Shortening The Driveshaft

The engine was now ready for a test drive but the rest of the car not quite. As I swapped in a T-5 transmission, I was not sure if the driveshaft would fit. I had bought a new yoke for the T-5 so I pushed it in. The original yoke could not be used as it was too long.

To measure the correct length for the driveshaft, I pushed the yoke all the way in and then back out about an inch. This gave it enough room to move without bottoming in the transmission. Then it was time to drop the car on the ground and dig out the tape measure. I crawled under the car and got a measurement of 127 cm (50 inches). Originally the driveshaft was 129 cm (50.8 inches) long so I would have to take 2 cm (0.8 inches) out of it. Not much but I was expecting that from what I had read from net discussions.

The machine shops I had used previously did not have the equipment to balance a driveshaft so I searched for a new one. I managed to find Komet OY in Helsinki and after a call their prices seemed reasonable and they promised the parts back in a week so I delivered everything to them. Another problem with the transmission swap was finding out the correct U-joints. Original joint could be used in the rear but the front one was a mystery.

I bought one joint based on net discussions but after comparing it to the driveshaft, I noticed that it was not even close. To get a correct one I took the shaft and yoke to the store to be measured. We defined that I needed Precision model 505 joint that they luckily had in store. With that, the driveshaft could be assembled. It spent a week in Komet and after getting it back I cleaned it and sprayed some paint on it.

Installing the driveshaft was simple. I pushed the yoke in the transmission and then attached the two u-bolts in the rear. This was a good time to finish some loose ends around the transmission too. First I swapped the gear at the end of the speedo cable and pushed it in the transmission. The cable hole was on the driver side of the T-5 but had been on the passenger side in the old T-10. Luckily the cable was long enough to reach around the transmission.

Then I used a pump to fill the transmission with Dextron 3 fluid and it was almost ready to drive. Final detail was the shifter. I wanted to retain the original look in the cabin so I bought an original appearing shift handle and knob with a 5 speed pattern. With them bolted in, the car was finally ready for a test drive!

Transmission Support

With the engine and transmission dropped in the car it was time to support them properly. As usual, any time there are changes, you usually get some annoying surprises. To install the transmission support, I started jacking the T-5 up. Unfortunately the shifter did not clear the hole in the tunnel. The shifter was about an inch or two too forward.

I did not want to cut the floor so I tried moving the engine backward. I loosened the motor mounts, jacked the engine up a bit and pushed. I did manage to move the engine about half an inch so I went back to the tranny. The shifter still would not clear so in the end I had no choice but to cut a small notch to the floor but then I got it to fit.

Now I could finally install the transmission support. But naturally it wasn't just a bolt in job. The T-5 support was shaped a bit differently compared to the original and ended up contacting the driver side exhaust pipe. It would probably cause problems when installing the exhaust manifolds but for now at least the engine and transmission were connected to the car.

T5 Swap Part 2

It was time to push on with the transmission swap. I watched the CJ Pony Parts video and wrote a list how I should proceed with the project. So let's go through it.

1. Remove The Shifter

To remove the shifter, I simply lifted the rubber boot and unscrewed the two bolts under it. Seems that there should be four screws holding the rubber boot to the transmission tunnel but mine were missing.

2. Drain The Oil

I had done this already by unscrewing the drain plug with an adjustable wrench and letting the oil out to a container.

3. Remove The Drive Shaft

Again an easy job of unscrewing four nuts at the back of the drive shaft, removing the U bolts and then pulling the yoke out of the transmission. I will probably have to shorten the drive shaft before putting it back in but that needs to be measured when the T5 is in the car.

4. Remove the Starter Motor

The starter is held on to the bellhousing with two bolts. I removed those and left the starter hanging by the cable from the starter relay. Then I loosened the cable retainer bolt and removed the starter motor.

5. Separator Plate Bolts

While working with the starter, I also removed the two bolts from the front of the bellhousing that hold the bottom lip of the separator plate in place.

6. Clutch Linkage

Next I removed the clutch linkage. It was held on by a cotter pin and could then be pulled out.

7. Speedo cable

The speedometer cable goes to the back of the transmission and is held on with one bolt. Unscrew that and the gear can be pulled out.

8. Back Up Light Switch

My back up light switch wire came through the shifter opening. I separated the connector and left the switch itself connected to the transmission.

9. Disconnect The Transmission From The Bellhousing

It was time to move to the heavier stuff. I loosened the four bolts that hold the transmission to the bellhousing. I left the bottom two loosely in place so they support the transmission for now.

10. Disconnect The Crossmember

I removed the two nuts that hold the transmission to the crossmember. Surprisingly they were not completely rusted and came off quite easily.

