DOH!!! A T-5 Blunder.

[jetsetw31]

Hello all,
We all make mistakes and learn from them. (Hopefully) Mine was a week and a half ago while driving to NC from VA. On the Interstate cruising at 75 mph, It was 8pm, the car was loaded with the kids and luggage. I felt a clank and then the motor shut off. :shock: Pulled to the side, immediately opened the hood to check my rebuilt motor and it was ok. Since I forgot my neutral safety switch broke last month, I tried to start the with the T-5 in neutral. I heard grinding and the motor shut off again. I went under the car with a flashlight to look for anything and all a noticed was transmission fluid behind the T-5 around the driveshaft. Trying to calm down the kids so I could think, I pushed the clutch in and it started up. I went into all the gears ok while it was running so, I put it in first and engaged the clutch. A clank and the motor shut again. Ok I broke the T-5.
3 days ago I finally get the chance to drop the transmission. My thoughts were I tore 5th gear apart, since I was in 5th when it went down.
I knew when I saw the fluid leak it was because I haven't checked or filled it since last august. I start to pull it apart and WTF? the 5th gear was perfect. Now I'm frightened to see the carnage that is in the case. I pull the top off and again WTF? No carnage!!! it was low on fluid but the gears were perfect. even the syncros were good. Then I spotted it.
Input bearing went bye bye.


Moral? Check your fluid every few months.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Curious how that T5 will hold up with abuse behind a decent Olds 350. It happens to the best of us, could have been much worse.

 

[IronCastKnight]

I'm curious in that regard as well, considering that I have a T5 I could use for the Knightmobile.

 

[pontiacgp]

If that is a T5 I have all the input and output with the gears all set to be dropped in. Let me know what you meed and it won't be expensive. But besides that you might want to look for a T5 WC, they are a bit stronger. I about 425 hp pushing one and it holds up pretty good. But then I have 2 spare T5 WC's just in case

 

[jetsetw31]

Thanks for the support guys. The new bearing went on without a glitch. I cleaned up the bottom of the case and have it in the car already. Only hold up was that i didn't have any brake fluid for the hydraulic T/O bearing. So i'll be driving it in the morning. The Timken bearing actually tightened up the end play by a hair.
A friend that rebuilds T-5s for a living said, he never seen any T-5 that wasn't rebuildable. He also commented that when he sees a broken one, it's mostly driver error. Though rated at 300 hp, he knows several that are behind 4 and 500 horse motors (mostly Mustangs) and the owners inspect them usually twice a year and put new bearings and syncros in accordingly. For racing or towing, he also highly recommends the counter gear support plate that strengthens the counter gear for case longevity among other things.

 

[jetsetw31]

I'm curious in that regard as well, considering that I have a T5 I could use for the Knightmobile.

The first thing you should do is check the input and output shaft's end play. front to back and rotational play. Any excessive play is a sign to rebuild. The rebuild kit with syncro's is about $300 but, well worth it when you hear and feel the tightness in the shifting. You tube has a lot of videos teaching how to rebuild the T-5, use them. For a DD the T-5 is a great transmission. For racing and general abuse, throw some dollars at it (G Force kit, roughly $1,300) and it will handle up to 600 + hp. I was gonna go for a T-56 but, I'm now saving for the G Force kit.
Oh by the way my T-5 is not a V8 transmission. It came from a 3800 V6 '98 Firebird. It's a word class and is rated at 300 hp. The only differences are the gear ratios and the Ford case. My '71 olds bell housing had Ford top loader holes along with the muncie holes cast into it. I just had to use the bottom holes and drill new top holes and I used nuts on the inside.