Tranny Question

The 5 speed in my 87 TC will not downshift from 4th to 3rd until the car is slowly moving. Upshift is fine but no downshift. I contacted a local transmission shop just for fun and they wanted $550.00 to rebuild the thing. My question is twofold: 1: what might the problem be and , 2: what should the approximate cost be just to fix that problem? I sure hate to rebuild the whole thing if everything else is ok.

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1987 TC
5 Speed
Black w/Raven Interior
Gillis Valve
3" Downpipe
Dynomax Super Turbo Mufflers w/21/2" exhaust

Originally posted by Gary S:
The 5 speed in my 87 TC will not downshift from 4th to 3rd until the car is slowly moving. Upshift is fine but no downshift. I contacted a local transmission shop just for fun and they wanted $550.00 to rebuild the thing. My question is twofold: 1: what might the problem be and , 2: what should the approximate cost be just to fix that problem? I sure hate to rebuild the whole thing if everything else is ok.

Will it downshift if you double clutch it (push clutch in, shift to neutral, release clutch and press in again, shift to 3rd)? If so, it's a sure sign of a bad gear syncro. And if you do decide that you can't live with that problem and need to get it fixed, I'd suggest just finding another WC T5 out of another TC or, as somebody else recently suggested, a 4 cyl mustang. You can probably pick a good one up for around $100 and either install it yourself or pay a shop 200 or so to install it for you. Beats the hell out of spending $550.

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maroon 1987 TC 5spd, 128k miles

k&n mounted in front of radiator with 3" pvc piping, gillis valve set at 17lbs, kirban adjustable fpr set at ?, walbro 255 hi-pressure pump, crappyass rear tires

Best 1/4 mile: 14.857 (with 2.26 60' time)
Best trap speed: 94.01mph