cool i feel ya on the mutt truck thing. mine has a 95 front clip off a 150, 96 bed, 88cc seats and doors, fsd rear springs, d50 front (on a reg cab), and tons of other junkyard and swap parts but it runs great and does what i ask, just slow.

 

At least all your bits are from the same era- I have the engine from an 88, the trans from an 89, I beams and steering box from a 75, wheels from an 84, cab from a 72, bed from a different 72, rear axle from a 68, frame and grille from a 69- Hell, Johnny Cash sang a song about it it's so unique.

 

Got the 7.3 in today. It was a tight fit even without the front clip on, I had to take the turbo and the shift tower off to get the clearance to drop the engine/tranny in as a unit.



Now, to put the transmission cross-member question to rest, partially, the old stuff does NOT just bolt right up. The front of the cross-member physically contacts the rear of the transmission keeping it from lining up with the bolt holes by at least a 1/2 an inch. I do not know if there is a difference in cross members as unfortunately I did not buy the one out of the donor truck.
I may look for one, or I may end up modifying mine to work. I do not have the other set of frame holes that I've read about, but maybe they exist on the '87 up trucks as the ZF was available then. Drilling new holes in the frame really isn't an option. It could be done with the lower ones, but the top ones would require either a removal of the cab or cutting holes in the floor of the cab.

On a different note, check out these starters. Maybe some of you guys are familiar with them, but the top one is out of my 6.9, the bottom one is out of the 7.3. I've never seen one on an IDI without the nose cone for the bendix, even on my previous 7.3. Is this just a different type that can be used? Or is it specific to the ZF? (This is my first ZF so that may be the answer.)

 

I just changed my Zf out and my truck has the 7.3 with a ZF factory. If it helps you any my starter looks identical to the one in the pic with the nose cone. I've never seen one without either.

 

Interesting, I wonder if it is even the correct starter then. It's some kind of direct drive apparently, while the other looks to be a gear reduction.

 

Haaa, you've got me beat for sure!
I'd love to put an IDI in my bumpside. It'll more than likely never happen, but it'd be an awesome rig.

 

zf5's flywheel sits ferther from the back of the motor than a t19 so has to have a longer nose on the starter

 

But the one with no nose is the ZF starter.

 

true that, it is due to how far the ring is from the motor because of the dmf

 

I think I put the lower style one in my truck when I changed it out, or that one came out and was replaced with the upper style. Either way, I've run both styles on my 7.3 ZF truck.

 

The ZF crossmember is different. The best option of course is to find the right one, but the T-19 crossmember will work with drilling. The starters are interchangeable, just different manufacturers. I have seen both types on ZF's and both types on T-19's.

 

my info is incorrect, I'm getting tired and am not thinking straight

 

Damn, I almost got that cross-member, but didn't. Now the truck is crushed and in China somewhere.

Good to know about the starters, thanks! Since I have an option then it sounds like I'd be better off keeping the gear reduction out of the 6.9.

 

That's okay, many times the stuff I thought I knew was incorrect, but the input is always appreciated!

 

The upper starter is the old stock syle and lower is new aftermarket style. I have ran both in my truck with a 6.9 smf flywheel and zf5.