worst case scenario confirmed tranny took a dump. not sure what yet, didn't blow it apart. gonna leave that to a buddy who does that for a living. clutch looks to be in good shape. pressure plate and flywheel show signs of hot spots where it clearly was out of adjustment and riding some, but not broken. and the fingers on the presure place show some wear which confrims to me there was a throw out bearing issue too. but in the end lack of motivation is a result of someting broke inside the tranny. GRRRRRR
I figured that could be a problem with 4 cyl and 6 cyl cars, but i figured a v-8 tranny would be ok. hoping it was a fluke.
Same thing happened to me with my 87 Mustang. Brand new D&D rebuild. It was in my car for a grand total of 2 days (85 2bbl truck motor) and started acting as you described. I was able to nurse it home from work (about 15 miles), grab a neighbor to listen to it (I too thought it was the clutch) and we went 3/4 of a lap around the block when it let go. The guy at D&D showed me the input shaft when they tore it down, and it was completely stripped. He wanted to know what kind of 'power adder' I was using. Didn't believe me that it's a stock 85 truck motor. Luckily, they stood behind their product and replaced it. Never had a problem since. Get it out of the car and try shifting the gears and seeing if both the input and output turn... Good luck! JK
There are some things that get some slack as far as "traditional" is concerned. Transmissions are one of them. Mostly because they are out of sight.
heard from my tranny guy today. NOT good. apparently it's so far gone it's not rebuildable. the only salvagable parts are the shifter handle and 5th gear. the other gears are stripped smooth apparently there are bits and pieces embedded in the casing rendering it useless as well. (I guess expect for mock up purposes). the worst part is what's in red below. apparently it blew enough fluid in the test run around the block to lead to the catestrophic failure--and it's my fault for not taking the time to refill it bacause I was in a rush to get on the road, had already showered and figured it would be ok. consider it a HARD lesson learned. SUCKS
That sucks, just how much can a stock tranny like that take? I know I abused many old cast iron saginaws, but they didn't have the extra gear..
No you just gotta pay attention to what what spec fluid the trans calls for. Man if you can't figure out what fluid is right, hang up the tools.
Stripped gears? From a drive around the block low on fluid? Sounds a little odd to me. How are the bearings inside the transmission? Was there a lot of heat damage and discoloration?
WC T5's are only rated for 300 ft/lbs from the factory In Mustang 5.0's. 330 ft/lbs if it's an aftermarket Z-Spec T5.
T-5s were made in many different configurations. Unless it has a blower on it, the torque output of a 390 Cadillac doesn't exceed the capacity of a "good" T-5.
A quick Google search tells me otherwise. The strongest "OE" T5 came in Ford Mustangs. And I just remembered the COBRA mustangs of 1993 were rated at 310 ft/lbs. Which I believe is the highest rating they ever got from any factory. Aftermarket gear sets and mainshafts are available to make them take 600 ft/lbs.
FWIW, it was a NWC t-5 from a capri rs. to go back to the back and forth about lubricant. I thought it was a WC and it appeared to have tranny fluid in it to begin with. so I used that again. as it turns out, that specific tranny did call for a gear oil, but it really didn't matter, my ride around the block (closer to 2 mile loop) without the speedo pulse generator/plug in apparently blew WAY more lubricant out of the tranny than I realized. 2 hours and change into the drive at highway speed it came apart. and yes there was apparenlty a LOT of heat damage inside. it's at my buddy's shop 3 hours away but he builds trannys for a living. I believe him. live and learn. needless to say, I'm hunting for a new trans now. I'm guessing another t-5--pretty sure a t-56would be cost prohibative given my budget.
That rating is based on the trans lasting the life of the car in normal use. The Mustang guys have found those transmissions will tolerate 400+ ft/lbs and still last fairly well. But you do have a point. Even if he does have the "good" trans, that trans is not what I would choose for a 390 Cadillac that is driven hard.
While some have found them to live behind 400-ish ft/lbs, many can barely survive behind nearly stock 5.0's. When it comes to T5's....proper care and feeding is a must. That and a good shifter with positive stops to prevent over shifting. If you had a reusable case, you could put the $1200 gearset and $250 main shaft in it and have a serious near 600ft/lb capacity T5, but you could almost buy a Tremec for that or a used T56.
FWIW, mine's not hard driven and I've got a hurst short throw shifter rather than the stock unit. as for the rebuild pricing you suggested--even if the case was salvagable, that's WAY outside what I can swing. I'm on the hunt right now for another t-5 so I can get back on the road for the summer driving season.
Assuming there is not a major design or manufacturing flaw, a transmission's durability correlates directly to how it is used. That's why some get by with what others can't. The two advantages of a T-5 with better case and internals are; it is a little smaller and a little lighter than a T-56. The biggest down sides are cost, and some past (G-Force)failures I suspect were due to faulty or inappropriate heat treating.
Gotcha. I misread your previous post. I would expect a lot of heat damage if those bearings ran dry for 2-1/2 hours! Sorry to hear about the trouble. I hope you find something good to replace it.
found a tko for $900 and maybe a wc t-5 for $350 will find out later tonight. found 2 others but they need 2nd gear. meaning at least $400 in parts plus labor (according to the tranny man) plus the purchase price--that makes that TKO look mighty attractive.
Can't get around the 'power' that 390 Cad is alledgedly making...I installed a couple of those in customers' cars in the '70s. One went in a '57 Ranchero, with a 400 Turbo hydramatic behind it. The owner said 'with its new cam, it oughta get right in the 12s.' I laughed. The other was installed in a '30 Model A Coupe. Factory cast iron intake, 'E' series AFB, 'R.V. cam', headers. Another over rated glorified Studebaker. Another commedian. Unless you ran that T5 dry, I can't imagine a 390 Cad threatening anything beyond a '39 Ford box. UNLESS there is 11:1 compression (and lots of headwork/accessories/tuning) a 390 Cad hasn't got enough power to pull a greased hat off a bald head.
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