VILeninDM

I know this has been asked a few times, but I am hoping for some more opinions/details, so here goes...

After talking with you guys, it looks like I'll be going with a T56. My plan is to find the tranny at a junk yard (hopefully they still sell them, maybe it will be easier to find a used 4th gen) and rebuild the tranny myself.

Can you guys give me any advice on doing this? Is there any good kits out there? or should I buy parts for the tranny separately? Or should I not even worry about rebuilding it until I know something ain't working?

I heard these things are pretty complicated, but doable. Are there any manuals/blue prints for doing this kinda work?

88 350 tpi formula

iTrader: (9)

it is doable but, the way the t56 is made you need to use some special tools so you can set the preload after bearing replacment. if you only need to replace syncro cones and shift fork pads then you can.... get away with tools found at sears or other tool stores (although it is not recomended I have done this with out too much of a problem) just keep an eye on how everything came apart and how it was facing.

VILeninDM

Hey 88 350, thansk for the reply. Actually I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some special tools, as long as I know what they are for and where to get them. I like tools

I am not sure what I need rebuilt because I haven't even found a tranny. I guess my real question is once I find a tranny, what should I do to it so that when I put it into the car, it will work and be ready to take a beating?

Plus I figure if I do it now, I will end up with a better tranny, some more experience, and the longer it takes, the more I'll be able to save up for the other stuff

When you did your did you have a manual, or some kind of instructions?

mult68

iTrader: (1)

I have a T56 service manual in pdf format if youre interested. Email me at multiple.sixtyeight@verizon.net

88 350 tpi formula

iTrader: (9)

I down loaded the manual from tremic, printed the gm repair pages for the trans and I also took lots of pictures. was over kill but, worked

I am not sure where to get the tools other than the dealer but, tremic most likely sells them outright. keep in mind that these specialty tools cost alot!!!

if you have a highspeed service and a bit of harddrive space I still have most of the pictures

TheGreatJ

I too have the GM T56 service manual in .pdf form. It's very thorough, with a blowup diagram and individual assembly diagrams to show you how everything goes together. It gives you step-by-step procedures for tearing down and reconstructing everything in the tranny. If you're fairly mechanically inclined, I'd say you can manage this rebuild if you take your time and keep everything organized.

You'll need various size snap-ring pliers, a bearing seperator, a couple different sizes of gear puller, and one special "endplay tool" for setting the bearing clearances. This particular tool has it's own diagram on the last page of the manual, which includes dimensions, so you can print it and take it to someone who's good with a lathe and have it made from 3/4" rod stock instead of buying it outright.

I used to see minor and major T56 overhaul kits on eBay all the time. I don't know about the quality but the prices were a lot better than GM's. The minor rebuild kit is basically just synchros and shift fork pads, while the major overhaul kit has all that plus bearings and races, shims, synchro keys and springs, etc.

I got my T56 for $500, wouldn't go into 3rd and wouldn't stay in 4th. I tore it down to put a 3-4 shift fork and a set of shift fork pads in it, and left everything else alone (~$45 fix.) It's been nearly 4 years now and I haven't had a glitch out of it yet. The bearings are starting to whine a little bit bit though, so it may be nearing time for a major overhaul (I have no clue how many miles are on this thing.)

VILeninDM

Well I have the manual, thanks mult68. :hail:

Looks like very cool stuff. I already have some of the tools and looks like the only major piece I am missing is a press, but I was planning to buy one of those in august anyway .

J, I already had exactly the same thoughts on the end-play tool. I live next to RIT college and they have a very decent machine shop. I was going to see if I can find someone to help me out.

How the fudge do you get T56 for $500? I called 7 junkyards and only one had a 4th gen, and they didn't have it. I'll be calling around more tomorrow.

mult68

iTrader: (1)

No prob...hope the manual comes in handy. I got my T56 for $600.....with 70000 miles and a hurst shifter. Not a bad deal....luckily I got it from Denver though...and I have family there who said they'd bring it down for me...so i didnt have to deal with shipping charges.

TheGreatJ

Buy a broken one and fix it.


Finding a T56 in a junkyard is going to be tough. It'll have to be a small, almost-unknown yard because these tranny's are in pretty high demand. They generally don't stay in the junkyards for more than a week or 2. Keep an eye on eBay and the classifieds here and on CZ28.....you can find decent deals that way sometimes. It'll take some time to find a cheap one, I kept my eyes open for about 4 months before I found the deal I got.

VILeninDM

yeah, I hear you, J.

I called about 25 junk yards today within about 65 mile radius. One of them actually had it and they wanted $1200 for it. I was also watching few of them on ebay and one of those got sold today for $1300, but it also included bellhousing, shifter and flywheel.

Here's the link to that one (if it is going to be functional for a while):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWA%3AIT

So now I am not even sure if e-bay is a way to go since so many of people like us want those things.

Well, I'll keep looking.

TheGreatJ

Look for ads that say something along the lines of "trans has shifting problems" or "won't go into x gear." The bid won't get high on them because most people don't want to mess with tearing it down to fix it.

RB83L69

You have to have the bell housing to go with it. You can't install it without it. So, a trans without the BH, is near worthless for a swap.

The stock shifter sucks; not as bad as the T-5 shifters, but still a POS, you don't really want it. I wouldn't pay the shipping for it even if it was free.

