Im currently considering the possibility of purchasing a new truck sometime mid next year. I'm interested in 250/2500 series trucks from all three domestics. I'm not asking for comparisions but anyone with experience with the manual transmissions of all three is welcome to give advice. I own an F150 now with auto tranny. My truck has been good to me but its a bit light for the work I do.
I'm going to have to order my truck I suppose as I havent seen any manuals on ANY lots. I'm not going diesel or big block. Base gas engine only. I figure a manual will give me better performance for towing and durability with this kind of powerplant. The hemi, 6.0, or 5.4 V8's could use this performance help I think.

My main question is about the 6 speed. Be honest with me gents, how durable have all of yours been? How low does low feel? Is there a problem starting in 1st gear even with only a light load? Is it smooth shifting? Any known issues? Which axle ratio do you have? Are you satisfied with the transmission/axle combo? What is mileage like?(relatively unimportant to me). Is it noisey and grindy? There's so much I want to know. I can appreciate brand preferences, but for me a vehicles components are more important than its nameplate - no offense gents. I trust the 5.4L. I trust the visteon axle. I trust Ford in general, but I have no experiences with ZF.

Thank you in advance for relating your experiences and opinions with me.

 

I drive a 2002 F-250 Superduty xlt 4x4 reg cab with the V-10 six speed. I bought it
new in Jan 2004 as a left over,I figure no one wanted it because of the manual trans!
I have 4.30 LS axles and use my truck for towing 5000-10000lbs regularly as well as a
daily driver in traffic,and plow snow. I only have 7500 miles so far but no problems with
anything. I don`t know of any problems with the 6-speed, but if it is as good as the
ZF 5-speed you wont have any problems. I is a very large trans with it`s own oil pump
and external cooler! It was a little hard to shift at first but gets better with the more
miles I put on the truck. The trans is geared perfect for me with the very low gear
for starting off under a heavy load and overdrive for the highway.I get 12-14 mpg
average unloaded,10mpg average towing,and the best was 15.6mpg on a all highway
trip. Not to bad for such a large truck! I would highly reccomend the 6-speed!

 

I've heard a few complaints of the ZF being a bit hard to shift and whatnot, but, it is a HD syncronised transmission, it's just the nature of the beast.
I haven't driven a GM product with one yet(they use the same trans) but, I'd imagine that you'll find the same minor complains about it in those applications too.
I've never had a F150 with a 5 speed, or a car, so, I don't notice anything funny about the way it shifts...

 

I've had trucks with the ZF 5 speed, NV4500 5 speed and the ZF 6 speed in my present 04. I love the 6 speed gear splits, nearly perfect for towing and as already stated, gets better shifting after driven a few miles. I find it quieter then the NV4500 and about the same as the ZF 5 speed, which is to say it is pretty quiet. I notice in the morning that reverse is sometimes a little hard to get into but with a little effort, it falls in gear. Strongly suggest the BD short shifter addition if you want a close, tight shift pattern. Best thing I've done to my truck.

 

I concur with the six speed. Zero problems. The jump from 2nd to 3rd is too long for my taste, especially when towing, but that's my only nitpick. Otherwise it's a bulletproof combination.

 

I have an 04' F-350 V-10, 4x4, with the 6-speed and DRW,4:30 LS,,It's the best truck I have owned yet, 6-speed shifts great ! I now have 2 trailers, 1 is a 4 ton equip trailer, 2 nd is a 16' enclosed Pace American enclosed cargo trailer for misc use, the truck takes off in 1st with either trailer nicely, hardly ever use low at all with the truck,,although I am glad its there if needed.

Its a great setup, almost 12k miles on mine now, no prob at all,,

Try it,,You'll like it,,

Later,,,,,,,,,,Mark

 

I have seen the inside of a ZF 6.....looks like a big truck transmission inside the case.
The gears are huge compaired to what is in most pickup trannies.

First gear is ratio 5.79 on the ZF 6 compared to 4.14 on the ZF 5.

 

Sun. 04/10/10 18:49 EDT
post #21

AxisAllies:

Please see my comments and those of others in this thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=286166

By the way, 3.73 axle ratio.

 

do they offer the 6spd with the 5.4??

 

I have a 2002 F-250 PSD and I love the 6sp. Same issue here, hard to shift at first and gets better with some miles on the transmission. I didn't notice it to be noisy but I did notice it in a 2004 with a 6.0 when compared to the torqshift auto, but I think it was the lack of sound insulation in the 6 sp. It was noisier than my 7.3 diesel, so I think it was just that truck, but can't tell because it was their only 6sp on the lot with diesel. I had to replace a slave cylinder on my clutch, but that was relatively inexpensive and easy to do.

 

I have a 2000 SC SB 2WD PSD with the 6 Speed and I love it. I haven't pulled anything or had more than 3200 pounds in the bed but I've never had any problems with the transmission. It's a little cranky on the shift from 1st to 2nd in the mornings but a lot of the guys I know don't even use 1st to start without a load. Low appears to be for climbing trees. It's not as smooth shifting as a sports car but I'm very comfortable with it for what I do. I've used it to teach 2 teenagers how to drive a stick shift; figureing they couldn't kill it if they tried.
I've managed to pull as much as 20.7 MPG on the freeway or as little as 14.3 around town with 3.73 gears. Lately, the price of diesel is $2.20/gal and unleaded premium is $2.05 at the local Shell, so my truck may sit for a bit while I drive the better half's Sable.
I've seen several posts about the pilot bearing and the original clutch issues, but I think most guys who run this truck are very happy with it.

 

I've got a 6sp in my '03 F-350 PSD 3.73 and happy with it. Does take a little getting used to with the 3 gates, easy to get confused which gate the stick is in, especially since I went straight from a 5sp zf to the 6. This only happens at stoplights though and yes you can can kill it if you try to start in 4th. The 5sp had a whine in overdrive that would start to get to me after a while. The 6sp is noiseless and that makes me happy. Also, I'm amazed at the size of this tranny, it's a big sob.
Don't use 1st unless pulling my 35' 5th wheel or 24' enclosed cargo. Gross w/5ver, 23,000+.