needing opinions on a c5 trans.

Reply #15 – August 20, 2009, 10:35:56 PM

I plan to drive it on a regular basis, not every day, but at least 2 or 3 days a week. and I plan on using it as a sports car. like it was meant to be. Being that the 289 should be less than 270hp at the crank, I wouldnt figure that it'd be too much for the trans.

needing opinions on a c5 trans.

Reply #16 – August 21, 2009, 05:48:45 PM

It really is a tough call.I dont know how your driving habits are,but I really did have to baby it.I put roughly 1,000 miles on it when it was stock,because I knew it was only temporary.

It is a completely diff. trans after the upgrades,I would trust it to go anywhere now.

needing opinions on a c5 trans.

Reply #17 – August 21, 2009, 11:20:47 PM

The "newer" C5 case (meaning w/a lock up converter as opposed to the "old" C5, which was the pan fill, large bell housing and considered a heavy duty unit) has a number of upgrades over a C4. The valve body and cast clutch hub keep it in the lowpo classification. Those items can be changed (as in "internal modifications"). After those upgrades, eliminate the lock up converter & these transmissions can take alot of power.

Put the Lock Up C5 in stock with your combination, it will run for awhile. Hammer on it, a failure is likely. It might be sudden as in: clutch hub, converter or intermediate servo/band failure. Or it may just burn up clutches, resulting in sloppy shifts and eventually it will just quit pulling.

The power level of your HiPo 289 is way more than the stock V6 or anemic V8's these came behind from the factory.

Do a google search on C5 & C4, there's tons of information out there and what you can do with them. If your convinced a C4 type trans is for you (three speed w/no overdrive), figure out what you want to do and put together a plan.

Stop gap or cheap fixes cost more than they save. When it fails, the additional time, money and effort to get it back on the road is usually far more than it would have taken to do it right.

Good luck.