Good deal on a T5?

if you rebuild it using gforce parts or something you will be ok. If you rebuild it stock and shift hard or power shift it will eventually fall apart on you if you plan on making over say 350 lb/ft. $100 doesnt sound like a bad deal though, I paid a little more then that for mine and it basically does the same thing when I shift into second but couldnt afford the rebuild right now so I just drive it around .

I believe that the '90 and up T5's are rated at 300 ft/lbs so you might want to try to find one of those.

The '89 could be upgraded, but I'd try to find one of the later ones anyway. I just rebuilt a T5 out of an '86 GT although I did change to the '90 and up cluster gear as well as new 2nd and 3rd gears to upgrade mine to 300 ft/lbs.

On my T5, my "clutching teeth" or "dog teeth" on the side of second gear looked terrible. I bought another second gear as I didn't want to risk putting that thing back in there.

The main teeth on second gear looked good, it was those clutching teeth on the side of the gear that were pitted, concave, and just looked terrible.

Anyway, my T5 came off of ebay, and I was told mine grinded going into second and after seeing the side teeth of the gear I knew why!

I wouldn't take the chance of buying another T5 that grinded. Those rebuild kits do not include gears and gears cost around $65 a piece.

I was under the impression that worn synchros could be replaced with just a rebuild kit. Well it's true that they can be replaced, but when the "clutching teeth" on the side of the gear are considered part of the synchro, you have to buy the gear as well if they are bad.

Perhaps the '89 T5 will not need a new 2nd gear as it's clutching teeth may still be OK, but I wouldn't want to take that chance.

Anyway, my advice is to get a '90 or up that doesn't grind.

Randall

im running about a 325hp 302 in a fox i found a 4clyinder t5 for free so put it in, lasted about a week found another for $50 rebuilt it and i lasted for a year. my problem wasnt synchros, i broke gears

Look for a 90 - 93 out of a V8. They are stronger with a rating of 300ft/lbs of torque. 94' and up will not work without a lot of mods as the design was changed.

My $0.02 worth...

The moment I saw your by line with "351" I knew the T5 is not the tranny for you. I know, its a good deal...but a good deal isn't a good deal if its not what you need.

Specifications on the latest WC T5 are 330 ft-lbs torque. Your 351w puts that out at every firm launch. The T5 will last about 5 minutes under this punishment.

Now could you make do with it? Sure but you'd be babying around your fast ride and never being able to put your foot in the carb.

What you need is a Tremec TKO or 3550 transmission. This is a better fit for your existing '69 bell housing. It simply needs a spacer plate (not an adapter plate like the T5 needs). Look at www.moderndriveline.com and read the tech articles there. Call those guys up and let them know your plans. They give good advice even if you don't use them.

Do it right the first time and save yourself the grief that comes along with thinking you're out of the woods only to find you need to spend $1000 more and you have a car thats sitting parked in the garage.

Jeff

My .02 Also..

If using a T5 for a stronger motor I would upgrade to the 90-93 gearset to be at the 300 lbs level for torque. I would also add a Countergear Stabilizer These help hold the countergear in place immensely.