Scored a Zf5!!

Mishka

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I hope to get there with that attitude. My '85 Benz with the M110 straight six (gas) sounds like a sewing machine and I absolutely love it. Especially in the high revs.
This is my 1st diesel and I didn't know about the low top speed and noise before I bought it.
My backup plan for this truck is to change the engine to gas (blasphemy here, I know) but I'm gonna stick with it for a while because my goal was to have a mechanically-simple truck with no computer or emissions crap.
Took me 2+ years to get the courage to do the swap and honestly these IDI's are probably one of the simplest motors to work on. I very much prefer working on my 7.3 idi over my grandpa's 1983 mercury zephyr with carb inline 6....plus in a real apocalypse situation (that probably never would happen) you could run pretty much anything in these old diesels and they'll continue to chug along. My truck came to me with both tanks filled with a mixture of oils....fuel was black and I at first thought my tanks was dirty but after using all that fuel it's nice clean diesel now
 

Jesus Freak

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Yeah, I'm not a perfectionist, I really appreciate a solid simple practical piece of machinery. And these IDI trucks really fit the bill. I like rust too. Keep on truckin, Brian and Mishka!
 

IDIBRONCO

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It's doesn't have a hole for a speedometer but who needs a speedometer anyway, they have phone apps for that.
They also have universal GPS speedometers for that. My first one had a cigarette lighter plug. My current one has a USB plug for power. I feel that they work great. Just don't leave them plugged in for long periods of time when you're not using them. I did that with my first one and it burned out a couple of the lights. It also was dimmer in the ones that read "0" from being left on over a weekend.
 

Brian VT

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I don't like rust. I've had to trash too many good-running vehicles due to rust.
I have a Ford Explorer right now with 96K miles that won't pass State inspection due to rust.
That's why I bought this rust-free F250 with whatever drivetrain was in it. Can always find a new drivetrain to put in a truck with good bones.
 

u2slow

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I don't like rust. I've had to trash too many good-running vehicles due to rust.


FWIW, at some point I decided chasing 'rust-free' here on the wet coast was futile. I have the skills and tools to patch metal, even if it's not the prettiest job. At that point, I basically stoped buying parts trucks; use what I have. Saves me a lot of time and money.
 

Jesus Freak

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Hey, I was staring at my t19 collection and a thought struck me about scoring and installing a zf5. The zf5 is like way taller than the t19, same length, and the mount sits right in the cross member, but it's taller. So I had to "modify" the transmission cover plate that bolts on the floor board. I know you're going from an e4od, but maybe one of you guys who know can say wether or not the plate is tall enough for an e4od to zf5 conversion.
 

IDIBRONCO

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The easiest thing to do is to get the right plate and swap it over. There isn't a place for the shifter to stick through on a plate for a C6/E4OD. I took the four speed out of my Blue Truck and put in the ZF5. When I did it, I was still planning to keep the Bronco (even though I had stolen the engine, trans, and transfer case out of it) so I didn't swap the plates. I took the shifter off of the top of the ZF5 before I installed it, which I like to do anyway since it makes it easier to remove and/or install without it on the transmission. It was close, but it did go in and the transmission doesn't hit the plate. I can't fasten the shifter boot down to the floor since it's the wrong plate, but that doesn't bother me too much.
 

Jesus Freak

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Yeah, I agree, if you can get the right plate it'll be a "cleaner" install. But you can make it work with a sawzall and some imagination. But is the e4od plate taller than a c6 one?
 

Mishka

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Yeah, I agree, if you can get the right plate it'll be a "cleaner" install. But you can make it work with a sawzall and some imagination. But is the e4od plate taller than a c6 one?
Thankfully my friend found a truck with the plate and a few other necessities for the swap we'll be getting soon
 

Jesus Freak

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On my 2wd, it was just a different u-joint the transmission cup were a bit bigger. I don't know about 4wd.
 

Jesus Freak

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The easiest thing to do is to get the right plate and swap it over. There isn't a place for the shifter to stick through on a plate for a C6/E4OD. I took the four speed out of my Blue Truck and put in the ZF5. When I did it, I was still planning to keep the Bronco (even though I had stolen the engine, trans, and transfer case out of it) so I didn't swap the plates. I took the shifter off of the top of the ZF5 before I installed it, which I like to do anyway since it makes it easier to remove and/or install without it on the transmission. It was close, but it did go in and the transmission doesn't hit the plate. I can't fasten the shifter boot down to the floor since it's the wrong plate, but that doesn't bother me too much.
Hey IDIbronco, I've noticed in a couple of threads that you mention that your shift boot doesn't reach the floor board, so I wanted to share a picture of what I did. Now it might not be obvious, because I tried to make it look as factory as possible but there it is. Totally custom.....
 

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