tranny and the clips i was talking about mb, this will help. thanx

pic of the clip thats in the tailshaft of the tranny

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...9/IMG00040.jpg

pic of the clip thats on the driver side of the tranny

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...9/IMG00042.jpg

pic of sumthing i have no clue wat it is, mb u guys would know. passenger side of the tranny

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...9/IMG00039.jpg

pic of the tranny bottom side

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...9/IMG00051.jpg

 

The last plug that you pictured if the automatic tranny that used to be in your car for the torque converter lock up you don't need that anymore. I am not sure what the other plugs you pictured were on the side of your new tranny.
----------
sorry that was in such broken english I should have pre viewed it before I posted but what I ment to say is that four pronged plug is for the automatic transmission only. Which I think is for the torque converter lockup which you won't need anymore with your new tranny

 

i know wat the pigtails are for but the plugs on the tranny i am tryn to figure out what they are for. becuz the plugs do not fit into the ones on my tranny. and i need to know what each are

 

first one = VSS

second one = reverse light switch

third one = somebody stuck a radiator drain petcock into the transmission's drain plug hole

fourth one = your automatic's wiring; has the reverse light and the TCC wires in it

 

thanx sofa, now i tryed to put the black pigtail in both clips and it does not fit in any. soo what do i have to do to make these work? what do i have to do???

 

Did you go look at the page I linked you to yet? The VSS one is on that page. You can order yourself the one that matches your plug. You might have to do a bit of straightening or whatever, both of those plugs look somewhat worse for wear.

Did you go to a junkyard yet and get the other pigtail off of some T-5 vehicle? For that matter, you could get the VSS one from the any auto vewhicle with a VSS as well, or same vehicle you get the reverse light switch one from, because they're all the same up until the mid 90s sometime. Likewise, you could get the VSS and switch themselves as well, and replace those stressed-out ones you have now. The VSS will have to come from a T-5 vehicle though, an auto one won't work.

Your VSS wiring now should have a yellow and a purple wire. You will cut it off and solder the other one on, color to color; taking care to make good clean solder joints, and covering the joints with heat shrink tubing.

Your car's auto trans wiring has 4 wires; blue, green, and 2 others (pink/black I think, and one other). You will cut that plug off, and solder the reverse light switch you obtain at the junkyard to the wires with matching colors.

This is just not that hard. It's just a car. The wiring on cars is really really simple stuff. About as simple as it gets.

I'd suggest doing away with that drain **** thing and just put a pipe plug back in there, as belongs there. Less chance of it getting broken off by something flying up off the road and hitting that other thing and draining all the fluid out before yourealize it and ruining your trans by running it dry.

 

thanx for all ur help. but why do i need to buy a new VSS? are you saying there is not one in the car? or on the tranny? the tranny the guy says came out of an 88 or 89 firebird. and is the beefier tranny then the old ones. i have no clue wat that means. but i understand that i have to change the pigtails. i just dont get the VSS. i saw pix of it online u sent. but i really dont see that on the tranny. where is it located? and isnt that it, in one of my pix?

 

Because the VSS you have in there is not for your year model. The 90s cars used a different sensor with different pulse rates than the cars before them.

By beefier tranny the original owner is probably telling you it has a WC T5 in there instead of the T5. The WC was a redesign to increase the life of the tranny.

 

You shouldn't really "need" another VSS; just, the one you have looks a bit .... folded, spindled, and mutilated. All you really "need" is the right pigtail for it. Which you might actually already have (in fact you probably do), it's just that the VSS is so beat up that the plug might not fit it any more. No big deal, walk up to the counter at the buzzard with 2 pigtails and those 2 sensors, probably won't be $10 for the entire lot. Although, there are 2 different pulse rates (either 2000 or 4000 pulses per mile), and the one that's in there might or might not be the one you need.

Yes, your first pic is the VSS.

I wouldn't describe the 2nd design trans as any "beefier" than the 1st design; the shafts are the same diameter, they are the same distance apart so the gears are all the same size, etc. etc. About all that's any different is that the gears that the transmission isn't shifted into at any given moment, float around on needle bearings instead of bushings (for gas mileage); and the countergear rides on tapered rollers with preload like a wheel bearing or pinion bearings, instead of straight rollers and thrust washer. People make a big deal out of them being "stronger". I don't buy that. I've had plenty of both, and they're not different enough in that regard to amount to anything. Still VERY fragile.

Here's a couple of them that I have laying around.



The top one is the 1st design, the bottom is the 2nd design. That's the view from the front. You can see the front countergear bearing (the round thing, about 2½" diameter) with the trans installed.

 

thank you, the tranny comes from a firebird, not a camaro. so the clips will be the same?? i tryed to get the pigtail in the clip but it wouldnt go. i think the clip isnt the same for camaros and firebirds. also another question i have is, i was wondering how much gain will i get from goin from tbi to carb? im not really liking this tbi shyt. i dont know nothing about it. wat do u think?

 

There is no reason they would spend time and money to give the Firbird and Camaro different harnesses and clips. There is a reason they have the same frames, doors, glass, roofs, suspensions, engines, transmissions, etc. They used the front bumper, hoods, rear bumper, rims, and interior to differentiate the two.

 

Right... the 2 cars are IDENTICAL, except for a very few options that only came on one or the other ("wonderbars" on Camaro models for example), and the years in which certain things were changed (the Firebird went to an electronic speedo several years before the Camaro did).

But think of them as 2 IDENTICAL mechanical platforms, with different sheet metal wrinkles and sticker packages. There is VIRTUALLY ZERO difference between them.

I don't like TBI either. Seems to me to be a half-a$$ed system that captures the disadvantages of both carbs and FI, with few of the advantages of either except the lower emissions of FI. But since that's what's there, it's too late to complain about it now; might as well learn how it works and make it the best it can be, at least for the time being.

 

as for the speedo i would think its not hooked up right. sum were man and some eletric.If i was you i would not be worrying about any of this .Couple ? what size motor ,what fuel system ? I read that it was a tbi dump it go to carb ,replace clutch make shore hydrlic assembly is working right .Does your engine run funny .

 

My little bit of help... On the grinding of gears, two additional things are possible..

1) Transmission low on fluid.??. Make sure it is full and make sure you use the right fluid.. Mine (92 Camaro) uses automatic transmission fluid (check the specs) and when low on fluid it is hard to shift..

2) Twice now I have had a clutch disk spring come loose and wedge the clutch disk against the flywheel causing grinding and hard to shift..

 

Some more transmission advice. If it's a hydraulic clutch ( I assume it is), check the fluid for the clutch master, and you also might try to bleed it. Sometimes if there's air in there, it'll grind or be hard to shift.