TECH: Ultimate T-5 Article

Ernie-thanks for great tech sheet,answers alot of swap questions.I'm going to stick this one in the personal archives for future reference,should allow us to stick a T5 in anything with confidence!Nice work.

 

I have a question about which lubricant to use in my T5. It is the 201 with electronic speedo output and is listed as the '90 GM S series. I went to NAPA to see what lubricant to use (bought the transmission used),the manager called his friend which has a transmission shop and very knowledgeable. I was told when the nwc went to the electric speed output they also changed to the lined syncros and to use synthetic transission fluid. When I pulled the drain plug to see if there was any oil in it, the plug had the redish fluid color on it (no oil in transmission). I put synthetic transmission fluid in and have about 650 miles on it. That was the only information I could find on what lubricant to use so if it is wrong I need to correct it. Most everything I could find, said to check your owners manual to see what oil to use but I haven't an owners manual.

thanks
Vergil

 

Your 201-tagged trans is out of a later S10, but is NWC. NWC use 70wt gear oil, but many switch to 40wt motor oil for easier shifting. Many OEM actually recommended ATF in later NWC T5 for easier shifting.

The change to "lined synchros" occurred with the '93 S10 when it went to WC internals...

For NWC, I wouldn't run gear oil in them regardless. I would run Redline's MTL - heavier than ATF, but not so heavy it hinders shifting & it is synthetic.

This is a widely debated topic as OEMs did recommend ATF even in NWC trans after the WC trans appeared. Personally, I think it was a mistake.

 

Ernie, you went "above and beyond" on this one, lots of good info and even download links, thanks!

 

great tech. I never knew T-5's came in Astro vans. I'll look at them differently now

 

For those that asked, it's in the Tech Archives - first link in the T-5 thread here:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169265

 

Thanks for the info Ernie, got some MTL coming. Should have asked here to start with.

Vergil

 

Unbelievable! This is great info. Already downloaded it!

Thanks
Paul

 

Thanks Ernie,

Have always wanted to know more on these. We didnt get the variety over here, but helps to know as if i ever bring one or two in I know what to look for.
cheers!

 

Not that it really applies to the fantastic thred (great job!), but the T5 is still in production and is still beign installed in an OEM application.

The current generation Mustang 4.0 SOHC V6 with a 5 speed has a T5 transmission.

"The base model V6 Mustang comes standard with a T5 5-speed manual transmission,......" http://www.mustangforums.com/ford/2005-mustang.asp

 

Hmmm...I see it, but I don't believe it. I'll do some more research...maybe I'll stop by the local Ford dealer & peek underneath!

Thanks for the heads up - I'll check it out.

EDIT: I've found the T-5 listed in a couple places now, so you're right! It's even listed correctly as "Tremec T-5" rather than "Borg-Warner"...

With a gearset I've never seen before:

1st - 3.75 2nd - 2.19 3rd - 1.41 4th - 1.00 5th - 0.72

Pretty wide spacing...

...I've been out of late-model Mustangs for so long, I simply haven't kept up.

 

Ernie....you are "da man". We are preparing to pull the old three speed out of our flathead (8BA) roadster and have a fresh T-5 ready to go in. After all my research and parts chasing you clarified everything I had questions about so now I have confidence that this will be a straightforward swap with no headaches. Bravo dude!!

 

Just for grins - this is what the Astrovan T-5 looks like - NWC, but better ratios than S10 & shifter placement will probably work (I'm pretty sure a Camaro shifter bolts in) in many late 40s & up cars...

 

Flat Ernie,

Thanks for including the T-5 article I did some years ago on PMFR. I hope it has helped somebody somewhere, LOL!

FWIW I've done quite a few of them over the years, along with 3550's, TKO's, T-45's, AOD's, AOD-E/4R70's and have quite a few pictures of all of them, if anyone is interested. I'm no expert by any means, but certainly willing to share what I learn the hard way, LOL!

New to the board, as I'm working on the completion of a transaction for a '54 Popular (psuedo-Anglia); looks like I'm going to be hitting the site more often now, trying to glean what I can...

Chris Neighbors
...former lurker...

 

Chris,

That's an outstanding article you did. I send that link to people all the time. Thanks for taking the time to do that one up. Glad you don't mind the link to it.

You can change the grille on the pop & nobody will know the difference between it & an Anglia - hell, nobody on this side of the pond will likely know the difference anyway!

Go do an intro before some keyboard badass jumps you.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

Thanks Ernie!!

 

Be aware when you go junkyard hunting there is a T4 version - no overdrive - that is very similar to the T5. The one I have even seems to have a bulge on the tail housing for the OD gear, but the tag number does not come up in anyone's T5 listings and the trans most definately only has 4 forward gears. I can post photos of it if anyone's interested.

