My T5 Swap

Nick Stewart
Alright so I just finished up my T5 swap so I figured I’d post for anyone else doing the swap and might like some extra information.

The parts I used:


Procedures:
While I had the transmission on the bench, I removed the shifter boot, or what was left of it, and saw a lot of dirt and crud in the shifter, so I decided to pull it and rebuild it. For this you will need a welder and grinder. Basically there is a clamshell that holds the whole assembly together with three tabs. All you need to do is grind off the one tab that faces the back of the transmission and the plate should slide off exposing the guts (Feel free to try to pry the tab, but I can guarantee you it will just fracture and break off). Make note of the three metal spring plates, they will be three different colors and you’ll need to know how they go back. From here, I removed everything that was removable, cleaned it and put it back together will a small amount of grease. Once you have the plate back in the clamshell, you will have to clamp the end that you grinded the tab off of and tack it together with a welder. From here you can re-attach it to the transmission.

Next I grabbed the bellhousing off my 3 speed and the adapter plate and got drilling. Even with a transfer punch and a cheapy drill press I was slightly off, so I used a round file to help. From here you should be able to attach the adapter to the bellhousing and attach it to the transmission. The bolts the adapter came with were over 1/2 inch too long so I just reused the ones from the 3 speed. I’m not sure if anyone will run into this, but when looking at the bellhousing against the transmission, the top left bolt hole (not one that you have to drill) was slightly off from the other 3 so I had to round it out some on the transmission side. 

For a clutch/pressure plate setup I used one out of a 1980 Fairmont. The great thing about using it is the fact that instead of the old style 3 finger pressure plate its a diaphragm style. It also appeared to be cheaper and much easier to find. You’ll also have to adjust your clutch linkage to suit as the engagement area is smaller.

You don’t need a new slip yoke unless yours is in bad condition. I used mine that was originally in the C4 before I swapped in a 3 speed and still used the slip yoke. One thing you will need to do once you have the transmission in the car is measure the driveshaft length needed. People have been fine with the stock length, some needed theirs shortened. I fell into the needing it shortened category. After much searching, I found that you could get a driveshaft from an Explorer with 2WD and the 4l engine, I used one from a 97′, and it would be 50 3/4 inches. The nice part is that it is aluminium and cheap to get at the pull yard (mine was $20!) If you go this way, you will also need new u-joints. I got mine for cheap at O’Reillys, part 353. Basically, they are conversion u-joints and will let you use your original slip yoke on one end and an original rear end such as an 8″ or the original 7″. For the back one however….you will either need to buy another ujoint, an oem for your car, or if you recently replaced yours you can just grab the two caps off the one you already have. Why? The rear end yoke has different caps than what come on the new ujoints.

For the crossmember, I ended up just using the original C4/ 3 speed one with slight modifications. I had to have it mount 1 inch lower than it did, so I took some angle steel with holes [http://www.lowes.com/pd_69816-37672-11111_4294684420__?productId=3059263&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=] (Mine is a larger gauge of steel than this) and cut it to have a piece with two holes, then cut it at the corner so it was flat with two holes and used them to help drop it down about the inch that I needed. I ran to Lowes and picked up some 4″ grade 8 bolts to bolt them up. Ideally you could just use some steel stock and drill it at the length you need and drill, but I had this on hand and worked out perfect. 

When it comes time to fill the transmission, if you waited to you had it installed to fill it, then what you’ll want to do is buy your ATF (I bought Mobil 1 synthetic ATF) and also a fluid pump. I got mine at Advanced Auto Parts for $6 dollars, and it comes with two tubes, one for using quart bottles the other for gallons. It also came with this handy clip that would clip into the fill hole of what you are filling, in my case, the T5. With the dual exhaust/headers, not having that clip would have made the process 1000 times worse. As it is, it takes a lonnnggg time to pump almost 3 quarts of fluid in.

As for the backup light, I thought it was insane to pay almost 50 bucks for a conversion harness, so I made my own! I took the harness from the T5 and snipped off the connector that would plug into the 88′ Mustang harness and tossed it in the trash (mine was broken). Using the 2 pole extension, I cut it in half (not really in half, I cut about 2 inches from the one) and used the one and jumpered the two wires together, soldered and heat shrinked it. With the other, I soldered (and I don’t believe it matters which colors you connect) the extension cable onto the wires from the T5 connector and heat shrinked them. Now you will have a jumper for the neutral lockout, and you will have the cable for the reverse light! If you don’t care about cutting your 3 speed reverse switch harness, you could substitute that in as well.

