transmission swap

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Jan 23, 2014 | 04:30 PM

gregsewell21

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transmission swap

hey guys i have an 88 f150 long bed with the 300 I-6 and a 4 speed manual transmission. i just want to know what it would take to put a 5 speed manual in for better mileage on the highway.

Jan 26, 2014 | 01:34 PM

spacegrass

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An m5od or zf5 with the small block pattern (4.9, 5.0, 5.8 donor) will bolt right up. Go for the zf if you use it as a truck, or the Mazda if you use it mainly as a car. Lots of people bash the Mazda as it's not very heavy duty, but I've had 3 exceed past 150k with no issues and one even at 250k. All trucks were sold to new owners and most are still kicking.

You may want to get the driveshaft, crossmember, and the transmission hump plate thing out of the donor truck too. I'm not exactly sure but someone might chime in.

Oh and try for an 87-91 trans, it'll save a lot of thinking about the speedo.

Jan 27, 2014 | 11:08 AM

gregsewell21

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awesome thank you, i will look for those.

Jan 27, 2014 | 06:38 PM

Bright Regatte Blue

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From: The Golden State

I've had two F-150s with the M5OD, and have not had a transmission problem with either. However, I do agree that the ZF will be a better trans for heavy loads and/or heavy towing. When looking for a donor, try to find one with the same wheelbase, and take its driveshaft, too--if memory serves me correctly, the 4-speeds in those trucks were pretty short, so grabbing the driveshaft might save you some grief. Same goes for the trans tunnel cover.

Jan 28, 2014 | 04:29 AM

EPNCSU2006

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From: Concord, NC

The driveshaft won't be a direct swap, even from the same wheelbase. Unless you get lucky and find an '88 F150 with a ZF, it will come from an F250 or F350 with a 10.25" axle, and the 10.25" axle yoke is about 3 inches farther forward than the 8.8" axle found in F150s, leaving the rear half of the two-piece driveshaft 3" too short. The front half and the center carrier bearing will work fine, though.

Jan 28, 2014 | 11:02 AM

gregsewell21

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i hope to find an 88 f150 with a Zf that would be great and save me time, i could grab all the parts i need from there. the only part im worried about is accidently grabbing a bad transmission from the yard. whats a good way to tell if its good?

Jan 28, 2014 | 06:11 PM

EPNCSU2006

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Unfortunately you won't be able to know for sure without taking it apart or taking it on a test drive. Definitely give the input shaft and output yoke a wiggle side to side to check for any play, row through the gears and spin the output shaft in each gear. You would be able to find most of the big problems this way.