Astro offers its own upgraded shift-selector plates for the tranny's two shift forks for First through Fourth gears. The plates, made of 4140 alloy steel, are less likely to crack under high-rpm shifts.
Check out the difference between the factory shift-selector finger (top) and Astro's upgraded finger. Stock, press-fit pieces can twist under the stresses of torque and hard shifting. Gerry makes sure the bulletproof fingers are installed in our transmission.
Here's our finished A-Five five-speed transmission, ready to handle all the horsepower and torque that Mason's blown Cobra will throw at it. With this A-Five's 0.79 overdrive, Mase will now have Fifth-gear acceleration that wasn't possible with a stock transmission. This unit weighs 82 pounds once two quarts of Synergyn Syngear II gear oil (required), and one quart of Red Line Oil's high-temp ATF have been poured in.
Bet you didn't know that gaskets aren't used to seal T-5 transmissions. Gerry applies high-temp RTV silicone between the case halves and near the O-ring on the rear part of the top cover. This ensures there won't be any leaks between the main case, top cover, and tailshaft housing.
The steel bearing retainer must be removed briefly-remember, we only secured it with two bolts earlier-to allow Gerry to install shims that will eliminate input-shaft endplay. When this step is complete, the bearing retainer is resecured with all four bolts and installed on the main case.