What chariteristic should I look for?

 

All of the ZF's found in Fords have two PTO covers, one on each side, for PTO accessories.

If you scrape off all the muck, they also say ZF on them

 

The Mazda is a thinner more stream lined transmission that has a long slip yoke at the rear. It also has vertical/horizontal ribbing along the entire transmission. It a fill plug and a drain plug on the drivers side of the transmission. The shifter(lever and all) is one piece that retained by a round plate at the top of the shift tower.

The ZF is a shorter, fatter looking transmission that has a rear output yoke. It has ribs running diagonally along the side of the tranny. It has a drain plug on the bottom and a fill plug on the drivers side of the transmission. It has an ID plate on the drivers side of the transmission. The shifter lever can be removed leaving a short stub on the top of the transmission that is held down with a rectangle plate and 4 bolts.

Heres a pic of the ZF S5-42

 

So a ZF 5-speed with a small block bolt patern would be much better than my M5OD R-2?

 

yea the ZF can take a lot more torque, and are a lot more reliable

 

and reverse is geared down a little. lol.