how many here are using the t 5 trans??been thinking about stuffin a stick in Lil Beast...can one of these survive behind a healthy sbc??how much hp and torque can they take??what one do i want to hit the bone yards for???what's up with hearing about changing the tail shaft over to a s 10 tail???
Start here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169265 Then do a search within the threads for more.
G.M. put the T5 trans in 305 ci Camaro's, & Firebirds. They didn't put them behind the 350 ci. the 350 ci were only offered with automatic trans. That should tell you about how strong GM thought they were. I ran one behind a lightly modified 350 and didn't have any trouble, but I didn't abuse it. The after market Tremek T5 is a stronger trans.
The B/W T-5 was originally built and used in 4 cylinder powered Jeeps. There are something like 35 variations used in different manufacturers. About the #1 thing that fails for the 5.0 Stang crowd is the T-5 trans. Why don't you scrounge up an old Muncie that will handle some use and abuse? Or are you wanting O/D? tnrotter
You need a W/C T5 (world cl***) about 1990 or 1991 and up. They were used in Camaros, Trans am, and Firebirds, WITH 350ci motors. I'm running one in my 67' Camaro with a healthy 327. No problems at all.
The factory torque ratings are 100,000 mile continuous ratings - they are not instantaneous ratings, nor maximum ratings - keep that in mind. All else being equal, WC is always stronger than NWC, & higher 1st gear ratios are stronger than lower. Improved alloys were used in '89-up Ford T5 and the Motorsports Z-spec T5 improved on countershaft roller bearing. Biggest weak points: Aluminum case Stock shifter Countershaft support Excessive end play You can fix everything but the aluminum case and end up with a decent trans that won't break the bank. Alternatively, start with an Tremec TKO and save time, but expect to spend a bit more. Ultimately, it will come down to trans prep, driving style, available torque, and traction. You can break anything. If you want very strong & easy - find a Muncie. If you want truly bullet proof - adapt the Ford Toploader using one of several bellhousings made for this. If you want OD, gear vendors are the ones. If after all of this, you're still interested in a T5, find a V8 Camaro/Firebird WC unit and upgrade from there. Countershaft support, tighten up end play, and an aftermarket shifter with adjustable stops will go a long way to keeping a T5 alive.
For those that are unaware: the Tremec 3550 and later trans are all based on the Ford toploader. Tremec bought up the Ford T&C division and that was the beginning. The 3550 is a toploader with overdrive. Shifts about the same and feels about the same. That was something I was looking for.
I've been running a World Cl*** T-5 in my '33 for over 10 years now. I run a 517 hp small block and I'm hard on it. I've gone through 2 Centre Force dual fricition clutches, torqued a driveshaft and twisted and axle, but so far (touch wood), the trans has taken it all. There are though many versions of the T-5 and many aren't so tough.....plus I've just been lucky.....so far!
Never heard that before - what's your source? Not doubting, just curious. But having driven several toploader cars & various internal rail shifted cars, I can't see how they shift the same or feel the same - the toploader requires an external shifter (I typically used the Hurst Compe***ion Plus in my cars) and it's an entirely different feel...at least to me. Not better or worse, just different. EDIT: Just searched for evidence that Tremec bought the T&C division of Ford. All I can find is that Tremec underwent some "strategic merging of technologies" with ZF, ***mins, & Rockwell and acquired Borg-Warner as well as the rights to build the T5. Elsewhere, I found that Tremec was building toploaders under license and exporting them to the states (Tremec is in Mexico). One other tidbit - the Tremec 3550 is listed on the TTC website as a "light duty" transmission - a label that would never be found on a toploader.
got one in my falcon, run it hard at the dragstrip every summer. literaly hundreds of p***es. never failed.
We've done several customer cars with the WC Camero with S-10 tail, mostly As-32s-33-34s and have so far had no problems.
