i just finished putting in a 3.1 and a t5, but the first gear is a 50/50 chance of going in gear and fourth gear has a worn ring i think so it grinds going in.
now, i have a t5 from a v8 and was wondering if changing the input shaft is the only thing necessary to do that swap?
i know the gears are slightly different and that one or two guys on here have done it but i could not find any threads detailing it.
skip shifting is fun and all but i still kind of want to be able to get through all the gears.

 

u may have better luck in the transmission board

i would think the shifter needs to be adjusted and or wqhen u swaped the shafts that something isnt quite adjusted ot lined up right

 

sounds good, thanks man

 

I had the same problem with my 5-speed Firebird. I had to replace the input shaft. Also, your syncro for 4th gear is probably also gone.

 

You can probly get away with just swapping the input shafts from the 6 to the 8 trans. However, it sounds to me like you might want to look at the shaft from the 6 before you do anything to see if the teeth are messed up on the drive dog. Chances are though that your 3-4 shift fork is bent (seeing as how you don't seem to have any problems in 3rd) or, like you said, the blocking ring for 4th is shot, and the same for the 1st gear.
Either way, whatever you do, COMPLETELY reseal the trans you will be installing into your car. You'll regret it later if you don't. This means replacing the input seal, the throwout bearing support RTV, the top cover RTV, the tail housing RTV, and finally, the driveshaft seal. Might want to throw a new trans mount in there while you're at it as well.

 

thanks for the input GTA and Maverick, ill definitely give the 6 to 8 tranny swap a going over when i pull the 6 out again
thanks again

 

No prob. I've been there and done that. What I haven't said on here is that the T5 I have been running for the last 2 years is the SECOND one I installed. The original was from an 84 Camaro and had a bad main case... the lower corner down by the countershaft was completely broken off. So, I got stuck rebuilding the trans after having the case sent to a local welder. The weld held structurally, but leaked ATF like a sieve, so I was forced to go and buy one from an 85 Bird. That meant about $280 (including the trans AND the rebuild kit) went down the drain.

 

damn, i checked mine for that before buying but it's Caveat Emptor as far as the condition of the gears go, sadly :/
at least you know the problem was fixed though, ya know?

 

Eh, not really. I didn't rebuild the 85 trans, and I've been having probs with 5th, which I think has a bent shift fork. Sometimes it will go (I speed shift when I'm passing) and sometimes I will put the lever as far into 5th as it will let me and all I get is grinding. Good thing I have located a site where I can get a new for for $15. Too bad I won't be able to snag another rebuild kit for that $80.

Also, as far as the cases go, sometimes the aluminum cases become porous and leak from EVERYWHERE. The only fix for this is to replace the cases themselves. Good luck with your fix. If you need help, we're here for you.