I got a tranny.....

[Eos]

Well we got an 89 T 5 tranny for my car. I got it back today, one complaint. Grrr. It seems to want to jump out of first gear. I think I found a way around it, if i hold it in first and give it alot of gas on take off its okay. My dad said he might try to adjust the clutch and see if it helps. Any idea's? I hope its not the synchro's. The mechanics said they drove it around with no probs.

 

[Gael]

Try starting it in 2nd gear? I've found mine to be extremely driveable just by starting it off in 2nd gear.

 

[Eos]

You mean starting the car up in 2nd gear, or starting to drive in 2nd gear. Oh yeah and I'm sure its the damn synchro's now. I just drove it after my dad adjusted the clutch. It pops right out of first, I have to hold it in first and take off very slowly...it will go if you are going down hill or on the flat but any type of uphill slant it just grinds and pops out of gear. Spen 1200 and this is what I get. =( I hate ford transmissions!!!!!! This is my 3rd one, and all of them have fawked me over.

 

[Wart]

My guess is someone sold you a junk transmission. Probably had the crap beat out of it, Sure it's from a V8 car?


I thought Borg/Tremec built the T5? It's not a Ford transmission.

 

[2muchtime]

Spen 1200 and this is what I get. =( I hate ford transmissions!!!!!! This is my 3rd one, and all of them have fawked me over.

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popping out of gear ? very common on a borg+warner
usually caused by a bent shift fork in tranny, i would be geting my money back instantly. and what were you thinking buying an 89 5.0. trans for 1200.00??.. have you looked in summit / jegs mustang section??
they list a t-5 brand new (not a rebuilt unit) for $1200 to your door..
it is a tremec unit because they took over the line of borg warner
and added improved parts to the t-5..
it is actually considered a t-5#(Z)
I have been through 4 automatics and 3 standard transmissions on a 77cbII
ive owned for 11 years... $1200 and no more sweat and aggrivation, i should have done it years before and gone on to other things.

 

[Blue Thunder]

I have been through 4 automatics and 3 standard transmissions on a 77cbII
ive owned for 11 years... $1200 and no more sweat and aggrivation, i should have done it years before and gone on to other things.

Hey, I've been through 4 autos and 3 sticks(1 original II 4-speed and 2 t-5s) also! I've had my car since '89, so it's been a few years, but I ended up spending about $1600 on a Dynamic C4 with custom converter and it's holding up nicely. To hell with stock transmissions!

 

[Blue Thunder]

Back to the topic at hand.. I would think $400-$500 would be a good price for a junkyard T5 with a 90-day waranty. $1200 is ridiculous.

 

[Dano78]

Yeah sorry to say it but they saw you comming and you got boned. The T-5 I have in my garage right now is in about the same condition as yours and I had to give $200 for it. It was out of a '90 5.0 with 146k on the clock. I don't think it's the synchros that are causing your problem . A bad synchro will grind as you shift into a gear rather than fall out of. I haven't had a T-5 apart yet to see, but most trannys have 3 or 4 little detents on the synchronizer hub assy. that are spring loaded outward and retained by a spring clip. These detents ensure that the synchronizer hub sleeve, when slid over to either the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear hubs, stays locked to that hub. The synchronizer rings themselves, are only responsible for lining up the next corresponding hub for the gear exchange. If yours is comming out of gear, especially under a load or just letting off the gas, these detents or that spring clip is probably damaged. You may even have to replace the whole synchronizer hub assembly, if you can't get the detents or the spring clip(s) seperately.

And yes, the T-5 is a product of Borg-Warner, not affiliated with Ford. IIRC most the earlier internal rail shift trannys that Borg-Warner put out had common similar problems, but linkage shift trannys like the T-10, this was really never a problem at all.

 

[Eos]

-
popping out of gear ? very common on a borg+warner
usually caused by a bent shift fork in tranny, i would be geting my money back instantly. and what were you thinking buying an 89 5.0. trans for 1200.00??.. have you looked in summit / jegs mustang section??
they list a t-5 brand new (not a rebuilt unit) for $1200 to your door..
it is a tremec unit because they took over the line of borg warner
and added improved parts to the t-5..
it is actually considered a t-5#(Z)
I have been through 4 automatics and 3 standard transmissions on a 77cbII
ive owned for 11 years... $1200 and no more sweat and aggrivation, i should have done it years before and gone on to other things.

no no, the tranny was 600 and the labor and towing fees were 600.

 

[Eos]

I guess it's back to the shop it goes... whenever I get the money. I think my dad is getting tired of shelling it out.

 

[Wart]

And yes, the T-5 is a product of Borg-Warner, not affiliated with Ford. IIRC most the earlier internal rail shift trannys that Borg-Warner put out had common similar problems, but linkage shift trannys like the T-10, this was really never a problem at all.

Yep, can't blame Ford for the T5. Can blame them for outsourcing it though.