11. Loosen The Transmission From The Engine

I wiggled the transmission a bit until it started to separate from the bellhousing. This is where the two bolts that I left there stopped it from coming out completely.

12. Support The Weight Of The Transmission

I places an extra cinder block under the transmission and used my floor jack to take the weight of the transmission off the crossmember.

13. Disconnect The Handbrake Cable

By loosening the handbrake adjuster nut I could remove the lever that was attached to the crossmember.

14. Remove The Crossmember

With the weight off, I hammered out the two bolts that held the crossmember to the frame. It was a pretty tight fit but I just managed to get the crossmember out from between the exhaust pipes. I had not removed them for the swap.

15. Drop The Old Transmission

This is where I got into some trouble. I did not dare to just lie under the transmission and try to lift it out. It would probably just fall on me and cause some injury. Nor did I have a lifter tool to use. The small floor jack didn't lift high enough and the transmission would just probably roll off it.

Finally I just decided to let the transmission drop down. Not straight to the floor though. I placed two cinder blocks under it and placed the old interior carpets on them for padding. Then I pulled the transmission out and carefully let it come down on the carpet. Next I added some steps and more carpets and gradually pulled the transmission down on the floor. It took a long time but finally the heaviest part was out of the car.

16. Take The Thrush Bearing Out

The thrust bearing is just placed in the groove of the clutch fork. It comes out by sliding it to the side.

17. Remove The Bellhousing

The bellhousing is attached to the engine with six bolts. I had to remove the two top ones through the hood and the other from below. Then the bellhousing should just drop down with a few slight taps.

18. Remove The Clutch

Next under the bellhousing is the clutch. It seemed that mine had been replaced at some point and was attached with six allen head bolts. Unscrew them and the clutch drops down.

19. Remove The Flywheel

The six bolts holding the flywheel were pretty tight. Turning them would just rotate the engine. So I screwed in two of the clutch bolts and placed the jack handle between them. It contacted with the exhaust pipe and prevented the engine from turning further. Then apply some force and the bolts come out.

20. Remove The Separator Plate

With the flywheel out, the separator plate under it is not held on with anything and should come out with some wiggling.

Assembly

Next I can start the assembly. I need to take the bellhousing and flywheel to a machine shop first though. To use the T5 adapter plate, two holes must be drilled to the bellhousing and I do not dare to do them by hand. They can sand the flywheel too. I'll have to ask them what they think about its condition first though. Seems that there are some small fractures in it.

T5 Swap Part 1

After the plan to fix the rust damage failed, I decided it was about time to start the bigger projects. And what better was there to start with than the transmission swap. Now I just had a problem of how to get the Mustang high enough to get the transmission out. I've been thinking about it for a while and finally figured that a good (and cheap) way to get the car up was to buy some cinder blocks and lift it on them.

I fetched ten blocks (a few extra just in case) from the nearest hardware store and got to work. I used my small floor jack to lift the front corners up and placed a block under the tires. Then I lifted the whole rear up from the axle housing and added more blocks. Finally I lifted the front again and placed another block on the first one. Now the Mustang was high enough so I placed some wedges on both sides of the tires so the car won't roll of the blocks while I'm under it.

Lifting the car took most of the evening so I had just enough time left to drain the transmission oil and remove the drive shaft. I think I'll watch through the excellent CJ Pony Parts video of the T5 swap once more before continuing.

Borg Warner T5

Well, won't you look what the cat dragged in.

Or rather, I ordered from Trade Parts and fetched from Tuusula when the parts arrived. It seems that I'll have to actually go through the T5 swap during winter.

I searched for a T5 transmission for some time and called many different possible dealers. I found a few used ones but only Trade Parts had a rebuild unit in stock. They also had some used transmissions but the price difference was not that big so I decided to get the rebuild T5. At least that way I would have some warranty.

Buying the transmission from them was convenient because they had all the other necessary parts also in stock: a new clutch, adapter plate and cross member. I thought that the conversion kit also includes the T5 yoke, but it didn't, so I'll have to get one before starting. Then it was time to find out what my tranny was made of.

The ID tag reads: E6ZR-7003-FB REP-ATI, 13-52-169 101845 H2173. The important bit is the 13-52-169 so I checked a decoder page and found out these:

• Make: Ford / World Class
• Year: 1986-1989
• Model: Mustang/Capri
• Engine: 5.0
• Max torque (lb/ft): 265
• Gear ratios: 3.35 / 1.93 / 1.29 / 1.00 / 0.68

Should fit pretty well behind my 289 V8. I'm not absolutely sure about the 3.35 first gear ratio and my 3.00:1 rear end.  Some web pages say that it might create an almost useless first gear. Well, we'll see when the transmission has been installed.