Good Zf5 rebuilder

[burt]

i know this gets asked from time to time but most threads I find are either old or the result is not good. Anybody have a source for good zf5s. Midwest sounds good on their web sight but their reviews aren't great. Seems like every reman story I hear takes a couple tries before you get a good one which is extremely careless. I'm in Northern California and would like to find one that has a easy core exchange. The fresh reman in my truck welded the pocket bearing so that one was done wrong. Lkq I think is what I was told built that one. Thanks

 

[towcat]

i have a local guy in SJ who "get it right" the first time.
there is no longer a exchange program due to me getting screwed with unrebuildable junk. he'll be more than happy to bench yours as a result. prices are quoted after teardown. min teardown charge is $160 paid in advance and credited to the rebuild cost if he does the work.

 

[towcat]

i have a local guy in SJ who "get it right" the first time.
there is no longer a exchange program due to me getting screwed with unrebuildable junk. he'll be more than happy to bench yours as a result. prices are quoted after teardown. min teardown charge is $160 paid in advance and credited to the rebuild cost if he does the work.

 

[burt]

Thanks. That's a bit of a drive but having somebody that really knows this tranny do it is worth a lot. I replaced my smoked fresh reman with a quarter million mile factory original about a year ago and it's still busting ass. Of course the reman catastrophicly failed going down a 10% grade with a 12k trailer behind me. I'll hit you up for details when I have another reason to go to the Bay Area.

 

[AcIdBuRn02ZTS]

I gotta ask.. what failed?

Am getting ready to rebuild a spare I have in the shop and am curious what to watch out for...

I know these transmissions are VERY picky about end play and bearing preload.

 

[burt]

Pocket bearing melted welding the input to the output. I've been meaning to tackle it myself but haven't gotten to it. Had to be preload set to tight

 

[AcIdBuRn02ZTS]

Yeah... from what I've seen.. most builders don't know how important the preload is on these transmissions.. just throw it together with the original shims and call it good.

 

[typ4]

Pocket bearing melted welding the input to the output. I've been meaning to tackle it myself but haven't gotten to it. Had to be preload set to tight

Or the oil dam wasnt installed, tapered roller bearings will take a lot of preload before failing, if it was preload related then the other bearings will show it.
If you get near portland and want to drop one off Ill go thru it.

 

[AcIdBuRn02ZTS]

Or the oil dam wasnt installed, tapered roller bearings will take a lot of preload before failing, if it was preload related then the other bearings will show it.
If you get near portland and want to drop one off Ill go thru it.

Why do all the experienced IDI guys live so far away..... Lol

 

[burt]

Good point. Seems unlikely it would have done that if there was plenty of oil getting to it. The way it failed I was expecting it to look like a grenade went off in there. When I opened it up everything looked pristine. Then I realized that the input and output were solidly fused. Only time a zf5 let me down after many years of flogging them and it was a fresh rebuild

 

[burt]

Thanks russ, I'll hit you up if I head that way for sure

 

[towcat]

Good point. Seems unlikely it would have done that if there was plenty of oil getting to it. The way it failed I was expecting it to look like a grenade went off in there. When I opened it up everything looked pristine. Then I realized that the input and output were solidly fused. Only time a zf5 let me down after many years of flogging them and it was a fresh rebuild

I'm suprised LKQ didn't take care of you especially that you're in their front yard. they'd be getting it launched through their front window if it was mime.

 

[burt]

Well there is more to the story. In all fairness I didn't ask lkq to do anything. I bought the truck with the fresh rebuild in it already. Also I'm living about 3 1/2 hours away from Redding. And the tranny is behind a 12v cummins. So it didn't seem worth it to pursue since I knew I would never trust the tranny again anyway.

 

[towcat]

Well there is more to the story. In all fairness I didn't ask lkq to do anything. I bought the truck with the fresh rebuild in it already. Also I'm living about 3 1/2 hours away from Redding. And the tranny is behind a 12v cummins. So it didn't seem worth it to pursue since I knew I would never trust the tranny again anyway.

thank you for being honest. I'm a commercial customer of LKQ and spend accordingly every month. They make a point to make sure I'm happy. I'd like for you to post a pic of the TOB you used for the conversion. that is, if it's possible.

 

[burt]

throw out bearing or the pocket bearing? Why would the throw out bearing have anything to do with it. I put it back together after I opened it up just to make sure I could since lots of people say you can't work on a zf5 without the special jig. I'm with the people that say it is a little tedious but can be done with a ratchet strap. I should do it myself before I spend more time trying to get around it than it would take to do it