I just received my order from spohn in today, and I'm excited about my parts but a couple newbie questions.

1)
I got alot of polyurethane parts, engine mounts, torque arm bushing, and a trans mount. Only one box came with a small tube of lube, so I'm wondering why that stuff is needed, and if I need more can I use napa sylglide? (hi-temp brake parts lube).

2)
My other question is.... my new crossmember for the t56 is angled. As in....one mount is higher than the other. Is that normal? The one I pulled out is straight, and many of the after market ones I've seen are straight leveled.
Especially here: http://www.skulte.com/T56.html

3)
The new trans bushing has studs and nuts that you screw in for a 2 stud mount or 1 stud. Which should I use, and when I do it, is it a good idea to put loctite on the studs?

4)
The shifter hole will need to be cut 2" back as I read. Is that because of the shifter needing clearance, or trans housing? Reason I'm asking is because I hope the shifter rod itself isnt 2" further back because isn't that going to be FARR back rubbing into my console/shifter plate in say, 2nd or 4th?

Thanks guys

 

I'd only use it on the torque arm where it pushes into the bushing.

I used the single stud. Take note that you may need to enlarge the hole in the cross member to accommodate the stud. No issues here without Loctite.

JamesC

 

I would, by the way, loctite the top clamshell bolt for hte torque arm, though. Vibrations and the irritation of that thing coming off are a combination of factors I dont want to deal with again. If you get it snug it shouldn't back off, but it did happen to me a while back. If you can get to it easily with a wrench with the car all together then dont fret it so much, but I ended up dropping the exhaust, pulling the driveshaft out, and dropping the crossmember to lower the trans to get my fat hands up in there to get to it.

On the crossmember, the frame rails the crossmember attaches to are not symmetrical.

You can see here:



Passenger side is higher and angled farther. You'll notice your factory crossmember actually DOES accomodate this, but it's just not as obvious.

The shifter IS mounted 2 inches farther back on the transmission. You will need to clearance the shifter hole for that. However, the shifter is angled forward, it will look and function just fine and look stock.

Also, be careful what you do with your hydraulics, you've got a few options as it is a very solvable problem, but it requires some attention:

1. You need 4th gen hydraulics and 4th gen pedals
- this ensures proper clutch pedal feel and engagement.
- you will need to remove the gas pedal assembly from the 4th gen pedal setup as all 3 pedals are the same unit in 4th gens.

2. You need 4th gen hydraulics and 3rd gen pedals
- You get the advantage of the extra bracing provided by thirdgen pedals. Some people HAVE reported firewall cracks in this area without them.
- clutch engagement is all wrong. The pedals will allow far too much travel and disengage the clutch way too far. This makes for a very strange feeling clutch pedal too.
- Most people solve the pedal travel issue by cutting and threading the clutch master cylinder rod and using an adjustable turnbuckle to shorten it. This seems to work effectively.

3. You need 4th gen master cylinder, 3rd gen pedals, custom slave cylinder
- Apparently 4th gen hydrualics with 3rd gen pedals work well with, for example, an 86 Cavalier slave cylinder, due to the larger slave cylinder size. It gives you less clutch movement for the same amount of pedal travel, accomplishing the same thing as option 2.

 

Well I just received my trans today at about 11:30am. Excited!






I looked at the master, and was a little worried how I'm going to keep the rod onto the pedal assembly. Do I have to purchase another one of those white plastic clips like the stock assembly uses?

Also yes, thank you for pointing out the combinations, that's very useful information. I think I'll have to thread the end like others have done, wonder if there's already information on how to do that. Will need a die set, but the threaded turnbuckle has me puzzled, where we would find one that matches the dimensions of the one already on there.

Good thing I didn't install the hydraulics today lol.
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Update.....this isn't the stock shifter is it? Reason I'm asking is because there are nuts/bolts to adjust how far/back the throws go for each gear.

 

Thats a Pro 5.0 shifter. It's what I have, I love it. I dont think they make them anymore for GM T56's. Some people don't like it but I love it. Makes for a VERY solid shifting feel. They were around $200 and were the flavor of the week for a while.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/manual-tra...ifter-t56.html

PIcking a shifter is like picking underpants. But it seems the main complaint is that they're noisy and I dont notice that or care. I love mine.

About the master cylinder and attaching it to the pedals... fourth gen pedals greatly simplify this. 3rd gen pedals basically do not fit the master cylinder rod right at all.

What I did was I ordered up a bushing for a thirdgen and modified it until all it did was literally take up the slack inside of the master cylinder rod eyelet. Just functioned as a bushing. Then I used a hardware store e-clip to hold the rod onto the pedal. You may want to get a couple of close sizes, as the first one I got slipped off while driving... LOL. Got a different size and it fit a little better. If you have room put a thin washer between the e-clip and the clutch master rod.

Anyway, dont fret, it's a solvable problem. The most expensive part for that ordeal was the pedal bushing and Im pretty sure it was below $10 for it.