ZF Swap

[BigRedFord04]

yes, thats right folks, as of tonite i am the proud new owner of a ZF S542 transmission, which will be going into my truck friday. I did a lot of research, found that that particular ZF has a 5.72:1 1st gear, as well as an over drive. Adam was kind enough to be my junkyard dawg in Dallas this week where he found quite a few of 'em, all way overpriced. He bought it for $470 after JOOing the guys down from $600. THEN delivered it to Waco today, where my dad met him to pick it up. THANK YOU ADAM! From the markings i gather that it was originally in a `92 F250 4x4 w/ 5.8L. Research @ NAPA told me that i needed one from `92 or newer in order for my slave cylinder and starter (both same p/n's as my Mazda tranny) to bolt right in. It also uses the same motor mount, which after a few measurements, i will be able to tell if i'll even have to adjust the crossmember. Once installed it will give me an overall crawl ratio of ~75:1...not too bad for a fullsize :D I'll keep y'all posted on how installation goes.

Anyone wanna buy a busted M5OD?? :flipoff2:

[BigRedFord04]

well, after some highly technical measurments w/ costly hard to use equipment (stanley tape measure) i've found that both the ZF and the M5OD are 29" long and 25" from the front of the bell housing to the tranny mount. no crossmember mods required WHOOP!! :D. Today i turned the flywheel, replaced the flywheel ring gear, and warrantied my clutch, tomorrow i will warranty the slave cylinder and get to work on installation Friday. Pictures pending.

[fbronco86]

i can not believe you found one. I have never seen one in a junkyard and me and doug go to the junkyard alot.

[BigRedFord04]

adam found like 7-8 last week but most places wanted over $700.

anyway...i started putting everything back together after i got off work @ the club 'last nite' i guess you could say @ 4am. i just finished and made a trip around the neighborhood. tranny seems fine....granny gear is AWESOME, just need to bleed the clutch a bit more and i'll be good to go. making a shifter took some ingenuity...1 1/4" galvanized pipe w/ two holes drilled into it and some 5/16" bolts hammered thru the holes connecting to the shifter on the top of the tranny. still need to put the center floor pan cover back on...cant drive around w/o it too long b.c. exhaust heat is gawd dayum hot!! I GOT A ZF!!! :D :D :D

[BMFScout]

I need to see a pic of that shifter, it sounds ghettoriffic

[BigRedFord04]

yes, the shifter is definately craptacular, orange cap and all :flipoff2: but it gets the job done. i'll get a pic ASAP. i put about 50 miles on the tranny today, no apparent problems. had to rebleed the slave cyl. after the 1st trip around the block. its just kinda funny getting used to a new shift pattern, not to mention that for all street intents and purposes its a 4 speed now.

[StevenAg03]

does it have the same overdrive that your old one had? and what happened to buying that olther truck? wasnt it gonna be about the same amount as youpaid for the tranny alone?

[BigRedFord04]

the ZF actually has a BETTER overdrive than the Mazda tranny... 0.79:1 in the mazda vs. 0.72:1 in the ZF. the deal w/ the whole truck was that the guy wanted $700 for the tranny alone, or would take $850 for the entire truck. (for those of you who dont know, this is an `89 F250 4x4 minus motor, otherwise complete, no title).

[fbronco86]

dang i could have used that to make my 92 f250 into a 4x4. but i think that would have been a bad idea. one 4x4 is enough trouble for me.

[StevenAg03]

i think the truck austin found had the wrong tranny to mate to your engine...

[BigRedFord04]

yeah...it was originally a 302 in it...the guy took it out of a perfectly running truck to put into one of his other trucks

[eight]

Yea but Mike has the motor and transmission in his truck plus a divored case laying around. Could just throw in that closed knuckle axle.

[fbronco86]

nah all i would have to do is change the bell housing i bet. But i did not think about the the 205 i have laying around. All i need is a 8 lug TTB and she is ready to roll. but i think its prob a good thing that truck is 2 wd.

[StevenAg03]

why would you put TTB on it? i could understand if all you had to do was swap in the beams on the front as is the case on the f150's but your truck has coil springs and the 3/4 ton TTB has leaf springs...

[BigRedFord04]

ZFs have an integrated bell housing...no swapping that b.c. it doesnt unbolt. you'd have to get one from a 7.3L truck

[bigFAWKINranger]

Originally posted by BigRedFord04
ZFs have an integrated bell housing...no swapping that b.c. it doesnt unbolt. you'd have to get one from a 7.3L truck
which i also found a few of bc i am a god damned JUNKYARD PIZZELNIZIMP! :flipoff2: and originally that dude would not take less than $600 on that tranny... i BS'd him and got about $130 or so off the top... he wsn't going lower than that... but its a far cry from the "$800 i usually get on these." as he told me. my original offer was $218.... i was laughed at.

[BMFScout]

It's not near as pimp as the deal I got for Busa. I got the holy grail of front toyota diffs out of a 94 land cruiser for 35 bucks. The guy wanted 100, and I jewed to 35. It has the electric locker, high pinion, gears he wanted, and everything. Busa then proceeded to keep the 3rd member and then have scott list the rest of the axle on pirate in exchange for part of the money made off the housing. Some yota fag in cali bought the rest of it for $400. Busa later told me that the 3rd member alone is like 1600 bones from toyota. I received a hearty thank you for finding and helping him pull the axle, and said he was just calling to rub it in that I had passed by it and not gotten it earlier. I'm not bitter though...fawkin toyota guys...:D :rolleyes: :flipoff2: That is how **** goes though I guess, next time it might be my axle we pull.