best transmission for a b3

[blueoval]

have a good 4speed but i drive at least 500 miles a month and 4 speed is not really made for the interstate. so i found a 5 speed at the junkyard and cleaned it up changed axle seals and put new flywheel and clutch kit on and new fluid,just to find out that the transmission is no good it whines real bad so now i've pulled it out and do not know what road to take rebuild is around 600 at shop and i have never messed with internal tranny parts,could take the chance on another used one but if i got to bad i'd been better off getting the rebuild. so i was wondering if there might be a better tranny option hence the post to ask the festiva guru's to chime in thanks for all help ahead of time

[Movin]

how much are transmissions costing used in your area and is the whine linear like a ring and pinion, or a symptom of one gear..?

[blueoval]

pretty sure it's bearings this one i got for 125 but the only one i can find now is 200 plus my old one and that was me talking them down from 250

[jake88maro]

i mean i have a spare b3 5 speed with goos bearings ect., just has a small crack that was fixed with jb weld

[blueoval]

is the aspire transmission any better or does it kill mpg's? would put the 4speed back in it but have the weber carb on it and it really runs great and the 4speed just feels like its missing a gear

[bhazard]

Re: best transmission for a b3

Aspire trans would still run lower rpm than a 4 speed I think.

[Movin]

If you find one used with a warranty for 6 months minimum for not too much more it sounds like that would be better money spent, especially when you are looking for an improvement that has yet to be proven...

[blueoval]

movin what do you mean when you are looking for an improvement that has yet to be proven? and the 200 dollar trans plus my core is a 7day warranty

[Damkid]

best transmission for a b3

With all the people on here that do engine/trans swaps, I bet you could find one cheaper then $200

Like if I had a stock trans kickin around I'd probably just give it away lol

[Bert]

Aspire trans would still run lower rpm than a 4 speed I think.

Top gear on an Aspire tranny would be lower than the top gear of a 4 or a 5 speed Festy box (top gear is the same for both Festy boxes), consequently requiring higher revs at highway speeds. Likely though you'll appreciate the extra gear in between whether it comes from an Aspire or a Festy. Apparently an Aspire box requires a different rear mount so get whatever mounts you can before attempting such a swap.

[blkfordsedan]

Maybe it's just me, but $600 sounds pretty high to rebuild a tranny that's already out of the car. I pulled the 5-speed out of mine and took it to a large transmission repair shop. They rebuilt it with new bearings and seals for $250...parts and labor included. They bought the rebuild kit for $130 (less synchros) and charged $120 labor. Took them a couple hours.
i could see $600 if they had to pull the trans and install a new clutch.

[Aaronbrook37]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Festiva-FTI5-5-Spd-Transmission-Rebuild-Kit-88-93-/370462949209?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item56414fff59&vxp=mtr

[bhazard]

Re: best transmission for a b3

Top gear on an Aspire tranny would be lower than the top gear of a 4 or a 5 speed Festy box (top gear is the same for both Festy boxes), consequently requiring higher revs at highway speeds.

Wrong. All the transmissions have the same ratios. The difference is the diff ratio. 4th gear in a 4 speed is the same as 4th in a festy 5 speed. The aspire trans has the same 1-5 ratios as the festy 5 speed but the diff has a lower ratio resulting in slightly higher rpm in all gears.

If I recall...55 MPH with the 4 speed is about 2900 rpm. 2300 rpm with a festy 5 speed and maybe 2700 with the aspire 5 speed?

[Movin]

movin what do you mean when you are looking for an improvement that has yet to be proven? and the 200 dollar trans plus my core is a 7day warranty

It's me understanding that you don't like the four speed and want something better.. I didn't understand exactly what you are hoping for but figured that
does not really matter in a decision hoping for something better, Given that you do not have it yet and it may exceed or fall short of your expectations,
the smallest investment possible to try out what you have in mind. A used transmission can always be rebuilt later and it would also give you time to find
a better deal for a rebuilder.

[Bert]

Wrong. All the transmissions have the same ratios. The difference is the diff ratio. 4th gear in a 4 speed is the same as 4th in a festy 5 speed. The aspire trans has the same 1-5 ratios as the festy 5 speed but the diff has a lower ratio resulting in slightly higher rpm in all gears.

If I recall...55 MPH with the 4 speed is about 2900 rpm. 2300 rpm with a festy 5 speed and maybe 2700 with the aspire 5 speed?

Somebody else more knowlegable than I am is going to have to chime in here. I can appreciate that diff ratios (as in the overall drive ratios) might be different from Aspire to Festy but I've always understood that 4 and 5 speed Festy boxes had the same final drive. If in fact 5th is an overdrive, that 4 speeds didn't have, well then I can readily see lusting over that extra gear.