Almost three weeks ago I took the plunge. I bought the heim joint clutch linkage fix for my 1997 F350 off of ebay. I broke out the hack saw and pry bars a couple of days later. After I completed this work the garage door broke in the garage space that I rent to store my plow truck and work on all my stuff so my truck has been hostage since. I was able to test that the truck would start much easier without having to stand on the clutch but I couldn't drive it.... UNTIL TODAY.

My door has been cobbed back together for now and I was able to at least get my truck out until they put in a new door. I drove the truck a bit tonight and it does not feel like the same truck. I didn't feel like I needed both hands to get the truck into reverse, it went in nicely. The truck shifted far more smoothly overall. I was beginning to think that it had been so long since I drove stick regularly that I lost my edge but now this thing shifts like an automatic. The difference is night and day.

It was pretty easy to do the job. I found it easier to just take the clutch master off of the firewall to perform the amputation but it went pretty smoothly. I bought an extra linkage in case I messed up the knurling on the old one putting it back but had no such problems. It really was a pretty straightforward job.

So... long story short. If you have a ZF5 equipped Powerstroke and you are still messing with that crappy factory linkage setup I order you to remedy that situation post haste. Seriously it's not often that a fix that costs as little as it does and is as easy to perform as it is makes such a remarkable difference in driveability. I really think that the heim joint fix should be one of the first recommended things to do for a new 7.3 Powerstroke/ ZF 5 owner.

 

The other option is buy an automatic lol haha im sorry,i had to...oops thats what she said...

 

Seriously,glad your truck works so much better.
the door broke AFTER you got your truck inside? Wow...fate..

 

Glad it fixed your problem. That is on my list of things to do to my truck this weekend. With my new clutch and throw out bearing it feel alot better but my eyelet is still egg shaped.

 

I knew someone would come along and say that

Honestly I think that the 5R110 transmission is bulletproof and I see no durability advantage to a stick over that transmission. I think the same can largely be said about the Allison transmission in the DMax's and the Aisin automatic in the cab and chassis Dodge Cummins trucks. However up until those transmissions came out I think that there is enough durability advantage to the ZF5 (or ZF6) to go with a stick instead of the available autos at the time. I guess another way to say it is that when I had my 2010 F250 with the 6.4 Powerstroke I didn't consider anything but the auto because by that point they've gotten to be really great transmissions.