QUICK! Transmission Suggestions

[BLKNGHT]

Im definately not a transmission guy, and this is the first time ive ever had to change one out, so therefore IM CLUELESS on what i need to do to upgrade from a t-5. All i know is that if i go with another t-5, im going to end up replacing it again time after time. I need to get this problem fixed ASAP! I need some suggestions on the best trans for my setup and for my budget.
Setup: 89 LX 5.0 50,000 mi
Trick flow track heat intake
BBK exhaust and shortys
3:55 gears
Aluminum driveshaft
Spec3 clutch
Thats pretty much it for anything that would matter. Id like to find something that would be able to handle a little more power than what im running now. A dumbass who i should have never let drive my car blew my t-5 so im forced to buy a new tranny. Id like to find something around $900, but also something that can perform better than a t-5. Also, if i get anything other than a t-5, will it bolt up to my stock bellhousing and everything else? If anyone has any suggestions, id appreciate it. Also if anyone HAS a transmission that would work for me, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Darkwriter77]

You could have your current T-5 rebuilt to '93 Cobra specs, and it would easily hold up to what you're running now (and then some). That is, of course, depending on how severe the damage is when you say it "blew up" - broken shaft(s), stripped gears, gaping hole in the case, or what? There's an FRPP rebuild kit available through Summit Racing and JEG's that might be sufficient, and if you've got another daily driver and the time to mess with it, you could rebuild the tranny, yourself, and save a load of dough. (Service manual for a T-5 is a free download and it's wayyyyyy simple, even for a first-timer.)

It all depends on your driving habits and/or race style. If you're into banging gears and powershifting, or if you go hooking up slicks/DR's and dropping the clutch at 5500rpm, ANY tranny's going to give up on you in a hurry. If you're really hardcore about it, you could always get an old-school 4-speed toploader tranny and plunk it in there, and BANG that thing in/out of every gear to your heart's content - there's an article in Hot Rod some time back on it, it's not TOO major a swap, really - but if you'd like something more practical and comfortably streetable, just stick with the original.

Aside from an intake, exhaust, and gears, you're really not running enough power to seriously warrant a major tranny. You could plug in a T-56 if you felt like having a 6th gear, but you're looking at upwards of $1700 for that, plus another couple hundred for a different bellhousing. There's a couple of others available, too, but those also involve different bellhousings as well as possibly different numbered-spline clutches and/or driveshaft. Otherwise, a good, solid World Class T-5 (pretty much any Mustang T-5 from '86 to '93) will hold up just fine, as long as you don't deliberately beat it to death.

The T-5 in my 'Stang was swapped in place of an AOD back around '97, and that was over 100k miles ago ... a HARD 100k miles of getting to poopie beat out of it by a guy who was working the car into a track-only project, and then by some 18-year-old who just put gas in it and flogged it on a daily basis for a year or so. This is with 4.10's, exhaust, KC clutch, partially stripped interior/engine bay, and the misc. goodies I've added to it since obtaining it.

What kind of future mods are you planning? Nitrous? Forced induction? Heads/cam? Stroker? Anything above 275 at the crank might be pushing things a bit, but I've heard of lots of folks running T-5's with 300+ and getting by just fine (on street radials, of course).

 

[4Jenna]

Next step up..try a tremec 3550...seen um cheap on the Corral classifieds.

 

[tjm73]

$900 will be a limiting factor. If you want something better than a T5 you have to step up to a Tremec. But they cost like $1500 new and require a different bellhousing (extra) and depending on the tranny you may need a different clutch and a different output yoke. Which will add to the cost.

Even a g-Force rebuilt good for 600hp T5 will cost about $1400.

If over drive isn't importent to you, you might want to look into a top loader 4 speed. They are virtually bomb proof and if you are resourceful you can find one for not too much money. Again you will need a different bellhousing, a different clutch and a different output yoke. Oh and a good shifter. But I doubt you would break it.

 

[BLKNGHT]

thanks for the help guys, i think the 4 speed sounds like a pretty cool idea. either that or the rebuilt t-5 with cobra specs. i plan on swapping the heads and getting a cam in the near future. that will proably be it for a long time. how much could i find the 4 speed with everything i would need for a complete swap for?

 

[Darkwriter77]

The old toploaders are kinda hard to come by in boneyards, as far as good quality donor units go. If $900 is your limit, I'd say that option is out, as the tranny, itself, ain't gonna be cheap for a decently-built one, and all the modification/fabrication necessary to do is definitely gonna put you way over that price point. It's not a terribly expensive/complex swap, really, but way more than $900 will allow.

The T-5 is your friend. Give it the love it deserves.

 

[ECU5.0]

just rebuild the t-5 and get a different clutch. ive got a buddy that has an 89 saleen with a stock t5 with stock shifter making 435 hp and his tranny shifts prefectly. his clutch is slipping now, but he doesnt know how long it has been in the car or what kind it is (he has owned the car for 4 years, all of which have had the blower making 435 hp). another one of my buddies ran a 92 gt with h/c/i and a blower making 550 hp at the wheels and he had a tremec with a king cobra clutch. its all in how you drive it i guess. have a clutch that is weaker than the tranny so the clutch goes before the tranny. your first problem was the spec stage 3 clutch. good luck man