T5 whining/howling?

sirr0bin

New Member
Jul 18, 2003
174
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Winnipeg, Manitoba
I have a 1987 mustang lx hatch 5.0 with original borg warner T5
after I took it to a local shop, 2nd gear and 3rd gear have been making a whining or howling noise, which gets louder/higher pitched the higher the RPM goes

its still shifting fine, and isnt grinding/slipping/etc, but the whining noise is worrying me

is my T5 about to explode? any suggestions?


edit: also, tranny has 114,000km on it (kilometers, not miles)
 
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Mine was freshly rebuilt by the last owner. Third Gear was whining horribly when I got it and now 3rd is starting to grind if you are speed shifting. Start saving for a new transmission....
 
I had the same problem with my trans, it just got louder and louder till it finally went out, it whined in every gear but 4th, it is the input shaft, you maybe able to prolong the damage just make sure you have tranny fluid in it.
 
If the fluid level is good and you hear the wine in 1st, 2nd and 3rd (almost all cases are very hard to hear in 4th) it is most likely the imput shaft front bearing.

T-5's have a bad design for fluid travel to the front bearing and then tend to starve for fluid. If the front bearing lets go, kiss the tranny good buy it will break anything in it's path.
 
when my tranny let go i lost everything 'cept 4th (driving home was fun, kinda glad i was on the freeway)..

with the clutch engaged i can slip in and out off all the gears, 4th grinds until the input shaft stops spinning (shot syncro) and engages fine.... should i rebuild it or just pick up another t5 (i really want a 3550/tko but im an unemployed student so my funds consists of tumbleweeds...

dont mean to hijack
 
Just curious but with you guys that your transmission "let-go"...what exactly did it do and what were you doing...I just upgraded to more power (h/c/i) and a stronger clutch (KC clutch...isn't installed yet)...and my 95 T-5 whines just a little...just curious to what actually happens when they lose it...noises?...etc...
 
It just kept getting worse and worse till finally one day I was coming home from the engine shop, and I felt like clunk, then I pulled over and that was it, when I tried to move all it did was clunk, didnt try anymore just had it towed back to the stable, I knew it was something with the tranny cause it still turned over.
 
mustangman33 said:
It just kept getting worse and worse till finally one day I was coming home from the engine shop, and I felt like clunk, then I pulled over and that was it, when I tried to move all it did was clunk, didnt try anymore just had it towed back to the stable, I knew it was something with the tranny cause it still turned over.

So speaking of getting "worse and worse"...your referring to the whine getting louder?