Non WC T5 any good?

['69Mach1]

I have a T5 I picked up from a friend a while back, I have everything I need to install it in my '66 ,I ran the tag I.D. numbers on the trans ,it came up as a 1352-065 '84 5.0 mustang, I've seen a couple of posts stating that it's not a world class and some have said it's not a good trans ,a friend of mine had an '84 GT ,I rember him beating the living crap out of that car and nothing ever happened to the trans!..what's the deal? go with it or is there something I should know? Thank's

 

[iskwezm]

world class is just a name they got from 87-93.I broke mine and the builder replaced it with a 86 T5, he claims they are just as strong because they use a 10/30 oil instead,but i found out its rated only to 265 ft lbs, and its lasted a couple of years and recently with my blown stroker.It should do ok for you.

 

[5.0ina66]

They use gear oil, and are WEAK. That said, they can live, but T5s are like Dodge K-cars, they either die every 5min or never even flinch

 

[Hack]

There's a whole range of weak to strong (some people's weak is plenty strong for other people). The 5.0 liter cars that the NWC T5s came in made less than 175 horsepower brand new, so they held up pretty well in that application. When you talk to many people - they say, "wow, the car is fast and fun!" Well I fit in that category too. Less than 200 hp is not enough, but still feels fun to me in a small car.

Now if you have a built 302 making 250+ horsepower, you're going to have to go easy on it, or it will die fast. Also, sticky tires and strong clutches will contribute to a quick death. Even highway rear end gears will decrease the tranny's life span.

Manual transmission durability is hard to predict. Even with a weak engine and crummy tires, some people have the ability to destroy a tranny in short order. Some people are just hard on them.

 

['69Mach1]

Now if you have a built 302 making 250+ horsepower, you're going to have to go easy on it, or it will die fast. Also, sticky tires and strong clutches will contribute to a quick death. Even highway rear end gears will decrease the tranny's life span.

I planned on just driving the car ,but it's a 289 with dual quad's ,I guess I better find a WC ,or at least keep one as back up ...Thank's

 

[rbohm]

as hack said, manual transmission durability is kind of up in the air. i have seen nwc T5's run behind 10sec race cars and never break in several seasons of running, and i have seen wc T5's break 500 miles off the dealer lot. i have seen people(like myself) that can run delicate transmissions in cars that are hard on trannies and never break them, and i have seen trannies that can handle anything a top fuel motor can put out, and yet people break them in stock four cylinder applications. it depends on how you treat the trans, and how you service the trans.

by the way the world class T5's came out in 1985, and used atf NOT gear oil. put gear oil in a T5 and you will be rebuilding one very soon as it will get NO lubrication.

 

[iskwezm]

i meant 30wt, mine does not use ATF,oops

 

[ashford]

the biggest difference between nwc and wc is the nwc has torrington style bearings on the counter cluster with a thrust washer where the wc uses tapered roller bearings. there are probably other differences like updated synchros, different gear pitches or differnt gear ratios. but yes the nwc tend to blow up if your driving in a really bad mood far from home. ive blown up 2 of them on a low 13 sec car, but the wc is still holding.

 

[stangonline]

Ive broken countless T5s of all flavors. I simply will not use them any more. TKO500 or 600 for now on. T5s were simply never designed to take that much power.

Jeff

 

['69Mach1]

Thank's for all the replies, I'm just going to go with it, my friend's say I drive like an old lady anyway....