how do you check/add gear oil?

[1jimmy__d]

just wondering how to do this and where it is located. getting the shifter into gear has been not so smooth since ive owned tha car. it seems to go in with 2 pushes, like a cl;ick click, but tihs no sound(if that makes sense). it is probably the syncros, but would gear oil affect that too? If so, how do i check and add if needed oil? I ned the steps broken down for a 2 year old if possible! thanks,

jim

[canukracer]

the fill plug is on the right hand side when your sitting in the car there are 2 plugs, lower one is the drain the one above is the fill these plugs are pipe thread so don't keep tightening them or your will crack the transmission!! I know because a buddy of mine did it=jb weld fix >the top drain plug removed put your pinky finger in the hole then take it out and see if any oil is on your finger if not it's low.... use synthetic gear oil. do a dump and fill think 3quarts=full

[Mountain Main]

Some people recommend changing your transmission fluid every time you change your oil. I do. T-5's are pretty week transmission. They were originally built for Four cylinders. They did beaf up the componets in the later fox bodies. T-5 uses Mercury Dextron ATF Fluid. \

Late

Mountain Main

Originally posted by Mountain Main
Some people recommend changing your transmission fluid every time you change your oil. I do.
Late

Mountain Main

That's ridiculous. Changing your tranny fluid every 3,000 miles?! That could get expensive and time consuming. But I know some people really like to maintain their babies...so to each their own. Waiting 10K to 30K in between tranny fluid changes is fine. I do mine every 15K to 20K.

[1jimmy__d]

do you think this could cause the tough shifting? AND can i roll her up on ramps in reverse and reach there you think? thanks

Originally posted by 1jimmy__d
do you think this could cause the tough shifting? AND can i roll her up on ramps in reverse and reach there you think? thanks

Well it could cause tough shifting I guess. Change the tranny fluid and then see how it is. Got to start somewhere. You'll need the car up on jack stands on all fours...level...as it would be sitting on all four tires on the ground. I've never added the oil through the inside of the car though. But even for draining it...I'd imagine you'd need the entire car raised up somewhat. Good luck.

[andy669]

I'd check the clutch cable first.

Andy

[1jimmy__d]

i pulled up on the cable to see if that helped any a few days ago with no luck. is there anything else i could do to check that?

[canukracer]

where does the clutch pedal let out at?if it's at the top,your clutch is at the end of it's life/is the pedal easy to push in or is it stiff?

[1jimmy__d]

it catches at the bottom still. this clutch is harder to push in than my other clutch. i used to have (on another stang) a king cobra clutch WITH an adjustable link quadrant thingy?? I think this car has only the king cobra clutch with the stock cable!

[canukracer]

startin to think tranny jimmy sorry.is it just first gear that is hard to put in gear or all gears?

[RDRZ]

One thing you might want to check real quick is where your bellhousing bolts up to the block. In my 4x4, which I used to do some serious wheeling, the bolts rattled loose and every time I pushed in the clutch, the bottom of the bellhousing and the block flexed apart. I knew something was wrong when I couldn't get it into first gear very easily - it was almost like it went in in two stages. Two bolts actually rattled out, so you might just want to check real quick and make sure all your bolts are snug.

[1jimmy__d]

ill have to check that rdrz. when you say tranny, what exactly do you mean? clutch, cable, syncros?? no gear is smooth when changing. It isnt hard as hell to get in gear by any means, BUT it does take "two stages" sort of to get in!! car still runs fine and everything, so im sure i have a while before i need to do anything I hope!!!

[crazypete]

I dont know about you guys, but I have never been able to get that top plug out of the t5 cause the exhaust is totally in the way. You drain from the bottom plug completely and then go inside the car, remove the shifter handle, cover plate and the base of the shifter and pour exactly 3 quarts into the back and let it work it's way down. I think the spec calls for 2.8 quarts. Use redline and you wont have to change it that often.

With the problem you described: I had something similar and it turns out that some dufus had filled the tranny with heavy heavy gear oil instead of atf and when the proper fluid was in, she shifted like a charm. When I switched to redline, it got even better and seemed actually to improve a bit with time. I guess some gummed up parts came loose or something. NEVER EVER use any of that transmittion fix it fluid. Made the shifts really really hard.

Originally posted by 1jimmy__d
It isnt hard as hell to get in gear by any means, BUT it does take "two stages" sort of to get in!!

Well, even a brand new T5 has that one, two feeling when shifting through each gear slowly. I wish I could recreate the sound through text...but we all know the sound and feeling I'm speaking of when slowly shifting into each gear. Was your other Mustang a stick? If so, did it shift easier than this one? Your synchros could be going...or you could just be overanalyzing the situation. Do you ever misshift when at the track? Do you powershift it? If so, has the shifting become more difficult since your last few times at the track? Definitely change the fluid since you might not know exactly when the previous owner changed it or had it changed. And spend the extra $$ for a good tranny fluid like crazypete mentioned...Redline is great...Royal Purple Synchromax fluid is also supposed to be good for high performance manual transmissions. Let us know if it gets better after the fluid change.

[1jimmy__d]

my other car was a t5 and it had syncro problems. had a really hard time shifting in to 3rd fast without missing. this car isnt as bad as that one. My brother has a stang too and his shifts like a dream. very smooth and precise. the track hasnt made a difference to it that i noticed. has always been the same before and after! i do powershift from 1st to 2nd and 3rd to 4th, not from 2nd to 3rd though. i think i will check the oil and add that red line stuff. i had to have my syncros "shaved" down on my other car. maybe this will have to be the same, or can you buy new ones?