tranny is shot, please help

[seannz28]

i have an 82 z28 with the stock 4 speed t-10. My input shaft bearing blew out causing the input sleeve to die. I plan on rebuilding it or swapping it out for a dif one, I have a few questions though.

1. would a 5 speed from an 83 z28 work? what all would the swap entail?

2. where is a good place to get parts for the t-10? i need new input shaft, bearing, sleeve and rear seal.

3. what do you guys think i should do? would it be cheaper to rebuild it or get a used one? are the 4 speed transmissions any good anyway? Im kind of on a budget so nothing too outrageous

thanks for any info or opinions,

seann

[tabahr]

I would contact a F-body salvage lot like http://www.billygrahamscamaro.com/

Send him an email detailing your exact situation, and intent.
Ask the how much for a good 5 speed, shift linkage & shifter, and if the crossmember or driveshaft is different. Also ask about the bellhousing, clutch and linkage.

He could possibly sell you a conversion kit including trans, shifter, linkage, xmember, belhousing. Otherwise, He may have a used 4 speed for ya.

Another idea.. If you are taking the tranny out, it might be a good time for a new clutch anyway. How many miles are on it?

[seannz28]

i have a new oem clutch kit to go in on the 4 speed, thats why i was wondering if a clutch from a 4 speed would work on a 5 speed tranny, i know its a long shot but it seems like it would bolt up. the tranny has 138k

[Flash 97 WS/6]

One quick bit of advice, I don't know if the '83 5 speed will bolt up or not, but if you find out it will, try to find a later model 5 speed! The '83 was a real POS!! I'm not sure when they started making them stronger (find out when the 5 speed became available with a 350...86 or 87 I think?). I had an 83 305 Z and trashed the tranny 6 (yes 6!) times in just over a year...expensive lessons for a 17 year old! Broken gears and or counter shaft every time with a near stock engine...the gears were just way too "light duty". (And possibly I had a bad habit of shifting just a bit too aggressively )

[Danimal]

The T5 trans never came with the 350ci engine. The first year for the "improved T5" was in 89. I had one in my 89 bird with a 5.0 and it lasted more and a 145K miles of abuse.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

There is a place here in Atlanta that sells the gear parts. I can't think of the name of the place. Where are you located at?

There are 2 models of the T5. The "non world class" and the "world class". The "non world class" has flat synchros while the "world class" has cone shaped synchros and some upgraded gears and slightly different ratios. I'm not sure what year GM switched from one to the other. Ford switched from the "non world class" T5 to the "world class" T5 in the mid year of 84.

[seannz28]

im in portland oregon, i fi could just get ahold of an input shaft id be set.

[seannz28]

wow, 4-speeds blow

So I'm driving it a coule weeks after I bought this 82 z28 and it sounds like somethings draging...nothing was draging. the sound kept getting worse and worse, and I experienced some other symptoms that dealt with the transmission. I figured it was just the throwout bearing, so I bought a new one. when I pulled the trany from the car I found a whole mess of [*****] problems in it. The imput bearing had blown out, the imput shaft's teeth were all chewed up and the retainer sleeve was busted in half.

Does anybody know of any god info sites on Saginaw transmissions? I have all the parts, but I was in such a fury when I was taking the transmission apart that I forgot to mark how to put it back together all the snap rings and washers and key ways have me a bit frustrated.

[*****EDIT by Moderator] Welcome to the board. You will note from the agreement you acknowledged when joining that this kind of langauge is not permitted on a "family" oriented board. Future inclusion of this language will be cause for removal from the site.

[seannz28]

by the way...This may seem like a dumb question, but here it goes...The reason I wanted to find a 5 speed out of an 83 is because in 84 they started using hydrolic clutches instead of a mechanical clutch...does the difference in the clutch have any affect of how the transmission was built to bolt up to it?

Correction....its not a t-10, it is a saginaw.

[Injuneer]

This will be merged with the other thread regarding your tranny problems.