Gearheadotaku

Can a T5 trans be used with an LS motor? I know this trans is not the best choice, but I would use it with a stock 4.8. It would meet the torque rating and help the budget. The T-56 is nice but heavy and expensive.
Thinking of a daily driver gen 3 f-body or gen 1 S-10.

Thanks

turbotyla

I Have herd of ppl using them you have to get a bellhousing flywheel pilot bearing and a few other things i do not know for sure but im almost positive its been done

Hopefully someone will chime in. I have a miata i bought for $300 and a 4.8 i can get cheap thinking about doing to swap just bare bones and stock. with a 5 speed lol.

Someone help us out

Jaysz28

iTrader: (19)

If you use the T5, try to snag the tail shaft off of a 4th gen v6, 5 spd car. That will at least get you the correct VSS signal for the PCM.

It can work, just for how long

Good luck

-jason

TTLS1GP

iTrader: (10)

you can use the TKO's behind them. there are several members on this board who have that setup.

Keisler trannys has the parts you need to do it. I had a quote from them to do just that but ended up scoring a T56 before I ordered.

Lickeyman

iTrader: (1)

lsx + t5 = bad idea

Do it right and use a t56 or go auto.

Had one behind a MILD 350 and blew out 5 within a 2 year period. It CAN'T handle the torque. Swapped to a th350 and the truck was actually fun to drive because we weren't scared to blow out the transmission.

I've seen these things blow behind 305's. A 4.8 would probably do the same.

And btw guys once you blow em wait till you see how hard it is to find a v8 t5 for GMs LOL

I'm actually trying to save you guys time and money trust me. For what a TKO costs just get a t56.

groundczero

iTrader: (2)

putting a T-5 would be the same as a TKO-5/600.
Personally I would just get a TKO since the T-5 would get destroyed behind the LS.
But you can do this pretty easily.
You just need the conversion bellhousing
You can get an arm from scoggin dickey to use manual linkage if car was already a manual (like $30) YEAH Z BAR!
If you want to use a LS flywheel (running light weight clutch flywheel combo)
You will need the adjustable TO-bearing (like $90)
Else just get the conversion flywheel.

By no means do you need one of the kits from Keisler.

73 nova guy

iTrader: (8)

Ahhh I have seen the death of many t5's. If you do use a t5 shift softly!

Ls1Mx-5

iTrader: (3)

Will a mustang t5 work? I saw a bell-housing made for this.

Dan_W

Yes... Steel Bellhousings from Quicktime and others. The quicktime seems to be a sweet bellhousing... compact, lightweight, SFI certified and is only marginally more expensive than the route I chose with an OEM bell (below). You can also use a Big or small block chevy bell with an adapter plate to the transmission.

There are a couple rare-ish bells with the small block bell flange and ford trans pattern. From 80-83 Jeep CJ 4cyl and 86-89 Astro 4.3l v6. (this is the route I'm going) Lots of mods are required to make these work. These bells probably wont work with 168 tooth flywheels since they came on motors with 153 tooth flywheels. You will need a 153 tooth LSX bolt patterend flywheel and starter if you choose this route (talk to Red at McLeod). Also need an adapter pilot bushing since the input shaft from the ford t5 is a different diameter than the LS or SBC versions of transmissions (Mcleod has this but Advanced Adapters was 1/2 the price). I had Red setup my flyweel for the ford pressure plate so I could use an off the shelf king cobra style clutch kit. I picked up my Trans and Clutch from Astro Performance in Tavares Florida. This route also requires an adjustable ball stud. The LS motor spaces the flywheel .400 closer to the motor than small block the flywheel is patterned after. This spaces the clutch and fingers of the pressure plate .400 further from the clutch fork so the TO bearing would not otherwise be able to disengage the clutch. I had to shorten my bearing retainer slightly to clear the clutch hub. You also have to turn down the bearing retainers to fit the index hole in the bell housing. I've about finished up the trans part of my swap with the mustang T5/Jeep bellhousing. I've mocked up the parts but havent installed it in my Miata yet. I hope that I can fit it without cutting the firewall since its using a bell that is smaller than the t56 bell.

Edit: forgot to mention the starter. You will either need to buy the Mcleod Starter or fabricate your own starter solution. McLeods starter works but is expensive and blocks the dip stick tube hole in the block. I modified a Summit starter for a small block chevy to work so I wouldn't loose my dipstick hole.

bczee

iTrader: (12)

You 4.8 or any of the Gen III/IV engines TQ rating would just about exceed any OEM T-5 Ratings on TQ. Yes, people have used both the Ford and GM version of the T-5, make sure you get WC rate one, its just a bit higher in its rating.

Well it last..? sure, how long..? That all depends on how hard you drive it. If you drive it like a DD, don't dump the clutch, don't do any WOT passes getting on to the Freeway, etc, it should last a while.

But, I'd say, pick up a spare Trans if your going to do it, they are cheap anyway.

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

They are easy to find.. it's called a T56.

Dan_W

Sure T5's are not bullet proof and certainly have their limits. Used transmissions are likely to have more problems. Especially with things like worn syncros and bent shift forks. The WC ford z-spec or "super duty" unit can be had from Summit (got mine from Astro Perf) FMS-M-7003-Z. Its factory rated to 330 ft/lbs and well documented to handle some abuse behind 400 hp motors in 3000 lb cars. T5 also has decent aftermarket support from GForce Transmissions and Astro Performance and can be built for 500+ hp.

I'm sure your joking about buying the spare transmission... a sure fire way to be the guy who breaks multiple T5 transmissions behind a stock motor is to keep swapping in worn out junk yard boxes. I have a cousin that did this with TH350's. He would get a few months out of them but didn’t care because they could be had for $50 from the local yards at the time. The breakage was certainly not the fault of the TH350. If you break a used box, get it rebuilt by a competent shop like the ones mentioned above and pay for some upgrades. A fresh T5 like the one from summit mentioned above is plenty adequate for a 4.8 or 5.3 with every day use... including wot acceleration.

A bit of advice with the T5; get an aftermarket shifter with positive stops to prevent bent shift forks.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

I think a stock T5 is a good place to start to get the car drivable. Once things are ironed out and more funds are available, an aftermarket gear set from G-Force or Astro can make a T5 last a long time. The T5s are lightweight, small, and have proven to be durable (with aftermarket internals) in various NMRA racing classes.

If this is going into a 3rd gen f-body, why not get a 3rd gen f-body bellhousing and T5?

Andrew

Dan_W

The camaro unit can be used. There are some of the same problems and a couple different ones. The .400 shallower crank spacing for the LS requires a different, special pilot bushing that goes into the outer step of the crank. The thirdgen fbody bellhousing is designed for the 153 tooth flywheel. The LS motors only come with a 168 tooth flywheel. So the flywheel conversion stuff, starter problem, adjustable ball stud or to trans bolt holes are all still issues. Swapping to the old school muci BBC bellhousing to take the 168 tooth flywheel is possible but the Fbody trans is rotated 17 degrees on the bellhousing. So with the BBC bellhousing, the shifter will be rotated 17 degrees from straight up, the oil fill/indicator hole will be lower then normal, the torque arm mount and trans mount will all be off at an angle. All this can be corrected for by swapping to a different tail housing. Not sure what all is involved with that. Astro had one on their work bench when I went over to visit that they had re-drilled the oil fill port on to make it accurate with the trans rotated straight up. I'm assuming they also changed the tail housing on it. Keep in mind that the Fbody T5's are are fairly rare compared to the the mustang ones and cost more used. There are no aftermarket cases available (g-force may have a few still in stock but they dont make them anymore).