Hey guys just wondering, My buddy has a newly rebuilt GM T-5 and I know they are completely different when it comes to spline count and bell housing compatibility but would the internals from that T-5 fit in my Ford T-5? He says I can just have it and mine has seen better days.
The gear ratios my be different, and if that is the case, you could not use the main shaft gears with your cluster gear. The only way to know is to check the gear ratio of 1st ,2nd, or 3rd gear by the turns of the input shaft and see how may turns it takes to get 1 turn off the output shaft. That count would have to match the T5 you already have.
On the tail shaft of the transmission, there will be a stamped aluminum tag. The tag will have a number on it that you can cross reference to the chart below. There is no other way to find out what type of T5 it is without disassembling it. All the rest of the numbers on the outside of the T5 case are part numbers which are not unique to any particular T5 model.
Remember that 94 - 97 T5's have a longer input shaft (about 11/16” longer) and can only be used with a 94-95 bell housing unless you modify or replace the input shaft.
T5's used with a 4 cylinder have a 3.93 first gear, reduced torque ratings and an input shaft pilot diameter that is smaller that the T5 used for V6 & V8 engines. The pilot diameter is .59" compared to the .668" used on V6 & V8 T5's. It requires a different pilot bearing to be used with a V6 or V8. The pilot bearing you need is for a Ford Ranger diesel from AutoZone part #14672
I don't know how you feel about the DYI thing when it comes to gears, some people don't like the idea of working on transmissions. If the DYI transmission fix idea isn't something that you would rather leave to someone else, here are some resources:
A T5 rebuild kit with syncros, bearings and other small parts costs about $160. It does not include any gears or shafts.
http://www.hanlonmotorsports.com/ also has a video on how to rebuild your T5 or Tremec. It costs about $20, and is worth every penny of it.
I did a Tremec 3550 rebuild, and it wasn't that difficult. The video was an immense help, and I would recommend viewing it. At $20, it will give you an opportunity to look and decide for yourself if you think that it is something you want to try to do.
T5 Shim kits – best product I have seen in a while… http://www.5speeds.com/t5/shims.html
“The Peel ‘n Place T5 World Class shim kit makes shimming T5 counter gear and main drive gears very easy.”
I'm really not too worried about taking the main shaft I'm more concerend with bearings and synchros and all the little things because thats what I believe I need most so do you think they would fit? My trans is just very noisey alot of wine ESPECIALLY in third it sounds awful suprisingly enough though the thing shifts just fine. If the parts from the GM arent compatible I will just buy a rebuild kit but problem is I dont know which one to buy that will have everything I need. I find plenty of rebuild kits on ebay but have no clue what brands to look for or what things need to be included. Thanks for your help by the way that was pretty kickass you replied so fast with so much information.
Shifter location is in a different spot. Problem is to change input spline count requires changing the shaft and at that point you are changing the counter gear and other speed gears anyway. I believe the snychros are all brass anyway.
You run into non world class vs world class compatibility in which bearings are such are different