Got a Mercruiser 120 I want to replace my sbc with. Decided to hook it to a T-5 manual 5-speed. Couldn't find a V8 ****** and bought a '91 S-10 nwc 14 spline model, the model they hook to the 2.5 and 2.8. The input shaft is different. How do I get them together? Preferably without big bucks or mechanicing ability... One company sells a spacer that is supposed to go between this transmission and any sbc bellhousing and do the job. Costs money but it's on my list of possibilities. Has anyone hooked this T-5 to a sbc or Mercruiser with readily available materials?
Usually about 3/4 of an inch. Sometimes 1/2 in. You need to test fit the whole installation one step at a time. Starting with the pilot bearing. And correct each interfearance as you find it. Search the T-5 threads for a lot of good info and reading.
I bolted everything up using an 1960's aluminum bellhousing and small flywheel on my chevy 2 153 cu in. No cutting at all, just test fit everything...
Thanks, guys, Do you have a part # for the bellhousing you used, Nostalgia59? I have to wonder if it was a little deeper than some others so the spacer wasn't neccessary.
I used a Camero V-6 5 speed. I've done this twice, one with a t-5 bellhousing and the other with a common chevy v-8 aluminum bellhousing...
Most times you'll need to cut 3/8ths inch off the end of the ******'s pilot shaft as well as trim the end off the end of the bearing retainer.
Your right. The V6 input shaft is the same length as the V8, but it has the 1"-14 spline. I put one behind a 4.3L V6 so should have remembered that! The 2.5L 4 cylinder T5 is the one that has to be shortened, along with the bearing retainer. Bob
To my knowledge, ALL S10 T5 input shafts are 5/8" longer than standard GM. You may have had a V6 T5 from a Camaro, and that would be the same as any V8 ******.
What I've found so far is that there seems to be just 2 shafts for Chevies: the V8 and another for the 4/V6. Anyone sure there are more?
Here's my experience: The V6 T5, when used in the Camaro/Firebird, has the same shaft as the V8. All S10 input shafts are 5/8" longer than the standard GM input shaft. I've put V6 Camaro T5 behind Muncie bellhousing w/o any issue. Only the S10 T5 requires shortening. And all of the commonly available adapters (for Flatheads) are meant for standard GM input shafts (they were originally designed with 4-spds in mind).
Wouldn't ya know! I jumped in and spent money and now find out that Chevy just put one shaft (the V8) in Camaro T-5's! If only they had applied the same logic to S-10's, after all they were offered with the 4.3 which is the same as the V8. I absolutely need the S-10 tail for the shifter location.
I can get a t5 from a v6 s10, how will this go bolting up to a 3l Mercruiser? Will the bell housing work and should I get the pressure plate and clutch plate?
If the V6 was a 2.8 the bellhousing will not bolt to anything with a sbc pattern. Most of the posts here are about making a 4/6 cyl. T-5 work with a sbc. Getting a bellhousing that has the right patterns seems to be the easy part.
Actually the 1985 Astro van put an S10 T5 behind a 4.3 carburated engine. That's the clutch and disc you need if you want to put one on your 4.3, or any other Chev V8 type bolt pattern engine. And yes, you have to cut the pilot shaft off a bit. S10's are metric, so you have to drill the bolt holes out to fit the "real" bolt size the bell uses.
I found a site that says the 86-90 can be made to work, also. It has a Ford pattern for the trans but the locations are still there for the S-10 trans, just need to be drilled and tapped. Anyone else heard this?
I have seen some homemade spacers that got the job done. Hamilton Intakes produces one but I have heard they are hopelessly back-ordered. The remedies I've seen use the spacer between the trans and the bellhousing. Would it work just as well to use a spacer between the engine and bellhousing?
All of the Astro van T5 I've heard of (never had one myself) have had the Ford bolt pattern... Made to work in what? 86-90 what? The Ford pattern for GM didn't start until '93. And the GM T5 with Ford pattern had their own input shafts, so anything made for the Ford won't work... I doubt it. Seems that may mess with your starter....
