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  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-

4 banger tranny swap

  • Thread starter Thread starter agent wd/40
  • Start date Start date May 19, 2007
A

agent wd/40

New Member
Mar 12, 2007
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North Carolina
May 19, 2007
#1
  • May 19, 2007
  • #1
has any body done a 4 banger 5 speed tranny swap on a v8 i've got a 88 gt and some people have told me that it would make a world of difference,what do you have to change to do it and what is the code for the tranny is it a t5e any info would be helpful thanks
 

grey5.0beast

Cookies should never be DUNKED!!!
Aug 3, 2004
0
1
0
atl ga
May 19, 2007
#2
  • May 19, 2007
  • #2
PM slow95gt

He has one in his car and it has somethin like a 3.95 first gear lol
 

91 HATCH

Banned
May 17, 2007
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illinois
May 20, 2007
#3
  • May 20, 2007
  • #3
i use a 4 cylinder transmission as my backup just incase i break the good one i can still drive my car till i get the trans fixed here is the tranny codes from the metal tag on them.almost forgot ive heard it will only take about 260 ft lbs of torque i am easy on mine i dont want to have both of them broke at the same time. the 4cyl trans seems alot different than my 5.0 trans.also it has a different pilot bearing size i got a brass spacer pressed on the pilot shaft to make up the difference
 

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87Mustang351

Member
Sep 12, 2005
220
1
16
Canada, Nova scotia, Cape Breton
May 20, 2007
#4
  • May 20, 2007
  • #4
i had a 4 cylender tranny in my car and i blew 3rd and 4th gear, i was wondering what gear ratio to put back in it!...or if i should bother and jsut look for a 8 cylender trans?
 

QUICK91LX

Founding Member
Dec 7, 2001
968
3
39
New Jersey
May 20, 2007
#5
  • May 20, 2007
  • #5
4cyl trannys cant handle the power of the 5.0 combined with the abuse we all give them

hell the WC T5's that come stock in 5.0's can easily break behind a stock motor...
 

68stang351

Founding Member
May 16, 2002
850
9
39
Savoy TX
May 20, 2007
#6
  • May 20, 2007
  • #6
I had a 4cyl T5 behind my 351 in my 68 for several years and I loved the lower gears. I liked it better than the v8 T5 I have now.
I stripped the half of the teeth off 2nd gear, so I had to replace it lol!
 

Mr. Rustypwnz

Advanced Member
Jun 1, 2005
1,761
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69
indianapolis/ valdosta ga
May 20, 2007
#7
  • May 20, 2007
  • #7
they hold just as good as a regular t5, they are wicked though, it seems like it puts the engine right where it needs to be at every shift, i love it!!! Btw: you need a different pilot bearing for the swap, I blew up my v8 t5 so i swapped it with this one and it rocks!!
 

88mouse

New Member
Apr 18, 2007
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Mooresville nc
May 20, 2007
#8
  • May 20, 2007
  • #8
QUICK91LX said:
4cyl trannys cant handle the power of the 5.0 combined with the abuse we all give them

hell the WC T5's that come stock in 5.0's can easily break behind a stock motor...
Click to expand...

they are the same tranny. Some of them have 2.95 first gears.

I ran a 4 cyl tranny for over and year gave it the same amount of abuse has one that comes behind a v8, it lasted long than any tranny i've had in my car.
 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end
15 Year Member
Nov 11, 2003
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Northern KY
May 20, 2007
#9
  • May 20, 2007
  • #9
My buddy swears by them...and a huge part of how strong his old coupe ran is because of the extra get up and go he gets from the steeper gears.

DON'T quote me, but i'm 95% sure the pilot bearing you want is from a '78 Mazda pickup truck....and i'm not even kidding. We went to Pep Boys with the V8 bearing and they let us pick through all the bearings they kept in stock to find one that we could use that didn't need the washer like mentioned above, and it ended up being out of a '78 Mazda truck. I would advise you try to do something similar and match them up before you buy, but i'm pretty sure that's what we used.
 

