Limits of T-5 on the Street?

DucatiRdr · Nov 28, 2006

I did a search but didn't find much on this (My search skills stink!). I have a 1988 LX, 5-speed obviously. Plans for my motor include Explorer or Cobra intake and ported GT-40 heads along with the basics I already have: U/D pulleys, shorty headers, MAF conversion with SN95 meter, MSD coil and 6A ignition and 3.55s on an Auburn diff.

I don't race the car but am not outside of some street drags. Is my T-5 a ticking time bomb or will I be ok as long as I am not slamming gears repeatedly?

bullitstang1313 · Nov 28, 2006

This is a quite heavily debated subject. No, the T-5 is not designed to be a racing transmission. With that said, it can handle quite a bit of abuse but it all depends on its condition before you start throwing more power at it. There are plenty of guys out there who have put down quite a bit of power to the wheels with a stock t-5 and then there are guys who have broken 3, 4, even 5 or more t-5's. If you are just looking at a daily driver with an occasional race, the t-5 might be fine for you. You might want to throw some new synchros and bearings at it though.

v8only · Nov 28, 2006

you should be fine with the above stated combo but NO powershifting and don't abuse it. If you follow these rules, it should last you a few years.

85ragtop · Nov 28, 2006

It seems to just depend on the trans. Some guys on here have a lot of power and theirs seem to do fine and others kill them with stock engines.

DucatiRdr · Nov 28, 2006

Thanks guys!! When I bought the car I had a few buddies who blew 3rd slamming gears so I always avoided power shifting. I just took the car out of a 14 year hibernation and got nervous about having a problem transmission.

Do I have a world class box on my '88?

v8only · Nov 28, 2006

14 year hibernation? damn. my bro's sat for 8 and I thought that was along time. No worries about the trans, expect everything else with any rubber parts to go out. When we got my bro's ride running, just about everything on the entire car went out within a year.

all v8 stangs from 85+ got the world class t5

LordMustangGT · Nov 28, 2006

When I dumped all the 89 drivetrain in my car the stock T-5 lasted 3 months with some heavy abuse. The next one a month. The one after that was a WC and that one broke after a week, Bolts weren't torqued right. But it was fixed for free and I beat the crap out of it!!!!!!!! Still works perfect though. Even with my mods and a 125 shot, and power shifting every gear it holds to it.

bubba-dough · Nov 28, 2006

As stated already, some have no problems and some do. I wouldn't worry at all if I were you. I am running the stock T5 w/189,xxx miles on it with my 347 and spray. The new combo has been there over a year now.

DucatiRdr · Nov 28, 2006

Lots of mixed reviews. I guess that's better news than I expected. I don't beat the car by any means so I am hoping the T-5 doesn't prove to be a problem.

Hey v8only, when you said everything went on your bro's car, how bad was it? Are we talking head gaskets or ?

LEE93COBRA · Nov 29, 2006

DucatiRdr said:
Lots of mixed reviews. I guess that's better news than I expected. I don't beat the car by any means so I am hoping the T-5 doesn't prove to be a problem.

Hey v8only, when you said everything went on your bro's car, how bad was it? Are we talking head gaskets or ?

Powershifting is what will kill the t-5. Not power levels. Trust me.

I have broken more 3rd gears and cluster shafts then I care to remember. Normal shifting won't hurt it.

91notch5.0 · Nov 29, 2006

i say you can beat the piss out of it as long as you are running street tires. stuff usually only breaks when you make real traction.

seijirou · Nov 29, 2006

I've blown up 3 T5's. Two of them were 3rd gear, one was 2nd gear. Both of them blew up at the top of the gear around 3500 rpms, not shifting into or out of it. Blam, a tooth breaks right off the gear, and it's all over from there.

I think I'm just one of the ones that have had T5's fail without really abusing them. I'm not behind alot of power, maybe 240 at the crank.

Some t5's last. Some don't. If you're going to run a T5 you'll probably be fine if you handle it with respect, but keep a little something on the side should something happen. If it holds or not, the one thing that's common to everybody that uses the T5, it -is- the weakpoint in the drivetrain.

NKau · Nov 29, 2006

Your box is technically a world class unit, but there is a difference between years. The '87-'90's I believe were rated at only 260 ft/lb. or something like that, while the '91-'93's were rated around or above 300 ft/lb. Traction seems to sort of be the lynch pin that determines how long a t-5 will last on the street. But it's wierd, you see guys that push them hard on a consistent basis and not have problems, and others that can't seem to keep them in the car. I love the smooth easy shifting of the t-5, and will rebuild mine when it pops.

SQUEEZE&STROKE · Nov 29, 2006

I had a stock t-5 in my 331 94...the car made 407 RWHP/370ish RWTQ and went probably over 100 mid-high 11 sec passes shifting quickly (BUT NOT POWERSHIFTING) on et street radials. Its kinda the luck of the draw...after all that abuse all it needed was a set of synchros and a new 2nd gear

DucatiRdr · Nov 29, 2006

NKau said:
Your box is technically a world class unit, but there is a difference between years. The '87-'90's I believe were rated at only 260 ft/lb. or something like that

FOOEY!! I thought I read that somewhere...

NKau said:
I love the smooth easy shifting of the t-5, and will rebuild mine when it pops.

Are you planning on rebuilding with OEM internals or upgrading to something from G-Force or the like? The G-Force 400 ft lb set seems very appealing.

NKau · Nov 29, 2006

DucatiRdr said:
Are you planning on rebuilding with OEM internals or upgrading to something from G-Force or the like? The G-Force 400 ft lb set seems very appealing.

I'm still kind of debating; I've heard a few bad reviews of the g-force kits, but they were in pretty serious cars. I'll just have to see what my finances look like when it comes time to rebuild

Limits of T-5 on the Street?

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