I have an 87 single cab long bed f250. It is a 6.9 idi that had a c6 trans. I converted it to a zf5 speed with a borg warner transfer case. The original speedo cable won't work with this speedo drive. I do not know what truck the zf came out of, therefore I don't know what specific cable I need to buy. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

The speedo drives off the 1356 transfer case.
Where does the ZF enter into this?

 

It doesn't really. I was just referencing it because I am not sure of the model of this transfer case and what specific transfer case came mounted to the zf5.

 

I think the 1356 was the only TC that was used in those years.
I know my T-19 truck came with one and the ZF-5 I swapped in came with one.
You need to check that the color of the drive gear inside the tailshaft housing matches your rear end ratio or the speedo will be off. Mine was and I had to swap it.

There should be a green aluminum tag attached to the rear of the case.

http://www.4wdhub.com/tcase/borgwarner.html

 

I think that by the time the ZF5 came around Ford was using a VSS on the rear axle to send an electronic signal to the speedo. So a transfer case that came with the ZF5 may well not have a speedo gear on it. If that's the case, your best bet is probably to switch back to an older t.case that has the speedo on it. I've heard that all non-cast iron Ford transfer cases are interchangeable, so as long as you don't go back to one of the much older cases you should be able to just bolt it to your ZF5.

 

My '87 and the '89 my ZF came from both had mechanical speedos.
There was a VSS in the pumkin. Its signal was used for the RABS.

Pretty much all Ford transfer cases of this Era use the same 6 bolt adapter and shaft spline.
The TC linkage on the ZF puts the stick farther to the drivers side than the linkage of the T-19

 

Does this mean that the truck was originally a 2WD truck?

Try checking RockAuto, and look for a cable for a 4x4 with a ZF5. From what I can gather, that would be an ATP Y869.

Edit - oh wait, another variable is whether the truck has cruise control. So it might be a Pioneer CA3055.

 

Good call on the CC cable!

I rarely think of that because my truck is not equipped.