I'd like to hear whose blew up and whose have lasted? Specifically behind a average 350. And once it blows, what then? Just rebuild it and wait for it to go again, or what?

 

i use to have a t5 in my gta.They way i blew it up was flooring the car in reverse after that it would jump out of gear.costed me about $500 to fix.the trans does take a good beating though ,i have used at the strip with about 100 shot hitting it thats with a 2500 rpm clutch pop.so now i swapped it out cause i coudnt get it to work with my current setup.i really i wish did get it to work cause i miss shifting. dave

 

When I bought my Formula reverse was out. The previous owner(idiot) put it in reverse while going down the road. I took it apart and poured out the reverse gear, reverse idler, and the cluster gear! I put a T56 in and haven't had any problems.

 

i don't what to say......... i had my w/c t-5 setup basically land in my lap for FREE. I was scared to do the swap for 2 years, for fear i would be another victim, i kept my auto for 6 months after the swap. Now it has been almost a year on a tranny whose clock said 168k, and it still kicks ess. I have just sold the auto and now have no fears and no regrets. ENJOY

 

well, Ive put 20K miles on my car since we swapped in the LT1, and the tranny now has over 150K miles on it, and still no major problems. ever since I got the car it has ground a little going into reverse, and sometimes it seems like the shifter just sticks, but other than that the tranny has held up really well, its taken lots of racing. when I get my new clutch in a month or two, we are going to go ahead and rebuild the tranny at the same time just to be on the safe side.

 

I have an '87 Mustang that has a T5 in it. I ripped 3rd gear to shreds once.

One good power shift did it.

 

why do I keep hearing that??? everyone who says T5's suck are mustang owners because they keep screwing 3rd. I dont know how many times Ive powershifted mine and never had any problems with it.

 

I dont see why people HAVE to powershift at all. I can excute a pretty damn fast shift using the clutch. Is the extra 0.00005 nanosecond worth having to rebuild your tranny every week ?!

 

Because Mustangs are SOOO BEAST. j/k...Just trying to get you fired up

It was a regular T5 with a bunch of miles on it. In fact, it wasn't even a power shift, just a real good speed shift. Centerforce clutch and 2.73's probably didn't help it any either.

TexasLT1...mine ALWAYS wanted to grind going into reverse. I put mine in 5th, then pull it into reverse and it works every time. Reverse is not synchronozed in the T5.

 

Back in the day (~1993), I used to have an '83 t/a with the factory 305, t-5, and non-posi 3.73 (who ordered that?). It ran 15.7 when I bought it.

I rebuilt the 305, was running consistent 14.0's in the quarter; eventually, the rear end broke. I was shocked to have destroyed the rear end before the transmission let go because I knew those earlier t-5's were supposedly weak. I put a posi rear in.

About a year after having that setup I shifted 2-3 a little too fast too hard and broke 3rd gear synchro. Got it fixed for about $300 (bench job) and drove the car another year or so with it until I got rid of it.

I miss that car....

And yeah, I always put it in 5th before going into reverse to avoid the grinding noise.

 

well your working on getting me fired up! j/k yeah Ive always shifted into first or fifth too before going into reverse, but lately it seems to grind a little more than usual. but I think its either my throwout bearing or I need to bleed the clutch because I dont think the clutch is disengagin completely.

 

how do u bleed the clutch? and were is the bleeder. thanlks

 

its quite simple really. unbolt the clutch slave cylinder, point it down so that the pushrod thingy points down, have someone push the clutch pedal in, and loosen the screw on the top-backside of the cylinder. tighten it before they release the pedal. do this a few times until only fluid comes out. and make sure the resevoir doesnt run out of fluid. thats all it takes

 

thanks so much. also everyonce in a while when i push in my clutch it makes a clicking sound. does any1 know wut this is? thanks so much

 

Got the same clicking, havent got a clue what it is!

My story goes like this- bought a S.C. with V-6 and T-5. Swaped V-6 for the 350 out of my truck, mix matched the clutch. Every thing work like when I first got the car ( 3rd gear grind, wouldnt stay in 1st). Bought a WC-T-5 from Davids Salvage in Abilene for $300, new clutch plate, and it works great. Mild performance parts and all. No problems!

 

This may sound dumb, but I didn't know the F-body used a hydraulic clutch system with the T5. All the Fox Body Mustangs have cable clutches. I like the feel of the cable system better, but it's hell in traffic or a drive-thru.

I just assumed the F-body T5 was the same...DOH!

 

well, if its the same sound mine makes, I think its just one of the hydraulic cylinders. seems to be about the only thing it could be, unless its the clutch itself.

 

Usually, I've always heard the term "powershifting" as shifting without lifting the accelerator. I've powershifting (above terminology) many times without damaging my car with the 305. Since my LT1 was installed, I only quickshift / speedshift. Actually, I've missed gears speedshifting due to the notchiness of my pro 5.0. I hate it!!

 

:nono:

You better not do it that way. Leave the slave cylinder bolted up when you do the bleeding. Otherwise, you might blow the slave cylinder to pieces. It's only made of plastic, and if there's nothing to stop the pushrod, it could break out the end. That's what happened to mine when we unbolted it, and the clutch pedal never even got pushed.

 

ok, I had to replace my cylinder when the seal broke in the original cylinder. the new one was metal so its easy.

 

You got a metal slave cylinder? From who? I got a new one from Borg-Warner about a year ago and it was the same plastic type that I broke.

You're right, a metal one should be fine, assuming it's well made.

 

:nono: I wouldn't do that if I were you. Due to simple laws of physics, the pressure you exert on the clutch pedal is amplified many times at the slave cylinder. Without enough resistance at the pushrod, it will shoot right out of the cylinder bore leaving you covered in a nice clutch fluid douche . Besides, the bleed valve on the slave cylinder points up when the cylinder is bolted in place to allow air bubbles to naturally rise up. By unbolting the cylinder, you'll probably end up forcing the air bubbles back into the master cylinder.

The way I have always bled air out of hydraulic systems is to first fill the entire system with fluid until it comes out from the bleed valve on the slave cylinder (you'll probably have to pump the pedal several times to get this to happen), then 'bench bleed' the master cylinder, and then the slave cylinder.

Bench bleeding is really very simple, and it can be done with the cylinder bolted in place or out of the vehicle. Fill the reservoir with fluid and pump the pedal until fluid emerges from the exit port on the cylinder, making sure the reservoir never runs dry. Then, pump the pedal, seal the exit port with your finger to prevent air from getting back in, and let the pedal up. Repeat as many times as necessary to purge any remaining air. Usually, as long as there is any air remaining in the cylinder, you'll see bubbles rise up to the surface in the reservoir after you let the pedal back up.

Once all the air has been purged from the master cylinder, quickly hook the line back up to it and proceed to bleed the slave cylinder, but make sure it's bolted up in place. It only takes a few pumps to purge any remaining air from the slave cylinder if you bench bled the master cylinder properly. Of course, you will remember not to spill any fluid on any paint you don't want removed and clean up any spills .

 

Happily powershifted my 92 RS 305 until syncros went away in 2nd.Would pop out of gear, if you could get it in gear.Had it rebuilt.Had to replace 2nd,3rd gears,1 fork,+syncros/bearings.Cost about $600.Now same trans is behind 300HP 350.Won't waste any more $ on T5.Planning on Tremec TKO in the spring.
-Rich-