"Engineering Study Exchange Program" Decal on ZF-5 (1987 F-250)

HudsonvilleHornet

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Howdy! Another IDI FNG here with a slightly neglected F-250 I'm rehabbing. Picked it up a little over a week ago from out west, and am working on my laundry list of To-Do's which led me under the truck for the first time to check out the flywheel situation (Spoiler alert: it's toast!).

Anyway, noticed this sticker on both sides of the transmission, which I don't believe I've seen anywhere else. The E7TA-7K780-AA part number and program expiration date makes me think this isn't from a rebuild/reman company, still pretty new at that point. Google is also stumped; curious if anyone here has any knowledge of these.

I don't know when in the production timeline the ZF5 replaced the T-19..door sticker says it was built 6/87 which my gut says is probably towards the end of the MY87 run. I'm owner #6 of this thing and the only documentation that I got with it was a pamphlet for the block heater stuck in the owners manual, but judging by the rest of the truck I don't think I have any reason at the moment to think it's not the original transmission..
 

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YJMike92

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I've not seen anything like that before. I'll bet the telephone number wouldn't be any good either.
 

HudsonvilleHornet

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Interesting!

So, "why not!" I called the number on the sticker, and it basically just asked me for a mailbox number, nothing that would tell me what the number is for. Googling the number, it looks like it may have one point been used by a bed and breakfast in New Mexico..I doubt they would know anything, even if they did appear to still be around.

I also called a local dealer to see if they knew anything about it; they had not heard of the ESEP, and he offered to see if anything came up in OASIS but unsurprisingly it's just a bit old for that.

If I decide to really go down the rabbit hole here I may try a Marti report to find the dealership it was sold at, and inquire with them. Carfax shows it was in western Oregon its whole life, not holding my breath but I wouldn't put it past some small dealer out there having some old records..
 

HudsonvilleHornet

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That is probably the most likely scenario. With a build date of 6/87 and the 'expiration' date of the decal just a few months after, they didn't care for too terribly long, hah!
 

snicklas

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Another possibility. I believe that 87 was the 1st year of the ZF-5. Since it is a 1st year truck/transmission. Maybe Ford had a program that if the transmission failed, they wanted it back so the engineers could go through it and determine why it failed. If this was the case, that transmission would have been removed, and a completely different one installed in its place. It would have then been sent to a specific person or place for examination.

I am only making this WAG, based on experience in my line of work. I’ve seen equipment that fails in a unique/unusual way be completely replaced, not just fixed. It is then sent in for engineering analysis, or even back to the manufacturer to do an in-depth analysis to find root cause.

If this is the case, I would say this would attest to the durability of the ZF-5… since that transmission is still in there 35 years later…..
 

TNBrett

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Another possibility. I believe that 87 was the 1st year of the ZF-5. Since it is a 1st year truck/transmission. Maybe Ford had a program that if the transmission failed, they wanted it back so the engineers could go through it and determine why it failed. If this was the case, that transmission would have been removed, and a completely different one installed in its place. It would have then been sent to a specific person or place for examination.

I am only making this WAG, based on experience in my line of work. I’ve seen equipment that fails in a unique/unusual way be completely replaced, not just fixed. It is then sent in for engineering analysis, or even back to the manufacturer to do an in-depth analysis to find root cause.

If this is the case, I would say this would attest to the durability of the ZF-5… since that transmission is still in there 35 years later…..
This seems like the most likely scenario to me.
 

HudsonvilleHornet

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Yeah that had crossed my mind as well. When did the ZF replace the old 4 speed, was there a known date or VIN number changeover? I bought a set of 1987 service manuals for this and none of them have any mention of the ZF, only the 4-speed.

Regarding durability - well, it lasted all these years for sure. Only just over 124k on the clock though, and the synchros are kinda slow when cold..but we'll see what happens when I put some fresh ATF in, who knows what's in there. Going with the LUK single mass kit, hopefully the rollover noise isn't an issue. Have a new Moose pump and injectors on the way so it will be interesting to do a before and after if it is noisy.
 
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snicklas

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Yeah that had crossed my mind as well. When did the ZF replace the old 4 speed, was there a known date or VIN number changeover? I bought a set of 1987 service manuals for this and none of them have any mention of the ZF, only the 4-speed.

I believe the 86 Model year (end of the Bullnose trucks) was the last year for the T-18/9 4 speed.

Somewhat unrelated, but i think 89 was the 1st year for the E4OD…. We had an 88 that was a C-6. Allegedly, you could option a C-6 up into the 90’s sometime… but I have never seen one…..
 

HudsonvilleHornet

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Well, the manuals and spec books I have (published September and November 1986 respectively) both only have T19 information in them...also all the parts websites I've browsed list 4 and 5 speed parts for 1987 trucks as well. I do believe I encountered both 4 and 5 speed 1987's when I was looking for a truck to buy. I'll have to check out the owners manuals and see what they have inside them specifically as well as their publication date, but everything leads me to believe this was a mid-year transition, sort of like the IDI to PSD in 1994.
 

Farmer Rock

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I believe the 86 Model year (end of the Bullnose trucks) was the last year for the T-18/9 4 speed.

Somewhat unrelated, but i think 89 was the 1st year for the E4OD…. We had an 88 that was a C-6. Allegedly, you could option a C-6 up into the 90’s sometime… but I have never seen one…..
My 1987 bricknose 6.9 was a factory t19 4 speed. I was told the zf5 replaced the t19 in early 1987 and that the 4 speed was only made for the first part of the year. I've only ever seen 2 other brick nose 4 speeds. They were only made a few months like that.
So I suppose it would be considered a mid production year change.

Rock
 

HudsonvilleHornet

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Checked the owners manuals - the main manual refers to a 5 speed overdrive, but does not mention a transmission model (it does for the T18, T19, NP435). It has a publication date of January 1987. The diesel supplement has information about up/downshift speeds and has rows for 4th to OD and vice-versa; also publication date of January 1987. So given that, it does make sense that the very end of 1986 or beginning of 1987 is when they started coming down the line with the ZF. Farmer Rock, do you still have the door jamb sticker with a build date on your truck?
 

Farmer Rock

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Checked the owners manuals - the main manual refers to a 5 speed overdrive, but does not mention a transmission model (it does for the T18, T19, NP435). It has a publication date of January 1987. The diesel supplement has information about up/downshift speeds and has rows for 4th to OD and vice-versa; also publication date of January 1987. So given that, it does make sense that the very end of 1986 or beginning of 1987 is when they started coming down the line with the ZF. Farmer Rock, do you still have the door jamb sticker with a build date on your truck?
I don't know if the build date is on there or not, since I never looked for it. I do have a picture of the door tag though if it helps
Rock
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