So I pulled the ZF S5 out of my 87 250 w/6.9 the other day to do some work on it, and I'm having a hell of a time trying to get it back in. To start, I have the truck up on ramps in the front so there's room to work and get the trans out under the frame. I had no real issues pulling it out, other than it almost falling off the jack

I installed an input shaft bearing repair kit, where you tap a sleeve over the damaged input shaft, and replace the old bearing with a new one that is the next oversize to account for the shaft size difference. While I was in there I also replaced the throwout bearing.

Well today I spent probably 2 hours trying to get the trans mated back to the engine. No luck. I can't get the damn thing to align, not to mention the trans wanting to slip off the jack every time I try to move it Tomorrow I'm going to borrow an engine hoist from a friend to see if its any easier to try and go lift from above rather than below.


Any pointers on making this easier?
Thanks
Jameson

 

I assume you never messed with the clutch disc or pressure plate? Did you by chance push the clutch pedal down? Doing so may have allowed the clutch disc to fall down and no longer be aligned with the pilot bearing. At any rate I would be inclined to find an alignment tool to make sure the clutch disc is still aligned with the pilot bearing.

I don't know what kind of jack you're using but it sounds like you could use a better one. Maybe try letting some air out of the front tires so you have to lift the transmission up so far.

 

Clutch disk, pressure plate, and flywheel all came off. I don't have a clutch alignment tool on hand, so I visually aligned and used sense of feel to place it back.

The jack is a older style floor jack with wobble head. It's the only one the local rental place has

 

U can get an alignment tool for under5$ start with that and I normally put a little greese on the input shaft

 

Definitely use a pilot tool to align the disc first.

You might also buy a couple of extra long bellhousing bolts and use a cutoff disc to cut the heads off and slot the bolts so you can use a screwdriver to get them out.

If the gearbox is lined up before the splines and pilot engage it makes it a lot easier.
Putting it in gear so you can turn the input shaft from the rear helps too.

 

I did grease the input shaft before attempting to put it in.

The bolts idea is good. That would make sure the pitch of the trans is correct going in.

Thanks for the tip. I'll let you guys know how it goes

 

get the back end jacked up level with the front. i tried the front up only one time and it was near impossible to get it to mate because your fighting an angle. get a good tranny jack

 

Most of what they said, be real careful with the grease though, you don't want that getting flung out onto the clutch disk.

The bolt trick works great and you absolutely need an alignment tool. It's all about alignment, the clutch disk with the flywheel and the tranny perfectly in line with the engine. Do the bolt thing, get the tranny sitting on the bolts and use a small square to square the bolts with the bell housing. Then push in after you know it's square.

 

The ZF slid up this far with a push of the foot, you can see my dusty
boot print on the bell housing even... xD

...it's resting against the alignment/locating pins in the engine block.



I took this picture after I started to remove the chain...

...IMO that rear chain should be behind the drain plug. :)

The ZF weighs less than 150#, do yourself a favor and don't turn it
into a bigger deal that it really is. ;)

I've done it by myself using cement blocks and boards on my '75 F150.
(360FE + T18)

You know?

I need a picture of a bottle jack with a short (~6") piece of 2x4 under
the rear of the oil pan hold the rear of the engine up. :) That piece of
information gets left out a lot. LOL :)

Alvin in AZ

 

You definately need the alignment bolts. I wont do a trans job without them. I am in the middle of a zf installation myself and found the trans balanced on the jack was a major pain. I took a piece of 1/2" plywood 14" long by 8" wide and drilled a 7/8" hole 2 3/4" from one end centered for the drain bolt. This gave the jack cradle a good flat surface to lift the trans. Then I used a small ratchet strap to hold it down to the jack platform. Worked awesome. The trans sat level and secure and I was able to push the jack forward to get onto the alignment bolts. A little turn of the yoke and it slid home perfectly. I did have to take the larger access cover around the shifter off to accommodate the zf shifter stub. I later found out I could have removed the shifter from the trans.
Good luck.

 

Ok I managed to get the bugger in. I was going to get the hoist from my friend, but I didn't have time to get it after work. So I improvised using a few things I had lying around

2 ton chain fall suspended by a large pipe clamp pipe, which rested on the (padded) wing window sills. Used it to lift the rear independently of the front (no, the pipe is not bent. Just the location of the camera)


With the cruddy jack underneath

 

Well **** hit the fan. Got everything hooked back up today, and I've got some issues.

Installing the bearing repair kit didn't totally fix the problem. It's not *as* bad as it was, but it still rattles like death.

Now onto the main problem. It almost seems like the clutch disk isn't fully disengaging from the trans. Can't put the truck into reverse. If I have the truck in gear with the clutch depressed, and I go to start it, the truck lurches forward slightly. I have a video from when I took it for a test drive, just waiting for it to upload to youtube.

The only thing that is different is the throwout bearing. The one that was listed in the NAPA database in the store I work at is the one I ordered, and I noticed that it was slightly larger diameter than the old one. Rarely does the system get the wrong part, so I'm a little lost.

 

I'm sure this has an external slave cylinder. Is the slave cylinder pushing out far enough? Is the lever that goes from the slave cylinder to the throwout bearing attached properly?

 

Not going into reverse is a sure sign of lack of disengagement.

First things first.
Did you open up the system, allowing air in?
Check the pedal cross shaft bushings.
Check the little plastic clip holding the belcrank to master cylinder pushrod.
Check the firewall for flexing.

All of these are well known issues.
Any of these will cause problems that may not initially be evident.
A little bit of slop at one or more can add up to a clutch that drags or won't disengage.

 

There is only one time I can think that air got in. My dad pumped the clutch pedal a few times without knowing thag I had the cap to the master cylinder off. I don't think that would allow air in though?


Thanks
Jameson