An automatic in a F600?????? If he can find a ZF 5spd out of a F-Super Duty they have a tail shaft mounted E-brake.

 

Well...YES an automatic. Something wrong with that?

Mine came out of a 94 F450 (7.3L IDI diesel......)....... Neighbor who lives down the street used his F450 with a BIG service body on the back to tow an equipment trailer with a mini excavator on it. (all well over 20,000lbs GCVW)

He removed the automatic to put a ZF-S- speed in it.......so he kept his tail mounted E-brake. (I had to find another one!)


After it was all said and done I asked him how it was with the ZF compared to the automatic.

He said I wished he had he had left it alone!

 

I just hate automatics. Especially for towing. Back when I was 16 I had an old guy tell me if I couldn't shift my own gears I didn't deserve a truck! I guess it just stuck. I like to shift my own gears. I prefer to control the shifts. And there's just a lot less that can go wrong with a manual. If you like autos run them I'll stick with my stick!

I have a 96 E250 with 220,000 miles on it it has the E4OD in it that is either slipping or shifting extremely hard. I can't wait for it to crap out so I can swap in a manual. I can't stand automatics!!

Don't get me wrong I don't love the ZF 5spd either. I really prefer an old NP435 over any of them. But if you want a OD and a trans mounted E-brake then the F-Super Duty ZF is the way to go.

My 91 F-super Duty is the 7.3L IDI/ZF 5spd. There's no way in hell I'd ever swap an automatic in to it!!!

 

Hmm....I have heard that too! Those people that say that are just completely FULL of Barbery Strysand AKA BS.


Hmm.....that's a personal (preference) thing I guess......

Well, I'll give'ya that!

Can't argue with personal preferences. In general (GM/FOMOCO/MOPAR) the truck towing ratings are substantially higher with automatics.

The newest F150's have a nearly 2000lb LESS towing rating with a standard transmission.

SO if you REALLY like towing, you're limiting yourself with a "stick"

But then we're back to personal preference.

AND I think that everyone here will agree that we're setting up our own trucks BASED on personal preference!

I glad we all agree on this!!


regards,


Rick

 

I've never let a little thing like tow rating dictate what I haul.

Just about every automatic I've towed with has had issues. I've never overheated a manual transmission. Hell I've never fried a clutch towing either. I haul a lot of scrap metal and a lot of vehicles.


But I'll just agree to disagree so we no longer.

 

Haha, well, it seems like being able to start on a hill can be necessary, and granny gear will get me rollin. The freeway at 55-60 will be a necessity too... so tranny gear is a must, and I can always change out 4th with a real tall gear, allowing me 60-65 at around 1800 sounds delightful.

Can you actually do that just swap out a gear like that? Being able to get to 40-45 in 3rd would be choice...

 

I think you can in some transmissions. It may not be very practical though. Your best bet is to plan on a fairly tall (by comparison) rear axle ratio. You will not likely be able to do that with your current axle.

No one makes gears for them anymore and they NEVER made tall gears for them because the engines of the day just didn't do a lot of torque. They had to turn some "R's" to get you own the road.

I think your best bet is a newer axle. Then you can use a more modern OD transmission (usually 0.80:1 IN OD)

If you do the double OD route, you won't get a LOT in additional efficiency because you'll be turning all those extra gears.

Sorry for the thread hijack!!


There's definitely a difference of opinion when it comes to auto vs manual trannies...... Now don't go google searching for trannies!!!



Cheers,


Rick

 

IMHO, FWIW and whatever other four letter acronym you'd like your only option for getting everything you want is to swap in a diesel and (of course) a manual transmission. If it was me i'd go with a Cummins 12v to get the torque and mpg's you're after plus it's a very reliable engine to boot.

As mentioned the newer automatics are rated (whatever that means) for more towing capacity, however, this is a fairly new development and since you're talking about a 50+ yr old truck and modern drivetrains, that fact applies to a very small percentage of your options. Plus when towing, especially uphill, it's nice to have a manual so your 100% locked in to gear in every gear instead of dealing with the weaknesses of a fluid coupling.

 

Also known as a "LOCKING" torque convertor!


It's very hard to beat a Cummins 12v in ANY truck!

 

True enough but even then you're still not locked in until certain speeds, unless you install a mystery switch, which is an option I guess. Really it's back to personal preference and if the OP is going to move forward with the 460 I probably would just go with the auto he already has.

I do love the Cummins, just wish my 24v was a 12v

 

I'll agree with that. It doesn't really take a "mystery switch" either.

This is what makes the E4OD (and probably the AODE) a great choice for some of our trucks.

With the Baumann controller I have, I get COMPLETE control of when the TC is locked.........in every gear If I want (all pre-programmed) .... (You have to unlock it when you stop or you'll kill the engine.........just like when you forget to push in the clutch!!)

SO if a guy was going to use a 460 in an F600, an E4OD would be an excellent choice and it's certainly heavy-duty enough too.


Of course, It all goes back to personal preference.

If I do later put a 12v in my F600, I'll still use an E4OD. Built "right", they'll handle anything you can put in front of them.