Check out the ultimate T5 tech thread. In it, is a link on how-to rebuild the T5 in addition to the manual. I think it covers it in there, but don't recall. Getting ready to head to work - going by memory - get all the levers in the center lined up - the big vertical piece need to line up with the slots in the horizontal piece. You'll have to set the cover on, line up the two shift forks into their respective synchros and slide the cover down and sideways to get it to engage the reverse lever in the case - which needs to be in neutral... When I have 'em in my hand, it's obvious what I need to do, but trying to explain it is hard....
i appreciate all of the efforts to help. i know it's not easy not having one in front of you.... i downloaded the official tremecs rebuild PDF and read and re-read the part about installing the shift forks. it's still not very clear. however, i'm going to go buy some more black silocone today and try again. the pisser is that you can't test the shifting until you get the tailshaft installed so i'd like to be sure that i know wtf i'm doing so i don't have to take it apart again.
Looks like I'm too late on this thread. Talk with Bob at Hanlon Motorsports. Just go to hanlonmotorsports.com. Bob and Linda Hanlon are great people and always willing to help. If Bob isn't there to answer your question run it by Linda and if she can't answer it then Bob will always call you back. He even called me on his day off once. Nice people, good prices on rebuild kits, used gears in great shape and a great resource. They even produce their own instructional rebuild DVD for like $20 he walks you through it. BTW, I'm not related to any of them. I'm finished. Andy St.Louis, MO
thanks, checking them out now. i already bought a MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE T5 video but i will probably get theirs too.
i downloaded the tremec PDF file and at first it made no sense with what i was viewing. then it ll became clear. i needed to push the shifter shaft further into the housing so that the selector arm can go THROUGH the interlock plate. it was on the wrong side! now my selector plates are in alignment with the interlock plate and the selector arm is engaging the interlock plate. it's beginning to make sense. but i'll be darned if i know how the mechanism got funked-up. all i did was take the cover off... after i get this trans together and installed, i'll buy another to rebuild as a B/U. a guy contacted me and has a T5 with a mechanical speedo. if the price is right, i'll install that one and sell this one with the electric speedo. slowly but surely, i'm getting there.... OH, ****. got another question! this one is easily explained over the net however. the pic below shows a wafer thin bearing that goes around that plastic piece and into a slight recess in the tailshaft. is that plastic piece supposed to look like that? how do i secure that bearing so that i know it won't fall out while installing the tailshaft? and which way does that bearing race go?
Typically a NWC case is supposed to have a different oiler. I've seen both in both types of cases. Was that the oiler that was in it when you opened it? As for your bearing, use some ***embly grease to make it stick in place. Make sure the thrust washer is behind it on the side that will press up against your tailhousing. I always install it on my housing when putting it on. Just my preference. Andy St. Louis, MO
yeah, that's the way it came. i'm not smart enough about these things to go changing stuff around. that's what i thought but needed confirmation before i goop this motha togetha.
That's what I was trying to tell you about the interlock....words don't quite do it. Yes, the oiler is supposed to look like that, but it does look like a WC oiler instead of a NWC oiler. I used to think this was critical, I'm now not so sure...as long as you have an oiler, I think you're OK...
ok this mother trans is going to give me a heart attack. got the top cover on fine, now the tailshaft won't go on!!! it gets about 1/2" from being on and just won't go any further. i s****ed off the sealant and tried again without the shifter block. same thing. I THINK that the reverse rod is hitting the edge of the recess into which it slides but i'm not sure. what i am sure of is that i'm ready to *******ed kill. after i got a PM from a user, i looked at it again, this time from the side and the reverse rod was not lined up with the recess on the tailhousing. but it was not budging. i got out the trusty rubber mallet and gave it a whack and that straightened it out. so the trial run is over and now i have to re-goop, put the bearing back in and put this sum***** back together! it had better shift.... IT SHIFTS AND INTO REVERSE TOO! fricking amazing...
