2 4 0 T U R B O . C O M
D A V E ' S V O L V O P A G E
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UPDATED: March 23, 2024
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| M46 Transmission Info |
Rear End Info |
| T5 Installation | Speedo Cable |
| Trans Mount and Crossmember |
Tremec TK Series |
| Driveshaft |
Shifter Sticks |
| 240 Cable Clutch for T5 |
240 Hydraulic Clutch Page |
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page will hold a bunch of research I've collected over the years on T5
transmission swaps into 240 and stuff related to that. I'll continue to add things here as I can. If you can help with this, please email. |
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FIRST for me came the
Installation of an M46 Transmission My 1984 240 originally came with an AW71 automatic transmission, like most 240s imported to the USA. If two pedals are good, three are definitely better! I have always preferred a manual transmission in any car I have owned for driving pleasure, but a nice 240 Turbo with a manual transmission was not easy to find. Eventually my original auto transmission totally failed more than 100 miles from home during a road-trip to the annual Davis Volvo Show in Calif. I called for a flatbed tow (having a premier AAA account was a great decision) and the car was sent back home while I hitched a ride in friend's Volvo who was also on his way to Davis.  This is an M46 4-speed plus overdrive transmission. I pulled this transmission from a wrecked 1983 242 Turbo.  The old M46 wire harness that came with the M46 was is very poor condition, so I had to make a new one. I saved the info and later made some diagrams for others if needed. Those diagrams can be seen in my 240 Mods and Fixes Page: 240turbo.com/volvo240mods#m46harness 
 That 1983 M46 came with a Type J OD, which had a cable speedometer output. Research has suggested later M46 transmissions (with P Type OD) will not have a cable output. There are solutions for this problem: CLICK HERE. Volvo stopped using speedometer cables after 1985. The M46 was still used in 240 models through 1986 (or possibly some 1987 models). In 1987 the 240s with manual transmission began receiving new M47 5-speed. The M47 may not not come with a speedometer cable output either, although the "Grupp 38 Instrument" table below suggests that there may have been some M47s that did come with speedometer cable outputs. I'm not aware of them actually existing though. The 740 Turbo (and 740 16 valve) models with manual transmissions would continue to get the M46 through 1990, because it was stronger than the M47. The M46 then became obsolete after 1990 and was permanently discontinued. Here's a table below showing gear ratios for a number of different Volvo manual transmissions.  Here's a table below showing the different TOOTH COUNTS and COLORS of 240 speedometer cable gears. This table was originally in Swedish. I have added some English translations below.  This table above came from Greenbook TP30176 240 Specifications. Lubricant recommendation for M46 or M47. Taken from TP30941 Manual Transmissions, page 4.  Lubricant recommendation for M46 or M47. Taken from TP30941 Manual Transmissions Supplement, page 7.  REAR END INFO Considering my 1984 240 Turbo originally had an automatic transmission, the rear end ratio for MY CAR was 3.91:1. A manual transmission 1984 240 would have received a different rear end ratio of 3.73:1. A lot more 240 rear end stuff can be found in my REAR END PAGE. YOUR 240 Trans/Rear End Combo May Vary Rear end ratios were NOT very consistent for the 240 over the years. There were a LOT of combinations. I have begun compiling information I could find in Volvo documentation. This might help you plan for your particular rear end ratio needs.
