Drivetrain Inspecting a t5… what to check.

[ChaseRoads]

Picked up a t5 for my eventual swap. Decided to pop it open and give it a once over. To my untrained eye it looked fine. No metal shavings , no missing teeth, no burning smells . Took a couple pics. Could someone who knows more give it a once over?

Should I change the yellow pad things on the shift forks? Does the extra flashing need removed from the forks?

Is black rtv fine to seal it back up?

Do I need to lock tight the bolts?

Is brake wash ok to give it a clean out?

Any special fluids I should add? Thanks!!

 

[limp]

Whats it going behind and what are you going to do with it??
I always like to install new bearings. Do you know how many miles are on these bearings?
Watched a few You tube shows from some professional 4 speed guru rebuilder... He swore by gaskets and NO sealant......
Your sychro's look good, but more trained eyes than mine will tune in..... Whats a new " rebuild kit" cost?

 

[ChaseRoads]

It’s going in a stock car.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Looks ok from wht incan see however need a closer look at all the teeth and the engagement rings on the sliders. Those are what you want to pay attention to. Then need to be sharp, with no signs of rounding over. That’s the best indication that the blocker rings still have adequate grip and can slow the various gears down when shifting. When those rings start to slip, the teeth start getting mashed up and you get grinding.

Biggest thing to check is the mainshaft tip under the input shaft. This requires pulling the input shaft out. Sometimes the roller bearings drop into the trans. Some Vaseline will help hold them in the input shaft when you reassemble.

When T5s run low on fluid, or the wrong fluid, this area starves. It overheats and you will fine galling on the tip. This will create a whining noise in the trans that can be quite loud. A fresh T5 is dead silent. A whining T5 is not normal, and is usually caused by low fluid and damage to this area.

No RTV. Use anerobic sealant. Loctite 515 or 518. I need to confirm what I actually use on my T5s.


Edit: I used 518

 

[manicmechanic007]

The tower shift shaft roll pins and the shift forks themselves is what I have to replace the most on daily driver cars
Inspect those roll pins close and the plastic on the forks
The bearing advice above is good
Hopefully yours does not need new bearings yet or anything else

 

[90sickfox]

It looks good enough to me. I've rebuilt more than I can count. The shift fork pads are a good idea. Inspecting the bearing cups for wear is another one. They should look smooth. Black rtv will work but stay away from " right stuff " if you ever want to easily get it back apart. Red rtv works great for the t5. Make sure both surfaces are dry and free from trans fluid.

Check the tail shaft bushing and replace the output seal.

There's no real way to check it, for sure, without tearing it down. A dial indicator comes in handy for checking end play.

The dog teeth in that transmission look pretty good. No metal in the fluid is a good thing. No chipped gears is another one.

If it was mine I'd put it back together and run it as is. Nothing wrong with replacing fork pads though.

 

[mikestang63]

replace the stock front aluminum input shaft retainer with a steel one. make sure you reuse the stock shims
replace the plastic shift fork tabs with brass ones
You may want replace the stock stamped front cluster retainer with a bullet one
i'd also put a new rear seal in it

 

[ChaseRoads]

ok. I think I have my plan figured out then. I'm going to clean it up really really well. replace the fork tabs and rear seal, then closer up for now

2 questions. do the tabs just pop on and off? or do they need glue? and for the area where the sifter goes, do I need to lube this area? if so, with what.

 

[General karthief]

do I need to lube this area?

Highly suspicious wouldn't you say @Noobz347?
I would say 'yes'

 

[Mustang5L5]

ok. I think I have my plan figured out then. I'm going to clean it up really really well. replace the fork tabs and rear seal, then closer up for now

2 questions. do the tabs just pop on and off? or do they need glue? and for the area where the sifter goes, do I need to lube this area? if so, with what.

The tabs just clip on and off.

You don't need to lube the shifter area. What i've typically done is grab 1 qt of ATF and drip some on various parts and spin them just to give a coating, and then install the top cover and tailhousing. I then pour in the rest of the quart through the shifter hole. I keep a T5 output plug installed. I'll spin the assembled T5 over a few times by hand to really distribute the fluid and then let it sit like that.

After install, i'll either drain out all the fluid and refill with all fresh fluid, or just top it off with another ~2 quarts. Total fill is 2.8 quarts to get to the top plug. I've filled through the shifter.

 

[manicmechanic007]

Gonna say, I have never seen brass tabs on the shift forks
But I am not up ,on all the aftermarket stuff
The plastic / teflon ones are molded or melted onto the forks
When the plastic ones broke off at the dealer our only remedy was to replace the fork
Brass sounds nice
Kinda bitchy dealing with the roll pins in the rails to get the forks replaced

 

[mikestang63]

Gonna say, I have never seen brass tabs on the shift forks
But I am not up ,on all the aftermarket stuff
The plastic / teflon ones are molded or melted onto the forks
When the plastic ones broke off at the dealer our only remedy was to replace the fork
Brass sounds nice
Kinda bitchy dealing with the roll pins in the rails to get the forks replaced

my bad they are bronze..... i used these in the T5 i pulled last year

Bronze Fork Pads Inserts Complete Set, T5, T-5 Transmission Camaro, Mustang | eBay

These are a high performance upgrade for the T5 transmission. Fit all T5 transmissions. Complete Set of Bronze Fork Pads / Inserts (6 pads total). Bronze fork pads are a necessary upgrade for all high performance and racing applications!

www.ebay.com

 

[manicmechanic007]

Very nice
So are you running those?
You got them smashed? on there sufficient?
Sure ought to last longer than the factory plastic ones

 

[ChaseRoads]

Ok!! I pulled the input shaft . Seems ok. Did find one gear that had some damage.

When installed, the Input shaft seems to have a lot of play. I’m unfamiliar with how much it should or should not move. I did move the race and shim over when I replaced the bearing retainer. Starting to wonder if I should have it checked out by a pro.

 

[ChaseRoads]

End play


View: https://imgur.com/a/R9OGnbh

 

[manicmechanic007]

That does look just a bit excessive
The needle bearings are all in there right?
The 1st gear caged needle bearing
Here is the needle bearing and a race off ebay for 31.38

 

[manicmechanic007]

 

[ChaseRoads]

Yeah They are all there.

I didn’t have the top on or the forks in. I’m wondering if that’ll tighten up with that on.

It has almost no in and out movement

 

[manicmechanic007]

Good
Some movement input shaft is normal and the pilot bearing holds it
So get it the rest of the way assembled and as long as it will not scrape the side of the sleeve you should be good to go

 

[ChaseRoads]

Ok. Great. I’ll get my work area cleaned up and start getting it clean and ready to go. Thanks