Fans of the T5 transmission

[itsnotanova]

Well I came across a T5 out of a 91 camaro with a V8 yesterday after searching for either a T56 or T5. I know the T56 is stronger and has one more overdrive gear, but the T5 was a quarter the price. I've been searching my local junkyards lately and this one had a T56 in a burnt out TA for $1200 or the T5 for $300 which includes everything from the flywheel back. I forgot to grab the clutch pedal assemble though 😳 . Well now I guess I'm part of the T5 club and have done some research on beefing up the T5 but I'm looking for suggestion for what I should or shouldn't do. From what I've read the T5 is a very easy transmission to rebuild yourself and I plan on udgrading the clutch also. All comment about the "T5" are welcome.....Thanks Woody

 

[Jman]

300 wow. thats an awesome deal. if its a 91 then its a WC T5, good score. The strength of them really depends on your driving habits and your intentions for the car. They are generally good up to 400hp. If you shift it properly they can last. Traction and bad shifting is what kills them. I beat on mine all the time and so far so good. of course i get no traction lol.

 

[shotgun]

Here is a link to a friend of mines web pages.He goes into great detail about the swap.
He also just was used as a source in "Popular Hot Rodding".

http://www.garage-scene.com/

Marc is a good guy, I now own "his" old wagon.Been tweaking over the last year.
The only thing I would suggest, is less of an overdrive.Mine is .54 in 5Th which is too much in my opinion.I plan on swapping the 3.73 for 4.10z in the future.

 

[85_SS]

As Jason mentioned - as long as you aren't running slicks, and don't powershift, you should be fine. I have a friend with a TT Mustang and he ran his stock T5 up to 600hp before upgrading to a TKO. Then on the other side of the fence, some people have blown them up with stock F-bodies because they abused them.

Those are both great prices you got, but it's hard to justify the T56 when it's $900 more right off the bat. I did the same as you - I wanted to go T56, but a rebuilt T5 came up for a good price first and I snagged it.

I just posted up some info in this thread regarding the swap:
http://gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=7874

The link shotgun posted above is the best site out there for swapping a T5 into a g-body. It's more centred around a manual clutch linkage though, so if you are interested in hydraulic, let us know and we can help you out. If you have any questions, there are a few of us around that can surely help you with whatever you run into during your swap 🙂

 

[itsnotanova]

Thanks for the tips guys. My malibu is set up for pro-touring and may only see a drag strip once just to see what it will do. I plan on taking my ZZ4 out and putting a lot of bolt on performance parts on it. I'm shooting for 500 HP at the crank and maybe a little juice to get there or higher. I've put my malibu on a diet and now guess it's under three thousand pounds. This is why I think I can live with a beefed up T5. From what I've read on the internet and what you guys have confirmed is that the things that will kill a T5 is weight, traction and torque. I'm still trying to find info on my options for a rebuild kit that won't kill my budget. As of right now I've come across two company's that have performance parts for the T5. Gforce seems to be the biggest and has a T5 rated at 650 hp. There is also a company out of Florida that I can't remember right now but it name starts with an "A". Both of them seem to have really good products but seem a little high.
85_SS, I don't know if it was here or some other forum, but I remember seeing you go into detail about installing your T5 with pics. Do you have that link? Like you I'm going with the hydraulic clutch. I'm a little old school and like mechanical better but I think I'll need the room for my headers that the hydraulic will give. Do you guys have any preference on clutch manafactures or types? I'm completely lost when it comes to that.

 

[85_SS]

This may be the thread you are thinking of:
http://gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3 ... ht=5-speed

I'm no expert on clutches - I just used the Centerforce clutch that came with my trans and I don't have any complaints. The Centerforce dual friction clutches seem to be popular though.

 

[BrownGP83]

I was wondering about your hydraulic clutch setup too. What master/slave cylinder do you use? I have heard that the 94-up F-body setup is the way to go. How does that work with 3rd gen parts, such as bellhousing, fork, and pedal assembly? I like the idea of the braided steel line compared to the plastic line on the 3rd gen master/slave cylinder. I think one is a push style and one is a pull style, but i am not sure. I am rather fond of Centerforce clutches, and plan on using a Dual Friction , 10.5", 26 spline for 84-92 F-bodies with a 153 tooth 400 flywheel from Centerforce, to clear the stock 89 bellhousing. Not trying to steal your thread itsnotanova, just doing the same thing you are and was hoping to learn something too.

 

[85_SS]

I used the 93-97 T56 hydraulic assembly (master, resevoir, braided line and slave is all one unit from GM) for just that reason. Yes, it is designed for a pull style clutch on the T56, but bolts up and operates exactly the same as the original T5 clutch assembly in the T5 push style configuration. This results in some extra slack on the braided line which is nice as well.

Here's my parts list for reference:
http://www.motortopia.com/files/cars/al ... bnail1.jpg

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Remember too that the T-5 was used in V6 applications in 4th gen F bodies. The main difference between the different variants is that they use different gearing and input shafts (when dealing with Camaros and Firebirds). Now, it is also interesting to note that there are different shifter locations in some of the non-f body applications of this trans, so you theoretically can mix and match the shift rod and tailshaft to get a custom shifter location. T-5's were not exclusive to GM and Ford products either. Isuzu, Nissan, AMC, Holden and others all used the T-5 at one point or another. Ironically, when used in the Z31 300xz turbo, it is weaker than the non turbo transmission, so people upgrade to the N/A trans rather than deal with the T-5! (I can believe it too as I have taken T-5's and Nissan's weaker FS5W71-C 5 speed from a 4 banger 240sx apart, and the Nissan trans is way better. The 300zx uses an even beefier unit.) That being said, it can be OK in a V8 application, so long as you don't get traction. You also want to watch out for 3rd gear as it is a common failure point in the T-5. I have a grenaded T-5 in my garage with a shredded 3rd to prove it.

 

[itsnotanova]

BrownGP83 and everyone else feel free to ask questions. If you don't than I probable will. On that note, 85_SS, 1)Do you think it's wise to use the clutch/master cylinder from a junkyard or should I buy a new one? I think I saw that you paid $200 for yours. Is the cylinder one of those things that if it goes bad it's a major pain to replace so you might as well get a new one?
2) When I was helping take out the transmission, I didn't notice a speedometer cable, so I'm guessing it electronic. What does it take to switch over?