T5 questions, replace vs rebuild

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Thing is, if you buy a new T5z, you void the warranty if you crack open the trans to replace the speedo gear. Not worth it.


If you have your trans rebuilt, buy a 6 or 7 tooth drive gear and zip tie it to the trans and ask it be swapped in place.


Honestly, these trans are pretty easy to rebuild if you want a winter project. There are a few really good rebuild vids on YouTube I can recommend as well.



I used to do them for friends in my younger days.
 
Thing is, if you buy a new T5z, you void the warranty if you crack open the trans to replace the speedo gear. Not worth it.


If you have your trans rebuilt, buy a 6 or 7 tooth drive gear and zip tie it to the trans and ask it be swapped in place.


Honestly, these trans are pretty easy to rebuild if you want a winter project. There are a few really good rebuild vids on YouTube I can recommend as well.



I used to do them for friends in my younger days.
I haven’t been able to find any that have a warranty the one on summit says that it is a ford performance part which do not have warranties
 
I haven’t been able to find any that have a warranty the one on summit says that it is a ford performance part which do not have warranties


You gotta dig around for specific vendors that offer a warranty. One I believe was doing a 1-year warranty. Let me search around a bit as this was a year or so ago as I was looking into buying one myself.
 
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2 grand on a t5 is a tough pill to swallow.
While i have someone that spent years rebuilding them professionally (in which i would not have to pay), if i had to, at the current price i would learn to do it myself.
That's where all the value is. You start spending 2 grand on one and it would be hard to avoid the TKX vs t5 debate.
Hell, it makes me think i should sell my tko600 and buy the t56 magnum i don't really need.
 
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In the service manual for the T5 (you can down load it from the website in post #9) it states this:

2-4. APPROVED LUBRICANT. Most T5 transmission models use Dexron II automatic transmission fluid. Refer the vehicle owner’s manual or service manual for lubricant specifications.

I run Amsoil in mine.


In my TKO I run Amsoil as well but its the synchromesh:

 
I've run Mobil 1 ATF in my T5's for years, but my trans has the "older" style blocker ring material.

DexII isn't really available easily, but Ford and Tremec have documentation saying that DIII/Mercon and eventually Mercon V superseded it. If you went to a dealer to have the fluid changed, Merc V is what they would put in the trans.


Tremec has varied their recommended fluid for the T5 over the years as materials in the synchro blocker rings changed. There was a change in the early 90's and then again around 2010. The latest blocker rings I would defer to the documentation that comes with the trans as to what fluid to run as various threads on T5 fluid tend to contain outdated information.
 
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2 grand on a t5 is a tough pill to swallow.
While i have someone that spent years rebuilding them professionally (in which i would not have to pay), if i had to, at the current price i would learn to do it myself.
That's where all the value is. You start spending 2 grand on one and it would be hard to avoid the TKX vs t5 debate.
Hell, it makes me think i should sell my tko600 and buy the t56 magnum i don't really need.


The OEM 2.95 gearset alone is $1200 these days. I know it used to be cheaper, but it's gotten damn expensive to rebuild a T5 if the entire unit is trashed.


Toss in a $400 rebuild kit, and perhaps some misc additional components like a 1-2 slider if it's damaged, or things like a cluster support, or a steel input bearing retainer and you are at $2k just in parts to make an equivalent T-5Z out of a worn out existing T5. That's also hoping the mainshaft isn't scored up.




Could always go aftermarket to save some $$. But still, its not cheap these days to rebuild a T5.
 
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I advise to call Bob at Hanlon too. Him, his wife, and his son are great people to work with. I've been dealing with them for years and personally went to their shop to pick up my tko600 and all the swap parts.

I run dexron V in all the t5s I work on. I had a 4 cylinder t5 behind a stout 347 for years and my current 331 turbo. When I pulled it it still shifted like butter with no issues. I rarely beat on my cars....and when I do I know how to change gears. Speed shifting is out of the question....and if you miss a gear that's all she wrote. I bought a t5z to go behind my 347 but ate the dog teeth on second gear. It was caused by the detent spring retainers collapsing and causing the car not to shift fully into 2nd. In my experience the 4 cylinder t5 has held up to more power than the v8 t5 and the t5z.

Edit; I'm not saying to buy a 4 banger t5 to bang on. Your speedo will be way off and the gears are wider apart numerically. It would be like going from a 373 to a 255 rear gear. When I first got into mustangs guys would hunt for 4 banger t5s for the track. They were cheap and a dime a dozen. They also seemed to live with more abuse.
 
I have rebuilt a bunch of T5's myself and it's expensive
Using Ford parts a synchro alone is around 400
Total parts and labor for an overhaul is around 2500 these days
Input bearing, both synchros, first gear and a seal kit (for starters)
 
I have rebuilt a bunch of T5's myself and it's expensive
Using Ford parts a synchro alone is around 400
Total parts and labor for an overhaul is around 2500 these days
Input bearing, both synchros, first gear and a seal kit (for starters)


Yup. We are at the point where it's more cost effective to buy a brand new T-5z than it is to rebuild a T5 that has bad components that are not part of the standard rebuild kit.

I have a spare T5 in my basement that was blown up and had considered rebuilding it to Z-spec, but after pricing it all out, it's not worth it. I might as well buy new. I could probably sell it off for parts and make have the cost. The mainshaft tip is pristine and not galled up like a lot I came across.