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Old Jun 7, 2011 | 03:57 PM
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78 5 speed

Howdy ya'll

I've got a 78 f150 with a 300 6 and a t-18

I know the engine will accept an m5od or a zf tranny from a later model.
Will the appropriate transmissions bolt right up or do I need to put in a hydraulic system.
the truck is a 2wd and it runs great, But I make a lot of 300+ mile trips and I'd like it to rev lower in the highway.

Thanks for any help
 
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Old Jun 7, 2011 | 04:10 PM
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SOme have adapted the mechincal linkage do alittle searching on googleand see what people have done.
 
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Old Jun 7, 2011 | 06:10 PM
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Both of those transmissions have the internal slave, so i have no idea how those could actually get modded to linkage, no hole, no pivot. 460 ZF's have an external slave, so could be adapted easy enough.
 
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Old Jun 7, 2011 | 11:48 PM
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Those seem like 2 conflicting answers to my question
 
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Old Jun 7, 2011 | 11:51 PM
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the ones that will fit on your motor dont have external linkage.. only the 460 ones i believe you need a small block one..
 
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Old Jun 8, 2011 | 07:44 AM
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All 300-302-351W bell Zf and M5OD transmissions have slave cylinders that are mounted around the input shaft. There is no hole, and no pivot to be able to do any conversions with. It would take major machine work to convert them to have mechanical linkage. so your best choice to be able to use one of them is to convert to hydraulic. The only 5 speed Ford issue transmissions with external slave cylinders are for the 460 and the diesel. Neither will help you.
 
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Old Jun 8, 2011 | 08:13 AM
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Just run a hydraulic clutch setup its not that hard to make it work just need to stiffen up the weak firewall on these trucks.
 
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Old Jun 8, 2011 | 12:44 PM
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Any other issues that I should be preparing for... such as lengthening or shortening the driveshaft...
And will the transmission just bolt right on otherwise?
 
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Old Jun 9, 2011 | 12:16 PM
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Don't know about the M5OD, but the ZF has a fixed rear yoke, and would need a 2 piece driveshaft which your truck may or may not already have. Plus the ZF is fairly long, and may require shortening the driveshaft.
 
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Old Jun 10, 2011 | 12:14 AM
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Alright thanks fellas.

Are there any more transmissions that can be canidates(besides the zf and m5), I am just looking for something with a tall overdrive gear for highway cruising.

I have heard of people swapping in a T5 if I am not mistaken.
 
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Old Jun 10, 2011 | 05:41 PM
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Do yourself a favor and work out the details for a ZF behind that 300. :)

I've never really used a hydraulic clutch until I fixed up my '91 Bronco with
a ZF from a '90 F250 parts truck. At first I hated it, it had no feedback to it. :/

Now, I've quit hating it at least. LOL :)

The main thing is you don't-need any feedback in the pedal since it works
soooo stinkin smooth there's no-need for feedback in the pedal. LOL :)

RhinoPac clutch with a LuK diaphragm and a RhinoPac slave and a Dorman
hard nylon hydraulic line from Rockauto. And all that stuff worked great
right from the start. (resurfaced the used flywheel from the parts truck)

Alvin in AZ with a '75 F150 360FE T18 I bought new and now my '91
BroncoRoadQueen
 
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Old Jun 11, 2011 | 10:03 PM
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If I am just looking for something with an overdrive gear, would something like an SMOD or SROD transmission work at all?
 
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Old Jun 12, 2011 | 02:07 PM
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Are all of the t170 3 plus od trannies mechanical? I'm pretty sure they will just bolt right up to the 300.
 
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Old Jun 12, 2011 | 03:47 PM
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Could you possibly put in a separate overdrive behind the trans? I know they make them cause I've seen install articles in the 4wd magazines, but I don't know what all it would take other than shortening the drive shaft.
 
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