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t5 install

SELLERSRODSHOP

SELLERSRODSHOP

Well-Known Member
anybody have any tips on installing a t5 by yourself? been 4 hrs trying to get this thing in & other than the first couple of mins getting it under the car & in place, i've wasted my time. cant seem to get it lined up & thru the clutch disc. even pulled it back twice & stuck the pilot tool in to make sure nothing has shifted. i've also tried with the engine in different angles (have a cherry picker & chain hooked to the back of the head to raise/lower the tilt of the engine) but still nothing. i've also got it in gear with a spare yoke in the tail to spin the input shaft & line up the splines. still nothing.... any ideas??

oh, i've also come to the realization that i'm not a young man anymore. the days of laying these things on my chest, lifting them up & sliding in are over.... :roul
 
i might be able to come on monday. I leave on tuesday for va for my dads funeral at arlington national cemetary
 
I've always installed the transmission seperately... balance it on a floor jack that is aligned to the tunnel, bring it up to height, get input shaft in about halfway then adjust the trans angle so that the mating faces are at the same angle. roll the jack forward a little at a time keeping the alignment as close as you can. With it in gear as you've stated you can twist and wiggle the tailshaft to align the input splines. Once your there, so long as the trans and bellhousing faces are close to parallel it should just slide right in. I've done it this way dozens of time... I realized about 5 years ago that bench pressing transmissions into place is a young man's game.

Also, on the plastic alignment tool, I've noticed some are not so accurate... If yours is sloppy, try loosening the pressure plate and with the tool installed oscilate the end to see just how much the clutch disk oscillates... if it does, manually center it with the tool and then tighten the pressure plate back down. Sometimes if you just plug the tool in and let the disk hang, it'll be off just enough to prevent the nose of the input shaft from seating in the pilot bearing.

Something else I do if the motor and trans are both out of the car is test fit everything, then install the engine with the clutch assy and bellhousing installed... that almost always guarantees the trans will slide right in.

Did you verify you have the right pilot bearing? IIRC the 4 cylinder T5s use a smaller diameter pilot. Also I think the 94-98 T5s have a longer input shaft that needs to be matched to the bellhousing...
 
found out what the problem is :roul would swear the i checked everything, but evidently not. the throwout bearing doesnt fit the steel retainer... i made one more attempt tonight before calling it quits & knocked the fork off the pivot. pulled the fork out & tried it & it slipped right in. pulled the tranny back , slid the throwout bearing off the fork & onto the input shaft & it stopped dead at the end of the retainer.... :rant double checked it out from under the car on another tranny & sure enough, its too small. i'll check it tomorrow on a third tranny in the storage shed. i "think" thats the one i checked everything on when the clutch kit came in & i stored it in the shed too.

maybe i'm not feeling as old as i thought (in denial :roll). never had this much trouble before mating up a t5.
 
"fordrule" said:
i might be able to come on monday. I leave on tuesday for va for my dads funeral at arlington national cemetary
Click to expand...

come on! if nothing else we'll sit on the deck & drink a few beers....
 
picked up a t/o bearing today that fit (took a spare retainer along) & it went in first try. only trouble i had today was getting the flange on the tranny seated into the bellhousing. i noticed it had a slight taper on the edge, so snugged up the bolts then gave it a wiggle, tightened the bolts about half a turn, jiggle again, tighten another half turn etc until it went.

here's the deal on the t/o bearing...

how its supposed to work:
IMG_3190.jpg


what i had:
IMG_3191.jpg


here are the two side by side. if you notice, there is a little step inside the one on the right that didn't fit. funny thing is, the taper on the bearing retainer allows it to go in a bit & looking at it thru the bellhousing, it looks like its going in correctly.
IMG_3192.jpg


got the crossmember in (had to elongate a couple holes & grind a hair off of each side of the c-4 mount where it seats in the crossmember) then ended up modifying the bracket i made for the slave cylinder. . i cut the two mounting tabs & rewelded at a slight angle to align the slave pushrod with the clutch fork & give the slave some clearance from the tunnel. also dimpled a small spot on the tunnel where the bleeder screw sticks up.

reworked bracket:
IMG_3193.jpg
 
when it rains, it pours... why does EVERY transmission i own have a stripped out bolt hole for the speedo cable retainer??? geez, now i have to try & get up in there, drill it out & tap it... also have to make a new pushrod for the slave cylinder to clutch fork. the one i purchased from rosehill is about 1" too short... i just hope everything works so i don't have to pull it apart again right away...
 
"Fast68back" said:
Steve, you can slow down a bit on the Mustang, you have 12 months till the next power tour....
Click to expand...

yeah, but gotta get it out of the middle of the shop so i can get back on this 36 ford! will have to go on the power tour one of these years.... will put that on the bucket list for sure!
 
anybody have a t-5 yoke laying around that can give me a length measurement fron the base of the tube to the end? need to cut down one of these c-4 yokes to fit....
 
Re: Re: t5 install

"SELLERSRODSHOP" said:
anybody have a t-5 yoke laying around that can give me a length measurement fron the base of the tube to the end? need to cut down one of these c-4 yokes to fit....
Click to expand...

I have one laying on the floor of the garage. I can measure it when I get home tonight if no one chimes in before then.
 
i'm going to have a small window tomorrow with help, so looking to get the hydraulic clutch bled. i've already gravity bled it a bit & have fluid down to the bleeder. any good tips on bleeding it further other that push the pedal, crack the bleeder like the brake system. i've just heard some have nightmares getting all the air out & i know how my luck usually falls....
 
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