T-5 Install Finished

Discussion in 'Transmissions' started by DragPack428, Nov 22, 2015.

  1. DragPack428

    DragPack428 Member

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    With ideas from this list I finished my T-5 install in my 71 Comet GT and drove it for the first time in 9 years yesterday. I tried using the stock mechanical clutch linkage and a cable system from a Mustang but the headers made both of them impractical so I ended up going hydraulic for the clutch.

    Components used were:
    1. 1990 Mustang bell housing
    2. FRPP Clutch & Pressure Plate
    3. 1990 Mustang T-5 Transmission
    4. Stock 71 Comet transmission mount
    5. Modified stock cross member. Reversed to clear rear of transmission and cut off ears and rewelded to lower as required. I only left about 1/2" between top of trans and floor so only had to lower cross member about 1 1/2". This made the fan shroud rub the fan so I had to massage the shroud for clearance.
    6. Stock drive shaft.
    7. 1992 F-150 hydraulic clutch master & slave cylinder plus for now the plastic line connecting them I purchased from our local U-Pull-It for a total of $12.50 including the $2 entry to the yard. I've ordered the fittings and 3AN hydraulic line from Summit racing for a total of $55 to plumb this up nice next week.
    8. Fabricated my own firewall stiffening bracket for mounting the master cylinder thru the original clutch rod hole and fabricated my own bracket to mount the slave cylinder from the side of the T-5 similar to photos I found on this site. The only down side I've encountered with this set-up is I have to remove the rear master cylinder brake line and pull it up about 1/2" to get clearance to remove the clutch master cylinder cap to fill. Not a big deal as my bet is once I get the final braided line on and bleed I'll never have to fill the reservoir again.
    It all seems to work quite well although the pedal effort is higher than my 97 GT's. I may remove the manual clutch spring up under the dash and see if that makes a change. If anyone needs to see pictures they can look on Keith's Comet GT album or email me and I'll send them what I got..
     
  2. bmcdaniel

    bmcdaniel Senile Member

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    Did you check your trans-to-pinion angle after lowering the cross member?
     
  3. RASelkirk

    RASelkirk Retired!

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    If you can move the pickup point for the master cylinder pushrod "up" on the pedal arm, it will reduce the pedal effort. But remember, if you do this it will also decrease the slave's travel by some amount...
     
  4. DragPack428

    DragPack428 Member

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    No, I did not check the pinion angle. Realize that it is important. Nobody mentioned it in their posts. I read about a half dozen posts on this site about installing a T-5 and everyone having to modify the cross member. It was obvious that the shifter rail was hits the floor pan before the transmission would go up high enough to maintain the same centerline on the output shaft. I only left 1/2" of clearance on top to the tunnel. Best I could do. Guess I could shim the rear. For now I'll see if it vibrates when I get to highway speed. Only went on local roads so far up to about 50 MPH. Need to calibrate the speedometer as I have big tires on the back but have installed a 3.80 : 1 Detroit Locker so the speedometer is way off.

    Moving the pivot point up on the clutch pedal would help especially since the master cylinder bottoms out about 2" before the pedal would hit the floor. I centered the rod in the master cylinder both up and down as well as side to side prior to measuring and fabricating the bracket to bolt to the clutch pedal. It is about 2" lower on the pedal than the mechanical rod was. The F-150 master cylinder also has a remote reservoir bung cast into the plastic that I could drill out and use thus allowing me to make a new firewall bracket and move the reservoir higher up and not have to worry about removing the cap by using a remote reservoir.

    All helpfull ideas guys.
     
  5. tody

    tody Member

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    i'm in the same process of upgrading to a t5 transmission.
    finished welding up the crossmember today. did not yet consider the pinion angle yet, but as you said - the trans will hit the floor pan fairly quick.
    will set the proper pinion angle with shims under the trans mount as well as with angled spacers on the rear end.
    tremec has a pretty well functioning smartphone app to measure the angles.
     
  6. Mavaholic

    Mavaholic Growing older but not up!

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    On the Comet I'm building I used my stock transmission mount and redid the floor. It can be seen in my build thread. Link is next to the comet picture, page 6.
     
  7. DragPack428

    DragPack428 Member

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    Well I took it for a pretty good drive today and don't see any issues so far. It did hop the wheels as soon as I jumped on the gas a bit. I installed a set of Summit Racing bolt on traction bars when I got home. They were a whopping $50. They were easy to install. The only issue was I had to reverse the e-brake clips on the springs to put the bolt on the top of the spring rather than the bottom.
     
  8. bmcdaniel

    bmcdaniel Senile Member

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    On mine I split open the top of the tunnel and added metal.
     

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