'86 Crew Cab Project up date and photos.

[hesutton]

Heath... Its really looking great. Thats the truck from Ca isn't it. If so I recall the person you bought it from driving it back home... Then needing to sell it. Really a nice clean turck. About the heads.... Please never lay them over on the decks where they have to seal up. Any nick or scratch will ruin them. Use some wood or cardboard but never unprotected. Glad the heads are in good shape. That tells you planty of the motor overall condition. Did you look at or plasticgauge the rods and mains. Also nice big shop to work in too. I want one big like that too... But thats not going to happen... The horses come first... Not me....

Yup, it was Rob's truck. It is in excellent condition even with 322,000 miles on it.

The heads where on cardboard, but that was removed for the photos. The bed of my truck has rubbery Rhino lining and I knew that wouldn't hurt the head surface.

Thought about pulling the caps (main and rod) but I didn't. Zero bearing wear on the oil analysis and I really want to see how long this 'ol 6.9 can go on all original internals. I may regret that later, but I have two cores to use down the road if needed.

Dad's shop is the bee's knees for sure. Dad bought the frame from a mining company years ago. We (Dad and I) put the whole thing up ourselves. We made a jig for the front of his old Michigan front end loader and put up the main frame. Then we used my friends boom lift to get all the trusses up and in place. Then walls were put up and we skined it with new tin. He's working on getting the bathroom/shower finished. We ran power, cable, phone, gas, and intercom lines up to the shop as well. I love the place!

Heath

 

[icanfixall]

Ok... That sounds much better than seeing a machined surface resting on something hard. Sounds like you and your Dad really worked out a nice shop but... Wheres the refrigerater??? Ys just gotta have that in the shop. Getting the bathroom finished will mean theres no reason to go into the main house anymore....

 

[Diesel_brad]

Nice write up HEATH. Really nice to have some clear photos to look at. A picture says a thousand words.

I am curious about your trans tunnel though. Is it just your truck or would all 80-86 trans tunnels hit the ZF 5 trans?

 

[hesutton]

Nice write up HEATH. Really nice to have some clear photos to look at. A picture says a thousand words.

I am curious about your trans tunnel though. Is it just your truck or would all 80-86 trans tunnels hit the ZF 5 trans?

Thanks Brad and everyone esle.

Brad, if you look at the two different trans pans from the side, you will see that the ZF5 pan is taller and the C6/T19 pan is more shallow. The older pan will sit on top of the ZF5 when it is installed. So, that means using the newer pan.

I had to cut the hole for the T-case shifter as the newer trucks have the T-case shifter to the right of the trans tunnel with a hole in the floor of the cab.

Heath

 

[Darrin Tosh]

Lookin Great Heath!, I am glad, and I am sure that Rob is as well, seeing the truck get the messaging that it deserves!

 

[MUDKICKR]

if only i knew you needed a diesel zf5, i would have traded you straight up for that 460 one.

 

[trackspeeder]

Excellent job Heath.

 

[Diesel_brad]

Thanks Brad and everyone esle.

Brad, if you look at the two different trans pans from the side, you will see that the ZF5 pan is taller and the C6/T19 pan is more shallow. The older pan will sit on top of the ZF5 when it is installed. So, that means using the newer pan.

I had to cut the hole for the T-case shifter as the newer trucks have the T-case shifter to the right of the trans tunnel with a hole in the floor of the cab.

Heath

The zf has the provisions for the older t-case handle?

 

[BrandonMag]

I've gotta add my kudos to this page...

Nice work and write-up, Heath!

If I had a shop that nice, I'd build a little insulated room in the back with a space heater and plug-in air conditioner and never leave.

 

[hesutton]

The zf has the provisions for the older t-case handle?

Good question. I'm not sure but I will find out in the next month or so when the transmission goes in the truck. If is the '86 handle needs to be modified, then so be it. If not, even better. Once I know for sure, I'll pass that information along.

Mudkicker: I wish I knew that as well, but it is what it is I guess. The 460 version has a lower reverse which is nice as I've heard these IDI with ZF5's have a bit of a high reverse.

Thanks Speeder. It's a bit more work than I thought. It sounds simple to say I'm changing the head gaskets, adding studs/turbo and swapping the tranny, but doing it takes time. But, I love a good project for sure.

Brandon: I wish I had a shop like that behind the house. I have to drive a county over to enjoy the goodness of Dad's shop. He's got a waste oil burner to heat the shop with this winter and a 20,000 gallon tank that is 3/4 full. We insulated the roof and walls as well. That should keep us toasty during the cold months.

Heath

 

[icanfixall]

Heath... My dream shop will have an apartment in back of it. Then I have no "reason" to go up to the big house. My shop name is.... Heman Women Haters Club.... Those that are older than 55 will remember that.... The wifey can visit by appointment only.... No sleepovers either.... Just kidden... She can stay for a short time... If she brings her own beer....

 

[flareside_thun]

I'm 23 and know what the Heman Woman haters club is LMAO... I love the shop...nothin like a good buildup to get motivation...and the shiny new IH grey paint helps too! What a coincidence...my buddy's dad has an OLD Michigan loader...VERY handy! Nice write-up and keep the pics comin! Looks like a good solid base to start with on that truck. i love that color combo.

 

[Diesel_brad]

Gas(wide ratio) vs diesel(close ratio) s42 zf 5

Close Ratio
1st Gear:
4.14
2nd Gear:
2.37
3rd Gear:
1.42
4th Gear:
1.00
5th Gear:
0.77
Rev Gear:
3.79
Wide Ratio
1st Gear:
5.72
2nd Gear:
2.94
3rd Gear:
1.61
4th Gear:
1.00
5th Gear:
0.76
Rev Gear:
5.24

 

[hesutton]

Yup, Brad, those are the ratios.

Lots of good ZF info HERE on both the ZF S5-42 and S5-47.

Heath

 

[The Warden]

Heath, looks great!!! I didn't realize you were so far along with it...and I'm impressed that you were able to get the front clip off in one shot; didn't think that could be done. So many things that I wish I could have done when I did my head gaskets in '04...

The zf has the provisions for the older t-case handle?

FWIW when I did my ZF conversion, the older style transfer case handle bolted right onto a spot on the ZF that was in the same location as on my old T-19. It looks and shifts as if it was meant to be there; never had a single problem with it in over 5 years now