T5 Issues + Rebuild
 

One day I hope to keep a trans in my truck for more than a month.... I have a T5 trans in my truck, I had it in the shop two weeks ago to have the rear bushing replaced because it launched out the back of the tail housing and left me stranded. It took 3 days to get the trans back in right, and checking everything over several times. I'm having a problem engaging first gear without grinding. I have to shift into 2nd gear then 1st and only at a stop.

Does this sound like a bad 1st gear synchro? Does to me but i'm not sure because I though the synchro's are for 1st and 2nd gear.

Anyone have any experience replacing a synchro? I plan to do it myself because I am broke and sick of my trans guy.

Do any of you MI guys know of a good trans guy around? Preferably like a side job kind of thing so I don't break the bank any more than I already have.

-rob

Geeeezus, you have the worst luck...lol

That sounds right, according to the exploded view of a T-5 WC I am looking at. I just rebuilt one recently and they are very easy. All you need is basic hand tools and two different snap ring pliers. You however need a arbor press or a small hydraulic pressure to get some things off the output shaft. There are some tricks to taking certain things apart, but overall it is pretty straight forward. If you get a service manual I'm sure you can do it yourself. If you have anymore questions I will do my best to answer them.

Thanks,
Jason

Need any help Rob i am free sat

I greatly appreciate the offer Jason! Always helps to have someone that has done it before. So far what I plan to remove is the 3 pieces of the 1-2 synchro, I believe, if I remember correctly, that on the exploded view its parts 209, 210, and 211.

The exploded view I am looking at is from a World Class T-5. It only lists 117 parts total. On it the the blocker ring assembly for 1st and 2nd is 3 pieces, An inner cone, a outer cone, and the blocker ring. Listed as 94,95,96. Yours may be different than the one I am looking at.

Yea those are the same three pieces, must be different, i'll try and find the link to the one I was looking at along with the site that sells the parts.

EDIT: Here is the link, the exploded view is down at the bottom of the page.

http://tbtrans.com/t5_transmission.htm

Yea that is the diagram I have. I don't know why the numbers are different. I think it is an older diagram.

what are you using for a clutch system and could it not be releasing fully?

How are you killing your tranny so many times? I smoke clutches ( I have a World T5 as well ) and its been pretty reliable.

my guess his trans guy is a hack...

if it is grinding the clutch may not be releasing properly as mentioned above. can u double clutch it and get it into gear? that would single out a syncro or not.

on my 88 F-350 i know the clutch doesnt always release when i go from 1st-2nd or into reverse (because of firewall flex).

Correct me if i'm wrong D. but arent you on your 5th tranny?

No, just clutches. I burn them.. well.. I used to burn them.. I have that Centerforce in there now and Its STRONG. Better then those sh1tty Spec and Luk Clutches I've used before. It grabs VERY well when I dump on it.

For clutch set up I have a cable with an aluminum quadrant. I checked to see if I was getting enough clutch release alot initial because I thought that was the problem. I have an adjustable cable and I could tighten it up so that when I released the clutch pedal the clutch wouldn't even engage, and when the clutch pedals was fully depressed it would still grind, so if that's not enough seperation i'm not understanding something.

I know learning how to set up the cable was a big part of my problems, I had to fab everything up since it doesn't belong in a ranger, and it took some work to get enough pedal throw.

The clutch is a FRPP King Cobra, and I have tried double clutching and it still wouldn't go into first without grinding for me. In order to get it into 1st without grinding I have to be almost stopped, shift to second, then fairly quickly into 1st.

thanks for all the help so far guys!

It sounds like your tranny is ' done '. If its been rebuilt a number of times, maybe a Tremec 3550 would be a wiser choice?

I'm really not sure how many times its been rebuilt. I had it fully rebuilt with a full FRPP kit earlier this summer as well as a couple of bad hard parts. It might be worth looking into a different trans now, I just wish I would have bought a brand new T-5z from the start.