92 bird

johnrada

Registered User
My dad just got me a 92 bird SC with a 5 speed m5r2 tranny. I had no experience with a manual transmission and bs'd my way from his house. Yes, I destroyed the snychros. I can use the car but will never be able to use it the way it should be. I just need to have someone point me in a direction to fix my problem.

I really like the car. The body is in great shape, 104k miles and everything works so far. The car was sitting for a year or two before pops picked it up for me.
Thanks for any help.

JJR
 
my mistake

Pops has always done his best to get me what I wanted. Originally I asked him to get me a Talon or something like that. I told him I knew how to drive a stick and had a little experience with my x girlfriends car. He got me this car and he said I would be much happier with it over a rice car.

Like I said, I muttered my way away from his house and made a few mistakes shifting. The car is great but I had no idea of what he got for me. Lesson learned I would like to fix the car so it is not so delicate to drive. I am sure I need synchro rings. I am babying the gears so as not to do severe damage.

If you can point me in the right direction, that is all I ask. I live in NJ. I have searched past forums and have gathered a lot of information. I want to make the right decision before money is spent and I ask pops for help.

Thanks for any help!
 
Hey, get the kit if you're planning tearing apart the transmission. If you don't want to spend the 365 some odd bucks, you can buy the synchros separately, but call Southern Gear and see what parts they can hook you up with. Otherwise, you can order the individual bearings and races through NAPA. It might take a while for them to look them up, but they do sell them.

I rebuilt my M5R2 a little over a year ago. It shifts great now. however, there's a wierd vibration when you rev the car in neutral (over 4500 rpm's). So, that's going to need some looking into.

Get a hold of a copy of the shop manual for your car. You can probably find someone on eBay selling them for under 40 bucks.

you'll need to make a tool to take the rear bearing off of the output shaft. I made one using an old tube from the guts of my old stock shocks & a 3-jaw puller. I had a local muffler shop weld it all together. It's tight! ;-)

PM me if you have any questions.
 
A big thanks

Thanks, I got up the nerve to tell pops and he took it well. (it's great to be loved) He made a call to Southern Gear and they are going to hook him up with the parts. He also asked them if they could rebuilt the tranny there and they said yes they do. They would charge 150.00 for labor plus parts. He is actually driving near Atlanta in a week or 2 and he may just drop it off on his way down and pick it up on his way back. He said he could do it but for 150.00 they definitely would know how to do it better. Asking him to take it out is work enough I think. He may still decide for us to do it together so I would understand how hard it is to take care of what I have. What ever the out come, I will post the progress and thank you very much for your offer to help.

I really like this SC I would say car but it is a lot better than a car, it has a lot of potential.

He also said that while we have it apart we should replace the pressure plate and disc. Any suggestions in that direction. rock auto has a compl;ete pilot toll, pressure plate, disc and piltot bearing for around 200.00, is that about normal?

an SC friend
 
You will definitely get a GREAT understanding of how the transmission works if you fix it yourself. Also, you'll not beat the crap out of the synchros b/c you'll know how big of a job it is to replace them. $150 sounds real cheap for a rebuild.

As far as a clutch and pressure plate go, you could go stock with a LUK clutch kit. It's very affordable as far as clutches go. That'll come with the Throw-Out Bearing, pressure plate, alighment tool and friction plate. (it might even come with a new Pilot Bearing).

I got the SPEC Stage II clutch in my car and it's a LOT heavier than stock, however, it'll grip like velcro. :) Not fun in traffic, but like most things with performance, it's a trade off.

Don't feel too bad about tearing up the trans. When I got my first t-bird, I demolished the M5R2 in about 2 months. It was great!!!!!!!!! But, I definitely don't drive it like that anymore.

The synchros are there to slow down the one gear (the one you're leaving) and speed up the other gear (the one you're shifting into). So, there's a friction and "squeezing out of trans-fluid" action going on there. When someone first drives a 5-spd t-bird, it seems like it doesn't shift very well, b/c you'll be trying your darndest to get that shifter into third gear and it just won't go. I know I punched the dash a few times trying to slam it into third. Now, I try to not shift it at rpm's over 4000 and when I do, I give the shifter steady pressure holding it against the gear I want to go into. When it's ready, it engages. Forcing it into gear is just wearing the life out of the synchros.
 
Thanks

Mike:
Thanks for your help and information. I think pops is going to bring it to Southern Gear. He says if there is anything else that needed to be replaced they would have the parts on hand and would solve the "we need to replace this also" scenario during a rebuild.

Less down and aggrevation time. He says if you have most of the parts and faced with a waiting game sometimes you make a rash decision and put it together quicker than you should just to get it on the road. I hate to say it but I think he is probably right. I am very impatient.

Once again I really appreciate your info and help.

JRada
 
you're welcome. please post up here how you like the rebuild job from Souther Gear.

Also, are you going with the sand/glue synchros that they sell as replacements to the paper synchros that come from the factory? or are you getting the brass ones?
 
Brass

Southern Gear only supplies the brass synchros. From what I have searched in the forum it is hard to find the fibre lined synchros. What do you recommend we do?
 
put a post in the parts wanted section and one in the tech section. Ask around if anyone has any. There have been people on here who have talked about having some fancy carbon fibre lined ones being made, but I've never seen anything come of it.

Brass is supposed to be better in that it's constructed to a more exact size than any of the lined synchros, but the trade off is that they don't grab as well as the lined ones. I've never driven a car with brass synchros, but that's what I've heard.

I have the sand/glue ones that Southern Gear sold me a few years ago and they've held up well. So far. When I'm at low rpms and shifting, it works like a clock.
 
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