Randii:
The salt conditions here are nasty on vehicles. That and acid rain shorten their life quite a bit. Anything 15 years old here is typically rusty, body holes, rusted brake calipers, lines, etc. I'm sure most of the east coast is similar. I've seen pictures of Arizona scrap yards, and was amazed at OLD cars in there with no rust, or little. I hate rust. Bad rust !!
I used to have the pump turned up on my diesel Jetta's a bit too much, so when the pedal was on the floor it smoked quite a bit. This proved handy for the people that insisted on not passing when they could have easily, and insist on tailgating. " Want me to go faster? Why, sure !! " Foot to the floor, no more tailgater. No, I didn't leave them behind. They couldn't stand the smoke, and would pass. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />

Robt:

Thanks for the reply. This is why I am so glad I found this forum. People that KNOW something about these engines. The truck it came from was a 1984 S10. Probably nothing special, rod wise. Were the n/a versions also breaking rods? I'm guessing the north american turbo versions were breaking because we have to drive 1000mph and nothing is going to stop us !! Rev the life out of that diesel!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
This truck came equipt with 3.73 gears, and 205\74-14 tires. At 100 km\h now it revs 2500. I was contemplating changing the gears to 3.90 or 4.10, but didn't want it to rev too much at highway speeds. The T5 transmission thats in it now has terrible 4th-5th gear ratios, in that at 2800 in 4th, a shift to 5th means 2000 rpm. Big gap. A lower 5th gear would help, but the rear end gears would be easier to do. If I can find what I am looking for.
The tach is actually a Faria diesel marine tach with 4000 rpm face that runs off the pulse signal inside the Delco alternator. Most Delco alts can be easily wired for this signal. The marine tach reads this signal, and with the right setting clicked on the back, and a little fine tuning with an allen key, it can be set to be quite precise. I checked it with a manual tach that runs off the center of the crankshaft, and this one is used kinda like a stop watch. Gives me precise rpm to set the marine one with. I set it around 2500 rpm, and I checked it at idle and it was right on. Pulley size and ratios are irrelevant as this tach can be set up to work with most. I mounted the tach in a 3" piece of PVC coupler and with a bracket to the A pillar. Hey, whatever works and isn't too expensive. It just looks like an accessory tach. The engine redlines at 4250, but I don't rev it that high anyway, and it has a nice, wide sweep that I wouldn't get with a 6000 rpm tach. And it's back lit, too, for night use.I used the 4.3l oil pressure sender and temp sensor so the stock dash guages worked, and read correctly.
Thanks again for the help guys, and please feel free to ask anything.

who makes the T5 transmission? Muncie? Saginaw?

that is good to know. I did not know we had that option on the C223.

Borg-Warner makes the T5 transmission? There are lots of bellhousings and tailhousings available for it, and more than a few adapters, as well. The T5 has a bad rep in some circles, but IMHO, if you get a well-built World Class (WC) T5, you've got a nice-shifting 5-speed that will stand up well to reasonable use.

Google a bit on "World Class T5 Borg Warner" -- there's lots of good info out there on this tranny!

Randii

You're right, the T5 is a Borg-Warner. They are good for up to about 300 hp or so, according to the several web sites I've visited. And the WC T5 is supposed to be the better one to have. Gear oil will ruin them though, as was the case with my first one. Someone had put gear oil in it, and the lubrication holes to the gears themselves are too small and the gear oil is too thick to flow properly, so lack of proper lube shortens their lives. The second one I have had ATF in it like it should have, and shifts better, with the exception of second gear, which has a weak syncro. If you can find a S10 with a diesel (were they available anywhere else than North America?), then you will have a bell housing to fit the BW tranny. I understand the T56 is a 6 speed T5. Hmmmmm. Supposed to have the same dimensions as T5.
Has anyone ever heard of a different camshaft for this engine? I thought I read somewhere once that a cam was available to increase low-end torque (is there any? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />). Also, while I'm full of questions, has anyone heard of the N/A C223 breaking rods? I know now the turbos did, but mine?

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

PS: Nova Scotia is in the middle of a big snowstorm as I write this, the worst one in years.

Just scratching my head here and trying to learn, but was the T5 only a RWD application transmission?

What was behind the diesel in the Trooper applications? Was it a variation of the MUA5 or the T5?

James

I'm far from a T5 expert, but I do know that they were available in various vehicles, such as Camaros and Mustangs, where the shifter is located further foreward on the cone, though it had similar internals. It was available on most manual S10\S15, Blazers, etc, and also 4wd, where the end cone was removed and a transfer case bolted on instead. I can't remember some of the other vehicles they were in, but it was a lot, in various forms. Seems to me certain Cherokee\Commanche had them too. A Google search with something like Borg T5 will give you quite a bit of info. In a sense, to me the bell housing I have is a bit of gold because it gives me some easy adaptation to transmissions. IIRC, the Pup had a one piece tranny\bell housing with the diesel.
So to answer your question, I believe T5 is only a RWD setup. I guess if it were FWD, it wouldn't be a T5. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

That adaptability is what had me wondering. If it were a 4wd variant rather than a MUA transmission, it may lead to a wider range of swap options for the earlier Troopers and trucks. I imagine someone's explored this avenue, but I hadn't run across it yet.

Thanks,
James

That is why this T5 is such a suprise to me. the 86 trooper diesel had a completely unique 5 speed transmission, with integral transfer case. No relation to the MUA5.

It is what is now giving me grief on my SAS SOA D44 front end. Can't get a driveshaft to droop that much. too extreme an angle.

Am now looking for a divorced 86 Nissan T100L. This will automatically give me a double down 4.3x low xfer case gearing and free up the stock front drive for a PTO if I want.

Like you wouldn't believe... the T5 has been in Jeep CJs, Blazers, Jimmys, and more... there are scads of different bellhousings and tailhousings, mainshafts and input shafts, gears and shifters, etc. The biggest complication may be HOW MANY CHOICES you have -- a refreshing problem when you have an Isuzu. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

Randii

Alright randii, you just put my brain into terminal short. You told me I had many options and then confirmed you were talking about an Isuzu! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

I've been chasing drivetrain info and concepts around of late and am just trying to see where the "accepted norm" doesn't apply to my '86, as it seems to regularly be just a little different than the subsequent models most guys have. Since I'm toying with the idea of a diesel conversion down the road, I'm wondering how readily it could be done, and what parts I'd have to start looking for.

Looking in my shop manual, and from what I've read so far, is the '86s tranny/t-case a different type from the later styles in that it's a PTO type unit bolted to the tranny, or have I just not come across the right info yet? I was under the impression that the transfer case in the later MUA5 series was integral to the casting.

James