T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

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T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

July 02, 2011, 11:44:21 PM

Really hard to get into 2nd gear.
All other gears are perfect.
Ford mechanic thinks it has to be synchronizers,
but it feels to me like the shifter just isn't working
the lever far enough to actually shift it all the way
into gear, like it's out of adjustment?! Most of the
time you think it's in gear & let out the clutch & it
grinds like it was only part of the way in. Then sometimes
it will go into gear just fine. Sometimes, when it's in
2nd gear & you're not holding the shifter, it will pop out
of gear also. Is there any kind of linkage adjustment
that may be causing this problem? The TurboCoupe only
has 40K miles on it, but after all it is 26 years old.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Jeff
Columbus, Ohio

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #1 – July 03, 2011, 02:13:07 AM

40k doesn't mean jack if the previous owner spent a lot of time jamming it into second hard...

I'd say your wrench is probably correct.
If you have a stock shifter, and the cable is properly adjusted (assuming it's an adjustable unit, ie, not a stocker) then 95% chance your second gear synchro is shot.

Drain the fluid and check it for metal flakes, shavings, and the like...if there's some in it, then I think you'll know what to do. HTH.

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #2 – July 03, 2011, 06:50:38 AM

Could be a bent shift fork too... either way the tranny will have to come apart

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #3 – July 03, 2011, 09:11:11 AM

Quote from: ThunderbirdSport302;362685

40k doesn't mean jack if the previous owner spent a lot of time jamming it into second hard...
Bought from the original owner, college professor about 60, and he babied it!
I'd say your wrench is probably correct.
If you have a stock shifter, and the cable is properly adjusted (assuming it's an adjustable unit, ie, not a stocker) then 95% chance your second gear synchro is shot.

Drain the fluid and check it for metal flakes, shavings, and the like...if there's some in it, then I think you'll know what to do. HTH.

I'm new to the TurboCoupe/T5 transmission (former SuperCoupe owner). Is there a drain plug in the bottom
of the transmission, or just a fill hole on the side I'll have to siphon the fluid thru?
Thanks.
Jeff

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #4 – July 03, 2011, 09:12:06 AM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken;362695

Could be a bent shift fork too... either way the tranny will have to come apart

Definitely NOT what I wanted to hear! :(

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #5 – July 03, 2011, 11:28:10 AM

I would say that if the car is shifting into all the other gears correctly the clutch cable is most likely in good shape. Pulling the tranny is not that hard and if you go here the service manual is a free download which will walk you through pulling the top cover to inspect the unit.

http://ttcautomotive.com/English/media/pdfs_autogen/T-5_Service_Manual.pdf

I had a guy rebuild mine for $100 labor and I bought a kit from Hanlon Motorsports (there are others who sell the kits but Hanlon seems to have a really good one).

http://www.hanlonmotorsports.com/?q=node/2

The only problem is if it has been doing this for a while there are teeth on the face of the gear could be worn which will require a new gear. I cannot remember what they are called but that is what happened on my T-5. These are all huge assumptions without pulling the tranny and tearing it down. If you do not have an aftermarket shifter with positive stop locks then it is time to get one. I would suggest the MG unit here:

http://www.mgwltd.com/mustang_shifter.shtml

I have had the Hurst and Pro 5.0 shifter and would recommend the MG over them both.

Darren

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #6 – July 03, 2011, 02:07:25 PM

Quote from: '85T-BirdTurboCoupe;362696

I'm new to the TurboCoupe/T5 transmission (former SuperCoupe owner). Is there a drain plug in the bottom
of the transmission, or just a fill hole on the side I'll have to siphon the fluid thru?
Thanks.
Jeff

Place a jack under the T5.
Disconnect driveshaft at the differential, but don't pull the shaft out yet.
Unbolt transmission mount from crossmember, then unbolt crossmember and remove it.
Get a large, flat pan (i have a cheapo wal mar cat litter pan, that i use..when I remember it lol)
Place pan under tailshaft and carefully pull the driveshaft out
lower jack a little....this will let more of the fluid run out.

During reassembly, make sure you know that NON World Class T5's use gear oil, whereas World Class T5's use ATF...sometimes people forget, and just wanted to pass that along :)

Oh, it may help if the front of the car is on ramps or blocks...obviously make sure that it's stable, and secure.

Can't enjoy your TC from 6 feet under.

Good luck and let us know how things go.