I'm trying to learn...and make progress with the next drivetrain for my truck so excuse my confusion All of the Astros you ever heard of had the Ford pattern?...but GM didn't start using the Ford pattern until '93?...knowing there were Astros '85 and up, I can't figure it out. I wondered about the starter, too, but mine is mounted to the block. Wouldn't it be unaffected by any bellhousing or none at all? I notice you are in Ft. Walton Beach. I was there about a lifetime ago. Lived on an unpaved street not terribly far from Bacon's by the Sea (?) and rode a bicycle to Annette P. Edwins Elementary. Probably wouldn't recognize anything now.
The Ford-pattern T5 in GM vehicles showed up in 1993, full-on. I have never seen one with both patterns. I hear that the Astro had the Ford pattern earlier, but I have yet to see an Astro/Safari with a T5, any time, anywhere, ever. '86-'90 has the cl***ic GM/Muncie/Saginaw pattern. Be aware, the speedometer drives went electronic, starting 1989. Score an '88, or earlier, if you need a mechanical speedometer. Also be aware, there are TWO S10 gear-sets. I have seen them mixed between all the engines, so check. One has a 4.03:1 first gear, and a 0.89:1 overdrive, the other, a 3.76:1 first, and a 0.72:1 overdrive. In my experience, small and low-power engines can benefit from the 4.03:1 gear-set, for others, it is too low.
Welcome to the anything goes world of T5. If you're block-mounted, it should be no issue. However, I would still caution you about spacing out a bellhousing due to input shaft alignment. This is a critical measurement requiring tolerances of <.005" and typically .002-.003" - if out of alignment, at best, you'll eat pilot bushings/bearings and at worst, transmission input bearings... Probably not! Hurlburt has well over 10,000 people working there and Eglin certainly hasn't gotten any smaller. The Army moved in up in Crestview too. I've seen '93 S10 T5 with GM pattern....and only one with Ford pattern. The Ford pattern ones were WC and the GM pattern ones were not. And no, there is no such case with dual patterns - they are far too different dimensionally. Not like the '60s Ford toploaders that had both the '49-64 and 65-up patterns...and I too have never actually held an Astro/Safarii T5 in my hands.... '91-92 had GM pattern too, as far as I know...at least in the S10. Once again, in the wacky world of T5, this was a transition year and I have seen them both ways between '89-90, but never after '91-up. I think it may have been trim related - the S10 had a "digital dash" option starting in '89 or so and I think, but cannot prove, that these are the ones with electronic speedo....but it's just a guess.
Another important note for those looking for a T5: To the untrained eye, they look a heck-of-a-lot like the T4 4-speed, and vice versa. I wasted about 325-miles in gas, this weekend, trying to buy T5's, which were actually misidentified T4's. All of the case parts, that show a visible part number, have a number that begins with 1352, or 13-52. That is the model number. If it starts with 1351, or any other number, it is NOT a T5. The difference largely appears in the tail housing. The T5 has a big bulge, and the T4 does not. Make the seller send you a side view picture, or be prepared for disappointment. I will post pictures of both, when I get home, if someone does not beat me to it. Don't expect a yard to have a trained-eye, either. I'd like to say that you shouldn't have to check that a T5 tag had been hastily, recently bolted to a T4, but I can't.
This is a T4 tail housing: Notice the shape directly below the shifter area, no bulge. This is a T5 tail housing: Notice the bulge below the shifter area, there are mechanical and electric speedometer versions, but they are very similar. Some earlier ones seem to have less structure, but still have the bulge (circa '82, mechanical speedometer): There are a few other minor variants that I have seen. Bottom line, no bulge, no T5.
I can tell you from first-hand experience there have been T4 made with the bulged case too! I've only encountered them in Jeeps so far, but they exist!! Normally, however, you're right - if it's got the bulge, you're safe. If it doesn't have the bulge, it's definitely not the T5.
Bought a cable operated bellhousing and clutch fork from a V8 Monza today. Another piece to my puzzle. Ernie, do they still have those buildings that look like huge ping pong balls on Santa Rosa Island? My father was a civilian employee out there back around '66 or so.
I've heard rumors of 4x2, but never seen one. And I never question any of the craziness surrounding T5s. If someone tells me they've found an oddball combo I've never heard of, I just chalk it up to the wild and wacky world of T5 and the unique interchangeability of components. Supposedly, there's some sort of agricultural sprayer out there with a T5 in it! I haven't been out that way in years, but would guess so. They've got them at several military installations....
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