I'd like to beef up my tranny a little bit so that I'm not as limited when towing. I'd also like to smooth out the shifting a bit. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

well, since you have a shift, there's not much to upgrade! unless you upgrade the clutch to the next stage to handle the load for extra take off power! Also when upgrading the clutch make sure the hydrolic slave cyclinder can handle it other wise it will get hot and spongy peddle or difficult to press the peddle!

 

The most usual thing to do and easiest and cheapest is to get a shift kit. However it will make the shifting more firm. You want 2 things and they contradict eachother.
Brian

 

He's got a manuel 5 speed!! not a auto! In other words the shift kit is applied to this tranny! Also I don't recommend shift kit at all for auto trannies!! It will kill it one way or another by overheating and destroying the internal parts!!!!

 

u could get a Spec Stage 2 clutch, that will hold up better than the stocker and still feel stock

well if u r towing alot u could also increase ur rear-end gear ratio, if u have 3.73's u could get some 4.10's and if u already have 4.10's and u still need more pulling strenghth for towing step up to some 4.56 gears but ur gas mileage will suck

 

Well in that case, smoothing out the shifting is done by the driver. You could try uprading the clutch. However the shifts will only be as smooth as you make them.
Brian

 

I sorta agree. Tranny is and has always been "notchy" and getting from 1st to 2nd takes time. I'd like to quicken that up. Maybe I mis-explained my goal here. I'd like to be able to shift quicker...

 

Well I am not sure but I dont think that there is really anything you can do about that unless you get a different tranny.
Brian

 

not that i know anything but how about a short shifter?

 

One thing you could do as a preventive measure would be to replace the rubber plugs on top of the transmission with metal ones. The rubber ones tend to shrink and crack with age which leads to leaks.

Link 1
Link 2

 

im sorry but shift kits dont destroy trannies, they save em. unless ur puttin one in a high milage trans u'll be fine.

 

If you are looking for faster more direct shifting ask Wowak.
He put in a Hurst shifter.
I put it through its gates while sitting without the engine running this weekend and it was slick.
Click, click, click, from one gear to the next.
No missed shift points and the throw was probably half of a stock shifter.

 

Yeah go with the Hurst. And also while you have that apart, replace the plugs in the mounting flange for the shift tower. Also get a better clutch, I can feel mine slipping like a **** right now and will be putting a centerforce into it as soon as I can afford it.

 

If that! I too sat in Wowak's little red queeny in Centralia. Again, engine off, not moving. But the shifter is a trip. I expected something more like the FX4 LII package chrome shifter. It just ain't so. There was littereally like an inch of motion at the handle between 1st and 2nd. I'd worry about missed shifts myself, especially since I regularly skip gears both up and down-shifting. But damn, I can suddenly understand how that kid gets between gears so quickly!

Although I'm not sure I'd recommend it unless you're after performance. It was notchy as hell and I'd probably get a little anoyed w/ it after a while. The excessive play in the shifter in both my '99 XL and my new truck kind of apeals to me. In my mind it's a pickup, not a sports car..

 

Yeah but with the lightning being discontinued, we need a performance truck to challenge the srt 10 lol

 

Just a point of reference....
The 2.8 was used in the Mustang from 74-79. After that, it was used in the Ranger/BII from 83-85, and in the Aerostar in 86.

The manual tranny used was the RAD 4-speed, which I believe was the precursor to the T5.

Only reason I know this is because I own a 78 Mustang that is getting my 2.8 "HO" and a RAD 4-speed (my 2.8 has more ***** than pretty much any STOCK 302 anyway-2wd low range wheelies in a BII!)

 

wheelies...did I hear wheelies!!!

that would be awesome to lift the front end up in the air launching from the line.

 

Especially in a rednecked chop top BII with a 6" lift, 32" muds, and about 18" of front suspension droop, eh? First time I did it, the feeling of looking through the windshield and seeing NOTHING BUT SKY was one of those "can't be bought with plastic" moments :badgrin:

 

Yeah I have had that nothing but sky view...only it was as I was rolling the truck over lol