Ok my Maverick Family..... I am putting this out there for all comments and in put..... I just recently completed my T5 swap and need some diagnostic help. My 71 w/302 factory 3 speed had a colum shifter that i moved to the floor years ago. Starting from rear to front, 255/60/15- 1 week old. New 3rd member with 3.25 gears and LSD Factory drive shaft shortened 1" due to T5 length. T5 cross member from 71gold "Forum member" 3 speed slip yoke (MDL slip yoke did not look as strong as my orignal so i kept it..) T5 from MDL MDL T5 adaptor plate so i can use my 3 speed bell housing. *I used my old throw out bearing, the one supplyied by MDL did not seem to work "fit" into/with the 3 speed fork this is the "type" being that it has the clips to attach to the 3 speed fork.. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mcl-16031/overview/make/ford MDL clutch set and pilot bearing "bearing" not bushing Manual clutch linkage, considering Hydraulic set up from RoseHill but thats later topic.... Z-bar modifyed to accept sphieracal bearing, nylon bushing and ball removed.. 1- is the T5 much heavier then the 3 speed that the ride seems lower then it was? 2- when taking curves to the right, there seems to be something rubbing kind of like a "swishing/rubbing" noise... what might be a good "start checking point?" for this be. -is the motor/trans/driveshaft/ 3rd member alignment effected "greatly" by turns and curves? 3- is the T5 fork different from the 3 speed which is what i am using now?? 4- when i go over dips in the highway i get a bump under the car like something is "bottoming out" thats not T5 related could it be?? I dont want to ruin my "New T5" so any help from all you Pros out there would be good...
1- the t5 might be a little heavier but not enough to to change ride height. 2- look for tires rubbing on the rear inner fenderwells. 3- the t5 fork is different, use the one that matches your bell and linkage. 4- driveshaft could be rubbing on tunnel with suspension under load.
is the fulcrum needed? i didnt use one..... http://www.summitracing.com/search?...ch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=t5 clutch fork
I'm thinking the 3.03 would weigh more than a t5 since it's cast iron. Here is how I did the t5 swap on my 250 Six...which has the same bellhousing as the 302. I used the t5 bellhousing with a one inch spacer under the fork. http://1bad6t.com/Maverick/maverick_51.html
Agreed... There are more gears in a T-5, but weigh has to be within 10lbs or so... When I was still a young man(and not all that strong) I could pick up either and install them in bell/clutch... I couldn't do it with a 4-speed top loader though... AFAIK no one says those have reduced ride height...
Back in the early 90's I was kicking the idea around of replacing my t-10 for a t5. Guy at the transmission shop showed me the gears in a t5 compared to the t-10. It was like looking at a motorcycle transmission gears vs a dump truck transmission gears. I do know the t-10 out weighs the 4-speed top loader.
As far as the rubbing noise goes, it's unlikely but perhaps it is rubbing the trans tunnel? Sometimes they can be really tight in there. Some advice if you don't want to destroy the T5: don't power shift it, really easy to destroy a T5, especially once they get some power in front of them. I'm not sure if you are saying your 302 is stock, if it is, you shouldn't have much trouble. My 302 puts around 300 to the rear wheels, but I have wimpy small rear tires, so I don't get the best traction. I did this on purpose so I wouldn't grenade the T5. The T5Z is better than any stock T5, but I still wouldn't power shift it.. some people do, and get away with it, others grenade them the first time out.
I grenaded the stock T-5 in a '86 5.0 Stang, but once I upgraded it to the stronger '89 up gear set, it took a licking and kept on ticking... A T-5Z is far stronger than the gearset in the '89-'93 trans...
OK, before I admit to what was wrong with my T5 install, I have to ask....... Phil & Krazy: are you saying that the pre- '89 T5s were a bit weaker?? So the noise that i was hearing turned out to be my Trans to Motor angle was way off ..... My cross member was TOO low, droping the rear of the T5 too low in turn causing viberation and noise. I figured it out by raising the car off the ground to check the drive shaft to see if it would need balancing. The noise that was "now and then" on the road and even "went away completely" when i had my buddy in the car riding with me to try and get a second opinnon on what it could be.....(it seem to me the added weight in the car with one extra body help to improve the trans to motor angle making it harder to hear) was pretty loud and pin-pointable with the car running in gear with the rear wheels spining. I took a trans jack loosened the trans mount/crossmember bolts and gently jacked the rear of the T5 up as far as possable and the noise stopped. Pulled the cross member out shortened it up raising the tail of the T5 up almost 3" weilded up and bolted in...... doing this also gave me more clearance for my exhust pipe that was hitting the cross member anytime i hit a dip in the road................. to tell the truth I was almost at the point of selling the car... bottom line, she runs pretty good now, rides nice, have decided to commit to taking the P/S completly out now that its disconnected, it jus feel so much tighter and connected to the road without it hooked up i jus need to find the pulleys to run the waterpump and alternator..... Thanks to all of you for your input and help, feels good to have a family!!! lol
Good to hear you found the issue! Driveshaft/pinion angle is very important. I've read about people blowing up U-joints at the track due to bad pinion angles, and U-joints wearing out rather quickly in addition to the noise/vibration you get. Yes the pre-89 T5's were weaker in a variety of ways. If interested in the specifics, here is a nice writeup of the differences by year: http://www.allfordmustangs.com/Detailed/349.shtml
I'm going to have to upgrade to a stronger T5 when I finish my 347. Lots of sticker shock out there with the G-Force and Astro transmissions! The Ford Racing Z is still only rated at 300 ft/lbs. but it can be had new for $1,700 at Jegs. That's not chump change but the custom shops START at $2500 with exchange. For now, I'll just baby my 85 WC T5 behind the 306
