T5

[JIM SCHIEFER]

I'M LOOKING AT BUYING A T5 OUT OF AN 88 TURBO T-BIRD TO REPLACE THE TRANS IN MY 86 SVO THAT IS HARD TO SHIFT ONCE IT WARMS UP.WILL THIS WORK OR IS THERE A PROBLEM BECAUSE THE DIFFERENCE IN GEAR RATIOS ?

[Eyelawdoc]

You may not like the 88 TC lower ratios in first and second gear as well as those in your 86 SVO T-5. The 88 TC came with a 3.55 rear and you have a 3.73 in your 86 SVO. Heres a table with all the ratios for the early t-5 tranys:

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2000/09/t5swap/index2.shtml

[SVOeric]

Are you sure you have a T-5 problem ??

hard to shift when warmed up may mean you have a clutch / throwout bearing problem

is it all gears, or just one in particular?

[JIM SCHIEFER]

HARD TO SHIFT BETWEEN 1ST TO 2ND AND BACK AND 2ND TO 3RD AND BACK.HAVE NEW CLUTCH,THROW OUT BEARING AND INPUT SHAFT BEARING RETAINER

[SVOeric]

what kind of fluid are you running in the t-5 ?

[JIM SCHIEFER]

CAN'T REMBER BRAND NAME BUT IT IS ATF TYPE

[ediii]

If you decide that the problem is in the trans consider having it rebuilt. Hanlon Motorsports in PA did a Cobra conversion on my T5 for about $640.00 I think. It may not even need that much work. As long as it doesnt need gears and shafts it's not too bad. Dave Hanlon is a pretty good guy and if you call him and describe the problem he can give you an idea what you need. When mine was rebuilt it had 200,000 miles on it and still shifted O.K. but the output shaft had a lot of play and ruined the seal so it leaked. Now it shifts better than new and doesn't leak. It might cost a little more this way but if you plan on keeping the car at least you'll know what you've got, which is more than you can say about a junkyard or used trans and you'll still have the right gear ratios. Hanlon advertises in Muscle Mustang and Fast Fords and he has a website, Hanlonmotorsports.com or something like that. If you decide to go this route and all else fails e-mail me and I'll look for his number, I probably still have it around here somewhere. He also sells a videtape on how to rebuild a T5 if you'd like to attempt it but if you don't have any experience with that sort of thing I'd practice on something else first. Good Luck.
ED

[xgap]

Double check to make sure clutch is releasing fully.

[SVOeric]

Unless you have bent a fork, It is just hard for me to believe that your problem is really the trans...

If you have a clutch problem, it will show up MUCH worse in first-second gears, with the ocasional grind going into other gears.

I just sugest checking oiut the clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing, piliot bearing cable, and fork before you spend $$$ on having a transmission rebuilt. clutch componets are much cheaper