Rebuilding a T5 questions
 

Can a V-6 T5 be rebuilt to WC V8 specs? This tranny has an input shaft that is shorter and smaller in dia. I know Ford Motor Sport has a kit to convert the early V8 T5 to WC specs, but will it work in the V6 tranny?
Now, is this something the "average" do-it-yourself mechanic (namely me) can do with hand tools? Is there a book or anything out there that would help?
I have some time on my hands (out of work) so I think I'd like to try this.
Thanks for any replies.

Mike, it would be logical to me that you could just swap input shafts....that's the way it is on a Toploader...if you wanna go from a small input to a large input (albeit other considerations must be met), you just swap them out. It would make sense that the cases are the same.

Is the mainshaft (output shaft) strong enough to hold V8 torque? You may have to change it as well.

It shouldn't be that bad of a job to change an input shaft, if that's all you have to do. If it's like a Toploader, you'll have to drop the layshaft (countershaft) out of the way to get it out...and it just pulls out...The mainshaft in a Toploader rides inside of the input shaft...so there's a dozen or so needle roller bearings that it rides in. These will undoubtedly spill out....and will need to be retrieved and replaced with new ones.

It's probably a tiny bit above the average mechanic...but how else do you learn? Jump in there and do it. That's how you get to master mechanic from average. :)

You'll need a bearing press to press the input bearing off, and it wouldn't hurt to have a good quality seal driver. I usually use a press to press seals in....but a seal driver would probably work best.

I know nothing about T-5's....but here's some answers I would try to find.

1. Does the mainshaft need to be changed?
2. Do I have to find an input shaft with the correct ratio gear?
3. Will the pilot of the V6 mainshaft fit inside a V8 input shaft? (I've never seen the inside of one of these tranny's...so I'm speculating this is how it works.)

I don't know of any good books...but most tranny rebuild kits come with detailed instructions.

Yes, it can be rebuilt as a world class T5. But, different input shaft, different gears, different synchronizers, and maybe a few other items I didn't mention. The best avenue to take is find someone who rebuilds T5's and they may have old transmissions lying around and perhaps they could swap some parts for you or maybe trade the whole tranny for another one. If you're going to build an engine with over 400 hp I'd forget about the T5 altogether and look for a toploader or tremec.
h dog