tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

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tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

January 26, 2013, 11:45:48 PM

I have a 1988 lx tbird with a 5 speed I swapped and it has a digital speedometer, I took the gear off of my t-5 sensor and put it onto my sensor that was in the bird but my speedomoter does not work. It did work with the auto was in the car so I know it was working.

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #1 – January 27, 2013, 09:07:27 AM

did you remember to plug it back in. the gear will work properly on the sensor as i have the same swap

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #2 – January 27, 2013, 09:21:25 AM

yes I did plug it back in, I may take it out and make sure its all working right but I had the transmission in my 89 mustang and the speedometer worked in it so everything should be working right.

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #3 – January 27, 2013, 10:22:35 AM

Did you lay the VSS next to each other and make sure they are the same length installed? May not be making contact with the drive gear on the output shaft of the T-5 (this is a long shot). Also, what is the tooth count of the drive gear on the AOD output shaft versus the drive gear on the output shaft of the T-5? If they are different it will cause the speedo to be off if you are using the same driven gear.

From what I remember the 89 Mustangs had a 7 tooth drive gear on the T-5. Your 87 T-Bird's AOD should have a 7 tooth gear but the AOD's did come with an 8 tooth drive gear as well. The only way to tell is to remove the tail housing and count them as the AOD's are machined into the output shaft where the T-5 have a plastic gear that you can change.

Anyhow, just some FYI. Hope you get it figured out.

Darren

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #4 – January 27, 2013, 06:59:50 PM

i honestly didnt think to the one that was in the mustang was cracked like a dummy i threw it away, whe i removed the one in the aod the gear didnt come out it pulled out bwithout the gear and it didnt fall out i had to pull it out it boke inside the tranny. i just put the gear that was on the mustang one on the tbird vss.

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #5 – January 27, 2013, 10:05:03 PM

Some of the driven gears (the ones that go on the VSS) have a long tip and others have a shorter tip. I have always wondered why and I ran across a thread:

http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthread.php?t=60299

Since you are using the VSS out of the Bird and the speedo gear out of the T-5 I would think you would have zero problems. Have you pulled the VSS and verified that the speed gear is not stripped internally (where square speedo cable engages the gear) or externally? The other thing you have to do is verify that you have the correct driven gear for the car or the signal could be so far out of whack the electronic speedo is having issues with it. Again, I am guessing here as I have zero experience with the electronic speedos.

http://www.sccoa.com/faq/speedgr.html

Darren

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #6 – January 28, 2013, 10:10:15 AM

Well I didn't think it was but I will check a my speedometer worked in the mustang but I will check. The other thing im worrier about is the transmission is a 4 cylinder t-5 so I'm unsure of what tooth gear I will need the tbird still has the stock rear so I'm new to these things I've always ha mustang and recently owned a 88 turbo coupe and then bought this car it a 88 bill Elliott edition car but the transmission was bad when I bought and apparently I got shafted on the engine also it used about 2 quarts driving it home from a 70 or so mile trip so I swapped my gt40 hea go engine in along with the da1 ecu.

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #7 – January 28, 2013, 02:01:11 PM

If you can pull the VSS and shine a flashlight into the tail housing the color of the drive gear will give it away. I know a black gear is a six tooth, I am pretty sure a yellow gear is a seven tooth, and a funky translucent greenish yellow color is the 8 tooth gear.

Darren

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #8 – January 28, 2013, 03:19:03 PM

Ok thanks I may check it out today, you happen to know which way the gear on the vss turns I will turn it to make sure the vss I still okay and all

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #9 – January 28, 2013, 05:25:12 PM

gear inside the transmission is yellow I took the sensor out while plugged up turned the switch on and turned the gear each way it didnt register on the speedometer... I guess my sensor may be bad?

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #10 – January 28, 2013, 07:06:32 PM

How fast did you spin the gear? I chuck the stem up lightly in a cordless drill and normally will get to about 20 mph. If you were turning it by hand it may have not been fast enough to register.

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #11 – January 28, 2013, 07:17:50 PM

yeah just by hand it may not have been fast enough which way does it need to turn? Should the gear and stem turn together when turned? It didn't seem they were turning together almost like the gear turned but the stem didn't.

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #12 – January 28, 2013, 07:54:36 PM

Yes, the stem and gear should be one piece. Spin them counter clockwise, I was testing them on a truck cluster but should be the same. Just for reference, low on my drill is 20mph, high is 65 mph. Pictured are the short and long stem gears. If you do not get a reading with the gear on, take it off and make sure where the cable engages it is not stripped out, should be square.

tbird t-5 swap with digital cluster

Reply #13 – January 28, 2013, 08:00:28 PM

ok I will try that tomorrow and see what hapens thanks for your help and the replys. If my gear is bad anyone know what tooth I should get and where I can get one? Again it has a yellow gear inside the trans rearend is stock iirc it has a tag on the rear but I have not looked at it.