Transmission Swap-Auto to Manual
 

I just inheireted an 87 or 88 F250 4x4 with the 4 speed auto w/o overdrive. I traded a guy for some shadetree work I did for him, so I've got nothing but time invested in this truck. I'm not a fan at all of this automatic transmission and I think I want to go to a five speed. aside from the obvious; flywheel, clutch etc, what will I need to change? Will the transfer case match-up? What year model donors do I need to look for? How new of a transmission can I use? Also, seeing as the truck has about 500,000 miles on it, I think I'm gonna go ahead and go through the engine, where's the best place to find a rebuild kit for the 6.9?

Starter, Clutch pedals, steering column if you really wanted. As for Five speed the 7.3 IDIs ran them for a while. Any of the ZF psd trans I was told will work. Got any pics of it?

I'm trying to find a donor truck that had a manual tranny. If the transfer case will swap from the auto to the manual, that would be great. I would really like to run a ZF 650 from behind a psd. As far as the steering column, I think thats why this truck was parked, the steering column "fell out", so there's a start

I'm not sure if the ZF6 will work or not. As for the transfer case you will have to run the one that comes with the manual. The input shafts are different on the auto and manual cases.

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I figure if someone else comes searching this topic I have some answers. I converted an auto to a 5spd in my 85 F-250. I know the transfer case will swap from the auto to the back of the ZF5spd. I'm not sure of the length differences since I replaced a C6 and not a 4spd auto. You will have to replace the entire pedal assembly with a clutch setup from a truck with the same interior. Teh brackets are contoured to fit the dash and you can't just add an extra pedal to your bracket since the pivots bars are different diameters between the auto and manual brackets. There are markings on the firewall to drill and mount the clutch slave master cylinder. I had to elongate the mounting holes on my crossmember and use the tranny mount backwards. You will also want a 5spd from an 88-91 truck as starting in 92 the speedometers became electric and the boss for the speedo cable was eliminated. Hope that helps someone else down the road.

I am just finishing A clutch job on my 87 F250 4x4. Get rid of the Duel Mass clutch. I will d you a big favor in the long run they wear out to quickly and hammer on the starter then when it starts to fall apart it wont disengage the clutch and will pop out of gear and grind like a mother. other then that its an easy switch from auto to manual.

Lineup....
 

Thanks for the added info. I just landed a beast of a truck and wanna toss that C6. I have a buddy with a late 80's F350, 460ci 4x4 w/the ZF5 (minus the coveted HP D60 front, of course)that I can snag for the cost of trailer rental. Is everything gonna line up with my 6.9 and t-case or do I need to find one from an IDI powered truck? What are my options? Any advice welcome.

Thanks!
RB
:c:

the trans is not a bolt in unless it cme from a diesel.

Will the 460 trans work with a diesel bellhousing?

the zf trans has an intergrated bell. the bell doesnt seperate like the old 4 speeds did.