Found something interesting while rebuilding
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From: Waco, TX
Found something interesting while rebuilding I was working on rebuilding the T56 intended for my 79Z tonight... it's a unit that came out of a local car, I think a '99 or '00 (don't recall exactly).
Went to put the 5-6 fork in. Grabbed a couple of new plastic pads... huh, they didn't 'stick' to the fork at all. Slid right back off. Come to think of it, when I took this tranny apart, the pads on 5-6 were broken. Hmm...
Pulled out another 5-6 fork from a box. Wow, this one was machined incorrectly from the factory.
See attached pic. The 'correct' one is on top, the 'incorrect' one is on bottom. Note the machining where the pads are supposed to go.
Also, I successfully installed a tailhousing bushing tonight, without distortion. I have ruined about 10 bushings trying to do this. I finally got out the air die grinder and a sanding roll, and started sanding and sanding the tailhousing until the bushing slipped in about 1/4"... and then I tapped it home. Seems good and snug, and the driveshaft yoke spins perfectly freely. Woot! (for anyone who's ever tried this, you know how bad these bushings might be to get in!)
Went to put the 5-6 fork in. Grabbed a couple of new plastic pads... huh, they didn't 'stick' to the fork at all. Slid right back off. Come to think of it, when I took this tranny apart, the pads on 5-6 were broken. Hmm...
Pulled out another 5-6 fork from a box. Wow, this one was machined incorrectly from the factory.
See attached pic. The 'correct' one is on top, the 'incorrect' one is on bottom. Note the machining where the pads are supposed to go.
Also, I successfully installed a tailhousing bushing tonight, without distortion. I have ruined about 10 bushings trying to do this. I finally got out the air die grinder and a sanding roll, and started sanding and sanding the tailhousing until the bushing slipped in about 1/4"... and then I tapped it home. Seems good and snug, and the driveshaft yoke spins perfectly freely. Woot! (for anyone who's ever tried this, you know how bad these bushings might be to get in!)
Look closer , experts. The fork was operated for some time without pads . The throat of the fork is "machined" by the sleeve( this area is not machined in production).It is not possible the fork came that way. What you have is a fork that was waaaaay overdue for a change. It would appear the quality problem was actually in the neglect of the operator to get this addressed.
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I'm no expert 
but I really don't think so. Look at the pad landing area. If this fork were out of alignment / run with broken pads, that area shouldn't have nice machining marks. The slider was fine.
I'll take a closer look later. But indeed, it's been addressed now with a new fork.
but I really don't think so. Look at the pad landing area. If this fork were out of alignment / run with broken pads, that area shouldn't have nice machining marks. The slider was fine.I'll take a closer look later. But indeed, it's been addressed now with a new fork.
I have seen this before. The throat wear is the tell-tale. The sleeve is a hardened part and the fork is cast iron- you may not see much sleeve wear in the groove. Were the clutch teeth worn over on the sleeve a swell? If you place this worn fork on a rail next to the new one, I would wager that you will also see that it is bent.
Many times, the pads will not just say on the forks by themselves. It happened to mine actually when I was doing my rebuild. I called up T56 Rebuilds to see if it was an issue and they insisted it was not and that they seen it many times. So it's a normal thing to have happen. All you have to do is take some grease to the back of each pad and stick them on there until you can get them correctly around the rings.
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From: Waco, TX
Upon further review... 
I eat my words. calhoon, you are correct. I took a 5-6 slider, and it fit in that groove perfectly. The part is also thinner than stock on the groove area. Indeed, it is wear, and not a manufacturing defect.
I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong.
Hopefully the "new" version of this tranny won't have these problems. My L05 TBI motor would be lucky to hit 250 RWHP, so I don't have any strength worries about it.
I eat my words. calhoon, you are correct. I took a 5-6 slider, and it fit in that groove perfectly. The part is also thinner than stock on the groove area. Indeed, it is wear, and not a manufacturing defect.
I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong.
Hopefully the "new" version of this tranny won't have these problems. My L05 TBI motor would be lucky to hit 250 RWHP, so I don't have any strength worries about it. LS1 Tech Stories
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