quick update and T5 swap in the 88TC!

Hey guys! Been a while since i've posted nay updates on here about my 88TC. Had my driver side wheel bearing blow on the highway and almost ran me into a median, after getting the car towed home I left it to sit for a few months without any motivation to fix it. Debated on selling it as I have a few other cars that I'm working on as well  (along with college and work) so i always had my hands full. Finally got some motivation to get her fixed after seeing it covered in dust in front of my apartment and finding a "we buy junk cars" card on the windshield. Little do they know as dirty as she is, she only has 28k miles on her so she cleans up very nice!

Took forever to find the right spindle as when the bearing blew it sheared the spindle quite a bit so new inner bearings wouldn't fit on. Ended up spending about 300$ on spindles from salvage yards on ebay and such haha, the first time i didn't research quite enough and didn't see that the spindle from a 2.3 foxbody wouldn't fit my struts. Decided screw it and proceeded to angle grind down the top part pf the spindle where it sits in the front strut, after about 3 hours it was able to fit, just to find out that the caliper mounting brackets didn't fit my rotor lol. So after a lot of foul language I got back onto ebay and found a spindle from what stated was a mustang GT which would fit! After a week of waiting it arrived and was actually off of a 2.3, meaning it would not fit. Ordered another one and this time it was actually off of a GT however the spindle had a few marks on the underside and after what happened with my last bearing, I was not going to take any chances so I put it aside, and found a great condition one from a part yard near me in LA. After finally putting my new spindle on, I decided that I might as well replace the passenger side as well. This time it went much smoother and I had it on by the end of the week. Got a new set of rotors and brake pads as well since my wheels were already off!

Now that the car is on the road again I decided that I want to start making some power, besides my 3" stinger exhaust and cone filter the car is bone stock motor wise. Unfortunately I have the A4ld which means that if I want to do anything else ill need to swap in a T5. So now I have a new project for this car! I'm going to start gathering all of the parts needed, I plan on doing the swap myself for 2 reasons: 1. im a broke college student and the swap itself will cost quite a bit let alone paying someone to do it for me and 2. I dont feel like its a car I "built" myself if I'm paying someone to do all the hard work for me.

Did quite a bit of research on here as well as turboford and the Stinger website, I gathered the list of parts that I believe Ill need so feel free to add anything that I'm forgetting

-t5 transmission from 4cyl mustang/turbo coupe
-crossmember
-wiring harness
-shifter
-clutch plate
-pressure plate
-flywheel
-shifter trim from an 87/88 TC
-hydraulic pedal assembly (decided to go hydraulic after reading through the forum as it seemed to be the easiest)
-clutch slave/master cylinder with the hose and reservoir
-bellhousing
-clutch fork

Would I be able to use the t5 out of a ranger with the lima 2.3? I seem to have a much easier time finding those trannys available and for much cheaper.

prices on this stuff surprised me quite a bit, definitely didn't expect to see those prices on t5 trannys. so this swap will take me quite a bit as it isnt as cheap as I first thought haha

anyone that has any of these parts available feel free to Pm or leave a comment, id feel much better buying from a member on here than someone else online  If you're located in California I'm willing to drive to pick it up with my truck if not then ill gladly pay the shipping cost!

Thanks in advance guys!
-Ryan

Hi Ryan,
I've never done the swap but remember the broke college days.
The T5 in the TC's are World Class T5 (T5 WC) so a bit stronger than the NA 4 cylinder models. Either will fit but not sure if the gear ratios are the same or not plus how it will hold up. Others can comment in here.
Have you done searches on car-part.com? It searches out the junkyards for you.
It sounds like perhaps the best thing for you would to find a '87-88 TC parts car for the conversion.
-Mike

Hi Ryan,
I've never done the swap but remember the broke college days.
The T5 in the TC's are World Class T5 (T5 WC) so a bit stronger than the NA 4 cylinder models.  Either will fit but not sure if the gear ratios are the same or not plus how it will hold up.  Others can comment in here.
Have you done searches on car-part.com?  It searches out the junkyards for you. 
It sounds like perhaps the best thing for you would to find a '87-88 TC parts car for the conversion.
-Mike

I agree, finding a 87-88 TC to use as a parts car would be amazing because then i would already have all the parts needed and know how and where they need to go, however i'm not sure i would have enough room to store it at my apartment, let alone be allowed to. Which is the problem i'm running into.

I do have a 1 car garage where I do most of my repairs/installs so that's where i'll
be doing the swap. Unless I can find a buddy with a lift and parking for a parts car of course.

I'll be sure to check out carpart!

just did the T5 swap a couple months ago it wasn't too bad

one thing you also need is the firewall boot that the steering column goes through since it's how the clutch master mounts

also you need flywheel bolts since the ones for the auto are too short

make sure the pedals and bellhousing you get are from an 87/88 TC since it was the only one to get the hydraulic setup

just did the T5 swap a couple months ago it wasn't too bad

one thing you also need is the firewall boot that the steering column goes through since it's how the clutch master mounts

also you need flywheel bolts since the ones for the auto are too short

make sure the pedals and bellhousing you get are from an 87/88 TC since it was the only one to get the hydraulic setup

Thank you! Ill look into grabbing those as well, thats what ive heard, that the swap wasnt too bad so lets hope that all goes smoothly.

I just did a 5 speed swap a few months back and it's not a terrible job but it does take some time. I would plan on at least 2 full days if you have all your parts prepped before hand. One day to change the pedals and one day to swap the trans is what I plan for. Personally, I would rather swap the trans then the pedals.

I used a parts car and swapped everything over to my car which mad things very easy but if that isn't an option for you then you have some other things to consider.
You'll have to pick a direction on your clutch. You can track down all the factory stuff and go hydraulic or you can go to a cable clutch and use a lot of Mustang parts. 4 cylinder Mustang parts are generally cheap and fairly common. I do not know the details of the cable route but Mustangs used it as did the 83-86 Turbo Coupes.

The T5 never came in a Ranger so I would not recommend getting a Ranger transmission. If it's out of a Ranger it would be a Toyo or Mitsubishi trans. World Class/non-world class doesn't really make a difference strength wise. The only difference is a change in synchronizers and the use of tapered roller bearings on the shafts. Some good info at this link, no need for me to retype it.

https://www.moderndriveline.com/the-many...of-the-t5/

One thing I didn't see on your list is a driveshaft. You'll need a manual driveshaft or you'll have to have one made because the automatic shaft is too short.