Hey guys. As some of you know, I have been debating a diesel swap pretty heavily. Im tryin to make sure Iv got all my ducks in a row before Im knee deep in a diesel swap and realize I dont have the cash to finish because I forgot something important... Then Id be walkin lol. Anyways, Im at the tranny stage. I thought a gas E40D was almost identical to a diesel E40D... wrong! They dont have much in common except their name lol. I tried finding an adapter with no luck. Then it hit me! Whats twice as exciting as driving a diesel truck? Driving a MANUAL diesel truck! But theres a whole animal when swapping to a manual. Theres the tranny selection of course. I gotta get one that would it also line up to my original tranny mount and use my original driveshaft. If it doesnt... big $$$. Then theres the pedals. Are they readily avaliable off ebay and such? What else do I need besides the pedals? Are most trannys of this era hydraulic? Would it be better to convert it to hydraulic if not. What else will I need besides the tranny, pedals, and pedal accessories? Any info helps!

Final question here: would it just save me a ton of headache to buy a parts truck thats a manual and pick parts off of it?

 

I think you need to take things one step at a time, and resolve your current transmission issue before continuing.

 

My current transmission issue is an easy fix though lol

 

With the amount of time you have spent thinking about swaps, you could have fixed your current trans and put it back in.

 

You guys arnt helping at all lol.

I said in my other thread that its at my gfs dads house because hes got the tools to fix it. Itll be done this weekend. This will be a future project

 

Never say it was an easy fix until it's done. We're just trying to say that perhaps you need to chill out a bit, do a lot more research, then ask questions when/if you're ready to do the swap.

 

Im bad about that lol. I dream big then after awhile reality slaps me in the face... Same things happening with the 6.9 swap I wanna do... It may be a direct bolt in motor mount wise but Im gonna need to do somethin with the tranny, speedo, all my gauges, fuel system, prolly cooling system... etc etc etc. Same is true with a auto to stick swap. Iv always wanted to do it to my El Camino too but when you think about it theres a ton more work than just bolting in a manual tranny...

 

Easiest way would to buy a donor truck, the trans mount is different, the drive shafts lenghts would be different, the radiators and support are different. Sensor wise thats easy, if you got an older 6.9 just change all the sensors over to the 92-97 style and all your dash gauges will work.

fuel system would need some mods, the diesels have the filter up on the engine not the frame rail like the gassers. the tanks are the same but the pickup tubes and filler tubes are different. all you have to do there is gut the gas pickup tube and ditch the in tank pump,and find a diesel filler tube with caps.

Pedals can be found out of a junk truck somewhere, problem is you would need to find a 92-93 with a diesel in it because I thought the 80-91 fuel pedals where different, either way it will have to be a cable operated go pedal, and a hydralic clutch setup.

Good luck, its gunna be a project.

Diesel Rod

 

Sounds like a whole helluva lotta work lol. Its something neat to think about but when it boils down to it, by the time I get all the parts off the donor truck, I would have pretty well been better off to swap cabs lol

 

The easiest way is to just save your $$ and buy a truck that came from the factory w/ the diesel/manual trans. The next easiest way is to buy a COMPLETE truck that has been reduced to a 'parts truck' status so that you get every nut,bolt and bracket that you will ever need.

 

linkage will absolutley drive you insane! i say see a psychiatrist and get started on anything he'll precribe. buy a truck be happy

 

El Camino man,

I like your enthusiasm here! Nothing wrong with dreaming big. All of us here have done and/or do it!

I'm certain that 99% of us here have been told a time or two about an idea we had, and others' would say, "It's easier to buy it!" and we didn't listen! My opinion: it's the best way to learn! Even better when you succeed.

But I would recommend searching this forum more. There are several great and informative threads about auto to manual swap. I've thought about trying it. If you have the enthusiasm and time, then you can do this!



In this picture is all the parts you need. I got this from this thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/869833-zf5-swap.html

btw: I love El Caminos! Don't know why they stopped making them! You get the best of both worlds! My 19 year old son is somewhat obsessed with them.