[Mattstang65]

How many have actually had a t-5 tranny break? If so, what was the "straw that broke"? With as many mustangs that have been produced, the boneyards are full of these tranny's and they are getting cheaper. Is it really an effort of futility and foolishness to put a t-5 behind say a 393W? The price of a tremec is more than a little hard to take!!!

 

[Marauderjack]

Mattstang65....

I have a T-5 from an '87-'88 4 cylinder LX behind my 408W stroker and though I don't abuse it, it does OK!!

I've talked to many a "trans man" and they all say that missing 3rd while "speed shifting" is the major cause of T-5 failure.....behind any motor!! One guy here in town says he drag raced a Chrysler Hemi in the '60's with a T-5 behind and never had a problem??!!

I have emailed Bruce Courture at Modern DriveLine to see what he says about it. He sells them all and though the Tremecs are stronger, according to Bruce, they are noisey and don't shift as well as T-5's. I'll let you know what he says.

Cobrajack



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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Cobrajack on 12/30/01 6:08pm ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Cobrajack on 12/30/01 6:10pm ]</font>

 

[TurboCoupe50]

I broke one in my 5.0 Mustang. Power shifted 3rd gear, and knocked the teeth off the cluster gear. Missing third ain't the problem, its the full throttle shifts that eventually break them. The T-5 Ford racing sells is stronger than the orignals in the car.

As far Cobra Jacks buddy racing a T-5 behind a Hemi in the 60s, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. The T-5 first appeared around 1980, and they were in Chevettes, of all things. The std tranny of the '60s was the 4 speed T-10. Ford and GM both used it untill Ford designed the toploader in '64.

 

[coupe3w]

I have a T-5 behind my "built" 351-C over 450HP, and I haven't broken it yet. I don't drag race the car but, I do drive it fairly hard. If you are going to drag race and use slicks then buy the Tremec it will be money well spent. Just my 2 cents.

 

[lordviper13]

just a question that is a bit off the subject but which is stronger the tremec,tremec TKO,tremec 3550

 

[Cool55bird]

Hey Cobra Jack,

I posted an introduction and tranny question in the Garage section, guess I should have asked here, can you tell me how you used the longer input shaft tranny that the 4 cyl has behind your V-8, did you have to cut it? use a spacer between the bellhousing and tranny? I want to run a T-5 behind my Y-block and I've got a used tranny spotted already, but I'm not sure exactly what trans it is, 2.3, 3.6, or 5.0
I found the T-5 identification chart but haven't been back to get a good check on inputshaft size or length. soooooo how'd ya do it ?

thanks in advance,
Richard

 

[Marauderjack]

First of all the guy who ran one behind Hemi was in the '80's....He had friends that used them with big chebbies too!! I guess when he told me he said '60's Mopar engines.

Bruce Couture has responded that the T-5 I have "will not last behind my 408W" and that he can upgrade the guts to T-5z status that can stand 450 HP or more in a heavy car...Cobra weighs 2400 lbs.

"Cool55bird", I don't think anything was done to the length of the input shaft...it is only slightly longer, but they did put a sleeve on the pilot tip to enlarge it for the 5.0 liter pilot bearing. I see these on a lot of T-5's....Must be that the roller pilots wear the tips and they turn them down and put the sleeve on for a new, ridge free bearing surface. I also used an "oilite" pilot bushing instead of the roller pilot to prevent this wearing.....So far it works fine!!

Cobrajack

 

[Marauderjack]

I tried to edit the above but it would not work!!

To TurboCoupe50...You are exactly right!! The T-5 didn't come out until'83, I think??

To Cool55bird...I'll get you the part # for the pilot bushing if you are interested??

Cobrajack

 

[lordviper13]

I have put my T-5 world class heavy duty through 500+ HP and it lived, then again I never powershifted or drop the clutch really hard

 

[n2omike]

It all depends...

If you abuse it with powershifting (using the clutch, but not lifting off the throttle), it won't last very long.

A note on torque capacity...

The torque actually has to be applied to the transmission before it gets stresses. On street tires, it can be hard to apply all the engines torque to the unit... the wheels just spin.
Adding slicks increases the potential load on the tranny by a huge margin. Launching WFO with slicks WILL find the weak links in the drivetrain.

A T5 CAN live behind a 393W as long as the transmission isn't abused, and the car isn't launched hard on slicks.

Good Luck!

 

[85mike]

Yep! Mine made a big POP when I shifted into 3rd. Final round too. It lasted 3 years of 5k launches with slicks on the car before it died. My fault. That was behind a 306 that pushed the car to 12.20's. Don't know how much hp.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 85Mike on 1/1/02 1:06pm ]</font>

 

[Mach1Morgan]

You can make a huge difference in how long a tranny will live by not clutching the car too aggresively. If you can get away with a stock clutch, not going bigger will do a lot to help your T-5 live. High RPM launches or powershifts with slicks and an aggressive clutch will lunch a tranny in just a few runs, but with less clutch, the bit it slips as the clutch is engaged cushions the impact of the torque applied to the input shaft, and can help tranny live under conditions that would normally break it.

 

[89 coupe]

I have seen stock T-5s run 9s with full throttle launches in the 1.3-1.4 60ft range and live but they were not power shifted. That is what kills them. They will handle more power than most people think and can also handle very hard launches but few people will race them without power shifting and that's why they break all the time. I didn't power shift mine and it lasted for years until I sold it because of switching to a C-4. The guy I sold it to broke it within 2 weeks and he didn't have the traction or the power I had but he power shifted it all the time. I like how they shift when the shifter handle is bolted directly to the tower and bypass the rubber. Nice and solid.

 

[RANDY]

You will break 3rd gear with a high horsepower motor!! I have broken many of third gears with the cluster,ON and OFF the track!!! The tremec is a whole lot stronger but is very hard to speed shift and makes noise on the interstate like a Nascar trans!!!

 

[Eric1]

[No message]

 

[ran347nosgt]

331nos,you are absolutely right!! The third gear in that trans breaks even if you spit on it!! I ran up to 3 t5's back in the late 80's early 90's running a car at 12.30's with no power adders breaking third gear after about 10 passes and NOT even power shifting.Put in a top loader at the time(late 80's)and never had a problem again!! Now running a Tremec 3550 with the car making 581 rwhp and have over 45 passes on it now with no problems!! Broke a couple of 3rd gears on the street also in my stock t5!!

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347 Canfield Heads,200 shot,3350 lbs,581 rwhp/610 ft lbs of torque,[email protected]

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ran347nosgt on 10/25/04 1:52am ]</font>

 

[gorgan1314]

a topic from the begining of '02 nice.

 

[labzerpa]

I`ll tell you how I broke mine. I pulled real hard to make the 1-2nd shift the fastest I could, and the shifter overtraveled. Then I heard this horrible noise......bye bye T-5. It is always a good idea to get an aftermarket shifter: I`ve been runing T-5`s on my 69 stang since 2000, adn I only broke one. I think they are `pretty good for street cars that have been a little spiced up.

 

[Eric1]

[No message]

 

[tonys10sec306]

If you not going to use slicks. The trans will hold up.