The T10?? ROTFLMAO!

Going from memory once again ... Ford used the muncie in the early 60's. They wouldn't hold up. Not much does behind a FE. So Ford set out to make their own transmissions, the Top Loader. The Loader came in two varieties,t he Big Block and Small Block weights, and each came either wide or narrow ratio.

These are Ford transmissions and as far as I'm concerned the only transmissions worthy of being called Top Loader.

I know the Loader can't be easily broken. I'm pretty sure the Small Block Loader was put behind 4bbl 351Cs from the factory. I've never seen TORQUE figures for the Loaders but I suspect they are better than the T5Z (330? Is that torque? Or horse power?)

Damn shame they didn't come in 5 gear.

 

[Eos]

Well I've owned 2 mustangs, my 89's fate was the AOD tranny going out, and then I got my 74, 2nd gear was out... got it fixed got it back, 3rd gear was going out, then after about 9 months the tranny went boom, so I get another and now 1st. So you might see why I am so sour on the fox trannies.

 

[Dano78]

Don't mean to be harsh.... but... think it could be the operator? We all know the T-5 is a lighter duty trans but there's guys here at the track runnig 11's on a slightly updated T-5's and another runnig 12's on his stock AOD. A friend of mine had a T-5 in his 84 hatch and he drove it like there was a race every day. And in return that tranny was out of the car just about as often as the oil changes.

I remember driving my R.A.D. like it was a friggen row boat. Always changing gears like I was competeing in a LeMans race. I also remeber rebuilding it damn near every 6-8 months.

 

[Eos]

Maybe the previous operator, my last trans that was in the car when I bought it 2nd was already out in, and 3rd started grinding not long after I got it back. And on this one first was out the moment I started driving it soo.... I don't think it's me I'm a good driver, I think I just end up with junk trannies that have been beat to hell before me.

 

[Blue Thunder]

Going from memory once again ... Ford used the muncie in the early 60's. They wouldn't hold up. Not much does behind a FE. So Ford set out to make their own transmissions, the Top Loader. The Loader came in two varieties,t he Big Block and Small Block weights, and each came either wide or narrow ratio.

These are Ford transmissions and as far as I'm concerned the only transmissions worthy of being called Top Loader.

I know the Loader can't be easily broken. I'm pretty sure the Small Block Loader was put behind 4bbl 351Cs from the factory. I've never seen TORQUE figures for the Loaders but I suspect they are better than the T5Z (330? Is that torque? Or horse power?)

Damn shame they didn't come in 5 gear.

As far as I know, the only differences between the big block and small block variation of the iron top loader 4-speed is input shaft and gear ratio.

Those transmissions are invincible. Anything that can handle a 427 side oiler is worthy of my respect.

 

[dmoody]

I never trust small shops/mechanics to work on transmissions. They are so complex that I feel safer when someone specializes in nothing but transmissions. I called D&D performance (they have a website) and got a rebuilt T-5 from a 93 Cobra for $800. Shifting it I'm surprised to find how stiff it is going into gear.. I guess since everything is new? Anyway I haven't had any problems with mine so I'd recommend D&D again.

d

 

[Wart]

As far as I know, the only differences between the big block and small block variation of the iron top loader 4-speed is input shaft and gear ratio.

A long time ago in a swap meet I remember seeing a large input RUG that had a heavier main case. I had just assumed (we know where that gets you) some Loaders had a heavier case. So I did some web searching and didn't find mention of different cases but I did find where some truck units are very simular in appearance to a loader. Ok, so next time I see one at a swap meet I'll pay more attention to something other than the price. I got mine for $50 or $75 and that included bell, flywheel, shifter and shaft. Seems people want $400 or more for something that looks like it's been laying in a field.


It would seem the large and small input shafts are interchangable as are all the gears. (!) I find it hard to believe the gears in my 289 transmission are as heavy as the gears behind my friends 390 Falcon but apparently it's true. The output shafts came in 25, 28 and 31 spline. The 25 spline didn't make it past '64 (?) because they tended to twist.

Seems the only real differences between Toploaders is output shaft length and weight, and the configuration of tail shaft housing.

 

[Wart]

Manual transmissions aren't complex, it's that they have to be done right.

 

[Eos]

I never trust small shops/mechanics to work on transmissions. They are so complex that I feel safer when someone specializes in nothing but transmissions. I called D&D performance (they have a website) and got a rebuilt T-5 from a 93 Cobra for $800. Shifting it I'm surprised to find how stiff it is going into gear.. I guess since everything is new? Anyway I haven't had any problems with mine so I'd recommend D&D again.

d

My other gears seem a little stiff, I don't know if its from my hurst shifter or not, but it wasn't like that on my other tranny so I don't know. Could you get me the link for the d&d performance site?

 

[dmoody]

http://www.ddperformance.com/

d