Identification of the BorgWarner T-5 with the ID tag missing!
by Stan Peace, www.Pro-ForcePerformance.com

This article is a culmination of research begun in 2009; it is periodically updated with new information and clarifications.  The author does NOT give permission to copy and re-post this on other websites without providing credit to the author and a functioning link back to this document.    T-5 Identification Article  
Questions, or requests for updates may be made by contacting the author through his website. 

Overview
People say that if the T-5 ID tag is missing you can't tell anything about it and that the casting numbers visible on the case are not useful in identification.

Not True! There is a lot of information available in those numbers...

This document is a work in progress and is nowhere near completion.
Please bear with me as this page is constructed...

The Tag
The Borg Warner T-5 is generally identified by a 1352-xxx number stamped on a metal tag on a tail housing bolt. This tag is normally under the second bolt from the top on the left side of the transmission. While Ford used aluminum for these tags, GM used steel which is prone to rusting. GM also placed the ID number on a green and white barcode sticker on the top cover. If this ID number can be determined, a positive ID of the transmission can be made using available charts that are not in this article.

Identifying a T-5 without the metal ID tag can be tricky, but using certain clues we can do a pretty good job. My expertise is primarily with the Mustang T-5's but I will include as much S-10 and Camaro information as I can.  This article is presuming that the transmission is still sealed and that the internals are not visible.

If the ID tag is missing, the transmission has likely been serviced. Generally, a serviced T-5 has simply been repaired or rebuilt to its original specifications, but since the T-5 is so versatile it is also entirely possible that internal parts have been changed, or case parts may be of different model types to create a custom transmission, so these methods don't always guarantee a perfect match. 

Do not use a number that is CAST into the metal case of a T-5 as if it were an ID tag number. These numbers are of the format 1352-xxx-yyy they have more digits and are actually the CASTING numbers. These numbers are useful and many are listed below, but they cannot be applied to a chart that lists the ID tag numbers. 

Visual Identification
First, a quick visual inspection will reveal if you have a Mustang, a Camaro, or an S-10 T-5.  Yes, there are AMC, Nissan and other T-5s, but I have no information on them at this time.

The S-10 tail case has a shifter with a square base located forward just behind the main case.  The Camaro tail case has a shifter with a square base located at the extreme rear end of the tail case.  The Mustang tail case has a shifter with a rectangular base located near the rear of the tail case. 

<add pictures of these 3>

Identifying the YEAR
Close scrutiny of the case will generally reveal the CASTING DATE. The year is usually visible, but the month is not so easy to decode. The date is a circular seal cast into the case. The year is usually visible as a 2-digit number within this circle. Keep in mind that a case part may have been cast in the year prior to the actual year model that the transmission was in.  There will be a casting date on the main case, on the top cover and one on the tail housing. 

Additionally, for a Ford transmission there will be a PARTIAL VIN on the lower right side of the main case near where it attaches to the bell housing. This will be an 8-digit number beginning with two letters followed by the last 6 digits of the VIN of the vehicle it was originally installed in. Of course, "Service Units" and aftermarket T5Z transmissions will not have a VIN.  Using this partial VIN and some intuitive detective work it is usually possible to deduce the entire VIN of the original car. 

The first letter represents the year of the car and the second letter represents the Assembly Plant where the transmission was installed. This second letter is almost always an "F" which means "Dearborn, MI" The numbers decode as follows: D = 1983, E = 1984, F = 1985, G = 1986, H = 1987, J = 1988, K = 1989, L = 1990, M =1991, N = 1992, P = 1993, R = 1994, S = 1995. I, O, and Q were not used. It is presumed that this number series continued in a similar manner beyond 1995 with the V-6 T-5s

World Class Identifiers

Front Countershaft Bearing Race
A quick glance at the bearing race that sticks through the face of the transmission main case will reveal if the T-5 is a World Class or not. 

<photo of WC vs non-WC Race goes here>

While the word "Timken" only appears on a World Class bearing race, not all of these races have the Timken label visible from the front. Furthermore, Timken no longer offers this part, so none of the replacement bearing races used today will have the Timken label. Look at the shape. The WC race looks flat and machined while the NON-WC race looks dome-shaped with a curved edge similar to a freeze plug.

Retainer Bolt
The NON-WC Mustang T-5s have a hex bolt on the left side of the main case near the top where the WC Mustang T-5s have a Star-Shaped security (Torx) bolt in that location. This has been pretty consistent with the Mustang, but NOT with the GM transmissions. If you see the hex bolt in this position it would be a NON-WC unit, but the presence of the Torx bolt does NOT guarantee a WC transmission. Keep in mind that these two styles of bolts are functionally interchangeable.

