bloody 5 speed - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

XR8NZ · 11-26-2002, 17:33

Have a AU XR8 with a 5 speed. It must be the worst manual I have ever driven. It is notchy and the gears jam othen under extreme power. My 1969 Mustang 428 cobra jet has a smoother gear shift. Very disappointing for a modern car. A love manuals, however would recomment a auto XR8 any day.

nitroman · 11-26-2002, 18:06

i gotsta agree with u there mate, my T5 has benn rebuilt twice under warranty, 5th gear crunch both times, they should have used a Tremec 3650 as in the BA V8s, for all the money u pay you get a shit gearbox

TopGhia · 11-28-2002, 10:10

How about trying some sort of friction modifier (Jesus in a can).
Nu-lon make some gearbox stuff.

Do you remember the TV series "Minder"
Terry was talking about Arthur, said " Arthur's good allright, he was the first man to put a Bri-Nylon T shirt in a dodgy gearbox" hehe

ebxr8240 · 11-28-2002, 14:52

I guess they are using the correct oil grade? Too thick and it'l crunch on shift.They often put a thicker oil in to make it quieter...

Aussie Pete · 11-28-2002, 15:15

How do you explain the 'sh!te' gearbox in my AU2 XR8? It put up with approximately 335kW (227 at the wheels) and an estimated 650Nm+ of torque. It handled numerous runs down the quarter at Calder on the one day, the Great Ocean road flogging twice before that, and did all this without missing a beat (the only problem was the clutch getting hot).

I have a serious comment that may help you out. Have you checked the clutch adjustment? Have you checked the condition of the gearbox oil?

Until you can guarantee all factors are running fine, it's hard to criticise the design etc with any authority. For my mind the T5 is a great gearbox for the price range of car it goes into. I have found it to be reliable and well developed in my cars.

XR_Strider_GuY · 11-28-2002, 15:27

Quote:

Originally posted by Aussie Pete
For my mind the T5 is a great gearbox for the price range of car it goes into. I have found it to be reliable and well developed in my cars.

I must say i agree to what AP is saying, though i don't have anywhere near the hp's of AP's AUII XR8. Both the T5's in the EF and AU are brilliant. The one in the EF is running like clock work with 228k on the clock, and during it's life it's had some hard runs etc.

What i thought to be the gearbox wearing as i missed gears was actually a stuffed clutch cable, since the new cable it never miss's a gear.

One thing i did notice in the AU is at times getting into reverse was abit difficult but with the km's of driving it seems to be getting easier.

nitroman · 11-28-2002, 18:32

Mate ive had the box done twice under warranty, both times the same prob: crunching into 5th, the first fix went for 9 days before we had the same thing happen, until the 2nd repair has held up
PS im not the only one that this has happened to

andrewh66 · 12-01-2002, 03:59

ive had my diff center replaced and thats been good but i think the gear box is a nochey and seams to take up alil slack but once i load it up its smoth and quite but from a start at the lights when i ve slowed down with the cluch in then take off with out loading it up it will feel like bolts somewhere are lose but u bolt at tight and not moving so next rdo im taking it to a gearbox place to get them to check it out and give me a wirten report then go to ford anyo them some more i will post the ru****s of that

12-02-2002, 05:22

Hi, I had the same problem and the gears would jam up as well, and then I had a look at my manual in my GTHO Phase 111, and remembering some time ago that a guy had a Top loader jamming in gear in his XY GT.

The only thing missing from his gearbox and mine was a gearbox bracing rod, it's job is to stop the twist of the gearbox when your giving it a bit of stick.

I looked around for one to suit the XR8, but everybody that I spoke too said that I did not need one and it was a fault of the gearbox. Well, I did'nt listen to them and made my own, and since putting the brace in to stop the gearbox from flexing under high load and high RPM, all my problems have gone and have not resurfased. The price differance between upgrading to a Tremic, and the brace, well lets just say a new Tremic cost $3500, the brace cost me $28 in metal and an hour or so of my time.

I hope this may help in someway,
Bear.

andrewh66 · 12-02-2002, 21:10

so tell us about this brace where it mounts to on the gear box and where to on the cross member im asuming do u have a a pic or a drawing would help ?? thanks