There are several little parts that you need to make sure you get; that stuff can add up in a hurry. In particular, the slave cyl spacer, and the clutch fork, and its hardware.

If you aren't familiar with rebuilding manual transmissions, I wouldn't recommend getting a basket case; odds are, by the time you get it working right, you'll have as much money in it as you would by just starting out with one that wasn't broken in the first place. Sometimes you can get lucky, as some people obviously have; I wouldn't bet the farm on it in every case though. Remember, it's just a bunch of used auto parts. Someone else's past success with their particular one, doesn't automatically equate to that being the best thing for you to do too.

I paid $1000 for mine. It was in perfect working order, came with the BH and the little pices I mentioned. It did not come with the flywheel (no big deal, I have a 2-piece RMS motor anyway, and so can't use it), the clutch, or the hydraulics. The flywheel (forged in the fiery furnaces of Hell by 10,000 year old gnomes from pure virgin singlesourceum), clutch, hydraulics, and a Hurst Billet Plus shifter came to probably a little over another $1000. So in the grand scheme of things, a couple of hundred difference in the trans price really didn't matter a whole lot, especially not when balanced against the risk of getting one that's garabge.

VILeninDM

Thanks for the info, RB83L69.

So if I go j/y way, should I look for as many parts to go with the tranny as possible? I guess now to create a list of things.

what's a slave cyliner spacer?

So far I have
- bell housing
- slave cyl spacer
- clutch fork + hardware (do I need to be more specific, or would they know what comes with the fork?)
- flywheel (not sure which one I need, but I will deal with this one later)
- clutch (will buy new, so don't have to worry for now)
- hydrolics (should I use that from the 4th gen?)
- shifter (btw, that ebay auction had hurst shifter, not stock)

Is this pretty much the stuff between the tranny and the engine?

See, the thing is that even if I bought working one, I would want to spend ~350 bucks on rebuild kit anyway, so maybe getting one that's not in its prime is not such a bad thing (a gear is ~$100, I think). And even though I've never rebuilt a tranny, I figure the only way to get familiar with the process is to do one.

You are probably right about the price difference. The thing is that I am not looking at the whole picture right now. I need enough capital to buy things and start doing body work, suspension, and more bodywork. T56 is the major unknown (for obvious reasons), that's why I want to make sure I have it now.

Thanks for the help, you guys rock. :hail: :hail:.

I know I ask right now a lot more than answer, but someday when I have this thing on the road, I hope reverse will be true.

RB83L69

The slave cyl spacer is a block of metal about 2" thick and about the same size and shape as the cross-section of the cyl. It's hard to explain what it does and why it's there; but when you see the whole thing put together, it makes more sense.

The fork will stay attached to the trans unless somebody removes it. It has one bolt and this "T" shaped thing it rides on.

You need the 4th gen hydraulics. 3rd gen ones won't work.

VILeninDM

Hey RB83L69, so just to confirm, does that list from my previous post look more or less complete to you?

RB83L69

As far as what you can get off the donor car, you could add the torque arm and its bracket, if you want to stay with a stock rubber torque arm.

You'll need some kind of crossmember; neither the stock 3rd gen or 4th gen one will work. There are a couple of conversion ones out there. Or you could do what I did, and use a Spohn conversion torque arm with its own crossmember.

You'll have to do something about a VSS or speedo cable. The T-56 VSS gives 40 pulses per drive shaft rev or some such, where these cars take either 2 or 4 depending on which ECM and speedo you have (year model and induction). The T-56 VSS mounts in a different place, a completely different arrangement, that's incompatible with the older ones. Jags That Run is the only source I know of for a conversion tail housing, except for people that do a similar mod to their own tail housings themselves.

VILeninDM

yeah, I already have Spohn adjustable torque arm/crossmember ($375) on my list.

About the VSS, I realize there are some major incompatibilities, but I figured someone had to have done it already. I am actually planning to go with a carb and take out the ECU, so I don't know how that will effect things. The car (88 v6) originally had a mechanical spedo cable running from tranny to the dash.

So it appears at this point I have everything I need to go to junk yard and negotiate for parts.

Thanks a lot for the info

TheGreatJ

Make sure you get a '93-'97 tranny. The LS1 tranny's will not work.

I recommend new hydros, you can get the whole assembly brand new, full of fluid, and factory-bled for about $100.

If you're dumping the EFI, you have the option of going with an aftermarket speedo. Autometer's electronic speedos can be calibrated to run right off the T56 VSS, which eliminates the compatibility issue. Watch out though, the elec. Autometer speedos are pricey (around $200) and coming up with someplace to mount it can turn into yet another project.

I opted for the Skulte crossmember.....very nice piece if you plan to run the stock torque arm, but if you want the aftermarket arm anyway Spohn is the way to go.

As for the slave cyl. spacer....it's just a removable mounting flange for the slave cylinder. They had to make it removable becaue taking it off is the only way to disengage the clutch fork from the throwout bearing, and you can't pull the tranny with the clutch fork engaged. It's a vital necessity that's often left out when people sell the trans on eBay.

The stock Hurst shifter is only slightly better than the regular one. Spend the money on a Pro 5.0 or a B&M Ripper.....you'll thank yourself later.

Also I highly recommend SPEC clutches.