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T5 MANUAL TRANSMISSION UPGRADE
Fearing the M46 would eventually break from too much torque or abuse, I decided to install a Ford Motorsport World Class T5Z 5-speed transmission.  I bought this transmission brand new from Summit Racing in 2004 (about $1300 back then). It's pretty much the same as this one from Summit Racing: https://www.summitracing.com/rem-1352-000-251. The Ford T5 transmission was originally used for 1979 to 1993 Ford Mustangs. It was originally manufactured by Borg Warner. In 1997 Tremec bought Borg Warner's transmission division, so transmissions made after 1997 were marked "TREMEC." The input shaft on the Ford V8 model has 10 splines (1.0625" diameter). The output shaft has 28 splines. The rear T5 slip yoke uses a 1330 series U-joint, which measures 3.625 inches wide. These U-joint bearing caps are 1.0625 inch diameter. The T5 has a 7 tooth cable speedometer drive gear output. I adapted a modified Volvo speedo cable SEEN HERE. ADAPTING TO A VOLVO BELL HOUSING  An adapter plate is needed to bolt a T5 to a Volvo bell housing. The above plate is available from BNE Dynamics. The bell housing will also need to be modified in the center (machined). This can be done by you or BNE Dynamics can provide a modified bell housing for you. In the below photo you can see an adapter place in place during my 240 installation.  NEW PILOT BEARING (AKA: PILOT BUSHING) Clutch Pilot Bearing: Standard Ford Mustang 5.0 type. Ford Performance Parts M-7600-A, Dorman PN 14677. I.D.: 0.672 inch. O.D.: 1.378 inch. The new pilot bearing is needed on the rear of the crankshaft to correctly fit the tip of the input shaft on the T5 transmission. You'll need to remove your old pilot bearing first.  Here's a video below of an easy way to remove an old pilot bearing using grease. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pBdpTCpaqQ When I first installed the T5 I used a CABLE Type Clutch Fork. It uses a standard Volvo clutch fork with a Ford Mustang style clutch release bearing. The fork required some special metal pieces to be added to properly support the bearing.  These are really old photos from 2004. There are some better photos below of the new parts from BNE Dynamics.  The McLeod 1600 bearing above is equal to the standard Ford bearing. The McLeod 16515 is an improved adjustable version.  These special pieces are now available from BNE Dynamics: bneshop.com/throwout-bearing-for-t5 If you instead decide to use a HYDRAULIC CLUTCH setup, I have a page dedicated to that HERE. GEAR RATIOS
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My new T5 originally came with the 0.63 ratio 5th gear.
I was ultimately not happy with this ratio.
Cruising in 5th gear with my low compression B21FT felt like my car was lugging at highway speeds, especially below 3000 rpm. There were some other 5th gear ratios available for this transmission over the years. One of them was 0.73:1. I was able to locate a brand new 5th gear set that would convert my 0.63 5th gear to 0.73, which I then had installed by a transmission shop. I should explain that a 5th gear set for a T5 transmission is made up of two matched gears. One is a countershaft gear and one is a main shaft gear. And for the overdrive ratio to be correctly calculated, certain 5th gear sets must be chosen according to the existing FIRST gear ratio. The T5 came with a 1st gear of either 2.95:1 or 3.35:1. Mine came with 2.95:1. The original 0.63 5th gear that came in my transmission meant the matched gears it came with was a 51 tooth countershaft gear and a 25 tooth main shaft gear. To convert my T5 to 0.73:1, I needed a set consisting of a 55 tooth countershaft gear and a 31 tooth main shaft gear. The table below will help you understand how these combinations work and how different 5th gear sets will turn out depending on which 1st gear ratio is already installed.
It should be noted that T5 transmissions were made for both Ford cars and GM cars. T5 transmissions from both makes had different optional 5th gear ratios. All FORD World Class (WC) T5s came with a 28 spline output shaft, while all GM WC T5 transmissions had a 27 spline output shaft. This difference is important to note, because the main shaft gear used in a 5th gear set must have the same spline count as the output shaft. So a main shaft gear for a GM transmission will NOT fit in a Ford transmission.
While new (and used) T5 transmissions are still available, some transmission parts that were easy to find years ago have begun to vanish or become hard to find. Finding sources for 5th overdrive gear sets, such as those listed above, can be hard. I have now begun listing part numbers as I can find them. If you can help with this, please let me know. I found the new 0.73 overdrive to be a much better ratio for a small Volvo engine with low compression like my B21FT (7.5:1 static compression ratio).
