T5 leak!
- Thread starter 87'GTstang
- Start date
So what does the leak at the Bellhousing cause?...can it cause any damage...I have a real small leak at my bellhousing but don't have money right now for a steel retainer if though they are cheap...any quick seals I can get...what are the exact names for them...I have a NAPA real close...I can pick them up there while I'm getting my flywheel resurfaced...
while your trans is out, inspect the input shaft retainer. If it's grooved AT ALL, do yourself a favor, and borrow the money for a steel unit, it's less than $50, buy from a repitable place only such as hanlon motorsports.
when putting a new bearing retainer gasket on, be sure to not forget to use the old shims, so that you don't have excessive input shaft play. (you can't miss them)
If you have a leak, or slight leak right now, FIX IT. You're gonna mess up your new clutch and soak it with fluid....i've been there too, soaked the damn thing like a sponge. You don't want ANY leaks in the bell area, thats why your trans must have a good seal there, and you must locktite the flywheel bolts and use a good rear main, so oil doesn't leak either.
fixing the leak is easy. My bro had this same problem also. He put a spec clutch in, 600 miles later, the trans developed a SLIGHT front seal leak. We pulled the t5 out and replaced with a tremec 3550, but too late, the clutch already had trans fluid on it and was no good.
A few months later, my father was borrowing my mustang and blew out my fresh t5 because of a REAR trans seal leak he didn't follow up on and add fluid (i've blown a million trannies!) so I was deseperate for a used trans. I re used my bro's old one, just unbolted the bearing retainer, replaced the seal, put the shims back on, and bolted on a steel retainer, and it hasn't leaked a drop since.
just be sure you take care of all your tranny problems, or your clutch job will be for nothing
if memory serves me right, I used silicone too when bolting it up
when putting a new bearing retainer gasket on, be sure to not forget to use the old shims, so that you don't have excessive input shaft play. (you can't miss them)
If you have a leak, or slight leak right now, FIX IT. You're gonna mess up your new clutch and soak it with fluid....i've been there too, soaked the damn thing like a sponge. You don't want ANY leaks in the bell area, thats why your trans must have a good seal there, and you must locktite the flywheel bolts and use a good rear main, so oil doesn't leak either.
fixing the leak is easy. My bro had this same problem also. He put a spec clutch in, 600 miles later, the trans developed a SLIGHT front seal leak. We pulled the t5 out and replaced with a tremec 3550, but too late, the clutch already had trans fluid on it and was no good.
A few months later, my father was borrowing my mustang and blew out my fresh t5 because of a REAR trans seal leak he didn't follow up on and add fluid (i've blown a million trannies!) so I was deseperate for a used trans. I re used my bro's old one, just unbolted the bearing retainer, replaced the seal, put the shims back on, and bolted on a steel retainer, and it hasn't leaked a drop since.
just be sure you take care of all your tranny problems, or your clutch job will be for nothing
if memory serves me right, I used silicone too when bolting it up
when you guys replace a rear main seal, do you take off the oil pan and replace all the oil pan gaskets too because i think my tranny is leaking as well as my rear main. Only a tiny bit though. When i take my trans out to rebuild it (its not ready yet) Ill definitely make sure everything is clean as a whistle. I just hate gaskets so much and would use RTV for everything if it would work.
mooktank said:
You don't have to take off the oil pan to change the rear main seal...it is behind the flywheel and you can do it with the tranny off...it can be a pain the butt to take out and put on...
v8only - Alright I'll just ask for a bearing retainer seal for a 95 T-5...and if I see the "grooved" bearing retainer I'll get a new one of those...if I get the wrong year I'll go back and get the right year...surely their the same?
the same??
not positive, I've never gone to napa for a bearing retainer. I would think they are, let me know, do your parts search ahead of time and see if there are two different part #'s
i just searched through autozones catalog, not sure if parts stores stock something like this, check on it, you may have to get this overnighted from somewhere. Are you close to any mustang shops?
this isn't a "common" do it yourselfer thing, so not sure if the parts stores would stock the seal or not
not positive, I've never gone to napa for a bearing retainer. I would think they are, let me know, do your parts search ahead of time and see if there are two different part #'s
i just searched through autozones catalog, not sure if parts stores stock something like this, check on it, you may have to get this overnighted from somewhere. Are you close to any mustang shops?
this isn't a "common" do it yourselfer thing, so not sure if the parts stores would stock the seal or not
v8only said:
Well I bought my rear main seal from NAPA last year and they are the ones that are going to resurface my flywheel...(they have a machine shop)...so they might carry it?
No mustang shops
I'm trying make a mental picture here...what does the bearing retainer go into?
here's a tremec, it's the steel piece in this picture that slides over the input shaft on the far right and butts up to the trans
another view, while this is not your trans, the bearing retainer looks the same, in this pic, it is the shiny piece on the left that butts up agains the trans, and has the shaft going through the center.
not a common thing to replace, that's why I'm skeptical that a parts store may not carry it.
another view, while this is not your trans, the bearing retainer looks the same, in this pic, it is the shiny piece on the left that butts up agains the trans, and has the shaft going through the center.
not a common thing to replace, that's why I'm skeptical that a parts store may not carry it.
Yeah I have been looking for the seal behind the bearing retainer for a bit and it isn't an easy thing to find for some reason - even ford doesn;t have it anymore.
An easy way to find a good bearing retainer is to take a magnet to it, aluminum will not interact with it and therefore would be the one you DON'T want 0 get the steel one.
I replaced it awhile ago when I went through the trans and am definitely not thinking much of that front seal.
v8only - is there any specific way the shims should be lined up on it? Also how many seals are there on the front of the tranny that makes it not leak - is it just the one directly behing the bearing retainer?
An easy way to find a good bearing retainer is to take a magnet to it, aluminum will not interact with it and therefore would be the one you DON'T want 0 get the steel one.
I replaced it awhile ago when I went through the trans and am definitely not thinking much of that front seal.
v8only - is there any specific way the shims should be lined up on it? Also how many seals are there on the front of the tranny that makes it not leak - is it just the one directly behing the bearing retainer?
when I swapped out my bearing retainer, there was only one gasket there. Internally to the tranny?? who knows, I haven't rebuild my first t5...yet.
SHims depends. The input shaft play must be at a minimum. If you don't have the shims, then you will have more play in your input shaft. There is a specific way to measure input shaft play so you know how much to shim it. However, if you're just replacing a seal, and don't have the right equipment, re use the oem shims.
when I swapped my bearing retainer, I swapped my steel one from my busted tranny onto my extra tranny, and was careful to re use the shims from the extra tranny, and not from the busted tranny, as the shims could be different and tweek with the input shaft play.
best bet is to call someone like hanlon motorsports for that seal.
SHims depends. The input shaft play must be at a minimum. If you don't have the shims, then you will have more play in your input shaft. There is a specific way to measure input shaft play so you know how much to shim it. However, if you're just replacing a seal, and don't have the right equipment, re use the oem shims.
when I swapped my bearing retainer, I swapped my steel one from my busted tranny onto my extra tranny, and was careful to re use the shims from the extra tranny, and not from the busted tranny, as the shims could be different and tweek with the input shaft play.
best bet is to call someone like hanlon motorsports for that seal.
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