Hello fellow enthusiasts, I need some help with deciding what to do with my 08 F250. I searched forever for a decent work truck with a fair amount of life still left in it and found mine in Nebraska. It came off a golf course and had almost no rust on the undercarriage & body. It's a little rough but it's a work truck and I bought it specifically for the manual transmission. It has the 5.4 modular engine in it and after a good SeaFoam treatment and new sparks it runs strong. My concern is there are obvious places where the truck is limited: 3.73 axles, the limited slip diff clutch packs need replacing, transmission clutch will need service soon, & a few other things which are no fault on the truck but more my preference.
I need the rear diff to actually bite when slipping because I'm tired of getting stuck on job sites (I'm a carpenter in western NC & muddy lots are common). To do this is going to run me about $1200 with all said and done to pay somebody else but my thinking is why not change the gear ratio in the diff since it's going to be taken apart anyways? Of course the front would have to be done too but 4.10 axles would give me more get up and go in the mountains especially with my trailer which I generally tow frequently. I'm planning on switching to a goose neck trailer once my business is more established and I'm worried the 5.4 will not have the necessary torque available to handle the added load.
So here's what this boils down to: either sell this truck which I bought for near a steal and try to find a v10 F350 with a manual transmission or keep this truck and do an engine swap, axle swap & bearing upgrade, goose neck hitch install, and a few other upgrades for functionality. I'm no professional and do not have the tool set to do some of the bigger projects myself. What do you think? What's going to be more cost efficient? Know anybody who's done basically a full rebuild like this before?
I've also thought of getting a newer SD with the second generation 6.2 and swapping out the automatic with a ZF 6 speed but that's out of my price range right now.

 

Nothing you mentioned is cost effective. You could find a 2011+ axle with the e locker and swap that. But the 6.2 isn't manual transmission compatible.

 

Let me elaborate a bit, & see if my thought trail makes more sense. I have found a number of f350's which would satisfy my needs (v10, manual transmission, 4.10 axles, 4x4) that are not too worn out or high mileage for around $20k or less. My thoughts are if I can do some of these upgrades on the truck I have now for less than the expense of purchasing, transporting, & titling something else then that's the way to go. I'm already 6k into this truck so if I have a budget of roughly 10k for upgrades and I don't have to hassle with going 1000 miles to get what I'm looking for again then the time I spend in upgrading the truck will be well worth the effort. BTW the 6.2 has the same bolting pattern as the modulars, it's just the computer issue makes it a serious challenge with software, it's doable, not cheap, but doable. Racer buddy of mine explained that one to me. Here's a thread on this: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-zf6-swap.html

 

I have never seen a 6.2 with a crankshaft that was drilled for a pilot bearing. A ZF6 is no comparison to a 6R140, they don't even compete in the same field. I wouldn't even attempt to swap a weaker ZF6 in place of the 6R140.