SPEEDOMETER CABLE ADAPTATION  I chose to keep the old school speedometer cable my car came with, however most 240's out there nowadays (1986 and later) will have an electric speedometer, which of course requires a Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) in the rear end. The T5 conveniently had a mechanical speedometer cable output port shown above.  I found a Ford T5 speedo cable in a salvage yard from a Mustang and cut off the transmission end shown above. Then I removed the end from a Volvo 240 cable. The ends are simply pushed or crimped onto the plastic sheath, so removing them was not hard. Then I grafted the Volvo cable sheath to the Ford end, making certain the square inner drive cable came through far enough to engage that red plastic gear above. This has worked perfectly for many years. If the red gear is the same as the below image, then it should have 21 teeth and seems to work well with my car with a 3.91:1 rear end.  A variety of different speedometer gears can be found for the Ford T5 transmission. 16 through 23 teeth. Above image is from: shiftsst.com/speedo-gears-101.html. YOSHIFAB SPEEDOMETER CABLE This wasn't available back then, but now you can buy a ready-to-install speedo cable instead of creating one on your own. https://yoshifab.com/speedometer-cable Other Resources for Adapting Mechanical (cable) Speedometers to Electronic Signals or Electric Speedometers to Mechanical Drive. I began compiling info on options for various needs and I have begun developing that info in my Gauge Cluster Electronics Page at 240turbo.com/#speedoadapters. Some of these options are quite expensive. Some will need a bit of experimentation. Your comments are welcome. If you have used any of these products (or similar products), please let me know. I would like to hear from anyone who has used these solutions.    MORE RESOURCES FOR FITTING A T5 TRANSMISSION IN A 240 If you're looking for more info on fitting a T5 transmission into a 240 or other Volvo, here are some good places to start looking: Aaron Reed Baker's T5 installation page: http://www.aaronreedbaker.com/t5swap.html Smoothdurban's thread beginning on page 2 (post #91): http://forums.turbobricks.com/t=292243&page=2 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=3620 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=23541 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=23646 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=23284 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=18952 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=17614 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=17283 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=16921 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=15408 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=16019 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=11183 https://forums.turbobricks.com/t=37552 1800philes.com T5 installation 2007 T5 Swap in a 240. Added 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqm9D2c1TRo Rebuilding a T5 Transmission This is not something I've done, but if you search YouTube you'll find a number of videos on rebuilding a T5. Here's a search: https://www.youtube.com/how+to+rebuild+ford+t5 OR if you need to rebuild and UPGRADE a T5 to handle more power, try this video. Building a Budget 400 HP T5 Transmission https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S13XcbK7Vw Here's an extensive T5 Gearbox Part Number Reference. Bob from Australia compiled this and sent it to me for use here. If you want to help Bob with any corrections or new information, he can be contacted at bgpzfm [at] hotmail [dot] com. Below document 0.7mb PDF.  |
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Transmission Mount and Crossmember The crossmember and transmission mount may not seem like it needs a lot of thought or planning, but after my experiences, I disagree and you'll see below the problems I needed to solve. 
 Back in 2004 when the T5 installation was first being developed in a 240, pretty much every installation ended up with a very simple modification to the stock 240 crossmember. They all looked like this ABOVE. This was 1/4 inch steel plate that was welded to the bottom of the crossmember. So I did this also, thinking it should work ok. 
 Then in nearly all installations, a standard Ford T5 transmission mount for a Mustang would be used, mounted in a VERTICAL position. Or an aftermarket polyurethane Mustang trans mount could be used (which I tried out for a while). I later found that the T5 mount was not working well at all. A potential serious problem came up. HERE'S THE PROBLEM When using this mount, I eventually discovered that my engine had slowly SHIFTED REARWARD , far enough that the back of the CYLINDER HEAD WAS FIRMLY AGAINST THE FIREWALL.  The PHOTO ABOVE shows what I discovered when looking under the car. The mount had been forcibly deformed, allowing the transmission to move toward the rear. THIS IS WHY 
