by mikebrow74 » Thu Jan 14, 2021 2:37 am
The T-50 is not supported by anyone. No gears, no syncros, no bearing kits. I have collected 4 of these to play with. I purchased a new Spyder in 1978 with a V6 and 5-speed. My wife burned out the clutch at 15,000 miles which I replaced with a HD unit from Kenne Bell at the time. Very strong clutch and I ended up launching the input shaft and counter cluster at the drag strip. I replaced those components back in 1980. The factory manual does have a chapter on the T-50. Not great but adequate. Just keep track of what you take out and where it came from. Take lots of photos.
There are no gaskets on the case, only sealer. I recommend a sealer designed for aluminum motorcycle cases. The only problem I ran into was reassembling the main shaft with the counter cluster back into the main case. There is a spring loaded stamped anti-rattle gear at the front of the counter cluster that will push the input shaft and cluster apart as you are trying to seat them in the front of the case. After days of trying to get these shafts lined up and back in the case, I just left the anti-rattle gear out. I honestly didn't notice much of a difference in noise afterwards.
I don't know how they assembled those at the factory. When I get around to it I plan on disassembling one of the units I have, measuring, identifying, and logging all of the needle bearings and thrust washers. I am also thinking of making a small expanding jig to keep the front of the shafts together by expanding between the shafts aft of the center support bearing. Another idea would be to tie the two assemblies together with a string during assembly. Eventually it would break and fall into the case, but I think it is soft enough not to hurt anything.
If your leaks are at the case seems I think I would consider loosening the case bolts 3/8 of an inch, spreading the case sections, and squeezing in some fresh sealer.
And remember, these transmissions use ATF not gear oil.