T45 Slave Cylinder

Kenz said:
Nice! I remember when I got mine going, first thought was "holy ****, this is way faster".... :irocz:

Sounds like it will be a monster since you have it boosted too
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It’s an entirely different animal!

Just gotta get the tune dialed in and it’ll be good to go
 
Ran into an issue with the T45 swap, the car will shift though all gears perfectly fine, but it gets stuck in reverse and it’s extremely hard to get it out of reverse, I’m assuming the rod I made for the slave cylinder needs adjustment, but I haven’t gotten to that yet. I’m open to suggestions on what else it could be.
 
Ericv8thunderbird said:
Ran into an issue with the T45 swap, the car will shift though all gears perfectly fine, but it gets stuck in reverse and it’s extremely hard to get it out of reverse, I’m assuming the rod I made for the slave cylinder needs adjustment, but I haven’t gotten to that yet. I’m open to suggestions on what else it could be.
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Not the slave, it’s actually an issue inherent with T45 transmissions themselves, as the reverse fork/countergear setup is a little wacky, there’s several TSBs about it and some running fixes that never quite fully solved it. I intended to do this to the T45 I was going to use until I got my TR3650.

US20080302195A1 - Reverse shift jump out of gear fix for model T45, 5 speed manual automotive transmission - Google Patents

The invention described herein is the first known solution to modify the original model T45 manual transmission to prevent or fix the documented reverse shift problems inherit in the original production design as described in the Background of the Invention section included in this application.
patents.google.com

This is basically the nuclear option as rather than “strengthened” forks that were Fords ineffective solutions, this puts the countergear in constant mesh and deletes the portion of fork that moves the countergear sleeve. Now the fork only engage/disengages the reverse synchro, having to do both is what causes all the reverse gear problems in the T45.
 
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Is it only hard to get it out with the engine running, or is it hard to get out with the engine off too? If it is only with the engine running, then it could be a clutch issue, but if it is hard to get out of reverse even with the engine off, then it could be something internal in the trans, or it could be a shifter issue.
 
MadMikeyL said:
Is it only hard to get it out with the engine running, or is it hard to get out with the engine off too? If it is only with the engine running, then it could be a clutch issue, but if it is hard to get out of reverse even with the engine off, then it could be something internal in the trans, or it could be a shifter issue.
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Only while the engine is running, I could shut it off and it will shift out of reverse.
 
Then it isn’t internal in the trans. Likely the clutch isn’t disengaging all the way. Does it engage really low? For the S10 slave to work best, the pushrod should be pushing on the part of the fork where the cable usually comes through, not where the cable would be resting. I use threaded rod to be able to adjust it, lock 2 nuts together for the adjustment, and drill out an old lug nut to fit over it to act as the pivot point on the clutch fork.
 
Yep, it does grab very low. I believe in have the threaded rod coming through the outer most hole on the fork, I planned on jacking the car up and make some adjustments. I’ll report back when I get it done.
 
MadMikeyL said:
Then it isn’t internal in the trans. Likely the clutch isn’t disengaging all the way. Does it engage really low? For the S10 slave to work best, the pushrod should be pushing on the part of the fork where the cable usually comes through, not where the cable would be resting. I use threaded rod to be able to adjust it, lock 2 nuts together for the adjustment, and drill out an old lug nut to fit over it to act as the pivot point on the clutch fork.
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FWIW I’ve had mine on the outer pivot forever, never knew any better but it has no issues like this

012.jpeg
 
XR7-4.6 said:
FWIW I’ve had mine on the outer pivot forever, never knew any better but it has no issues like this

View attachment 12670
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I used the same mounting point. Everything seemed to line up better that way with the bracket I am using.

From what I understand it's normal for the T45 to sometimes be difficult to get into reverse. I usually shift into 5th, then into reverse. Makes it drop in every time. I have messed with the slave cylinder rod setup a few times over the years, it is dialed in with my setup as well as it can be.

I do the same with my Firebird shifting into 5th then reverse. It has a T5 and acts the same way going into reverse. I bought it from the original owner, he said it has been that way since new. He told me he took it back to the dealer shortly after buying it in 2000 for this issue. Dealership told him that it is normal for that transmission
 
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Sounds like he is having a hard time getting it out of reverse though, not in, correct?

For whatever it is worth, with the M5R2 in the XR7 and SC, I always shifted into first and then into reverse (standing still obviously) otherwise it would sometimes grind when going into reverse. Once it became habit I didn't think anything of it.
 
KevinVarnes said:
Sounds like he is having a hard time getting it out of reverse though, not in, correct?

For whatever it is worth, with the M5R2 in the XR7 and SC, I always shifted into first and then into reverse (standing still obviously) otherwise it would sometimes grind when going into reverse. Once it became habit I didn't think anything of it.
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This is why I think its the classic Ford TSB #01235. The issue unique to T-45s is the 5/R fork has to move the reverse synchro AND countergear(unsynchronized btw) into and out of reverse, and if there's any bind caused by an even slightly bent fork or worn blocker this symptom will occur. T5s, M5R2s, Tr3650s and T56s have constant mesh reverse gears, T45s had this unique setup.

I've very occasionally had issues shifting INTO reverse with my TR3650 but is instantly solved by shifting to any forward gear first then reverse, it's never been stuck in reverse. That's an issue uniquely related to the T45s
 
Ericv8thunderbird said:
The clutch does grab very very low, compared to the T5 in my Turbo Coupe.
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All these swaps must come out a bit different. The clutch in mine starts actuating when pressure is put on the pedal. Almost would prefer if it had a bit more pedal travel and was lower. It works well but throws me off sometimes when I switch between cars.
 
Kenz said:
All these swaps must come out a bit different. The clutch in mine starts actuating when pressure is put on the pedal. Almost would prefer if it had a bit more pedal travel and was lower. It works well but throws me off sometimes when I switch between cars.
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That’s how mine is too
 
The drilled out lug nut is on the wrong side of the clutch fork. The cone section should sit in the hole in the fork. Also put the boot back on the slave cylinder. You’ll have to trim the tip a bit for the larger diameter rod, but with no boot, road debris will get up in there and the slave will start leaking.
 
MadMikeyL said:
The drilled out lug nut is on the wrong side of the clutch fork. The cone section should sit in the hole in the fork. Also put the boot back on the slave cylinder. You’ll have to trim the tip a bit for the larger diameter rod, but with no boot, road debris will get up in there and the slave will start leaking.
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How does this look now?

IMG_3673.jpeg
 
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