Would anyone be intersted in a T5 trans swap to a 616 or 617? I am thinking of trying it and making adapters. If anyone has any interst let me know.

I would be. I have been looking for info on this for awhile and have yet to find someone who has done it. I have a S10 T5 that I was planning on installing in a 52 Ford F1 pickup but I sold that project. There is alot of info on gear ratios and swap info in the old truck forums(48-52 ford and 49-55 chevy) as this is the trans of choice for both of these. The HP and torque are close to the 617 so the info is very helpful. I have also considered a 617 into the ford with the T5 but that is at the bottom of my project list. I also have a disasembled S10 t5 if you need measurements on anything.

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1982 300DT 260,000 miles 1980 300D 209,000 miles 1979 240D 329,000 miles (totaled)

The S10 trans wont work in a car but it would be great in that old ford btu it will have to be a 4.3 trans I think. I was thinking of a 93 up camaro trans they are cheap and use a 26 spline clutch. I have a local clutch builder that I think will build whatever I want. I need a bellhousing to mock this up if anyone has one cheap let me know.

i would probly do damn near anything to put a 5 speed in my car.....
is that even possible without spending a million bucks?

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82' 300SD

I am VERY interested.

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1979 240D with a 617 turbo diesel.

Does anyone have a merc manual trans out of the car they could measure the distance from the front of the trans(without bellhousing) to the center of the shifter? I am still wondering why the S10 would not work. The shifter is further forward on these and I think the camero trans would put the shifter back too far. Either way this trans is cheap and plentiful and would be a perfect replacment to the aging 123 automatics.

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1982 300DT 260,000 miles 1980 300D 209,000 miles 1979 240D 329,000 miles (totaled)

All t5 transmissions are not created equal. Some are not well thought of, some are.

I was going to say that but I didn't want to rain on someone else's parade. At least in the off-road world most guys won't touch them. They have a reputation for being troublesome and weak. If I was going to choose a reliable, rear wheel drive 5-speed I'd use one out of a rear wheel drive Toyota. Maybe a Supra or a 2WD truck?

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http://www.seriestrek.com

I have cast iron MBZ manual sitting in my shop right now but that measurement you asked for doesn't exist. The shifter is mounted on the tranny hump, not the tranny housing.

I'd be happy to measure anything else you need.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

I would use a Tremec 5 sp rather than the T-5. But, that said, I did put a T-5 from a Thunderbird turbo coupe behind about 400HP of 351C that I had installed in my '73 Capri. That's how I learned the hard way about the various 1st gear ratios. 1st was a stump puller for getting the heavy car started with the 4cyl and basically useless in the high HP/low weight combo. I think the low weight of the car was the reason the tranny survived as well as it did.

One day, I'd like to put a T-56 into the '98 but that's a LOOOONG way up the road...

If you do go with the T-5 and if you're not planning on fully rebuilding it, at least open it up and replace the worn synchros or at the very least, the synchro tabs. You can even do the tabs without splitting the case (F/R split) for the 1-4 but since 5th is hung off the back you'll have to pull it if you plan on replacing that one as well. Usually, the worst synchros are 2 and 3. Do this and it'll shift like new.

Actually, on edit, I forgot you can't get the cover off unless you pull the tail stock so forget what I said about not having to split it... DOH

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

T-56 is the Tremec 6 speed? This is the way to go in my eyes but I haven't looked into it. What is the downside?

I have a ZF-6 from my old vette ZR1 sitting in the garage... anybody wanna make an adapter for THAT monster?
I think the tranny weighs about 350lbs, and it's about 4feet long... but otherwise how hard would it be?

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

The "T" in T-5 is for Tremec. We are not talking about huge HP and torque numbers here. Any of the t5s, S10,Camaro, Mustang will handle the 617. The reason the rodders don't like them is they are putting huge HP through them. I agree with 240djeep in that the ratios for the V6 are better suited for this and if the the shifter location works out the Camaro and Mustang V8 trans is much stronger but may be overkill for this ap. I forgot that the shifter was on the hump so I can measure my car to get the specs. I would like to know the overall length of the manual w/o the bell. Thanks.

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1982 300DT 260,000 miles 1980 300D 209,000 miles 1979 240D 329,000 miles (totaled)

I haven't kept up with who owns who or what but I think the T-56 is currently a B/W-Tremec. It's the tranny out of the Viper and a few others. Downsides are going to be about the same as any of these swaps. It boils down to:

1. How easy or possible is it to make an adapter plate/bellhousing?
2. What clutch can I use?
3. What mechanism can I use for the clutch release? Cable? Hydraulic?
4. How do I mount a clutch pedal if the car never came with one from the factory?
5. Driveshaft modifications? U-joint/Flex disk adapters?
6. Tranny mount?
7. On later cars, how do I fool the computer and keep it from throwing codes when there's no auto trans?
8. etc, etc...

If you're dong the 6sp, I would look equally at the ZF-6 or the T-56 and use the one that fit the application the best when answering the above questions.

The B/W T-5 is a totally different animal than the Tremec 5sp. Common trannys used in sports cars were the T-5, the Tremec TKO and the Tremec TR-3650.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Codes? We don't throw no steenkin' codes.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.