Uh oh. Can I swap out shift rails?
12-09-2008, 08:43 AM
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Uh oh. Can I swap out shift rails? I bought a T56 to replace my broken one because it was never used and it was a better deal than getting all the parts needed to fix my old one. I was prepared to swap out the rear housing for my F-body housing, but wasn't expecting to see a mechanical speedo gear and different shifter location 
. The tranny I bought was acquired direct from Tremec for some guy's Nova project, so I should have remembered the speedo gear
. Am I correct in assuming I can just swap the rear housing, shift rail and speedo reluctor from my F-body tranny and be good to go?
. The tranny I bought was acquired direct from Tremec for some guy's Nova project, so I should have remembered the speedo gear. Am I correct in assuming I can just swap the rear housing, shift rail and speedo reluctor from my F-body tranny and be good to go? 
12-09-2008, 09:21 AM
#3
Sounds like you picked up a retro-fit T56, or a mustang version, having a square shifter more forward than the rectangular F-body?
You can swap over the shift rail, but you will have to dismantle the trans case obviously. The VSS reluctor should swap over in place of the mech gear also.
(I'd be interested in buying the short shift rail, tail housing, mech speedo parts if you won't need them.. shoot me a PM)
You can swap over the shift rail, but you will have to dismantle the trans case obviously. The VSS reluctor should swap over in place of the mech gear also.
(I'd be interested in buying the short shift rail, tail housing, mech speedo parts if you won't need them.. shoot me a PM)
12-09-2008, 09:34 AM
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Sounds like you picked up a retro-fit T56, or a mustang version, having a square shifter more forward than the rectangular F-body?
You can swap over the shift rail, but you will have to dismantle the trans case obviously. The VSS reluctor should swap over in place of the mech gear also.
(I'd be interested in buying the short shift rail, tail housing, mech speedo parts if you won't need them.. shoot me a PM)
You can swap over the shift rail, but you will have to dismantle the trans case obviously. The VSS reluctor should swap over in place of the mech gear also.
(I'd be interested in buying the short shift rail, tail housing, mech speedo parts if you won't need them.. shoot me a PM)
As far as selling the leftover parts, I'm debating about whether to sell my original F-body tranny as is, repair it and sell it, or repair and keep it for a spare. I'll wait until I get this thing installed and running before I make a decision. It'll cost arond $1000 to fix the original, and that's on top of the $800 I've already spent replacing the synchros, 1st gear, 2nd gear, 5th gear, friction rings...
My pictures are too large to post here, but I'll post the url for them tonight for everyone to see.
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12-09-2008, 10:17 AM
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Really? I thought they were rated for 450 lb-ft. Oh well, not a big deal. The car's a daily driver. I will be putting on a set of LS2 heads, LS6 intake and cam, and headers this summer, but I probably won't be drag racing it. That's what the Chevelle is for.
12-09-2008, 10:58 AM
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Tremec tends to under rate the T56 and TKO units to cover their butts , I would say that unit should hold 500 rwhp pretty easy in a some what lighter car . If you stuff it in a 4000 lb car with sticky tires and an agressive clutch , you might just pop it .
12-09-2008, 11:19 AM
#11
Did you already mention the clutch/Bell you're going to use? Since the retro is setup with an adaptor plate for the Muncie/T5 clutch, you'll need to make sure of clearances,etc. if going to a LSx block.. The retro front plate looks like an LS1, but the slave bolts are clocked wrong and the input shaft is too long.
12-09-2008, 11:23 AM
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Duh, I should have read your reply more thoroughly, Source. You said output shaft, not input shaft! It looks like the Mustang units have 10 spline input shafts with 31 spline output shafts. The GM units have 26 spline input shafts with 27 spline output shafts. Mine definitely does not have the 10 spline input shaft, so it shouldn't have the 31 spline output shaft.
12-09-2008, 09:06 PM
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Posted pics of the rear housing on photobucket. The URL is http://s415.photobucket.com/albums/pp238/bb5401000/
12-22-2008, 06:51 PM
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Did you ever find out if your aftermarket tail housing interchanges with that of a F-body? I'm interested in changing my f-body tail housing to one that will move the shifter forward a little. I may be interested in trading hardware with you if you are going that route. If not I'm still interested to see if it does interchange.
Last edited by Russ_B_10; 12-22-2008 at 10:02 PM.
12-23-2008, 08:57 AM
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The aftermarket tailhousing will bolt up to the F-body tranny, but you need to change the shift rail for it to work, which of course means complete transmission disassembly. The F-body shift rail is longer. Also, the front adaptor is completely different than the F-body's. The retro adaptor does not use a hydraulic clutch, therefore does not have provisions for the hydraulic slave. I had to swap over my F-body adaptor as well as buy a new F-body extension housing. I'm still using the retro main case. It's identical to the F-body case except it does not have the hole drilled for the skip shift solenoid. That didn't matter to me because I had mine disabled anyway with a fuse plugged into the electrical connector.
12-23-2008, 10:04 AM
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Yep-26 spline input and 27 spline output. Can't make up my mind what to do with the leftover pieces. I could get a new mainshaft and 5th and 6th gears and put that tranny behind my SB 383. That would be fun. Maybe I'll sell it. I don't know yet. I do have a 97 Formula rearend with Richmond 3.73 gears I'd like to get rid of. I had it in my wife's car before I traded it in on my truck.
12-24-2008, 02:36 PM
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By the way Source, I'm 90% sure about what caused my T56 failure. I think the 5/6 shift rail fork fell out of alignment with the interlock plate and got caught under it. I think it happened when I was checking the operation of the various shift forks without the extension housing installed. Thats why the reverse synchro sleeve looks so far out of whack (with the shifter in neutral) in my photobucket pictures.
12-26-2008, 09:14 AM
#20
By the way Source, I'm 90% sure about what caused my T56 failure. I think the 5/6 shift rail fork fell out of alignment with the interlock plate and got caught under it. I think it happened when I was checking the operation of the various shift forks without the extension housing installed. Thats why the reverse synchro sleeve looks so far out of whack (with the shifter in neutral) in my photobucket pictures.
If this is the same issue I remember, it was 90% sure a lock ring was left off or fell off the Rev synchro hub...