Drain Plugs
Early drain plugs have a square head sticking out that accepts a wrench and the later plugs have a square hole in them that accepts a 3/8 ratchet. These square head plugs generally appear on the Mustang NON-WC units as well as the early GM units, Later NON-WC T-5 transmissions have the 3/8 ratchet type.  Either type CAN appear on either type of transmission because they are interchangeable.

Casting Numbers
The casting numbers are most helpful when you don't have an ID tag, but in the more recent years both Ford and GM have used the main cases with the SAME casting numbers on them! - They ARE the same cases.  See the information below.

READ THIS ABOUT ID NUMBERS:
Many confused people have found this page attempting to identify their T-5. 
A common mistake is to see the 13-52-065-xxx number cast into the side of the case, do a search, and find the britishV8.org website. 
That site has a pretty comprehensive list of T-5 ID TAGS.  There they look up the ID TAG using the first 7 digits of the casting number 
and have mistakenly identified their transmission as being a NON-World Class "1352-065 - Ford 1984 Mustang/Capri 5.0 V8"

Tag numbers have 7 digits and casting numbers have 10 digits.  
Don't take the first 7 digits of the casting number and look it up as a tag number.
It is unfortunate that these numbering systems overlap.
The next paragraph will identify the CASE of your T-5 and from there you can make generalizations about what you have.

Main Case CASTING NUMBERS:
13-52-065-001 Early NON-WC such sd 1982 Chevette
13-52-065-003 Early NON-WC S-10
13-52-065-901 82 NON-WC GM CHEVETTE
13-52-065-903 82-83 NON-WC GM
13-52-065-904 83-84 NON-WC Ford  (Also used in Astro Mini Vans around 1986.)
13-52-065-908 85-91 World Class Ford 
13-52-065-913 83-87 NON-WC Camaro/Firebird
13-52-065-914* World Class 88/92 Camaro/Firebird & 93 S-10 V-6
13-52-065-916* Newer NON-WC Camaro/Firebird S-10
13-52-065-921 91-95 World Class Ford - With and without the reverse spring anchor
                            This case is also used in some WC S-10's
13-52-065-922* 96+ World Class Ford & GM - With and without the reverse spring anchor
                            This case is used in Mustangs, Camaros and S-10s

Housings noted with "*" can have the fill plug in either the higher location for Ford and S-10 or the lower location for the Camaro/Firebird. (The Camaro/Firebird is tilted requiring a lower fill plug location) <photo needed>

The -921 and -922 housings may or may not have the spring anchor for the cantilever spring used in most of the newer fifth/reverse shift linkages. Generally 92-94 versions have a hex bolt for this anchor and beginning around 95 this anchor is smooth and round. 

Tail Case CASTING NUMBERS:
13-52-066-901 82-83 AMC NON-WC
13-52-066-908 83-84 Ford NON-WC
13-52-066-911 83-87 S-10 NON-WC w/mech speedo (*also some early 88 models)
13-52-066-912 ??-?? Nissan NON-WC
13-52-066-913 83-87 Camaro - Firebird NON-WC
13-52-066-919 85-90 Ford World Class w/plastic vent tube (also on some 84 NON-WC)
13-52-066-921 Mid-80's Cosworth Sierra WC
13-52-066-922 85-89 Astro Van NON-WC w/mech speedo
13-52-066-923 83-87 Camaro - Firebird NON-WC
13-52-066-931 88-92 S-10 NON-WC w/elec speedo
13-52-066-933 93+ S-10 World Class w/elec speedo
13-52-066-935 90-91 Ford w/metal vent tube 
13-52-066-936 88-95 Camaro World Class (w/speedo GEAR)
13-52-066-939 92-98 Ford w/metal vent tube (Rubber vent tube appeared about 96) 
                            (later versions hid this casting number in the shifter cavity)
13-52-066-941 ??-?? Isuzu World Class
13-52-066-950 96-00? Camaro World Class (V6 w/reluctor type speedometer sender)
                            (casting number only visible down in the shifter cavity)
13-52-066-953 99-04 Ford (casting number only visible down in the shifter cavity)

Top Cover CASTING NUMBERS:
13-52-097-901 Early style plain top - Ford & GM (no neutral switch)
13-51-097-901 85 Ford w/neutral switch on RIGHT SIDE
13-52-097-913 86-93 Ford style w/neutral switch on LEFT SIDE
13-52-097-917 86-93 plain top cover - no switch
13-52-097-926 96-04 plain top DOMED cover (casting number only visible from the inside)

This page is a work in progress. 
Please LINK to this page and don't just copy it.
If you copy it, you have frozen that copy and it won't get any corrections nor updates going forward. 

This article was last updated on 01/28/2024 .