My auto to ZF6 swap

[powerstroked08]

I guess I'll be the one lone soul that says oh dear god WHY......


Took a perfectly nice truck, tore the interior out, sliced it, diced it and all just for the opportunity to put an inferior transmission in place of the one you had before you ever F'ed the thing up.

Slower shifts, reduced power holding ability unless you consider 3 second shifts with a dual disc "acceptable", plastic master/slave assembly to replace constantly, and syncros to turn into mush if you do in fact decide to run any power and then expect to make shifts at anything exceeding grandpa speed.

Dear god...


Professional counseling was in order. The manual trans died for a REASON. As you'll soon see...


Might as well slide a nice freshly cooked steak off your plate and into the trash so you can walk outside and fork a nice steamy dog sh*t turd up out of the flower bed to replace it with. But that would only be this bad if you also had to totally reconfigure your plate and then eat it every day for dinner from then until you finally sold the pile of crap just to rid yourself of it...

Anyway...

So please tell me why would it be better to say take the automatic over the manual to dump oh say 5k into it to hopefully hold up to the power that the manual will? Put a $1500 clutch in it and let the b***h eat! Not to mention the lack of parts that can fail in a manual vs. an automatic. Sorry but just my $.02

 

[powerstroked08]

Dont get me wrong i like the 5r and the 4r, but i would much rather have my manual if given the choice. And i have heard quite a few people wishing that they had one(manual). OP project looks nice so far i cant wait to see this whole thing come together!

 

[B585Ford]

haha this guy.....well glad you got everything off your chest buddy, have a good one

Excellent post

 

[Super08Duty]

I agree with some of what Charles said. In a way your taking a truck that only needed an $1100 converter, and instead ditching the auto and cutting a massive hole in the floor. It's a cool idea, but I don't really agree with it. Mainly for the reason that selling it won't be all that simple. If a buyer wanted to do a carfax on it, they'd see it came with a 5r. If it was my truck, I would have stopped and went back to the auto as soon as I noticed the different floors. Don't get me wrong, I love my zf6 7.3, they're a great transmission and hold up to serious abuse with a good clutch. Like I said, it's still a cool idea...just ballzy. You all can flame me as much as you want now. Just stating my opinions.

 

[brooksfruge]

I agree with some of what Charles said. In a way your taking a truck that only needed an $1100 converter, and instead ditching the auto and cutting a massive hole in the floor. It's a cool idea, but I don't really agree with it. Mainly for the reason that selling it won't be all that simple. If a buyer wanted to do a carfax on it, they'd see it came with a 5r. If it was my truck, I would have stopped and went back to the auto as soon as I noticed the different floors. Don't get me wrong, I love my zf6 7.3, they're a great transmission and hold up to serious abuse with a good clutch. Like I said, it's still a cool idea...just ballzy. You all can flame me as much as you want now. Just stating my opinions.

Well before this thread blows up into a chit show I'm gonna put out the flames, I understand some of y'all may not agree with the swap but here's the deal, even if I did keep the auto and tried to sell the truck down the road (which I'm not going to), whose gonna buy a truck 6.4 with a single setup, no stock fuel cooler, and the other mods if they are someone looking for a stock truck with no mods?....yes Colton and Charles y'all are right it is not good for the resale value to cut a whole in your floorboard, but like I said I'm not selling the truck, and I plan on making sure everything is done cleanly which it has so far, and lastly I don't give a chit if y'all think its stupid, I've always wanted a manual and this is my way of getting one....I think y'all may forget I'm a COLLEGE student and can't afford to go find a manual 6.4....yes I could of spent the money and built a 5r110 but 1) I wanted a manual and 2) ill be damned if I spend the money building an auto and having it chit out on me....this is a ballsy swap but I will make it work and it will be clean, and I'm doing it because I want to, not because I want the approval of the psa Internet warriors

 

[Morgan@Midwest Diesel & Auto]

I would take an manual over a auto any day of the week. There's a reason manual transmissions are hard to come by...

