OK, for any of you guys who have done an auto to manual tranny swap or vice versa on these trucks, can any of you guys tell me the difference between the automatic and Manual versions of the "flywheel cover plate," as I call it. ( I am referring to the sheetmetal plate between the transmission and the engine. The dealership tells me they are two different part numbers but they cant tell me what the difference is, in addition, the part is discontinued. I dont mind hunting the salvage yard for one but I was curious if the plates were different gauge thickness which may change engagement. I ask all of this because this is the only part I am lacking for my auto to ZF swap on my 89 F250 5.0L that I am planning on doing over Christmas. I am assuming that any F150-F350 that has the 351W or the 302 with a 5 speed, be it the ZF or the Mazda, would probably have the plate I am looking for? I am sure someone knows the answer. Thanks in advance guys.

 

IIRC the mazda and the zf dust plates are different and the auto is different again

 

Brad,

you dont happen to recall what the differences are do you? Even the slightest hint of a remembrence? I am sure I will be at the junkyards this weekend, but I just know that if I have to find an F250 or F350 that had a five speed and a small block I will be looking for a long time... Maybe you would know something about this.... I called another Ford dealership and the kid that works in the parts department told me that he is 99.9% sure that the dust cover from the 5.0 Mustang is the same one as the truck 5.0 with a 5 speed and he says it will work.. If this is the case, than the dust cover for either the ZF or the Mazda should work for my application wouldnt you think?

 

Like i said. I "think" they are different so a mustangs t-5 would really be different. Remember this is ford we are talking about here

 

If it is any help, I used the original dust shield on my 302/4speed toploader with the ZF. It fit, all the holes lined up, and I haven't had any problems with starter engagement or anything else like that. I have a 351/auto dust shield in the garage - if you want, I can check and see what that one looks like.

 

Thanks for the input guys, I think today alone I asked 6 different people and got six different ways of people telling me what the answer is. Half said the auto plate wont work and the other half said it will. I went to the dealership in my town and two others in neighboring towns. The first parts guy tells me the plates are the exact same thickness, the only difference is what may or may not be cut out of the plate. The next dealership parts guy tells me that they are a different thickness and it will affect engagement, the third parts guy tells me that the one for a mustang 5.0 is the same and it will work. First junkyard had nothing, second junk yard had a stack of them a foot high, but he says every one of them was from an auto truck, so I dont have anything to compare it to. In my mind, I know that this plate will have the same holes to fit the bellhousing because it has too, if a manual and an auto have the same bolt pattern to bolt to the same engine than the plate in between them has to bee the same as far as the bolt and starter holes go. The only reason that I cam concerned at all about it is if the plate thickness is different from one to the other, because that will affect something. I would just make one if I knew what thickness it was. Anyone have a truck with the original ZF and either the 302 or 351W who can tell me how thick their plate is? I am not sure, but I think that someone with a 1/2 ton that has the 302 or 351w and the mazda trans. probably has the same plate. At least thats what one of the parts guys said today. Who knows

 

The dust plate on an automatic is thin and usually aluminum. Manuals usually had a thicker steel plate. I doubt that the thickness will really matter, but where the bolt holes are on the bottom of the plate and bell housing are probably different as well as the placement of the starter may be different. Cars usually had 157 teeth and trucks/large cars had 164 teeth. I would either take the transmission, or make a cardboard template of the bell housing with bolt holes to match one up.

 

I have a dust plate from an automatic F150 302 and it is definitely steel. I'll be able to compare them once I pull the old 302 with the M5R2 that's in my truck after Christmas.

 

Yes, Every single dust plate that I had in my hand today was steel, I didnt run across one aluminum one. Now, the "third parts guy" I talked to, the one who said the Mustang plate would work for my truck did say that it was aluminum. I would be VERY interested for you to tell me what the difference was between the auto 302 plate and the 5 speed plate once you get it out. Maybe you could even take a pic? It seems like everytime somone gives me an answer it is just a little bit different than the last guys answer. No two men have given me the exact same answer, which is very strange to me. Maybe the reason is that, there really is no difference so no one pays attention to it. Thanks.

 

I see by your sig that you have a ZF 5 waiting to go in your truck...does that auto dust plate match up to it?

Newcomer: Each auto one you saw was steel, really? I have seen a few steel ones, but those were early ones (70's and older) and I would say that every later model (80's up) has been aluminum. Heck, I probably have two or three aluminum ones kicking around that I hadn't recycled yet. Now I am going to have to go check my stash/inventory and see what they are.

 

I dont know because my truck is still together, I wont be taking it apart until sometime next week when I can pull it into my fathers shop. Problem is, he is only giving me three days tops to do the swap, he needs the bay back. I know that doing the swap wont take that long as long as the truck doesnt sit there for two days once I have it apart while I try to find a part for it...

Furthermore, when I went to the junkyard today I brought the tranny with me and all of the dust shields that I put my hands on fit the bellhousing of the tranny perfectly, all the holes, starter holes included, lined up. This is why I am sure that the auto dust shield will work with the 5 speed as long as it isnt a different gauge sheetmetal. That is what I dont know, plus I dont know if there are any other differences in the shields such as a stamping or any other kind of protrusion that may rub on the flywheel... Does that make sense to you guys? Say, if I used the auto shield and it is stamped so that it protrudes towards the flywheel and interferes, and then say if the 5 Speed shield was just flat without and stampings then it wouldnt hit the flywheel. That is just an example of my thought process.

 

Ford005, you know I haven't checked if the auto dust plate fits the ZF. The thought had crossed my mind but it always got side tracked due to the amount of projects I've got my hands on currently.

 

Newcomer, the auto dust shield I have is completely flat.

 

ok, so completely flat, no stampings in it anywhere, just a perfectly flat piece of sheetmetal with shapes cut out of it? Thanks by the way..

 

Precisely. Just a flat piece of sheetmetal just as you describe.