martindc1

Before you swap to the T-5 be absolutely sure what it is you are getting because of subtle differences. For example a 94-95 Cobra input shaft is some thing like 5/8" shorter so make sure of all your parts. I posted a link to D&D above and they are experts of everything. There is a section on the site that explains the differences as well. Also don't forget to get the right speedo gear with your rear gear combo. I have a brothers performance speed calibrator but I am not sure if that will work for the 94-95. It is a straight forward job after you get the parts though (from what I have read from countless people).

Check out D & D performance at http://www.ddperformance.com

I saw a couple in Toledo a while back but they could be gone by now. You may not need to put down more for the down payment, just shop around at some banks before you go in. I know its not exactly the same situation but when I bought my truck I didn't put one cent down.

Since how much you tighten the pinion nut is no longer dependant on bearing preload, how much torque do you put on the nut when you tighten it?

Welcome. I have a 97 Cobra and a 97 F150 so I know what you're talking about. I used to commute in my stang 100 mi./day. I even had Kuhmos too! If you don't mind my 2 cents are to save your money for some gears, difference is night and day.

Wow so between the pinion shim and the spacer you probably have to put the pinion in, check it, and pull it out like 20 times.

One other thing, with a solid pinion spacer do you have to file it to the right length so that bearing preload is correct?

You have to work your way up to the correct preload. If you back the nut off then the crush collar is crushed beyond where the preload would be set at. And one other thing correct bearing preload is in in.lbs not ft.lbs.

You mean someone who will weld a little, let it cool, weld a little, let it cool, etc. or peine the weld so it doesn't contract and recrack it? Heh, easier said than done I guess. My father was at a shop near the Indiana border where a guy was welding some cast iron recently, but I can't think of the name right off hand. It can be done though, you may have to just call around to welding shops to see who would take it on. What do you need welded?

I have approx. 10 in/lbs. on the pinion bearing smile.gif

My Cobra has an oil cooler but its a different engine. It has to be some kind of clearance issue. Does the Cobra have a front sway bar and the GT doesn't? Just a guess.

I will try to get some when I get it cleaned up and put back together. Right now I have the rear-end apart putting in gears and other stuff so the pictures wouldn't be so pretty. I could take some picturs of my install though if anyone is interested, I could get some pictures of worn traction-loc parts and such. Let me know. Yeah slightly know a couple guys but I am sort of new to Hilliard. I am originally from out in the sticks in Mechanicsburg. I know of three mustangs through one of my old roommates. One is a State Highway Patrolman that has a 99+ GT, and one of his friends has a 99+ GT, and his friends dad has like a 96 GT.

...one friday on Olentangy River Rd. by Cap City diner. 99+ GT lowered, definitely not stock exhaust, Mach 1 chin spoiler. The other a 96 or 97 Cobra by the VIP in Hilliard on saturday night. Either of those anybody on here?

I was just going by what a shop manual said. 600 ft/lbs sounds like an awful lot of torque, you'd need like a 6 foot long wrench to turn that. But the pinion is in there the way its supposed to be, I checked things out several times. I have heard that now that you mention it, I don't think I will have to worry about that though, I don't think my car is powerful enough to do it and I don't think street tires or drag radials would hook up good enough. I think I would break an axle before crushing the crush sleeve further.

Hey all. I'm at Heritage Green off Hilliard Rome.

Ha! I am in the process of rebuilding my rear-end and installing some 4.10s. I just installed the pinion the other night after several trials of putting it all in minus crush sleeve and checking wear pattern to shim the pinion. The crush sleeve was a bastard. I ended up laying underneath the car and holding the wrench on and checking preload while my dad turned the wrench with his foot. And we were using a 3/4" drive ratchet that was 1.5 feet long. It takes about 160 ft/lbs to crush a crush sleeve so we were using what, 120 lbs. of force? Hopefully tomorrow I will get the carrier put in and have the proper backlash. I will update soon.

Hello all, just joined up. I live in Hilliard and have a '97 with the usual stuff: shifter, MAF, X-pipe, 4.10s. Its red if anybody has seen it, but I haven't had it on the road since late november. Time slips are to come when things start up at Trails, does anybody know when that might be? -Bill

3.55s in a 5.0 is about like 3.73s in a 2V 4.6 Mod. Nice stang. I thought about getting an "R" hood when I hit a deer but they ended up being able to fix the stock one.

Yeah Cobra shifters = suck. And if you shift it too hard you risk bending shift forks, at least in the 96-98s. smile.gif

Good to do the right thing. I figured that I had better make a post on what I was thinking even though its a reiteration of what everybody else said because Mr. "Spirit of the times" got me freaked out.