Asking for a friend. They bought a T5 but I'm fairly certain it's a V8 T-5 and they have a 2.8 motor. Is it possible to run the V8 T-5 on the 2.8 and if so what all will it take to adapt? Engine swapping to V8 is out of the option and finding another T5 is out of the equation too. Would it be simpler and cheaper to just rebuild the T5 as a core into a V6 T5?

 

Look around junk yards for an old S10 with the V6 five speed. Need to change the shifter but the rest of the gearbox is a bolt in. A V8 transmission is different in the front shaft and bolting.

 

S truck transmission won't work. There's more than the shifter that's different about a S truck T-5. The entire extension housing is different; the internal shifter rail is a different length (because the shifter is about 8" farther forward), the mount pad is different, there's no torque arm mount, and so on.

All you should need to bolt a V8 T-5 to a 6-cyl, is a V8 clutch disc. Pretty sure it will fit under the 6-cyl clutch.

He probably won't like the gears though. The V8 unit has gearing more appropriate to a motor that actually has at least a little torque, rather than a 6-cyl which has essentially none. The low gears will all be too steep. It'll feel like he's taking off in 3rd gear all the time.

What's wrong with the existing one?

 

Sell it and get a v6 t5. the V8 ones tend to cost more you will make some money and be happier in the end