I think it's fairly common knowledge that when going into reverse, a T5 will grind unless you shift to a forward gear (like, 2nd) first before engaging reverse. At least, I think all foxbody 5spd's have this problem.

I also go through the same problemwith Overdrive. My car will grind going into 5th unless I allow time for the flywheel to slow down and match the speed of the tranny.. Kinda sucks when bangin' gears on the highway...

So my question is, Do T5's have synchros on 5th?

 

on mine i have to come to a complete stop first the push in the clutch and into revers..
takes a bit more time but know grind.

 

fifth gear has a brass synchro, reverse has no synchro. but over time with wear and abuse, they will start to get a little 'crunchy! you shouldn't be banging into fifth anyway! lol
fifth gear is really weak, as well as reverse, not only are they on the outside of the case, but thaey have fine teeth, so they are prone to break!

 

You are correct sir! And have shown me that fact

I think Patty's car last year is a very good example of what happens when you "load up" 5th gear.....

He was heading down the 115 in his 398RWHP (then) LX Notch and had a "lets see how fast the car goes" moment, so, he got it right up to overdrive, 4,500RPM and she started building 8lbs of boost then BANG!!!, back wheels lock up, he almost lost her (thank god there were no other cars on the road) The tranny then developed a nice shake in all gears under any sort of load.

So yes, 5th is weak

 

Reverse as you've explained it is normal.
A slight grind into 5th is also pretty normal if shifted hard / fast. It is due to wear but usually never gets much if any worse. Unless your feeling rich it's best left till your trans has any other issues.

 

Information I have found about the T5, during my research. Hope it helps.


The factory rear bearing retainer will stretch and distort under severe loads and the bearing race is ONLY supported by the aluminum case. So whether you are pulling heavy RPM's off the line or doing high speeds in 5th gear these design flaws can cause the counter gear to rock up and down on the taper of the counter gear bearings. This rocking motion will elongate the rear bearing bore in the case. It will also cause excessive clearance on 5th gear causing premature 5th failure.

After market retainer plate verses Factory retainer.

 

I've never powershifted into anything over 3rd gear, and I've been pretty easy on my Overdrive. However, I usually sit in 5th @ 3,000rpm on clear highways.. I don't imagine that speed could be doing much damage.. or could it?

Thanks for the replies guys

 

how much fluid do these take ? i think i might have over filled mine

 

You pull the top plug and fill it until it comes out that plug.

 

Question - if you were to overfill a T5 a little, would it be possible it would leak a little out the front at/around the throwout bearing retainer? Just did my clutch and I basically just topped it up with what it lost [which wasn't much cause I have an extra yoke I put in once the D/S comes out] and now it's got a bit of a leak oozing between the bellhousing and front of trans... before clutch swap it was dry as a fart.