That is mainly due to the fact that by the run of the 6.4 powerstroke there was around 1% of all superdutys ordered with a manual trans. Henceforth if you were ford you would have quit making them too. Don't get me wrong I have two manuals right now, but I also have two autos. And both the manual trucks are sled pulling trucks. I've had my manuals, they were fun but I grew out of it. I don't want a work out every time I drive to town and back.

 

[powerstroked08]

Another possibility for the lack of manuals is that the power levels are where they are and its nearly impossible to find a single disc that will hold the power and the average person doesn't want to spend 40 or 50k to have a noisy double disc clutch. Just another possibility. Either way to each their own manual or auto whatever trips your trigger!

 

[Zmann]

I like to shift My Muncie in my jeep but couldn't imagine shifting my lifted CCSB all day long

that being said I think it's great that you found a way to get what you want by putting sweat and tears more than $$ into something

Good job and thanks for the thread

 

[WoodBoy]

Going from a manual for 3 years to an automatic for dd I have a feeling you are going to be regretting it in a year or two if your truck is a dd. Dont get me wrong, I like getting in the ol 7.3 during hay season and grabbing a gear or two during the day but man I love it when i hope back in the automatic and head back home

 

[PWRstroke_smoke]

^Can we stay on subject, this is a build thread not a bash/debate thread.

What he said take a hike out of this thread.

Awesome build project cant wait to see more of it getting finished up and pics of the tranny hump conversion.

 

[Jeff@Spartan]

I believe Brooks truck is making well north of 350 HP.

 

[Meniacal_Mark]

Just a whisker over 350rwhp

 

[Denver]

:stupid: Yes, please leave us who do have a brain alone, because I'm sure you don't have an idea about a manual trans, I can't think of anyone who has had problems with 350hp with a ZF6.

It happens. We had to get a ZF-6 in a stock 03 6.0 rebuilt at around 90K miles. It towed a 9K trailer often and it started popping out of gear and would grind going into 3rd. It wasn't cheap to rebuild.

 

[Zmann]

WOW good job

now u can see why the trans humps are so different

 

[RedRice589]

Looking good man!!! Kinda sketchy havong a hole in the floor LOL

 

[powerstroked08]

Looks good man! I cant wait to see the final build pictures and dyno sheet:toast:

 

[B585Ford]

I guess some people have just been unlucky. I have a lot of faith in the ZF6. I have been tuned with a SB clutch for over 40k miles. The last 12k miles have been at the 600-650 RWHP range (mods in sig). I have had NO issues with the tranny. That includes several thousand miles of towing 12-16k. I am not aware of anyone with the 6.4 who has had problems with the ZF6 (besides the stock clutch) and they are tuned....HD-Teh.., Johnny77Mutt, Dozer, and a few others (I think SuperDutyFarmer also was in the 650 range and I hadn't heard of any problems from him). I haven't heard any reports lately, but a guy from Jersey (can't remember his screen name) dynoed over 800 RWHP with his ZF6 which was stock except the clutch. That was a single. He went to compounds and made more HP, but I haven't seen a post from him lately so I don't know if it has held. I do know his old version 3850 did start slipping with the compounds, but the tranny was holding last I heard.

 

[Meniacal_Mark]

You're in balls deep now LOL, lookin good Brooks. :thumbup:

 

[Oil Field Trash]

Also, you act like a ZF6 can't be built as stout as a 5R110 or 4R100. Your dad should've pulled out

Best thing iv read all day! LOL LOL LOL

 

[tensixniner]

If anyone does happen to need internal parts for their 6 spd they are all available from Ford.
Dan at Midwest transmission can also help you out.

I'm not aware of any issues with the ZF6 in a higher HP situation other than synchros wearing out but that's probably more related to the clutch and driver shifting technique.
Release levers can get bent but that's not a transmission issue.