Anyone actually seen a ZF S542 with the parking brake/e brake on it.

I don't know if I should call it a parking brake or e brake, because in my searches about it people have called it both things. Can a parking brake act as an emergency brake?

I have a ZF S542 (smallblock bell housing) 2wd that I'm using behind a 300six in a 31 AA chassis. The ZF I bought is broken at the tailhousing mounts and I'm thinking since I'm probably gonna need to replace it anyway, I might convert it to the 4wd tailhousing (suppose to be the same as the tailhousing that bolts up to the e brake and its cheaper than the 2wd tailhousing). Looking for the ebrake assembly has not been fun though. I found a post from a few years back that said they are easy to find and cheap, but the only ones I found were between 600 and 1000 on ebay.

Before you say go look in the junkyard, I have. There isn't a single truck with a ZF in it in New Orleans area. Given that, I wasn't looking for the ebrake, maybe one was left abandoned, but I don't remember seeing anything that resembled any kind of assembly on any of the drive shafts I looked at.

Summary:
Can anyone confirm that the 4wd tailhousing is the same for the smallblock and big block, and that it bolts up to the e brake?
Is it truely easy/cheap to find one? (If yes what am I doing wrong?)
Is it an emergency brake or parking brake and can I use it to function as an emergency brake?
What trucks should I be looking for?

As always, thanks
Scott

 

Not an expert but I will give it a go.
Parking brake and emergency brake are one and the same.
Tailshaft housing for the big block and small block should interchange.
If you get a 4x4 ZF you will need the transfer case to bolt to it.
The parking brake/e-brake on the tailshaft of the ZF was used on F450 and up superduties 4x2 so may not be that common.
If you intend getting a 4x4 ZF and converting it to 4x2 you will need to strip it down to change the tailshaft and housing.
Hopefully some of the experts will give an opinion.

 

The F450 (FSuperduty) used a 4x4 ZF transmission and mounted the parking/emergency brake in place of a transfer case. I've never really looked for the parking brake mechanism, so I can't really help with where to find one cheaply, other than to suggest craigslist, ebay, or the classifieds section here.

If I understand the first post, you want to convert a 4x2 ZF to 4x4. This requires a new mainshaft in addition to the rear cover. It would probably be easier to find a 4x4 ZF to start with.

 

Not really wanting to go 4x4, but want the 4x4 tailhousing so I can get the ebrake that bolts up to it. Don't know if I would need to change the mainshaft for that or not.

I didn't really think the conversion would be that bad if I do though. Found a guy thats done it to put in his bronco

Classic Broncos .com - Tech: ZF Transmission into 66-77 Early Ford Bronco


Found a few of the ebrakes on ebay for over $600, seem to be nonexistent elsewhere.

 

You will have to change the mainshaft when you bolt on the 4x4 tail housing.

 

Thanks to EPNC the thing is much clearer now.
So your idea is to fit a 4x4 tailshaft and transfer case adapter to your 4x2 trans and then bolt up the Superduty parking brake assembly instead of a transfer case, getting you back to a 4x2 transmission.
I would have thought it would be cheaper and much, much easier to just bolt up a 4x2 tailshaft housing to replace the broken one.

 

Correct, except you don't need the transfer case adapter. The superduty parking brake assembly should bolt straight to the 4x4 tailhousing (one of the things I'm trying to confirm)

For some reason I was finding the tailhousing for the 4x4 was 50-80 dollars cheaper than the 2wd when you buy it brand new, but I was not adding in the price of the mainshaft. I guess I'll be looking into that today. But non of that helps me if I can't locate a parking brake assembly. I'm going back out to the yards next weekend and see if there might be one abandoned after a trans removal (I don't think I'll have mush luck though).

 

Ok I was calling the 4x4 tailshaft housing the transfer case adapter.
However some info for you, at drivetrain.com the 4x4 tailshaft housing is $218 plus you would need the tailshaft itself and the 4x2 housing is $190. There is also a good exploded view of the parking brake unit on their site.

 

Sweet I'll go take a look. I don't know why drivetrain has never come up in my searches.

Thanks
Scott

 

Ford ZF S542 manual transmission illustrated parts drawings assiting to identify parts. - Drivetrain.com Here is a link for you.

 

Ford ZF 5 Speed Trans

Diesel ZF w/ pic of tailshaft parking brake.

 

Yes the parking brake bolts onto the 4wd tailhousing.
Thats exactly how I made my truck 4wd, I found a guy selling a ZF5 with parking brake (and engine attached on the other end...). Took off the parking brake, and slapped on a transfer case, VOILA! 4wd... (well I did need swap the front axle too...)

So to answer your questions, yes its the same tailhousing 4wd or parking brake. As mentioned, you also have to swap the rear half of the mainshaft.

If you want, I still have the parking brake assembly sitting around. It will need a going through, I'm not sure if the seal around the bearings leaked, or the tranny leaked into the brake, but something leaked and got all over the brake shoes. I may also be able to provide a 2wd tailhousing, but was sure I was going to sell that.

 

I have a similar problem. I bought a Cummins 6BT with a ZF S5-42 from a 8 ton DAF truck which I want to fit to my '79 F250 4x4. As no 4x4 ZF gearboxes were ever sold in South AFrica I hoped to just order a 4x4 extension housing from the USA and fit my NP205 straight to the gearbox. Now I understand that I will have to get the tailshaft/output shaft also.
Maybe it will be easier to just fit a divorced NP205 transfer box to my pick up( We call it a bakkie here in South Africa )

 

I would certainly be interested in purchasing your parking brake assembly. The bearings went on mine last night!

 

Sorry it took so long for me to reply, I was etting married outside of the country. I would definitely be interested in the parking brake and tailshaft if it's the one I can bolt to the parkning brake. I realize it's late but let me know either way, and what your looking to get for it

Thanks
Scott