Transmission...Bone Dry

[negusm]

OK, so as most know...my car has been a really slow resto project.

Very little if anything gets done since I spend most of my time with work/kids.

When we moved to a new house a year and a half ago, I needed to get the car on the road so I bought and installed a new carb (got a great deal on one, thanks Advanced Auto), and fixed a fuel leak. Drove it to get inspected and back (15 miles round trip). Then drove it to get an alignment done (10 miles round trip).

Prior to that the car was just moved around the driveway. Not driven anywhere.

Between those two trips (25 miles), the transmission (T5) was getting noisy with some vibration.

So she sat in the garage until this past month and I figured I better check the fluid level before I took her to get inspected again.

Bone dry.

So I added ATF to her and the transmission seems to be pretty good now.

Anyone think I did any real damage? Just keep driving it until it screams for a rebuild?

-Mike

[capri50asc]

Hi Mike

On my 1986 Capri RS with the 5.0 Liter and the t-5. I drove it for a year or two with very low fluid. I started to notice a little grinding when it was cold and when I shifted from 2nd gear to 3rd. This was in 1997. I changed the fluid and topped it off and its perfect! The system is a Slash type
where the gears throw the fluid around. use automotive transmission in it, There is two plugs on the drivers side. Grab a couple of Qts and a pump that you can screw on the top of the bottle. Start pumping it in, until it starts to overfill. You should be all set.

Chris

[plumkrazy]

I would pull it and check it. If it is damaged you maybe able to save it. And when was the last time it was apart? Most likely it could use a rebuild anyway.

I can till you a story of a rare fox that that made it to my house on a dry t-5 transmission and last I heard the insides of the case are damaged and he had to buy a new/used transmission.

oh ya it's a lot easier to fill if you take the shiftier out. Just pull the top plug and fill till it runs out.

[negusm]

Yeah, I did the fill-it-thru-the-shifter trick. I'm so glad I read that, it made it so easy.

The transmission was a brand new rebuild. It was put in the car like 10 years ago. Literally the car sat in my garage for 10 or more years and did nothing more than move around in and out while I worked on it.

I'm going to watch it for a bit then.

It's going to have to come out for a throw out bearing replacement I think at some point. I have a slight ticking sound when just idling/not moving. (I adjusted the clutch).

-Mike