T5 Compatibility

[oregonjason]

I have a 85 SVO and just hurt the transmission. Luckily I have a spare svo wc t5 to put in and can probably repair the hurt t5 but was wondering about the 3.35 t5 compatibility. Can the svo t5 input shaft be swapped into the 3.35 t5 or would the 3.35 input shaft just need to be turned down to the 2.3 pilot bearing size? I know the svo input is longer by about 3/8 of an inch or so. Does that make any difference if turning down the 3.35 input shaft?

Wondering about 3.35 t5 because it is easier to find/ get parts for and has a better overdrive.

Also car has the Canfield adapter with sbf bell and spec 5.0/2.3 flywheel. Though that shouldn't matter.

Thanks.

[Stinger]

V8 and 2.3 inputs can't be swapped.

Machining it down is the correct solution. The length isn't an issue, though ideally you'd install a pilot bearing flush or even proud of the crank slightly for maximum bearing engagement. You certainly don't want it installed deeper than flush.

While the OD of the V8 trans is "better" meaning it's a steeper gear, I've not found that to be advantageous for a 2.3T engine. I had to install 4:10 gears to offset the steeper OD and even that isn't quiet enough IMO (but I've got an engine with a large cam that's biased towards high RPM so I suspect it would be enough gear for a less radical build).

[oregonjason]

That's what I thought but just wanted to make sure. 3.35 boxes are easier to find than svo boxes. I got lucky in a junkyard with the spare svo trans I found. Will be keeping an eye out for a 3.35 t5. And I might go with 4.1 gears if I put in one of the 3.35 t5s so highway rpm should be similar.

[oregonjason]

After doing a bit more research I think the 94-98 t5s outta v6 mustangs should work as well? Though they would need a shorter input shaft that would need to be machined down to 2.3 pilot size. The information on the 94-98 v6 t5s is a little harder to find but they appear to have similar ratios to 85-95 v8 t5s. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[oregonjason]

I know a guy that has a 85 wc t5 out of a 85gt. He says it shifts into all the gears but has been sitting on a shelf for a number of years. What would be a fair price to pay for it?

[Stinger]

I've not been in the "buying a T5" market for quiet a while as I've got 6 of them. They used to be worth about $150 in good condition but I suspect scarcity and inflation has brought them to about twice that by now.

[oregonjason]

I will try to pick it up. Mainly due the dwindling supply. I just got my spare t5 in and looked through the drain plug hole of the hurt t5. There is a good sized chuck of metal in the bottom. Hope it is not to bad in there once I take it apart and hope non SVO specific parts are broken. Thanks for the help.

[gramps]

I have purchased and modified 2 of the New Hurst T-5 transmissions and agree, Cut the input shaft down on a lathe. There's plenty of hardness in the shaft as per discussion with Tremec.
I also agree the .63 overdrive is a bit much. I'm running a 390 Detroit locker wanted 410 gears but was talked out of it. Tires are 25" tall. Car weighs 1700 lbs. 4th gear good for cruising 55-60 mph at around 3000. 5th drops it 1200rpm. 
Gramps

[Stinger]

Yeah, I didn't find the .63 OD useful unless I was running 75 mph or faster. Below that, RPM was so low it didn't make enough torque to pull up mild hills without a lot of throttle to get boost building (and then it's burning way more fuel than necessary).

[gramps]

I agree.  Just for general info for the forum. I did a more exact test this morning.

3000 rpm in 4th = 58 mph.

2000 rpm in 5th = 60 mph.

Great for my little MG TD cruising in the 70-120 mph range.  Probably not ideal for a 3k pound car. 

Gramps

[oregonjason]

Luckily the trans I hurt is not bad. Already replaced the 1-2 slider hub and second gear was ok. The slider hub had wear on it preventing it from sliding back into first gear. It was an aftermarket one and was obviously not as good of quality as a oem spec part. I had an oem hub in case this happened and was an easy fix. Also broke the interlock plate in the shift fork assembly. It is the sort of c clip looking part that goes in the top cover. Got lucky to find it in the bottom of the case. Somehow it did not go through the gears and cause the trans to explode when falling to the bottom of the case. Just need to track one of those down and it will be good to go.

Probably gonna pick up the 3.35 t5 still. Guy wants 200 bucks for it and could use for spare parts if needed. If I end up junking the 2 other t5s I have then I will put 4.1 gears in my rear end to help with cruise and the .63 OD.

Thanks for all the feedback.

[Stinger]

Thanks. With my engine combo, I need to be in the high 2000's to have enough "grunt" to pull up a moderate incline well.

[oregonjason]

So it turns out the trans is a v6 wc t5 from a 94-98 v6. It has a tag with f4 on it and 1352-238 I referenced for v6 WC. It is in great shape and looks to have had the input shaft shortened. I will take it out and have it ground down to 0.59. Are the 85-95 v8 wc t5 and 94-98 v6 wc t5 inputs physically interchangeable despite 94 and up being longer?

[Stinger]

I've not found any that are interchangeable. They are so easy to remove/replace that it's a non-issue. 4 bolts, machine it, 4 bolts, done.