im plannin on buyin a 93 f150 with the bulletproof 300 six. it has only 92,000 miles on it, so im not terribly worried about the factory mazda zorg 5 speed going anytime soon, but in the future, i would love to swap in a zf5. i am curious- what parts from the donor truck do i need, and IS A ZF5 FROM A TRUCK WITH A 351 COMPATIBLE TO BOLT ONTO A 300 SIX? or do i need a zf5 from a 300 powered truck. im not sure, as i thought the only different bellhousing was on the diesels and the 460s, and finding a f250 with an i6 aint easy, especially finding a manual one. if i found a 2wd one i know i could just swap in a 4wd tailcone, but even a 2wd i6 manual f250 gettin parted out aint easy to find, at least not in wisconsin. so if i found a f250 with a 351 getin parted out, could i put that tranny behind a straight six? and, ive heard from many people that the mazda zorgs suck, but what is u guys opinions of it? would it be somethin worth leavin originaly/rebuildin at some point if need be versus swapin in a zf? i plan on doin a mild build on the 300 down the road with bigger injectors, megasquirt tuned, top end rebuild, headers, .30 overbore, prolly turn about 220hp at the rear wheels, 250 tops if im lucky. would a zorg handle that dependably for long term

 

From What I have read I think that you are correct, the "small block" ZF should bolt to the 300 302 and 351. The "big block" and diesel ZF is different. My ZF came from a donor truck with the same engine as I have. I cant really speak to the dependability of the MAzda 5 speed. Someone else on here probably will be able to.......

 

I put 225K on my M5OD trans and the only thing I had to do to it was replace the rubber plugs on the top cover, they are famous for leaking. Otherwise it was trouble-free. It was behind a 302.

My current truck has the Six and ZF5 that I swapped in for the original E4OD. I really like the ZF better because of the granny-low 1st that I can use to get a big load moving or just crawl around my property at idle. A ZF from an F250 with the 351 will bolt up to your engine perfectly. I think you will need to change the crossmember and the driveshaft, the ZF is shorter than the Mazda I believe. No direct experience there, I had an E4OD like I said.

Just be aware - the ZF is noisier than the Mazda.

 

The only difference I personally noticed with a ZF5 vs. the M50D is that with the ZF5 I got a lot better clutch life, and like jas88 mentioned, the low low low 1st gear is great if you've got a heavy load. The M50D in my current 4.9L '94 F150 has just over 150k miles on it and it's been pretty much flawless, though I'll probably rebuild it next clutch change just to be safe.

Me personally, I'd just run the M50D until you break it, if you even do.

 

I'm not sure about the 4x4 trucks, but on the 4x2 the crossmember was the same between the two 5-speeds. The length is different, but I think in 4x4 configuration, it's only a couple of inches. Driveshaft lengths could be a concern, I'm not sure. Again, I know about 4x2, not 4x4. As others have said, 300, 302, 351 all share a bell housing bolt pattern.

I would recommend against trying to convert between 4x4 and 4x2 with the ZF. The mainshafts are different, so it is much more involved (think complete rebuild) than just swapping tail housings.

 

I've actually swapped a zf-5 into my truck. I have a 1995 F150 with a 300. The 4x4 zf-5 is the EXACT same length has a 4x4 M5OD-r2. Converting a 2wd zf to a 4x4 basically includes a complete tear down and rebuild of the transmission. Not worth it, in my opinion. My ZF-5 came from an F350 with a 351w.

This thread may help to answer any questions you have.

FullSizeBronco.com - 78 - 96 Ford Bronco offroad club, forums, tech, installs

 

I have a 92 with the 4.9 with the 4 speed auto; will driveshaft have to be replaced?