 I'm using OEM ENGINE MOUNTS like pictured ABOVE. When I closely checked my engine mounts, I discovered they were deforming similar to the above "DEFORMED-SAG" photo. This allowed the engine to move rearward toward the firewall until the firewall stopped it. This needed to be corrected. The Volvo designers created the mounts to be a THREE POINT CRADLE SYSTEM to keep the engine-trans combo centered in the three mounts. The rear transmission mount needed to be tilted forward to keep the engine from moving to the rear. No one thought this was important when they began installing T5s.  MY CHANGES TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. After I found this problem and before anyone was making custom crossmembers or mounts for a T5 conversion, I approached a couple well known Volvo parts fabricators in hopes that a better design might be created. I specifically wanted to change the transmission mount style to something like the below sketches I made, where the transmission mount was tilted. I got nowhere. The advice I got was to simply install ultra-stiff or SOLID engine mounts and live with excessive vibration. Seriously?  I shared the above sketches on Turbobricks. I didn't discover this idea out of thin air. This is pretty much exactly the same as a factory Volvo manual transmission mount. Volvo designed it this way. This is how I needed it to be (again). My measurements found there was enough room to choose from a few smaller style mounts, depending on where the best position for the crossmember ended up. There are only a few existing bolt-in positions for the crossmember. Using a Ford Mustang T5 mount like I did at first was not going to work and there not really enough room if it was tilted, because it's TOO TALL. Using a smaller tilted mount, like a Volvo M46 rubber mount or something similar could certainly fit in there without much trouble.  Here are the mounts ABOVE I wanted to consider for this. I had some of these in my parts bins. The standard M46 mount is an easy choice, but I thought it would be good to have more than one choice to see what fits best for a good transmission height. The transmission height is important, but there isn't very much room under the center tunnel for a lot of different height positions. The left engine mount ABOVE is very close in size to the M46 mount, except the studs are offset on the engine mount. If a taller mount is needed, the RIGHT engine mount might be the choice to consider. A Turbobricks member eventually began offering a new crossmember design using steel box tubing. His design normally offered the typical vertical T5 mount configuration that became a problem for me (I don't have a photo of that mount version). I discussed my ideas with him (using the above tilted mount sketches) and he agreed to modify one of his custom crossmembers for me. His design would hold an ANGLED transmission mount that I needed. The result was this mount set pictured BELOW.  He made a strong effort, while using a 240 he had access to, which had a T5 installed. But he made an error. Instead of fitting a more compact style transmission mount, he made the mistake of fitting a way too LARGE Ford Mustang T5 mount (not what I asked for). He also goofed and neglected to consider how low to the ground his design was going to end up when installed. This resulted in this lowest part of the crossmember (BELOW) being way too low for an already lowered 240. 
 I'm open to trying things out before criticizing. So I ran with it and lived with the annoying scraps on speed bumps and driveways, but eventually it resulted in the SEVERE CARNAGE SHOWN ABOVE. REPAIRING THE CARNAGE  First things first. Before dropping the trans crossmember for a project like this, take some simple measurements to make sure the engine doesn't migrate rearward and distort the engine mounts.  I got under my car and stared at this piece ABOVE for a good long while. I considered making a change in this piece. I even tried a few alternate designs using cardboard, but in the end I found the best idea was to stay with this piece and drill it to fit a smaller Volvo rubber mount. Remember these below?
Since I had these three mounts on hand, I tried fitting them all to see which one seemed to fit best with the transmission height I liked. For the record, I basically mounted the transmission as high in the tunnel as I could get it, while still clearing the floor. There is very little space in there, but everything clears ok. In the end I used the middle 240 ENGINE MOUNT above. And I modded the crossmember like this below.   When I was happy with things, I gave it a fresh coat of paint.  Here's the final result using the 240 right side ENGINE MOUNT as a trans mount. This is working perfectly now and no more contact with the ground, ever. My car is so much happier now. |
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Optional Stronger 5-Speed Transmissions T5 versus a new TKX  PHOTO: T5 versus TKX Dimensions (FORD versions) It's well known the T5 transmission is not as strong as a Tremec TK series. The WC T5 I chose had an advertised torque rating of about 300-330 ft. lbs. These limits have been acceptable for most 4 cylinder Volvos. Over the years, some makers of Volvo transmission adapters (such an BNE Dynamics) have begun offering versions to use a stronger Tremec TK series 5 speed. In 2021 Tremec introduced an all new TKX 5 speed transmission, which is now the replacement for the obsolete TKO 5-speed, which had been around for many years. Of course these much stronger TK transmissions are more expensive than a T5. The new TKX 5 speed transmission is a completely new design and it looks nothing like the T5 or the old TKO, but it shares the same overall length and uses the same bell housing mounting dimensions as the TKO. So it can be used for our Volvos with an available adapter. The major differences in the TKX include a slimmer design (for easier fit in tight transmission tunnels), more options for gear ratios, more options for shifter placement, a