Hello,

I bought a WC T-5 off Ebay so its history is unknown. I also bought the Hanlon video. I have the cover off the T-5.

Can I get a good idea on whether or not the T-5 needs a rebuild - by looking at it visually (w/out tearing it down).?

I realize that I can't see everything while its assembled - but first glance looks good - no missing teeth etc. I'd like to not rebuild it if its already been done.

Here are some pics:

 

I am not an expert, but I have rebuilt a couple of them using Hanlon's video. While a visual check can reveal a lot, it isn't a guarantee that it does not need to be rebuilt.

First of all, missing teeth are more of an indication of hard use than anything else. A typical transmission rebuild replaces bearings, seals, synchros, and other small parts that account for most wear. New gears are not normally part of the kit, as many transmissions can be successfully rebuilt using the old gears.

Having said that, you do need to check the gears for problems other than missing teeth. Judging from your photos, it looks good so far.

I would check the preload on the input shaft. Ideally, this is done with a dial gauge. See how much front to back play there is between the input shaft and the mainshaft. The closer to zero, the better; the spec is about .001

I would also check for excessive play between the mainshaft gears and the countershaft. Shift into all gears one at a time, and gently rotate the mainshaft back and forth to check for play. If it is noticeable, you will have gear whine. Examine the teeth for galling or chipping as well.

Your pix show that the dog teeth on your gears seem to have minimal wear, so as I said, so far, it looks good. There is a magnet at the bottom of the case, which may be holding some fine particles. A small amount is normal. NO BIG PIECES.

Another thing you will want to do is to jiggle the shafts to check for bearing slop. If it is noticeable, you'll want to rebuild. I would also run through all the gears one at a time and rotate the input shaft to see how smoothly and quietly it turns. This is a judgment call, but again, the quieter and smoother the better.

Finally, examine your speedo gears to make sure that they are correct and in good shape. It's a lot easier to change them now than later. Ditto the bushing in the tailshaft. Slip your driveshaft in there and make sure that it doesn't wobble. Changing that bushing NOW is relatively easy without doing a rebuild. You might also want to inspect your shifting forks in the cover for missing 'pads' and excessive wear. Again, it's a snap to fix any problems that you find while the trans is out of the car.

I hope this helps. BTW, Bob Hanlon is a great resource. He answers his phone every day, and if he isn't up to his elbows in something, he will be happy to answer your questions.

 

Brass blockers on all gears and single cone blockers on 1-2 indicates non-world class.

If it's shifted into each gear and spins without obvious bearing noise in each and the countershaft front bearing race isn't obviously hemorrhaging lube out the front of the case, try it out.

 

Thanks for the advice but please tell me this is not true.
It was advertised as a World Class unit from the Seller. It has the WC type front bearing retainer and correct # of splines on the Input shaft. It did not have the ID tag on it.

Is it possible to put Non -WC internals into a WC case?

 

The WC transmission does not have brass blocker rings. WC transmissions have a 3 piece blocker set on 1st and 2nd and 1 piece steel rings with organic lining on 3rd and 4th. This is a NWC transmission.

The second gear syncro teeth look like they are worn from some hard shifting. They can be reshaped with a die grinder and a small stone, but this requires disassembly. It will probably work fine like it is, but if you want it to shift better then reshaping the teeth would be the place to start. The other gears look fine.

 

Did the 1989 Camaro RS 5.0 use a World Class transmission?

 

input spline doesn't mean anything; all V8 GM T5 were 26 spline 83-87 NWC and 88-92

you may want to read through this: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...ything-we.html

 

Always tickles me when people buy something random, then post up AFTER they buy it about "what is this?" instead of BEFORE like would make sense.

At this point, you bought it, so you eat it. Doesn't too much matter any more what it is.

That aside:

That trans is a Mixmaster.

It's a 2nd design box (see the rear countergear bearing retainer bolted to the rear of the case in the 4th pic) but has the 1st design brass blocker rings in it. Some "human" has been there before you with his peter-pullers all over everything.

I REFUSE to use the other "TQM" buzzword that some sophomore engr intern named the 2nd design T-5.

You can verify it yourself by checking the front countergear bearing:



1st design on top, 2nd on bottom.

Splines on the clutch gear are the same for both designs. That's determined by application, not year model series. All the T-5s in these cars for V8s, from 83 up, have 26 splines.

No it is not possible to mix the internal parts very much more than they already are in that Frankentransmission. The 1st design cannot possibly accommodate the 2nd design countergear and bearings, and vice-versa.

No the POs runny-mouth doesn't bother me; I ignore them. The parts ARE what they ARE.

Reverse is in good shape though. Looks like all of its POs have shifted it into a forward gear before reverse, instead of just jamming it into R and listening to it grind; which is good as far as it goes.

That trans looks to me like it has a very short future remaining. The surfaces of the clutch gear and countergear teeth are worn in the manner that shows case stretch and the consequent gear mis-align. Don't expect much useful life out of it.

 

You're welcome to post a picture of that, along with the brass blockers in view.

One possibility for the eBay seller to have screwed up is an 88-up top cover (with code indicating WC) bolted to a NWC trans. I bought an 88 WC T5 with an 86 top cover.