The floor. I had to cut some of the floor around the shifter area so that the T5 shifter base wouldn’t rub against it. It was only a small chunk though. Also, measure 4 times, cut once. I originally had the transmission sitting more towards the drivers side and cut what I thought needed cut out, but once I cut it, the transmission shifted and all the cutting was for naught. Then realized I just needed the small cut on the passenger side by the top right screw that would hold down the old shift boot.


Since I didn’t want this huge hole in the tunnel, I decided to take some sheet metal and make a plate to cover it. It has a nice square hole where the shift comes through, and covers the giant hole in the tunnel. From here I just used some self tapping screws to attach it so I can remove it whenever I need to. I also painting both sides black to protect against rust. You can also see how the lower shift boot pushes right up against the bottom of the plate and hole, keeping road dirt and grime out of the upper shift boot.



As for a shifter, The one that came with the T5 is way too small. I basically have to have my head in the steering wheel to reach it. I was thinking about getting a 10″ hurst shifter for it, but at this point, I think I am going to craft my own. I have some nice thick plate steel to work with, so I made one! I clamped it to the shifter assembly (the chunk of plate steel) determined about the angle I wanted and length, marked and used my angle grinder to cut. The used the drill press to drill two holes to attach it to the shifter assembly. From here, I chopped off the threaded end from the original shift arm (which was wayyyyy too short!), drilled a hole at the end of the shifter, then ground into the hole to make it square and slid the threaded rod into the end. Next I welded the threaded rod into the hole to have an end for the shift knob to screw onto. Then it was as simple as profiling it down with the grinder, sanding it down and beveling the edges, painting it silver and good to go! The picture didn’t turn out well, but here it is:



Extra Information:
My car originally came with a C4. I dropped it and swapped in a 3 speed, reusing the slip yoke, trans mount, crossmember, driveshaft, and speedo cable. The only problem that I ended up having with the swap was the stupid equalizer bar that attached to the clutch pedal and z bar. Something just wasn’t right and it wouldn’t fit correctly. I researched for a while and couldn’t find why I was having this issue. I still don’t! I made sure I got the right parts, but something didn’t work right. I ended up getting some heavy duty threaded rod, 7/16 inch, a bunch of thin nuts, and some female threaded with grease fitting Steel Ball Joint Rod Ends from McMaster-Carr. Cost me 36 bucks. This helped out tremendously with the new clutch, since the lower clutch equalizer bar was on the limit of the threads, which I didn’t like and they were starting to show some aging…The basic idea with mine is that you cut off a chunk and put it through the clutch pedal and tighten nuts on both sides (I used two per side to create a nice locking nut setup), from here do the same thing to the equalizer bar. Now you can measure how much you need between the pedal shaft and equalizer shaft you just installed. Then you just thread on a nut to both sides and the Ball Joint Rod End. This setup gives a lot of adjustability. Not only can you turn the Rod Ends to increase and decrease the length between the pedal and equalizer bar, but you can also adjust where it comes through the firewall, which was the problem with the other shaft. I was able to center it perfectly in the hole in the firewall. Before you go using it though, make sure to pump some grease in it! It’s held up great for over a year and I am really glad I did it. I mean not only is it cheaper, but better!

Parts list for custom bar:
  • 4444T221 : Steel Ball Joint Rod End with Grease Fitting, 7/16″-20 Right-Hand Female Shank, 7/16″ Ball ID, 15/16″ L Thread
  • 92580A110 : ASTM A193 Grade B7 Alloy Steel Threaded Rod, Plain Finish, 7/16″-20 Thread, 3′ Length
  • 94846A520 : Zinc-Plated Grade 5 Steel Thin Hex Nut, 7/16″-20 Thread Size, 11/16″ Width, 1/4″ Height, Packs of 50
  • 96659A109 : 18-8 Stainless Steel Type A SAE Flat Washer, 7/16″ Screw Size, 59/64″ OD, .05″-.08″ Thick, Packs of 10

Also, Even with the new shorter driveshaft I needed more slack, so I modified my engine mounts to shift the engine up about 1/2 inch. I’ve only run into one problem…The monty carlo bar now blocks my valve cover breather. Also, not really a problem, but sort of is, is I needed a thinner fan. I decided to go with 2x 10 inch fans and put one towards the top corner and the other towards the opposite bottom corner of the radiator. They work great! Only cost me 40 dollars too! It keeps it much cooler from what I have seen so far than the 16″ one I had on there. I’ll try to keep this updated with any new information.

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