I have a 2008 f350. The one in my signature for specs. The truck is a daily driver now so the SRW is great. When I get home in a few months and ill be back on the farm and pulling tractors and livestock a decent amount. My wife and I plan on getting in the 5th wheel community at some point as well. So I know ill prefer a DRW when that time comes. Just trying to plan ahead here and see what im getting myself into.

Although I have contemplated getting rid of it after reading the nightmares, my truck hasn't gave me a single issue in two years and I really like the 6.4. I love my truck and want to keep it. I eventually plan on getting ids and a lift to work on the big stuff myself. I don't care about resale values or any of that crap.

So what I want to do is a DRW conversion with 3.73 gearing since it will still be a daily driver, most of which will be highway since work will be around an hour away.

What all do I need to be looking for as far as parts?
I also plan on throwing a ZF6 in whenever the auto craps out. I simply prefer manuals.

 

I think you need fenders, wheels/tires, and the differential. It's likely to be cheaper/easier to trade. An intermediate step is to go to 19.5 and G tires.

 

Could not have said it better myself to the portion highlighted in bold red.


First off, to convert to DRWs will require the COMPLETE rear axle assembly right down to all the brake parts, since they are DRW specific and unique to that application. This is also provided you will be able to locate one with a 3.73 gear, unless you want to switch to a 4.10 or 4.30.


The front axle will require DRW specific hub/bearing assemblies as well as the hub extenders. No biggie there.


The body stuff? Fender flares and whatnot, but you know that already.


Now onto your desire for a handshaker. The question becomes the quality of the conversion desired, because there are MANY parts that are manual transmission specific. I will list as many as I KNOW, off the top of my head to include but not limited to the following:


-Engine rear cover (the ZF6 and 5R110W use completely different bellhousing bolt patterns). And it is a bit of work to change out between the two.


-Transmission harnesses (you know the ZF6 doesn't have a TCM)


-Instrument cluster (the manual clusters don't have a PRNDL or trans temp gauge, in place of which resides a voltmeter gauge)


-Pedal assembly along with the hydraulic system


-Driveshaft (different lengths)


-PCM (auto and manual are different)


-The transmission itself along with all hardware (obviously)


And those are only the KNOWN differences thus far. I'm sure I've missed a few. Now do some research on where to source the above mentioned parts along with the prices, and you start to get the gist of the cost involved.


GOOD LUCK

 

I know what I need for the ZF6 swap but that would be way down the road. The only thing that concerns me with the manual swap is the tuning needed to make it work. You have to cut the entire transmission hump out of the cab and weld in the manual one. Its gonna suck but that's the fun in it! I was just stating the fact that it was a future mod lol.


The DRW conversion sounds fairly simple! I felt like that's all I would need. It would be really nice to find a donor truck that ran 3.73's and was a manual haha.


I would much rather work on my truck than trade it in simply because its "easier". That's lazy to me. Theres no way that a DRW conversion would cost more than me getting into a new truck that I know nothing about. At least I know whats happened in my truck for the last 2 years.


But there will always be the guys that say to trade in for what you want instead of building it. Whatever floats ya boat I reckon.


Thanks for the advice!