91 HATCH

Banned
May 17, 2007
262
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0
illinois
May 20, 2007
#10
  • May 20, 2007
  • #10
87Mustang351 said:
i had a 4 cylender tranny in my car and i blew 3rd and 4th gear, i was wondering what gear ratio to put back in it!...or if i should bother and jsut look for a 8 cylender trans?
Click to expand...

you should have it rebuilt with better gears put in it with 2.95 first. 3.97 first with 4.10 gears is low as in barely any gas and shift.i only have 3.08 gears and it makes it like that
 

87Mustang351

Member
Sep 12, 2005
220
1
16
Canada, Nova scotia, Cape Breton
May 20, 2007
#11
  • May 20, 2007
  • #11
i dont mint having a short first gear, the steeper gears makes the car pull wayy harder im going to call the guy tomorow and take it up see if my 1st 2nd and 5th are ok...Only lost 3rd and 4th but if i need to rebuild it i might jsut find one for cheep because i dont have the $$ for the rebuild kit
 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end
15 Year Member
Nov 11, 2003
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#12
  • May 20, 2007
  • #12
I wouldn't advise running a 4 banger trany with 4.10 gears in a street car (ask how i know..lol). It's a hell of a lot of fun and you'll go through tires really quick, but it'll be a handful at the track to keep from spinning!
 
B

bionic_chronik

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Aug 11, 2005
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May 20, 2007
#13
  • May 20, 2007
  • #13
I put in my 91, car has been running great for almost a year now. I show no mercy, especially now with the pro 5.0 shifter, I shift with confidence!

This tranny has been the best tranny I've had in the car as of now, and I've had 3-4 in it.
 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end
15 Year Member
Nov 11, 2003
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#14
  • May 20, 2007
  • #14
As long as you hit every gear and don't miss gears....they're not as weak as people say they are. A lot of the opinions you'll hear are from people who've never really ran one and just think because it's labeled as a 4 banger trany that it MUST be weak. Well, i wouldn't say they're any better than a V8 T5, but i've also seen 10 second cars on stock T5s. It's all in how good you can shift, but i'd say they're ALL on borrowed time.
 
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bionic_chronik

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May 20, 2007
#15
  • May 20, 2007
  • #15
Yes, they are ticking time bombs. Not everyone has the cash to dump on TKO 500's - 600's. Hopefully this 4cyl T5 lasts till I can. I have bad wheel hop problems right now, so I don't really gun it in 1st.. I roll into, and once I get in 2nd I put my foot down. That seems to be the only way I can get it to not hop. If I get a set of quad shocks, it'll be awesome to just side step it at like 4 grand in 1st. Actually with how low geared this tranny is I can roll in 2nd at about 30 mph and stomp on it and spin 255/60/15's pretty good.

Don't fear the 4cyl T5's, they are will last a decent driver atleast a year.
 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end
15 Year Member
Nov 11, 2003
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Northern KY
May 20, 2007
#16
  • May 20, 2007
  • #16
Hell my buddy ran one for 3 years and beat the hell out of it every time he drove it. That said, he's one of the best 5 speed driver's i've seen and never misses a gear. It's all about luck really. His car ran mid 13s all day spinning the hell out of the tires.
 

Mr. Rustypwnz

Advanced Member
Jun 1, 2005
1,761
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69
indianapolis/ valdosta ga
May 20, 2007
#17
  • May 20, 2007
  • #17
if you have any kind of gears it would be useless!! mine has 3.08's in it and the 3.97 first in the 4 banger trans, it makes for alot of fun!!! dont even attempt to even try to get it to hook up, it wont happen, at least not on the street, if you have a decent hci steed, 1st and second will be useless!!
 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end
15 Year Member
Nov 11, 2003
6,945
1,598
223
Northern KY
May 20, 2007
#18
  • May 20, 2007
  • #18
slow95gt said:
if you have any kind of gears it would be useless!! mine has 3.08's in it and the 3.97 first in the 4 banger trans, it makes for alot of fun!!! dont even attempt to even try to get it to hook up, it wont happen, at least not on the street, if you have a decent hci steed, 1st and second will be useless!!
Click to expand...


Yeah....my buddy ran one with 3.73 gears, and i think he actually made his quickest pass by starting in 2nd and was in 5th crossing the line.
 
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