T5 Identification Advice Needed

Hello friends,

For as long as I’ve had my car, I’ve noticed that the gearing is really short, as in first gear is good to about 10 mph and then you have to go to second. I knew it had a 3.73 rear end, so I didn’t think much of it.

Then a shop a couple years back mentioned that the input shaft on the transmission is too small, but would still work with the engine. I chalked it up to wear and accepted the fact that I may have to replace it at some point.

Now, having done some research I have a sneaking suspicion that I may in fact have a 4 cylinder T5 bolted to the back of my V8. I crawled under the car to look for the identification tag, and found it had broken off, so all I have is the casting number,
13-52-065-904

I understand that you can’t glean too much information just from the casting number, but a Website I found seems to indicate that it’s a 83-84 non-WC.

I can’t be sure it’s a 4cyl trans without the tag, and rebuilt WC T5s are expensive, so should I have a shop drop it and measure the input shaft to be sure? Or do you guys think it’s safe to assume I have a 4cyl based on the information provided?

Also, if it is a 4cyl transmission, how concerned should I be? I know it’s not rated to handle the torque, but I don’t launch the car from stoplights and I rarely go past 60mph. It’s lasted for about 4 years so far. The car drives fine, it’s just annoying.

Thanks in advance.

Mustang5L5 said:

If it is a 4cyl T5, there's a different pilot bearing you should be running. I beleive it's out of a 2.3L ranger. The 5.0 one is too big and the input shaft will bounce around.

Click to expand...

What would that feel like? A vibration? Or a kind of bucking motion? Because that happens sometimes at lower speeds (like in parking lots) I’ve noticed.

Edit: after looking into it, that probably has more to do with my driving than any kind of hardware issue. I need to be more delicate with my throttle/clutch balance it seems.

General karthief said:

The bucking at low speed is a different symptom, if the pilot bearing was wrong it would chatter like it was falling out.

Click to expand...

That’s not happening, so that’s good at least. Maybe the right bearing is already in there.

I’ll be due for an engine rebuild soon, so I think I’ll replace the transmission then. In the meantime I guess I’ll just be sure to go easy on it and hope for the best. Thank you all for your help and advice.

limp said:

Don't the 4 cylinder transmissions have a really low first gear in them?? That would equate to the quick rpm's in first gear..

Click to expand...

That’s what I figured too, it’s like driving a truck. I’ve actually been starting in second at times just because first may as well not be there. There’s also almost no discernible difference between 4th and 5th. A few hundred rpm at the most.

Driving on the interstate is virtually impossible. I can keep up with traffic, but the motor’s screaming the entire time.

Again, I thought all this was because I had a 3.73 rear end, but now that I’ve done some digging I’m not so sure. One post I read put the top of 1st at about 33mph with that ratio, which sounds way more usable.

General karthief said:

Seems as though I remember see'n a chart of trans models and gear ratio
read this....https://www.moderndriveline.com/the-many-different-faces-of-the-t5/

Click to expand...

This is enlightening, thank you. How rare are those T5Z units the article talked about? I had never heard of them.