I have heard that the 80's diesels were a piece of #^%$? What kind of gas mileage do you get with one? Thanks for your info...with inflation, I think you $ 0.02 is now worth $ 0.60 :)

"anyone know anything about the ZF 5 speeds?"

I think thats what I got in mine, It's a 5speed out of a 95 dodge 1 ton. All I use mine for is towing, and it's held up great for years. Doesn't make a whole lot of noise either, but if it did you probably wouldn't be able to hear it over the cummins rattle.

as for the 80's diesels, I have never had any luck with 'em, wich I why my work truck is a Chevy with a cummins. even the 90's 6.2 always gave me alot of problems. but, I'm sure you could build one up to do what you want. as far as reliability tho, I would definitely stick with a cummins. I'm not 100% sure on this but I've heard that the 80's gm diesels were based on a gas engine design and that's why they never really ran all that great and had reliability issues. Being that the compression and overall strain on parts associated with a diesel engine are far greater than those in a gas engine.

the 5 speed from the 95 dodge is an NV4500. the ZF transmissions were in the Superduty trucks. no idea how the ZF 5's are, I know the ZF 6's are awesome.

I have a zf 5spd it works great the 5's are the younger version of the 6's they were in the obs fords

gotcha.

You wouldn't be too impressed with the stall from second to third on the ZF-5 speed. It falls flat on its face shifting from 2nd to 3rd- not good when pulling a trailer...or for a 4bt perhaps as well. You have to rev it up pretty high in 2nd before you shift to third. Also remember that the turbo down pipe will be right where the starter is. That means a hard 2-90 degree bends at the hottest point after it exits the turbine.

Another downfall with the ZF5 is that an adapter would need to be bought/made. A NV4500 would bolt right up to 4BT, assuming you run 94-up Dodge running gear. Some lays trucks ran chevy TH400 or an SM465- you could also bolt up a 700R4, but I don't know if that will hold up for long. Find a 4BT with a chevy trans, and your choices are unlimited...early model 6.5 bolt patterns are small chevy patterns as well. 6.5's ran the NV4500 as well. Did I confuse you?:howdy:

If it's a van, why not check into the OM617 Mercedes Benz/auto trans option? Talk about a cheap conversion! Run that in a 1/2 ton van, and I'd say you'd be good to go. Good luck rigging up a clutch linkage/pedal in a van.

I really find it interesting that so many people bad mouth the 6.2l diesel! If my brother can run one in a 1/2 ton GMC treated like a 1 ton over 300K miles with only one IP change, a couple of glow plug changes, and barely any other maintaining, then why is it such a bad engine? I have my parent's 82 'Burban now with nearly 250K on it that has seen many better days because of the Rust caused by Wisconsin's obsession with pouring enough salt on the roads to lure not only deer but other animals out for feeding, but the engine has also never had any more work on it than a couple of IP changes, GP changes, 1 return fuel line repair, and nothing else than oil changes in it's history. I got the 'Burban because I now have a family and wanted something big, safe from idiot drivers, and great on mileage and now run it without worry of problems.

Bear in mind that both of these trucks were farm vehicles and worked hard hauling a lot over every terrain. In fact, in the area I grew up, there were many vehicles powered with such engines. Even with the 700R4s.

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Now the 5.7l diesels, they were a different story. I've owned a few cars with them, and have put in my share of head gaskets over the years. I still own an 85 Caprice that is waiting for a replacement tranny. When they run, they run VERY well, I would average over 34 mpg in a full size sedan running with the AC on and over hilly terrain. But like I said, I became very proficient in replacing head gaskets. They can be built to overcome that "little" deficiency, but most people just move on.