Ernie I have heard before that the 3550 was based on a toploader, the mainshaft to cluster gear distance is the same. A 3550 does have an "add on" style of overdrive where it is in the tailhousing. Check out this page from a book which claims the toploader is the basis of the 3550. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ts...sqTpCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
What he said Mark^^ Danimal also knows a site to look on for some of the numbers and what ones were W/C
Interesting. With the m***ive changes, I don't see how they can say it's based on the toploader though. They obviously kept a few design parameters, but it's an entirely different trans IMO. Doubtful a 3550 would hold up to NASCAR... The add-on 5th gear and the shift-rail design is more reminiscent of the T5, than the old toploader though...again, JMO. Yes, but you do find medium duty ******s in cars. The 3550 is listed as light duty. You'd be hard pressed to convince me (or any of the old NASCAR drivers) that the T&C toploader is light duty. The toploader was used virtually exclusively in NASCAR from shortly after its introduction until the late 70s/early 80s when Jericho became common. Now that IS based on the toploader - it's a toploader copy w/stronger materials and modular gears. You can wear out a toploader, but it's damn hard to break one. I abused the **** out of my big in/big out toploader behind a 428SCJ in a 69 Mach I (of course, I was horribly traction limited) and it didn't even blink. Only issue I ever had with a toploader was an input bearing going out. I pulled the trans, replaced the bearing, & simply hosed the case out (w/o dis***embling anything) w/mineral spirits - ran that ****er for several years more behind a stout 351. I've got a Jeep topcover that I'll one day put on a toploader when I build an engine that won't take a T5...
When I ran Chevy's back in the early 70's I always used a Muncie and never broke any of them . Very strong . I also used turbo 400 auto trans and had the same results . It really all depends on how you are going to use the trans and how much HP & torque you are going to be running through the trans . Stock trans means stock engine ! Push them too much and stock will break !
I believe the WC T-5 was first used in 1988 V-8 Camaros with a mechanical speedo drive.But these ******s get swapped alot so who knows?I don't know when electronic speedo drives became the norm but I learned some or all early electronic speedo drives will take a mechanical drive "bullet" and gear. The late Mustang guys say when their engines get up around 300 hp a Worldcl*** T-5 will break third gear with a fast shift.
When I was doing the late Mustang thing a few years back, 400HP was the threshold, but it really depends on a lot of factors. Traction & launch being the biggest. 3rd gear didn't break from power, it was the missed shifts due to the ****ty stock shifter OR aftermarket shifters w/o stops on them (many of the early ones). A good shifter will go a long way to making a T5 live...there are no internal shifter stops.
Tell that to the t5z I'm currently rebuilding. 450rwhp, and 3rd gear decided to go on a diet, and lose a couple teeth. This wasn't from shifting, this was just around 5000rpms and WOT.
I really wanted to run a T5, but as my power plan grew, so did my doubts about the T5. I researched the hell out of T5 upgrades and that led me to the 5.0 Mustang gurus. They told me a T5 could handle an 8 second mustang easily.... a few times. The reality I found was that the more abuse you give one, the more you'll spend refreshing and repairing one. That probably stands true for any transmission, but... I rasied the ante a bit and scored a T56 in need of repair. I found the same story there, but the T56 costs a lot more to repair. The specimen I had was going to run $1500 to make right. That bugged me. At that price, there should be something else. I kept researching. Everyone I talked to said Muncie or Top-Loader. I don't know much about the later, but I did now a little about the Muncie. I dug around and found that I could spend $600 to $1000 for a rebuilt Muncie, or $1600 to $2100 for a NEW one. I hate working on ******s more than any single job I can imagine on a car. I spent $1865, including shipping, for a new AutoGear M21 with an optional ge****t having a .86 OD in 4th with 3rd being 1:1. Every part in it is stronger than vintage Muncie stuff. The case and iron midplate are huge improvements over stock. I think it was the best for my situation. Just food for thought.
Yeah, read my post - about 400HP is the limit. If you've got 450RWHP, a T5 probably won't last - especially at WOT. Don't waste your time rebuilding the T5Z - step up to a TKO 600. And judging by the dogs, you've missed a few third gear shifts...only two reasons for that - ****ty shifter, or poor shifting. In fairness, the end play could've been on the loose side - that'll make it worse.
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