Hey guys, i have a 87 4.9 L6 with a 4speed Tremec T170 and would like to know if the BW-T18 or 19 would bolt right up in. Its a 4x2 long bed. Thanks in advance!

 

I think it's an easy bolt up. Certainly trans to bell and clutch will be bolt up. Cross member and drive shaft....Not sure. BUT there is a thread with this swap and I will try to search it out.

JMO those are mighty fine strong transmissions but I would go with a M5OD for light work or ZF for heavier work so I'd have OD. UNLESS your gearing is too tall already, as it often was from the factory. But I digress. I 'll be back...

 

Well I found several threads talking and asking but I can't find a thread with a finished swap. I'll try again later.

 

Thank you so much for helping. I have been searching all day and i will continue to do so aswell.

 

You might know this already, but since yours is a 2WD you need a 2WD trans as well.

 

yes, i am aware. i do have plans on 4x4 swapping the truck eventually.

 

but im almost positive the t18 and the tremco i have are the same length.

 

Then this might be an opportunity to get the 4WD trans and a transfer case in it. With no front drive axle you just won't hook up the front driveshaft, but it'll work fine as a 2WD truck until you do get a drive axle in it. Otherwise you're going to have to swap transmissions twice.

 

Exactly! Don't do it twice. And for what its worth. Even if I had a 2wd and was doing a swap, I'd drop in a 4wd trans and tcase anyway. Makes backing up a trailer ssssooooo much easier when you can just drop it in low range and let it idle.

 

What 4wd trans do you think would fit in a 2wd without doing the whole swap?

 

I'm not sure if your truck is hydraulic clutch or not. But if you could source a M5OD and transfer case and driveshaft from a 4wd truck the same cab and bed style as your truck

 

Pretty much whatever you want. The electronic automatics have their own challenges, but you're talking manuals so that's not an issue. The Mazda 5 speed is a "good enough" trans for a half ton, with overdrive, decent gear spreads and decent shifting. The ZF5 is a stout 3/4 or 1 ton trans with a granny gear and overdrive, but pretty big gaps between gears. T-18, NP435 and T-19 are all stout 4 speeds with granny low but no overdrive. Their advantages over a ZF5 are arguably better shifting (but other would argue the other way), smaller, lighter and cheaper. But they don't have OD.

The Mazda and ZF5 trannies have integral bellhousings with a hydraulic clutch (which is what I believe your truck has), so you'll need to find one for a 300, 302 or 351. The older trannies will need a bellhousing for a 300, 302 or 351. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the bellhousing off your Tremec would work.

Then keep in mind that you will also need to have a transfer case, even though you won't have 4WD yet. Just about any Ford transfer case will bolt to just about any Ford trans, so your options are wide open there too.

 

SO, your saying to just get the transfer case and driveshafts for a 4wd even though i wouldn't have a front axle in, thus the tcase would just be there to make things fit correctly. And yes i have a hydraulic clutch.

 

Yes, you would use the rear 4wd driveshaft, but leave the front out until you get the front differential in.

 

Mudsport already answered, but yes. You can't put a transfer case on a 2WD trans, so if you're going to swap to 4WD you want to start with a 4WD trans (otherwise you'll need to swap transmissions twice). And you can't put a rear driveshaft directly on a 4WD trans. So you need to either put a transfer case on it or else get the driveline brake assembly from an F-Superduty. But since you're going to be putting a transfer case in it eventually anyway you'll want to do the transfer case.

You'll need to get the trans / transfer case mounted (probably a different crossmember in a different location than for a 2WD). But again, that's work that you'll need to do for the 4WD conversion anyway. For the actual 4WD conversion you'll need to install shift linkage for the transfer case, and you might want to do it right away (it's nice to be able to use low range for backing trailers). But you can just put the t.case in 2WD high and leave the linkage off for now too.