Hey guys, I have some questions.

I have the opportunity to pick up this truck

1994 Ford F350 Turbo Diesel w/blown engine :-(

I have been looking for a crew cab for a long time, and they are few and far between here in CO. Here are my questions. How hard is it to do a manual to auto swap? I know the e40d has a bad rep, but she will be my work truck, and just don't want to deal with a clutch, also, with a lot of snow driving, the auto is easier to drive. I have thought about it, I could pull the motor from my 93, and have her on the road in a few days, and do the tranny swap later. How many of the parts from the 93 could I use to do the swap, being that it is a 2wd. I know the shift tube for the column, and the pedals will work. What about the wiring? I hate to scrap the 93, but it has little value here in CO. What other problems will the swap entail? I am going to look at this truck tomorrow. The current owner doesn't know much about it, but he says the last owner bought it new and he was a metal fabricator and made all of the bumpers and headache rack. It seems he took a lot of pride in the truck, which tells me it was well maintained. My plan is to by her, do body paint and interior, Get her road worthy and then sell the 94 and buy an 05 jeep liberty diesel for a grocery getter.

Thoughts comments and input are much appreciated.

Thanks
Mac.

 

Don't know much about the conversion but I'd buy that truck in a heartbeat. Looks to be in great shape.

 

I suppose your mind's made up about the transmission, but seriously, keep the ZF-5, at least for a while. Them trannies are near bulletproof, just /work/. Clutch issues aren't that common, really, and once you've upgraded to a SMF, you're set.
The engine will drop right in. Really, a 7.3 is a 7.3, whether it is an 87 or a 94. The only thing that's different is some 93-94s have different pistons/rings/rod-bearings, but everything outside of the block is the same. Heck, 88 heads work just fine on a 93 block and vice-versa. If that engine really is shot and it's not a simple fix -- and yes, you can do a headgasket reasonably easily; as long as your motor isn't frozen I'd do that -- just pull the engine, swap the turbo to your new motor and drop it back in. I figure it's a good 3 days of work to do so, from previous experience.
Edit:
Not to mention, you could swap a SMF kit in there for $600 while the engine's out(takes about 15 minutes at that point), and have a great system: http://www.southbendclutch.com/ford_catalog.html
BTW, I like my ZF-5 in the snow; it seems to give me more control, to be honest(at least, compared to my mom's 02 with powerstroke and 4r100 which is similar to the E4OD) -- you can use the engine to decelerate slowly as opposed to braking, and keep the wheels all spinning by leaving the clutch out; a sort of "ABS" in a way.

 

Macrobb, I'm pretty much set on the conversion. Along with snow, I drive in a lot of Denver traffic, and I'm too F'n old to be pumping a clutch! For the record, you can downshift an auto the same way you do a manual, and get the 4 wheel traction you speak of. It is amazing how many regular mountain drivers here aren't aware of that! Even on the steepest grades, I can gear my truck down, and my brake lights won't come on once while all of the gassers are smoking pads! I have done a number of engine swaps and a full top end rebuild on my 94. There are a few build threads on here. I can do the swap from my 93 in a weekend. It has a Banks Sidewinder on it, which the butt dyno tells me is a little bit better than the ATS, so I will probably leave it. The 93 also has a 3 and a half inch Banks exhaust on it, but I am not sure it is worth swapping. I will pull the existing motor, and do a leak down test to determine the problem, and start a 300 hp build on it for later!

Thanks,

Jim.

 

i would go for it.
and the stick to auto swap is not that bad to do, i did it on my 88. the only difference is i used a C-6. since your 93 is an auto, i would strip it before sending it away. this way you will have all you need to do the swap except for the trans.

 

I seen that truck too, my buddy talked to him about it, we think he'll take two grand for it, but we are saving up to buy a rumley tractor. ford is really good at being interchangeable., but I bet you have to change the under hood harness and the power distribution box. And possibly the wiring under the dash.
Something else you could look in to is an aftermarket controller, mine was only 600 with the wiring harness. with the aftermarket controller you can set your own shift points, I have an eco and tow mode in my 88, also you can make the tc lock up under 35mph. it really saves on the trans when you do that.

 

I paid 1500 dollars for our 94 that didn't run and it had the aftermarket ATS turbo on it already as well.. Same ZF 5 speed.. Pretty much the same condition as that one if you can't hear it run always value it at scrap metal pricing that's what I did, because if you can't hear it run its all just hearsay by the owner

 

Since there are a LOT more people seeking to do E4OD -> ZF5 swaps, just do some networking to find one, and you each have a mutual donor truck. About the only things you'd have to fab or have fabbed would be driveshafts, if the swap partner's truck is a different cab/bed.

Truck does look good rust-wise, and a nice front bumper. But any vehicle with a blown engine has a "white elephant" factor. If you can get it for the above-mentioned two large, and have the time, patience, facilities, tools, etc. to diagnose and fix/replace the engine and swap the tranny, I'd say go for it.

 

One thing I am unsure of is how easily your 2wd auto will swap into the 4wd truck. I know a ZF 2wd and 4wd versions use different output shafts which require complete disassembly to replace. Since I hate autos, I have no knowledge of a difference between the 2wd E4OD and the 4wd E4OD. Will you be able to pull the tail shaft housing off your E4OD and bolt on the T-case spacer from the ZF?

 

I'm pretty sure the E4OD is the same as the ZF in respect to 2wd vs 4x4. A 2wd E4OD will not be able to work in a 4x4 truck. The rear housing of both transmissions are specific to 2wd or 4x4. The exception being what was used in the F-superduty (F-450) trucks which were 2wd but used a 4x4 tranny to accommodate the driveline parking brake.

 

correct. 2wd and 4 wd transmissions are not interchangable, unless you use a trans from a F-superduty. they used a 4wd trans and bolted the parking brake to the back of the trans where the transfer case bolted.

 

An update guys, I looked at the truck on Thursday, and she is overall in real good condition. It is from New Mexico, and like the two Cali trucks I already have, you couldn't find a speck of rust on it anywhere, and there are only a couple of minor dents in the body. The interior is a little dirty, but complete and not in bad shape for 20 years old. No way was this guy going to take 2k for this truck. Lets just say we agreed on a price less than he was asking, only because he liked that I knew so much about them and he knew it was going to a good home! I will probably pick up a donor motor, and get her running without parting out the 93. She is just in too good shape to take her behind the barn and shoot her! I can live with the manual trans for a while. I knew about the diesel/4x4 specific trans already, in fact I have a core already. I also have a shift tube and the column plastic. My biggest concern was the electronics, but the aftermarket controller seems to be the way to go there, does anyone know if I'll need to install a FIPL with that controller? As far as the pedals and drive shaft go, I should be able to pick those up at a JY pretty easily. I am meeting the guy next week to make the deal, and he has already pulled the ad from CL.

 

With the one I got from usshift.com you need a throttle position sensor.

 

Congrats on the deal!

Hope I don't get shot for this. Over on obn there's a bunch of chatter bout a " total moosepower" engine from Conestoga Diesel.

Just saying...................

 

All aftermarket controllers will need a a Tach, VSS, and TPS signal to operate.
The manufacturer will provide you with a harness for your solenoid pack and range sensor.