1985 F250 4x4 7.3 IDI Turbo'd ZF5

[HSkinner]

I just swapped the zf5 in behind a 7.3 IDI with low miles. It took some work to get the ATS turbo exhaust to work but I got it in. It has 3:55 in it so it should run out real nice. What would it take to find a cluster with a tach and make it work? Also, What axles will work in the front end to convert over to a solid axle? Thx

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[Macrobb]

Tach wise, you can use a 6.9 tach/gauge cluster if you want. The engines are the /same/ in that case.

Second, why do you want to change the front axle? If you are having issues, just replace the bushings and it'll be level again.
The TTB suspension gets a bad rap, but it's actually a pretty decent design, and they are pretty heavy duty as it is.

 

[HSkinner]

I may do that. I've never been in love with them but it's alot cheaper. How does the tach wire up?

 

[Macrobb]

Not sure on the instrument cluster side, but on the engine side, you have a sensor threaded into a port on the cam gear. It has two wires, one of which is grounded and the other ends up in the tach system somewhere.

The cam sensor is a Variable Reluctance Sensor, effectively a coil of wire wrapped around a magnet. A piece of steel passing near it will create a "pulse" of AC voltage; in this case, it senses the IP gear teeth passing by. The IP gear has 106 teeth and rotates at 1/2 the speed of the crank, so 1 rev = 53 pulses/teeth.
This is why no 'standard' tach will work(without an adapter box); as they expect 2-4(for a 4-8 cyl) pulses per rev. Also, the voltage out of the sensor is different than a gasser tach expects.