Hey Dragsta - did you ever get this thing into the truck? I think a 10 1/2" clutch is as big as the flywheel can handle....I had my 64 chevy pickup flywheel out lately, for a six-to-v8 swap. Oh, and thanks for posting your trials and tribulations with the T5. Lots of helpful info has come out. Ralph
there is a bit of a story here; i finally figured out how to get those levers lined up in the case and got the trans back together. the swap is a bit of a project though and not quite as easy as explained on the net. there are many nuances which must be addressed. the admin at www.garage-scene.com was nice enough to help me with the clutch issue and in fact, an 11" astrovan clutch worked because i had an 11" flywheel / P plate configuration. the spline count and 1" input shaft diameter on the astrovan clutch was a match. as expected the input shaft had to be machined about 1/2" and as unexpected, the input shaft bearing retainer also had to be machined to fit my stock bell-housing. but rather than try to do this swap on my back, i took it to a local mechanic to a guy i know who specializes in old vehicles and has a machine shop right there. my only other form of transport is a motersickle so transporting large parts to be machined was not possible. i went down there last sunday and they have the trans installed but had not fired it up. they said that it was not an easy job. i'm glad that i didn't try to tackle it myself. i'm going to go back again today to check on the progress. barring complications, my truck should be ready to drive. my main concern now is that the trans mount he made will be strong enough to keep this trans from falling off. my truck is a 3/4 long-bed with a one-piece drive-shaft. that's going to put a lot of torque on the end of that aluminum trans housing. when i get the truck back, i'll drive it into north Dall*** for a test before i hit the road to florida...
UPDATE: the trans installation looks *****in! he was making a solid mount for it so my long driveshaft won't be an issue. he said that he started the motor and ran it though the gears but did not drive it yet. he's being careful and that's fine with me. he did say that the trans made no bad noises and shifted well et.... this is going to be FUN!
now he says there's a problem. as it turns out he didn't start the motor and then run through the gears. this weekend he did start the truck but couldn't get the clutch to work properly. i don't have details and have to go down there tomorrow. we think that he needs to take a tad more off the end of the input shaft but we don't know for sure. when he AGAIN removed the trans he said that it "hung up" on something but he can't figure out what. this is not good news for me.... does anyone have any suggestions so when i talk to him tomorrow we can get this thing working?
I didn't re read but, I had to extend the splines on the input shaft to get mine to slide enough to disengage.
I've gone over all of this repeatedly... Again, 1. Take about 3/8-1/2" off the tip of the input shaft. 2. Take about 1" off the end of the bearing collar. 3. run a 1/2" drill bit through the 4 bolt holes. 4. Test fit the trans and clutch disc WITHOUT the pressure plate in order to make sure the disc can disengage the flywheel. 5. If it doesn't and you need more clearance, you can grind off some from the hub of the disc, or lengthen the splines with a dremel tool, etc..., or make a 1/8" spacer for between the trans and bellhousing. If an 1/8" isn't enough, then you may still need to trim some off the disc hub. I do have an 1/8" spacer plate available...
If you look closely you will see this is a Non world cl*** trans, it doens't use ATF, it uses 80-90w gear oil. The ATF is for the world cl*** trans with the fiber under the blocker rings.
I had to do the same thing on the T5 swap into my `63 C-10 shorty. My trans is also `89-90 vintage (NWC elect. speedo). It's a detail I didn't see mentioned in any of the reading I did before starting the swap. I'm guessing not all input shafts need this mod but, like cactus did, I used a cut off wheel, dremel and files for some free form machining by hand. Seems like the splines had to be extended a good inch or more. The disc hub could never stand being ground off that much.
I've done this swap several times. You do not lengthen the splines 1". My first swap was a 14 spline S10 T5 into a '53 Chevy truck. I used the 11" Astro van disc. I ground about 1/8-1/4" off the disc hub. It worked fine for about 15K miles until I swapped it out for a Camaro V8/S10 hybid. Make sure you don't install the disc backwards....
snarl: thanks again. i printed out what you said and i'm going to take it to the mechanic tomorrow. i made sure that he put in trans fluid. lots of confusion about the oil. unfortunatly going to the tremec site doesn't help. they say "consult your owners manual". lol...
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