Technical T-5 disassembly trouble - I need advice

I'm trying to disassemble an S-10 T-5 for a rebuild kit, and am stuck on the 5th driven gear (shown #66 in the diagram above. Says "remove one snap ring and 5th driven gear". Snap ring was a bitch but I got it. Now it seems like the gear should slide off the splines, but it doesn't. Is it supposed to require a puller? It's a tight fit next to the bearing, and will require a very long puller to reach over the end of the shaft, or a narrow puller to fit around the gear but not hit the shaft sticking out below it.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

Try heating it with a propane torch to expand it a little. Not too hot.

 

5th driven is pressed on. I use a bearing splitter to fit between the case and gear, and press against the end of the mainshaft.

 

I just need to find a splitter skinny enough to sneak by the lower shaft, and then long arms to reach it from the end of the output shaft.

I’m guessing a long tube will be required to seat it when reassembling.

 

A creative drop on a block of wood sometimes helps

 

You can remove the main shaft assembly without removing that gear

pic is from lugnutz’s page

 

Anthony Read My Mind....

 

I want to put fresh bearings and syncro brass in the trans. I will need to remove the gear to do that.

I’ve tried tilting the assembly up to lift out and it hasn’t seemed like it would go. I’ll give it another look. I have a splitter that will work if the shaft assembly is outside the case.

 

Paul from t5.com has a youtube video the might help.

 

The t5.com site seems to be for sale. Got a link to the right video on YouTube?

 

Just remember, if you want that brass to last, use 70W gear oil, with an API rating of GL-4.

Grades GL-5 and above are not backwards-compatible, and contain aggressive additives suitable only for differentials.

Those additives erode yellow metals, like brass.

Never use ATF in a NWC T5.

 

Got it. GL4 is “good 4 brass”.

 

His site, https://www.5speeds.com/
All his videos are here. Might have to look through older ones.
https://youtube.com/@gearboxvideo?si=vwBIX-jegeJYyYoR

 

I changed the 5th gearset for different ratio. I don't remember having to take the main shaft out of case or needing a puller/press. You have a non World Class?

 

You can remove the main shaft assembly without removing that gear. Much easier to remove and press back on.

Some vids:

Disassembly:


Assembly:

 

I *think* if the 5th gear is ~.80 then it does require removal as it is too large to allow removal where the smaller ~.70 gears allow you to angle it out of the case.

 

Hmm…

 

The aftermarket 0.8/0.81 5th driven gear has to be pressed on and off in the case because the diameter is too large to pass through the case.

Any factory BW/Tremec gear can pass through, meaning you can pull the mainshaft out. It can be a little tricky finding the exact path needed to get the mainshaft out though!

 

Those videos have some great tips in them. Thanks for the help guys, you are much better than the simple manual I was using before. I’ll try swinging the mainshaft assembly out this weekend when I get back to the project. I’ll definitely be adding some notes to the manual.

To add a little context, this transmission is for a highboy 32 5-window with a 409. But it should be buried deep enough that the car still has a nice traditional flavor.

 

It worked. The assembly wiggled out the top just fine. Thanks for the help guys.

Any advice on getting the rear bearing race for the cluster out of the case? Videos show lots of smacking with long punches in various places, or even heating the case with a torch. What’s your guy’s experience?

 

I used three vids (incl the GearBox vid) to disassemble and rebuild mine (still in process), but I found this guy’s vids to be the best.

 

@gimpyshotrods this trans had ATF in it when I cracked the seal. It decodes to be a 1989 S-10 from a 2.5L. Still think it should have 70W regular GL4 gear lube?

All bearings and seals will be replaced, but the old stuff didn’t look bad at all. No wear I could find.

 

I see what you did there....

 

I am told if it has brass synchro's it takes GL4 gear lube, but if it has the black synchro's it takes ATF.

 

In my limited experience in the T-5 world, it looks like the brass syncros are in the NWC and the carbon fiber are in the World Class. Correct?

 

Hit that bearing race a couple times with your MIG. It will shrink and fall right out. It doesn't take much.

 

Only the very edge of the race is visible, with lots of delicate surfaces directly adjacent. Welding on it is not really a good option.

I ended up heating the case a little with a propane torch, sticking the protruding shaft down through a hole in my steel table, then smacking the cluster with a punch and hammer through a hole in the case. Just like in one of the videos. Seems rather caveman, but it worked and no extraneous damage.

 

That would be correct as far as I know.

 

As a former Automotive Engineer at General Motors, my professional expertise says emphatic yes.

I'm not guessing.

NWC T5's have no bearings under the main gears. They ride directly on the main shaft.

You are arguing against First-Principles of Mechanical Engineering, and settled science.

Both are firmly rooted in the Laws of Physics.

You are entitled to your opinion, but in this case, you are wrong.

 

That is correct.

The black synchros are carbon, but that's NOT what makes ATF ok to use.

Those black rings are found in a WC transmission.

World-Class transmissions have bearings between the main gears and the main shaft.

Non-World-Class transmissions have no bearings there, hence the profoundly different lubrication requirements.

It is well focused internal GM literature just how many NWC that they had to replace under warranty due directly to using ATF instead of SAE 70.

I should not have to continuous explain this to people, but here we are.

Same for high nickel 010 block myth, and that 350's and 400's BOTH had a corner cut on the flange for over a decade.

Some nonsense just won't die.