Hell all, I have a 1990 Camaro RS, originally a V6 w/ Auto trans, thats been converted to a 305 TPI w/ manual tranny from an 89 IROC. My question is, my tranny doesnt like to go into 2nd gear during hard acceleration, and when I try to shift into reverse I get a pretty nasty grinding noise and it doesnt like to go into reverse too easily. I know the T5's dont have synchronizers on reverse, but it just seems like its a bit noisier than it should be. I was thinking of swapping out the trans for another, stronger T5 from maybe a vette? I just dont know if a vette T5 would hook up to my car without some major mods, and if my issues are something that would be fixed easier and/or cheaper, what my options would be. And on a side note, are those types or tranny's supposed to have a fluid level dipstick? Mine seems to be missing one, and Ive had some people tell me those trans dont have them. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

 

Manual transmissions generally never have a fluid level dipstick, that is an automatic thing. To see if your manual trans is full, take out the fill plug and pump in fluid till it starts to run out of that hole, insert plug. As for the rest of your questions, I have no idea about the vette trans. You will have to make some calls and see what a rebuild would cost, and then compare those numbers to anything used that you would be interested in (if anything). Good luck with your trans.

 

Thanks for clearing up the dipstick mystery, and first chance I get Ill make sure its full on fluid. The reason I asked about the dipstick is I was thinking maybe the fluid had got low and wasnt providing enough lube for everything to operate smoothly.

 

If it was low enough to cause a problem, then chances are you will need to fix it anyways. Once the damage is done your S.O.L. Hopefully you will get your problems sorted out and fixed promptly. Good luck.

 

Vettes never had a T5. They had the Doug Nash 4+3 and then the ZF 6 speed starting in 88. IF and I mean IF you are serious about replacing the T5 and you want to keep it a stick, there are options, JY T5s from another F body, T56 swap though that costs money, or can go with an aftermarket 5 speed manual. I wouldn't touch the vette trans. Its not worth the effort to make it work in the car. Too much fab work involved.

Reverse gave me grief too, but the rest of the trans when I had my car running was sound. I found that when I went to a forward gear, say first, before going to reverse it didn't grind.

 

Thanks for the info! yea i wanted to keep it a manual, and i did the research after i posted this and found out they used a different tranny in vette's. my goal was to find one that was a bit stronger than the stock T5 since the motor has had a few things done to it. I dont think the tranny is necessarily bad, just might need a little tlc, and i wanted to see what my options were, and since this site has been a tremendous help with the other things ive done to it ithought id get the community's opinion.
Thanks alot guys, i appreciate the feedback
Also, since its an 89 year tranny that would make it the "world class" T5 right?

 

I want to say yes that its a world class...but because it was a swap I can't say for sure. If the trans came out of the 89 Iroc, chances are it likely is a world class. I'm not well drilled in the obvious differences between a World Class vs non world class T5s. I am not one to get all annoyed with people and demand they do a search first. Sometimes searches don't yield the info one is looking for. I will tell you there are a couple of threads that discuss the differences. I can't recall them first hand as I'd have to look for them myself. But they are out there.

Personally, since I am putting in a 383 in my Trans Am, I decided to relieve the T5 of its duties and put in a T56 from a 97 Camaro. Its a fairly straightforward swap, though I got a great deal on it. If cost is an issue for you I wouldn't recommend it unless you got a deal like I did. Unless of course, you really want to do it.

 

Yeah the motor and tranny are from the same car, and based on what ive read that year would be the world class case. the differences dont really matter, and cost is an issue, but i was thinking about getting a rebuild kit like the one from astro performance later on down the road. a T56 would be nice, but its more work than I want to put into it for a tranny swap, plus i really like my 5 speed in that car. My main concern was A: if the tranny was hosed and needed replaced/rebuild and B: if it would hold up considering the motor has had some work done and is by my estimates making around 300 hp. The car has a long way to go as far as restoration goes, but as it is now is drivable once i get tags and all for it. plus it started the 1st to 2nd shift issue right before i quit driving it, and ive only put maybe 3000 miles on the car since ive had it. I just didnt know if there was a stock T5 tranny from another car that was built a bit stronger that i could just swap or if a rebuild later down the road would be a more cost effective option.
Again, thanks for all the input guys, its much appreciated!