T56 question

[scott0]

after searching and reading until my eyes were pretty much bleeding, causing blood to drip on my keyboard i decided to give up. So that is my reason for this post...



My question is since all the "guts" of the t56 trannies are pretty much the same thing.. Can i use a mustang t56 for my a-body? I know i need to run a ls1 input shaft. i am planning on using one of the adaptor plates and using my mechanical clutch linkage for now. I will go hydraulic one day....

Will a ls1 input shaft fit a cobra t56? since I am going to have a driveshaft built, will i be able to retain the cobra tail shaft as well?

From what I can tell the major difference between the LS series, viper, and cobra trannies are the input shaft, the tail shaft, and bellhousings.. is that correct??

i hope someone can help me out here. i am just getting back into playing with real cars. I was working at a performance shop mainly building high horsepower turbocharged 9 sec. honda civics, i can tell you anything you need to know about a civic, but i'm lost with parts interchangeability when it comes to real cars.
thanks guys!

[LSx_88_Ciera]

As far as I know all of the factory t56 cases use the same input shaft bearing so yes the input shafts are interchangeable as long as the gear ratios are the same.
I can tell you for sure that the bearings in a 03/04 Cobra are the same as 93-02 F-body.

[John Wright]

The shafts in the Viper T56 look like they are much larger than the LS and LT counterparts....at least in the pictures that I've seen.

I have the Viper T56 and comparing the output shaft to the Turbo 350 that came in my car....there's alot of difference.

Input shafts differ in length depending on the application so watch for that as well....this determines what bell housing and in some cases(LT1) what flywheel/clutch you use.

There are some T56 threads in here somewhere that explain most, if not all of this.

[scott0]

i have not been able to find any info on putting a ls1 input shaft on the mustang t56. thats what i was hoping to figure out.

[John Wright]

What spline count does the Ford T56 have? Wonder if it is the same as the GM stuff so that you could use a standard clutch set.

Someone at Keisler shoul;d be able to answer that question of whether the input shafts can be swapped or not Ford vs LS.

[LSx_88_Ciera]

Pretty sure they are 10 spline. Not a Ford guy so I could be wrong.

[scott0]

the ford box defiantly has a 10 spline.

LSx_88_Ciera you said that they take the same front bearing, as long as the gear is the same as a ls1 shaft is should fit. correct?

[LSx_88_Ciera]

94-02 F-body and 03-04 Cobra have the same ratios 1-4.
Something that would help is the specific part number of your box, I think it is 1386-000-021.

[Socrates]

The Viper T56 actually has better internal parts (forks, pads, etc) and is rated for a lot more power. Nonetheless, the LS1 and Cobra pieces are still nice and strong, and the Cobra piece shares the output with the Viper and use the same larger (stronger) 1350 Yoke.

The Cobra T56 is pretty rare and worth some bucks to a Ford guy. I'd personally rather see you sell the Ford piece and buy a Viper T56 at about even cost to make life a bunch easier for yourself with an A-body conversion rather then working with swapping expensive input shafts around and hoping you get it right (if not, bye-bye $$$$ trans). If you can set up your own differentials, I'd say you can swap an input shaft, if you can't do a gear setup and don't have the precision tools to do so, the swap isn't for you.

If you use the Viper T56 or at least the Viper input shaft (again, much stronger then the LS1) you'll not need an extended pilot that you will with the LS1 shaft. You can even have the Viper input machined to fit your stock throwout bearing if you desire, or possibly use a brass bushing and simply machine it out to the 0.750" viper spec.

FWIW, I have a bunch of this info in my conversion thread if you can handle more eye-bleeding...:

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=63343