It came in some Jeep 4x4 applications at the same time as the T5 (these seem to use the same shifter placement as S10, so probably not worth changing one to 2WD) and could come in S10s 1986-1989. Mine came out of an '86 2.8L 2WD S10.

I believe these come with the 3.76 1st gear combo, but I haven't confirmed this yet. Where T5 info is easy to come by, I only found one mention of the T4 on any site.

Having one is not the end of the world, 4th is still 1:1 and the gears are tall, if your motor has enough low-end torque to handle it, you can just run a taller gear in the rearend and achieve the same effect as using OD.

 

I just removed a T5 from an '89 S10 and it has the 4.03 gearset. Tag no. is 1352-193 which is listed as 3.76 on another site. The truck had a 4 cylinder engine. So You have to check these to be sure.

 

Yes, Tag# 193 is listed as 89 S10 w/2.5L I-4 & the 3.76 gearset. But at almost 20 years old, it's very possible the gearset was swapped out, or the trans was & the original tag put on....

 

Hey Flat Ernie. I know you have said that the tail cone from an S-10 tranny can be bolted to a v-8 trannie. But if it is more cost efective to put the gears out a v-8 trans T-5 to S10 T5 4 cylinder can it be done? By the way great article. I wish there were more articles on the T-5 on the Y block.

 

I don't think that's any more cost effective - the tailshaft/topcover swap is un-bolt/bolt-on. With the gear swap, you're looking at effectively a full rebuild.

I'm not positive WC gears will go in a NWC case - I think they will, but I never tried it...

Oh yeah - going back to Rocky in post#14 - I found someone else who has a '93 S10 WC, but with GM pattern AND 4.03 gearset!! Crazy - I have no gear data for the WC S10 trans, but I would've bet there were no more 4.03 afte the NWC ones, but apparently that's not the case! Maybe the data is wrong...never held a '93 in my hands...

 

I've read this thread a dozen times(at least) and all I can say with certainty is T5's are a confusing, muddled lot.

I have a '48 59A Flathead and I want to put a Mustang T5 w/S10 tail shaft conversion on it.

It looks like the Mac's Speed Equipment (out of New Zealand) is the only option. Am I correct in this?[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]

 

Maybe I overlooked it, but I found this I.D. chart lately,


http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Borg-Warner-T5-ID-Tags.htm


Thank You

Roger

 

They can be - that's why there's so much "bad" info out there - it's not necessarily "bad", it's just improper application.

That's certainly one way. I believe you can adapt the stamped steel 8BA bellhousing too. If I recall, the bottom two bolt holes line up (have to ream T5 bolts to 1/2", but you gotta do that anyway), one of the top ones needs to be redrilled, and the other top one needs an ear welded on. You will have to carefully measure the depth of the input shaft - some trimming (depending on model) may be required.

Bear in mind, this only works (easily) for the '93 and older Mustangs. The 94-95 Mustang T5 has a 3/4" longer input shaft, so the shaft should be swapped for a '93 & earlier before beginning.

 

Just found this here:
http://www.moderndriveline.com/Technical_Bits/t5_history.htm

Thought it might be of interest. Pretty much the same info as here, but a few more lines of copy dedicated to each.

The "Z" Spec T-5
In 1993 Ford started offering a new service unit to the motorsport crowd. The "Z" spec T-5 (Ford part number 7003Z, also sometimes referred to as "World Class T-5". Most folks, associate the term "World Class" as meaning the best, however world class T-5 were introduced in 1985 as stated ealier. The T-5z is a 1993 Cobra T-5 with 2.95 first gear set and .63 over drive. It has the best of everything. Hardened gears, short throw factory shifter, steel front bearing retainer, and tapered output shaft bearing ands a seven tooth speedometer gear. Best of all it has a torque rating of 330ft/lbs based on 100,000 mile usage. The stock T-5Z can handle up to 450 hp when not drag raced.

Aftermarket Super Heavy Duty T-5's
Now that after market companies offer new and improved gearsets, T-5's can now handle up to 600hp and are used in drag racing on a regular basis. The advantage of this setup is the small platform which will spin up faster than a heavier TREMEC or Richmond transmission.

 

i have a t-4 in a 82' s10. are they the same externally as a t-5?

 

Pretty much. Most (I used to say 'all') T4 do not have the bulge on the lower right side of the tailhousing where the 5th gear lives - otherwise, they're externally identical...

 

Try Speedway: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/SPEEDWAY-CHEVY-TRANSMISSION-TO-FLATHEAD,11089.html

 

Anybody heard of G-Force Transmissions?
http://www.gforcetransmissions.com/tran_gt-5.asp

I guess they have the stuff to make 'em handle up to 800 ft lbs of torque (well, in the T56, anyway)!

Here's an article where they install one of their gear kits:
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2005/12/T5Rebuild/index.php

~Jason