The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline T-5 into a 3/4 Ton?

Howdy,

I am planning on putting a T-5 into a long 127" wheelbase 3/4 ton panel. The problem is the panel has the slip joint in the center of the two piece drive shaft, not in the front at the back of the tranny that the T-5 requires. Any suggestions?

Les

Have a new one piece driveshaft made... if possible. Rule of thumb the driveshaft can be one piece and have the slip joint in front if it is less than 5 feet. You might need to make the driveshaft out of 4 inch tube. Any competant driveline shop should be able to make you a new driveline for less than $500.

A t5 might be a bit light for a working 3/4 ton truck... espeacially a 5500 lb. panel truck. You might consider a stronger transmission if you plan to use the truck.

X2

You can use a 2 peice propshaft, Many S10s had them.

Ok guys, make a suggestion as to tranny type. What I really want is overdrive for the highway. According to what info I have found, the Panel weighs 4023lb as shipped. Mine has a 250 L6 which I am very happy with, and is one of 1779 units built as 3/4 ton in 1969. I have access to a tranny out of a '95 4.3 S-10 which is supposed to be a WC, (I think ALL t-5s were WCs in '95.) Although the S-10 it is in is about 1000lbs lighter than my panel, the V-6 in the S-10 puts out over 40hp more than my 250. It seems to me that it aught to work out ok, but who knows. I'm open to suggestions.

gm never used any T5 behind a 4.3L v6. they used an NV3500

@complexvariable Thanks for clearing that up. Now how about some suggestions as to a transmission I can use, although I feel like a T-5 will work.

The A833 will stand up a little better than a T5. The A833 is only a 4 speed though. Another great but pricey option would be a NV4500 5 speed from a 1994-1997 Dodge 2wd.

Of course there are other options such as the ranger and saturn od, as well as the gear venders od.

I personally prefer the NV4500, but the A833 is a fairly simple swap. The only hurdle in the A833 swap is the diameter of the bearing retainer, which is 5.125 inches. In earlier years the bearing retainer would have to be turned down to 4.686 inches, or the bellhousing bored out. You can find a bellhousing that has a factory bore of 5.125 inches for your 69. If you have a 4 speed on the floor in your truck now, you already have the correct bellhousing.

The 4.3L V6/T5 combo was found in the 85-89 Astro/Safari vans.
See tag nos. 1352-101,148,149,164,179,189 at this T5 ID site.

http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Borg-Warner-T5-ID-Tags.htm

@bigbadswingdaddy, You're not kidding the NV4500 is pricey at $1000 to $3500 for the transmission alone, they must be made of solid gold! The 3500s can be had for a bit less, but they get you into hydraulic clutches and yet more hassles. The A833 has been around so long that the bugs are out and I'm sure a clutch can be made up but you're putting a Chrysler tranny in a Chevy so you have to work out the adapters and shifter, as well as drive shaft. The Astro Vans weigh 3800+ dead empty and gross out at 7500. According to Randy Luton they came with a 4.3 and a T-5 in '84 -'89, or almost EXACTLY the same as my '69 panel and it has a 4.1L 155hp in line 6! I think I'll change the drive shaft and go with the T-5! I'll still have to have a 2 piece drive shaft because it runs through the rear cross member! Thanks for everyone's input.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Les

Gm used a version of the A833 in some pickups that has the same 10 spline 1 1/8 input and the standard gm bellhousing pattern. This version is also sometimes referred to as an MY6 transmission. Several bolters have swapped this incarnation into their bolts. It is a sideshifting transmission and will relocate the shifter from the factory 4 on the floor location.

T5s are more abundant and fairly cheap. If the s10 version doesn't work, you can try making a hybrid from a camaro with the s10 tailhousing, or getting a tremic transmission.

HP will not really be a factor for you, but weight and torque could be. The t5 will likely work well for a light duty 3/4 ton. It would probably not fair to well in 3/4 ton that routinely hauls heavy loads or pulls trailers.

@bigbadswingdaddy, The above is VERY good food for thought! I had a Volarie in '77 that had that transmission behind a slant 6 and It worked good. There is NO question that that would be a good choice, but finding one may be a problem. GM is all over the place with HP/Torque specs in the 1970s and later, not only because of how they measure them, but because of all the pollution stuff introduced for carbed engines about that time. T-5s are the same way in their ratings, with the NWC behind the 2.4 being rated to handle 240lbft and the WC 5.0HO being rated for 330lbfts! The VERY BEST the 250/4.1L L6 is rated for as out put torque is 235lbfts. All this is a technical way of saying you can tear up ANY transmission if you really want to! I bet it's harder to break an A833/MY6 than a T-5 though! Thanks a lot for the input!

best wishes,

Les