New to 5.0's

The Borg-Warner T5 manual five-speed transmission has been used in a wide variety of applications since it was first put into production in the late '70s; in fact, there are currently over 260 part numbers for T5 assemblies on the books. This has resulted in numerous variations over its production 20-plus-year lifespan. The original intent of this gearbox was to provide a relatively lightweight (under 80 pounds), smooth-shifting manual transmission with overdrive for improved fuel efficiency. But it wasn't long before it was providing an excellent bridge between performance and economy. The two versions most familiar to car crafters are the '83-'95 Ford Mustang 5.0L and the '83-'92 V-8-powered Camaro and Firebird. Despite the similar parameters of both of these vehicles, the gearboxes used in each are significantly different from one another, and to make matters even more confusing, there were changes to each during their respective runs. The upside is that these changes were almost always done in the name of increased durability, as the Detroit horsepower race escalated.

The primary differences in T5s for both the Mustang and the F-car can be split into two classifications: World Class (WC) and non-World Class (NWC). The term World Class is often thought to be reserved for the best T5s built, but actually there were further upgrades after this nomenclature was first applied. The World Class upgrades consisted primarily of caged needle bearings for First, Second, and Third gears, compared to the gears riding on a solid shaft as they do in NWC versions. The counter gears in WC boxes use tapered roller bearings in place of the standard rollers in the NWC. World Class boxes also use fiber-lined blocker rings on First through Fourth gears to improve synchronizing for smoother shifts. Despite these upgrades, the first WC boxes carry the same 265-lb-ft torque rating as the NWC units before them, probably since the changes were actually aimed at improving the transmission's operating performance rather than its integrity.



T5 WC
The NWC gearboxes use a 2.95 First gear while the later WC units have a 3.35 First. This holds true for both Camaro and Mustang boxes, though the Mustang went to the WC for the '85 model year while the Camaro didn't make the switch until '88. For the '90 model year, Ford worked with Borg-Warner to further upgrade the T5, resulting in new Second and Third gearsets using course-pitch gear teeth and higher nickel-content steel. These changes raised the torque rating to 300 lb-ft in Mustangs. Later, the T5 was further upgraded to harness the power of the '93 Mustang Cobra. This version, dubbed the T5 "Z" because of its Ford part number designation, has tapered output bearings and a steel front-bearing retainer (versus aluminum) among other things, pushing its torque rating to 330 lb-ft.

Speaking of the T5's durability, this gearbox has garnered a reputation as being wimpy and incapable of handling the power of a typical street machine. In truth, the better variants of the T5 can handle a healthy V-8 just fine--until it comes to full-on power-shifting, particularly with sticky tires. In those situations, the pinnacle of T5 development may be necessary: the G-Force T5 (see G-Force sidebar).


i cut and patse i do not know that much about trannys!!!

here is this as well i tried to attach a chart don know how so heres a link

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0404_five_speed_manuals/photo_05.html

well i would say that u could run up to around 400 hp without to much trouble as long as u take it easy and if it breaks they arent that expensive to rebuild.

You can run a stock Ford block to around 450 RWHP relatively safely with a good tune. Anything over that and you're rolling the dice.

For the tranny... How you treat it and how much traction you've got will have a lot to do with it.

Daggar said:

For the tranny... How you treat it and how much traction you've got will have a lot to do with it.

Click to expand...

Well said. I think it comes down more to torque than HP. Having another component (clutch, tires, etc) be the weak link (fuse) in the driveline is not a bad idea.

Good luck.