Shifter or tranny at fault?

[TheFleshRocket]

What's wrong with the baby TransAm? I'd think that would be a decent winter car, what with the engine right over the driving wheels and all. Small cabin to heat too...

Baby TransAm? Don't insult it! I've actually got an '89 T/A sitting in my buddy's garage. It's my brother's, has a new trans and engine but needs paint badly, and I could have it for $2000. But I decided I didn't want to throw money into that poorly engineered piece of crap, so I bought the Stang instead.

Anyway, funny story. I live in southern Illinois. I drove my Fiero to Chicago so that I could fly to Maryland to buy my Mustang a few weeks ago. When I was driving the Fiero to my Grandma's to park it in her garage, I had some problems getting the car in due to ice in the alley. I spun the tires a good bit getting the car in there. Well, last weekend, I was up in Chicago again for a family gathering and I decided to bring the Fiero back. It has Kumho autocross slicks on it, and the ice in the alley completely tore the **** out of the rear tires when I was spinning them on it. I didn't get out of first gear (30mph @ redline and I was nowhere near that) and I was hardly gunning it, so I wasn't spinning the tires very badly at all. Fortunately, the rears were pretty worn anyway so it's not a complete loss, but I'll need to spend some money on tires before I can drive that car 350 miles back down here.

So right now, it's either bike or Mustang. Or walking, except that my job requires me to drive, so that's no go.

 

[TheFleshRocket]

go get a boneyard trans and send that to them. then when you get your trans back, install time. just an idea.
good luck.

What's a T5 usually cost in a junkyard?

Don't they modify the trans that you send them? If that's the case and I send them some junkyard tranny, who knows what kinda condition it's in! My T5 seems like it's in great shape, aside from the 1st and 2nd gear synchros.

I found a T5 rebuild kit for around $170 and was throwing around the idea of trying to drop the tranny and rebuild it myself. You guys happen to know what book time is on a tranny R&R and a T5 rebuild?

 

[stangbear427]

...Fortunately, the rears were pretty worn anyway so it's not a complete loss, but I'll need to spend some money on tires before I can drive that car 350 miles back down here.

So right now, it's either bike or Mustang. Or walking, except that my job requires me to drive, so that's no go.

Get some studded Khumo I-ZEN's for that little Firechick and it'll go anywhere. I think they were about $80 apiece for my 16's in a 225/50, so they should be even less for that one- assuming you still have the stock wheels on it.
I don't know how Liberty does it, but normally when a place needs a core, it's not so they can spin it back to you. Like when you bring back your dead soldiers and buy another 12 pack- they don't take your empty bottles, fill them up with beer and sell them back to you at a discount; you put your empty ones on the floor, put the new pack on the counter, and they credit you the recycle charge in advance. Last time I got a new T5 they just sold it to me, and a week later I brought them my old toasted one and they gave me back the core charge then- I think it was a couple hundred dollars. But I've never delt with Liberty, and this isn't beer- they may do it different.