Hey guys it's been a long time as I've had a lot of changes in my life recently. But anyway I'm bout to buy a 89 e350 and I know this ain't the place to talk bout that but I have curiosities you all can help me with.

I have a 460 zf5 4x4 trans sitting unused. This 89 van has a 460/c6. I'd like to reduce the rear gears and swap in the zf5 for improved fuel economy but was also thinkin that maybe, just maybe, the 1356 I need to install also can be used for low range gear splitting like a browny box in a truck. Any thoughts?

 

People have tried it, but it doesn't work very well. Low range is too low, and some of the shifters are not made to go back and forth very easily.

If you swap in the zf, you should be able to keep your rear gears since the zf 5 speed has a overdrive. If you do a lot of towing I think I would try to incorporate the transfer case, even if you have 2wd. It's very handy for backing up, especially since the zf reverse gear is a little too fast, and requires a little too much clutch slipping

 

If you use the 4x4 trans you'll need to use the t.case. There's no way to hook a driveshaft directly to a 4x4 trans (and the way to convert a 4x4 trans to 2WD starts with getting a 2WD trans).

Can you split shift with a transfer case? No. Transfer cases just don't shift well enough. You really need to come to a stop to shift between high and low range.

Even if you could, as Franklin points out, the ratios don't work that well. A ZF5 has a 2.94:1 2nd gear, that's pretty close to 4th gear - low range (~2.7:1?). 5th gear - low range is about 2:1 which isn't that far from the 1.61:1 3rd gear.

 

Well, there is at least for the zf. The older super duties that had the zf and were 2wd did use the 4x4 trans, they used rear disc brakes. To get a parking brake Ford used the 4x4 trans and bolted a parking brake assembly on the back of it, and then the driveshaft goes to the rear. If you found one of those parking brake assemblies you could feasibly bolt it on the zf and turn it into a 2wd tranny.

 

I know I'd have to run the tcase. No issue doing that save having to shorten the drive shaft. And also having a d60 sitting next to it a 4x4 van may just happen. Gear splitting certainly was more a curiosity then a "I have every intention of making it work" kinda deal. Thanks guys.

 

Somebody actually makes a twin stick conversion for the 1356. It allows the t case to go into low range for 2wd.