Trans fluid flush?!

[ninety15.0]

Hey guys, so lately it seems like there have been a lot of people blowing up there T-5's and I'm thinking that mine is on its last legs. There is nothing physically wrong with it...yet. But its getting harder and harder to get into 1st and reverse (definitely not a clutch adjustment problem) and getting harder to get make hard clean 3rd gear shifts without a grind. Whats the best flush/fill method for getting the old fluid out and the new fluid in without dropping the trans. I know the drain plug is located part way up the side of the case?! Anyways...let me know what you guys normally do to flush/fill the trans! thanks

 

[HISSIN50]

ATF has a lot of detergents in it. I'd probably just drain it, dump in some cheap Mercon, drive it for a week, drain it again and fill it up with something good. I doubt it will make much of a difference anyhow.

I didnt remember the drain being that far up the side of the case. In any event, a Mitivac should be able to suck around in there and get up most of the remaining fluid that's in the bottom of the trans.

Good luck.

 

[ninety15.0]

alright sounds good...i think its something like 2.2 quarts or there abouts right?

 

[HISSIN50]

alright sounds good...i think its something like 2.2 quarts or there abouts right?

2.6-2.7 quarts as I recall.

 

[Busted07]

Your issues sound more like syncho problems to me, i dont know if flushing your fluid will help much, but hey, its worth a shot.

FWIW, ive heard that lucas makes a good 5 speed fluid.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Synchros wear out. When they do, they don't stop or slow the gear quick enough and you get that tough hesitation where you need a little more force. Let it go long enough and you get some grinding. Let that go, and then you gotta replace the gears due to the dog teeth becoming damaged during each grind.

Try a double flush (flush, fill, drive 10 miles, flush, fill again) and see if that helps. If not then you might need to look into opening the trans and doing a basic rebuild.

 

[Roland69]

my friend runs 80W-90 in his T-5 and says it helped the grinds and it goes in gear a little better.....just not on colder mornings lol.


I would do the above mentioned and drain fill, drain fill, and see what happens. use a good quality mercon on the final fill. I think it is about 2.8 quarts.

and you couldn't ask for an easier trans to rebuild for the first time.

 

[ninety15.0]

Thanks for the responses guys. I just need this tranny to hold together long enough to save some $$ for a g-force or t5-Z. I like the idea of the longer 1st and 5th of the Z to make first gear a little more useful and highway rpms a little lower as well. I dont race the car often...and rarely bang gears. I guess i'm more of a roll on guy, especially with my clutch...but i think a nice tranny could sway my tendencies!!! ;-)

 

[Mustang5L5]

my friend runs 80W-90 in his T-5 and says it helped the grinds and it goes in gear a little better.....just not on colder mornings lol.

Gear oil in a WC is eventual death. The fluid is not thin enough to lubricate the fine needle bearings under the gear. They overheat, and then they start to whine and make noise that you will never be able to get rid of.

Most t-5 whine issues are caused by low fluid levels. If the ATF level drops too far, the bearings will start to whine.

Gear oil will just make it worse




BTW, NON-WC t-5's do take gear oil, but i think that only applies to 83-84 Mustang t-5's and GM t-5's. All late 84 and up t-5's are WC...even in the 4-banger

 

[Nibbie]

oh snap that sucks. I used gear oil in my rebuilt t-5 like a couple years back, still works good, changed fluid out last year and put a thinner weight gear oil in it. (some subaru fluid-used to work for a dealer-and some BG synco shift II) Dam, i should have used mercon lol, Tranny is still good, bang the gears now and then, But if it blows up I just dont want to put the spare T-5 back in.. dang,

 

[795.0pacecar]

BTW, NON-WC t-5's do take gear oil, but i think that only applies to 83-84 Mustang t-5's and GM t-5's. All late 84 and up t-5's are WC...even in the 4-banger

T5s do not take gear oil, not even NON-WC, this a common misconception but both Ford and Borg Warner say to use mercon dextron II or equivalent in all T5s, and I'd like to think they know what they're talking about.