torque rating of 600 ft. lbs., a higher 8000 rpm limit with shifting available up to 7500 rpm, and it has both electric and cable speedo outputs. It's advertised as having the same superior shifting characteristics as the T56 6-speed. The cross member mounting points on a TKX are in a slightly different position; about 0.8 inch higher and about 1.2 inch further back that the T5. The TKX transmission weighs about 23 lbs. heavier than a T5 (about 98 lbs. versus 75 lbs.). INPUT SHAFT: If you were to swap from an existing T5 to a TKX, or if you're doing a first-time conversion to a 240, but want to use a TKX instead of a T5, there are a few things to keep in mind. The Ford T5 used most in this T5 swap will generally have a 10 spine input shaft (1.0625 inch diameter). It appears a 10 spline input shaft version of the TKX is available, same 1.0625 inch diameter, but checking on-line I found it listed out of stock or special order only, so there may be a wait. And from what I've read, the optional 26 spine input shaft versions should be stronger, since more splines is generally considered stronger. Plus the 26 spine shaft is larger (1.125 inch diameter). You can use this info in case going with a 26 spline input shaft is an option for you. A 26 spline version will require a different clutch disk. I'm not sure if the same clutch pilot bearing can be used. OUTPUT SHAFT: The Ford T5 came with a 28 spline output shaft. A T5 slip yoke (shown a bit below) uses a 1330 series U-joint. The TKX only comes with a 31 spline output shaft. So a different slip yoke is needed. A 1330 series U-joint slip yoke is available for the TKX, so the U-joint can be the same. A 1330 series U-joint measures 3.625 inches wide. The bearing caps are 1.0625 inch diameter. TREMEC TKX OFFERS SOME NEW GEAR RATIO OPTIONS  COMPARED TO TYPICAL FORD T5 GEAR RATIOS
A Guide To Tremec Manual Transmissions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOGFOkP_lUY |
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| DRIVESHAFT STUFF The top driveshaft shown BELOW is a stock driveshaft for a 1984 Volvo 240 with an automatic transmission. 
The T5 transmission can be installed in a 240 with a ONE-PIECE or TWO-PIECE driveshaft. For this installation I chose a TWO-PIECE style. I had a driveline shop custom build the new front half of the driveshaft, which I then assembled onto the unmodified rear half. The slip yoke on the new driveshaft above is a standard T5 type, which uses a 1330 series U-joint. The normal Volvo front U-joint is a 1310 series, so the driveshaft shop installed a combination U-joint 1310 to 1330. YOSHIFAB PREPARED FRONT DRIVESHAFT This wasn't available back then, but now you can buy a ready-to-install FRONT DRIVESHAFT instead of creating one on your own. yoshifab.com/240-t5-front-drive-shaft Here's a video if you need guidance removing a driveshaft or if you plan to replace the center support bearing and rubber bushing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m8b5LfWjr4 U-JOINT ANGLES This is a very good video on PINION or U-JOINT ANGLES. Watch it! It explains things better than I ever could. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgNZfIR-8Ng DRIVESHAFT LENGTH  These photos above are of a custom ONE-PIECE driveshaft that was made for a 240 using a Ford T5 transmission. When measuring the length that you'll need, you must measure at a similar point on each end. The center of the universal joint is a good place to measure as shown above. This one-piece 240 driveshaft measures about 46.25 inches long at the U-joint centers.  The final driveshaft length doesn't need to be ultra-precise. If you're working on measurements, you can approximate where the above slip yoke needs to be in the back of the transmission. With the car on the ground and at ride height, it should end up roughly half way between the two images above. Not too far in. Not too far out. |
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HURST SHIFTER |
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 A Hurst
performance short-throw shifter was added when I installed my T5.
The Hurst chromed shifter stick I used is
detailed below.
My setup began with the original cable style clutch and pedal, but I later changed that to a hydraulic clutch setup after stretching and breaking a couple clutch cables. More info about hydraulic clutch setups can be found in my Hydraulic Clutch Page. |
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 I began with this chromed Hurst 8550 shifter stick.
The knob position was originally a little
tall for my preference, so I cut off about an inch off of the bottom.
The holes I'm using are shown in this photo of the modified shifter. I'm using the BOTTOM hole (which was originally the top hole) and the third hole from the bottom, which I drilled. The other holes are not being used. The final shifter position is now perfect in my opinion. It's comfortable and and easy to reach any gear without any strain. I tailored the above shift handle to my needs, but a really good shifter position can be found for a 240 with almost any shifter stick that's around 6 to 8 inches long and with a small curve to the rear. This handle below is another common Hurst chromed stick that will fit very well with no mods.  Hurst 5380015 8 inch stick with 3 inch offset.  This is a rubber bushing from Hurst. PN 1140015. It helps the flat shifter handle fit nicely in the round hole of the Volvo rubber shift boot. 
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