What needs to be done to T56 to make comparable to Magnum transmission?

[mhinchley]

EDIT 7/09/14 I have decided to just go auto. 4R70W is gonna go in.


I have searched svt performance & google. Cannot find definitive answer. What needs to be done to trans to hold 700 hp/tq? I have 26 spline input already, as well as MGW shifter. My trans is shifting fine but in the not so distant future, hopefully not til winter, I will have to replace dfx clutch as my cable is at full adjustment. I figure while it is out I may as well strengthen it a bit & perhaps make it shift nicer (though I have no problem shifting it now). The various upgrade kits offered online vary quite a bit. No 2 use the same upgrades, making it more confusing. I am not against buying the magnum, but I will have all winter to build this one & I plan to use the savings to install a lift in my garage to make this and future jobs easier.

 

[04cobrawhine]

Honestly you won't be saving much by rebuilding, especially if you plan on having someone else do the rebuilding. plus it will never shift like a magnum.

 

[SlowSVT]

D&D and Liberty sell upgrade kits for the T56 which will mainly improve the shifting action of the tranny but won't do anything to make it stronger.

You have already upgraded the input shaft which is what's really needed to strengthen the gear box.

People have been putting down 800+ hp with the T56 for years without much trouble what you have is already a pretty tough gearbox. More often then not it's poor driver shifting technique that dooms a tranny.

 

[Venomous 03]

Save your time and money and just go magnum

 

[mhinchley]

I will build it myself if I opt to go that route. Aerospace lead machinist, so I have no fear of taking it apart & putting it back together. I have a press in the garage. Guess I have to think about it. Maybe just buy the Magnum & sell mine while it is still working fine. Maybe just put a new clutch in and drive it til it breaks, if it ever does. Have a few months to debate this before winter.

Of course more info/advice is welcome here.

 

[bubblehead93]

rebuilt mine, definitely nothing to be afraid of there... input shaft, billet synchro keys, bronze shift fork pads are normal upgrades... already have the steel 3-4 shift fork and improved blocker rings... magnum was a significant re-design with regards to the width and cut of the gears... also synchros etc... with tools, parts not very expensive even if you have to replace bearings, special tools make it easier, but with a bit of ingenuity you can do it without the special tools... overall it was about $600 for parts from the gear box and tick performance (a few bearings, shim kit, all new snap/lock ring kit, all new blocker rings 1-6 and reverse, billet keys for 1-2 and 3-4, bronze shift fork shoes all 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and reverse, bronze shifter cup bushing, and a couple other odds and ends)... rest of it was my time...

 

[SnakeBite4487]

Input shaft, check your syncros, and a good clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel set and your good. Guys have been running T56's with just thise upgrades for years. Operator error and abuse is 90% of T56 failures.

 

[mhinchley]

rebuilt mine, definitely nothing to be afraid of there... input shaft, billet synchro keys, bronze shift fork pads are normal upgrades... already have the steel 3-4 shift fork and improved blocker rings... magnum was a significant re-design with regards to the width and cut of the gears... also synchros etc... with tools, parts not very expensive even if you have to replace bearings, special tools make it easier, but with a bit of ingenuity you can do it without the special tools... overall it was about $600 for parts from the gear box and tick performance (a few bearings, shim kit, all new snap/lock ring kit, all new blocker rings 1-6 and reverse, billet keys for 1-2 and 3-4, bronze shift fork shoes all 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and reverse, bronze shifter cup bushing, and a couple other odds and ends)... rest of it was my time...

Input shaft, check your syncros, and a good clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel set and your good. Guys have been running T56's with just thise upgrades for years. Operator error and abuse is 90% of T56 failures.

This is the way I am leaning. I already have the 26 spline in the trans. Even if I spend $1000 on parts & tools, $1000 on clutch, $400 on flywheel, that is $2400 total. The Magnum kit from D&D is $4000 + I still need the clutch & flywheel. Planning to go with the Mcleod RXT clutch regardless, so that is $5500ish shipped. If I could sell my current for $1500, still $4000 out of pocket.

That extra $1600 will pay for the car lift in the garage. Besides working on my own crap, I buy cars with bad motors &/or transmissions, fix them & flip them. So the lift will definitely speed things up on that front.

Car is a 90%+ street car. Sees the track a handful of times a year. Maybe 20 passes tops.

 

[bubblehead93]

t56 rebuild was very straight forward, especially if you have some special tools and some mechanical aptitude, which it sounds like you do... jealous of the lift plans, someday when the military stops moving me around I'll get my dream garage...

I posted a thread a little while back about t56 upgrades that had a picture and list of the special tools I found most helpful. You can get them all near new or used on ebay...

A mix of the two brands, Miller and Kent-Moore is nice, some of the tools for the same task are better from one versus the other, that is why the list I posted is a mix...

My car is only 525-550ish, but I enjoy the shit out of rowing the transmission I rebuilt, drag race every friday I can, autocross about once a month, and with the bronze shifter forks and billet keys, it shifts much better at 6,000 rpm... enough so I have scrubbed plans (for now) of getting a face plated gear/shaft setup...

when I get back stateside, definitely going to pick up someone's discarded t56 and build it into a dedicated track transmission...

the car is mostly a track day car these days, drag racing or auto crossing, alot of compromise between the two, but with 28" Hoosier slicks for the 1/4 mile (NT01s for the corner carving)... softens up the rear despite the corner carving setup... don't recommend face plating for the street...

 

[SVT_Troy]

Just sell your t56 and put that towards your magnum plus the cash you were planning on using to upgrade the T-56. You'll be happier in the end

 

[mhinchley]

My wife actually told me to buy the magnum, so I have more time to do stuff that she wants done. Guess she does not get that I then have to flip another car or work more ot (cuz lift is still going in) so I am busy all the same. Silly woman.

 

[mhinchley]

I talked to this guy before about going auto in my YSi Fox Body, & ended up going with a Freddie Brown trans, cuz I ran into a good deal. I am seriously thinking that I may again go auto, but with this: http://www.silverfoxtrans.com/silverfoxtrans.com/TM_4R70W-950.html About the same price as going Magnum.