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #7 – July 03, 2011, 02:21:33 PM

Quote from: ThunderbirdSport302;362718

NON World Class T5's use gear oil, whereas World Class T5's use ATF...sometimes people forget, and just wanted to pass that along :)

Where did this information come from ?
I have never seen a T-5 in a ford with anything other than Dexron/mercon fluid from the factory , so I am curious .

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #8 – July 03, 2011, 03:24:54 PM

Quote

One last piece of important information. ALL World Class T-5 use ATF oil and NOT heavy gear oil or Redline MTL! All NON-World Class T-5 use 70 wt gear oil.

From these guys: http://www.moderndriveline.com/Technical_Bits/t5_history.htm

That site will also tell you how to determine if you have a WC or non-WC T5.

You're welcome. :)

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #9 – July 03, 2011, 03:27:00 PM

FWIW, I used DexronIII in my T5 last summer....I too had issues shifting into second..I'm going to use a little heavier fluid this time around though...

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #10 – July 03, 2011, 07:05:16 PM

I use a combination of one quart Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil and two quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic ATF in my Coupe with a WC T-5. This in combination with a positive stop shifter has yielded great results. I have beat on that T-5 with 318 rwhp / 323 rwtorque for about three years now and it still shifts silky smooth.

You will hear a lot of people say Dextron/Mercron ATF is the only thing you should use because of the synchros. I searched this and found that Tremec has given some of the synthetics the thumbs up and Mobil 1 is one of them.

I would still remove the tranny as outlined above and do a visual inspection on the internals prior to just changing the fluid and installing a good shifter. This can help but if you end up breaking the main shaft then typically its time to find another T-5 and then the smart thing to do anyhow is have it rebuilt. If the miles and service intervals are unknown on the current tranny I would strongly suggest that you just get a kit and have it gone through. $300 now is cheaper than finding another tranny down the road and building it. If you can find a tranny now for cheap and have it rebuilt while you are babying this one that would be the best way to go.

Good luck and let us know what the out come is.

Darren

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #11 – July 20, 2011, 06:07:50 PM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken;362695

Could be a bent shift fork too... either way the tranny will have to come apart

OK, I just got off the phone with a transmission shop service manager.
After describing exactly how 1st & 2nd gear are acting, he seems to think
it will probably be the shift fork that's causing the problem.
Unfortunately, the labor to remove & replace the transmission & to tear
into it to find the exact problem is about $750-800. If it's JUST a shift fork
that needs replaced, he's guessing $80-100 for parts. Might as well say
there goes another $1,000!! :(

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #12 – July 20, 2011, 06:56:50 PM

A thousand bucks is a lot of money to spend on a 4-cyl T5. You'd be better off spending a couple hundred for a Fox Mustang 4-cyl T5. Then use some of the money you save for a positive stop shifter to prevent it happening again :D

...and then you'd have the opportunity to take the old tranny apart and check what broke and also learn how everything works. If you screw it up who cares, it's broken anyway :hick:

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #13 – July 20, 2011, 10:23:51 PM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken;363729

A thousand bucks is a lot of money to spend on a 4-cyl T5. You'd be better off spending a couple hundred for a Fox Mustang 4-cyl T5. Then use some of the money you save for a positive stop shifter to prevent it happening again :D

...and then you'd have the opportunity to take the old tranny apart and check what broke and also learn how everything works. If you screw it up who cares, it's broken anyway :hick:

#1: Why a Fox Mustang 4-cyl T-5?
#2: I could spend $200 & that transmission could need worked on also!:(
#3: I don't have the mechanical ability to remove/replace said transmission.:(
#4: I want to keep this TurboCoupe 100% factory original, so no shifter replacement!:)
Thanks.
Jeff

T-5 2nd gear problems on my '85 TC

Reply #14 – July 21, 2011, 01:52:07 AM

Shop around....there's a shiznit ton of places that specialize in T5 trannys. Remember, there's about 10 million Mustangs with 'em...so there's a lot of demand for it.

There's a guy in kansas city, missouri that will build a race T5 capable of 10 sec 1/4 passes for what that STEALERship will charge you to something you could do yourself, with a book.

Removing a T5 is easy...ranks right up there with changing a heater core on these cars. In fact, I'd rather remove and reinstall the T5 than the h/c!

In short, I would NOT pay a grand for a rebuilt T5...unless it had a lot of heavy duty stuff.