zf5 questions

[yotee]

i have been wanting to swap my 2wd zf5 for a 4wd unit for a while now. it gets to be a pain in the ass at the rubicon when my truck will not pull the empty trailer up the dam. anyways.................

how hard/what is involved in swapping the bell housing half or vise/versa on the trans to get an IDI bell housing on a non IDI zf5? i am not interested in re drilling a bb bell, and they want your first born for an IDI zf5 around here. i can get a zf5 in 4wd trim for cheap but want to know about the swapping case sections.

my zf5 is good so i was thinking

#1 get junk 4wd zf5 and swap rear half and out put
#2 get good 4wd zf5 and swap bell housing half

am i smoking crack? is this doable? any manual trannie guys in nor cal?

 

[franklin2]

The bell doesn't swap, it' part of the case which is about 75% of the tranny. The back 25% does come loose. Sounds like a lot of down time and a lot of work. The whole 4wd drive swap is a lot of work, and will cost a fortune if you go piece meal, and rebuilding the whole tranny is just adding to it.

Your best bet is to get a used or wrecked 4wd diesel with the zf already in it. If you still want to tear the tranny apart, at least you will have all the 4wd parts there also. And you could put the 2wd drive stuff in the truck you bought and resell it to get back some of your money.

 

[towcat]

i have quite a few spare 4wd ZF5's in stock for my towtrucks but no complete 2wd ZF5's for my f350. if you want to trade....let's talk
what's different in the ZF's between 4wd and 2wd? tailhousing, outputshaft with main cluster. it's a ***** converting but do-able.

 

[crashnzuk]

If the you don't work a deal with Towcat, I saw a pair of ZFs on Craigslist late last week. I think they were both 4x4 idi.
Travis..

 

[Agnem]

The easy way to convert your F-series to 4X4 in the front, is to use the IFS axle off a Bronco, and upgrade the spindles using Chevy parts. Something I am now an expert at. That would be a no-welding required method.

 

[yotee]

The easy way to convert your F-series to 4X4 in the front, is to use the IFS axle off a Bronco, and upgrade the spindles using Chevy parts. Something I am now an expert at. That would be a no-welding required method.

see avitar already has a 60 front.


towcat, i'll get ahold of u via pm in a few days.

 

[yotee]

do the bw transfer cases from say an f-150 swap over to the idi zf without any issues?

 

[towcat]

do the bw transfer cases from say an f-150 swap over to the idi zf without any issues?

the spline count should be the same if it's a BW1345 or 1356. there is a lighter duty one that I strongly don't reccomend at all that are found under some F150's

 

[franklin2]

All Ford transfer cases interchange, even the ones back in the 70's. The only ones that won't fit are the later model transfers out of the newer trucks.

But even though they all bolt up, you have shifter differences which sometimes has to be worked out to fit your particular truck, and I believe some of them have minor length differences.

The only weaker transfer case I can think of is the 208, and the only reason is the chain is a little narrower. Actually some of the off-road guys like this transfer case, because it has a deeper gear in low range.

 

[yotee]

All Ford transfer cases interchange, even the ones back in the 70's. The only ones that won't fit are the later model transfers out of the newer trucks.

But even though they all bolt up, you have shifter differences which sometimes has to be worked out to fit your particular truck, and I believe some of them have minor length differences.

The only weaker transfer case I can think of is the 208, and the only reason is the chain is a little narrower. Actually some of the off-road guys like this transfer case, because it has a deeper gear in low range.

so the bw tc has the ford np 205 pattern?

 

[MUDKICKR]

by your sig you have plenty of room to install a divorced mount np205 transfer case. all you would have to do is have a very short driveshaft from the 2wd tranny to the trasfer case, then have your frt and rear driveshafts made. little fab work involved, but its worth it in the end

 

[yotee]

i'm just getting ideas on what i want. i have considered the divorced np 205, but all of the drive shaft mods get a little expensive. i have to get all new drive line parts for the mid and front sections, then have my rear shaft shortened. i have to talk to the shop next to my work and find out the actual prices. also finding a divorced 205 has been a wild goose chase. either they want $450 for it or it is $75 and it is gone by the time they respond to their adds.

what i don't know (because i have never seen one up close) is how to make the shifter work. does the stock ford shifter assembly just mount to the sheet metal trans hump and only have a front to back only pattern? what about the 205? how is the shift pattern there? J pattern? front to back? these are the things that i should know but don't (iffn' it was toyota 4wd i would be answering my own questions)

 

[MUDKICKR]

i have a divorced np205 id sell for $350, and it comes with a shifter. i really dont knowthe shift pattern but it did come out of a good running trk. its been a while since i took it out. i will look at the shifter to see how it mounts up frt.

 

[franklin2]

The shifters usually mount on the adapter housing that goes between the tranny and the transfer. A 205 will bolt right in where a Borg-Warner was. Getting the correct shifter and getting it to work in your truck may take a little head scratching and floorboard modifications.