check the scrap yards, ive seen many in excellent shape. unfortunatly no zf/460 combos!

 

I called all the junk yards around my house and none of them had any boots, they are all pretty lame yards though. I went to ford and asked them for a price on a shift boot for a five speed and they want $70 for the boot and trim ring, I may just end up doing that. Does anyone know of a good place to get a rebuild kit for this thing? It's starting to sound a little scary coasting in 5th gear.

 

There are several places on the web that sell kits but I don't recall their names. The ZF is a complex tranny to rebuild so I hope you are well equipped for it and have lots of experiance. I had a local shop do mine and it wasn't cheap.

 

I called on a rebuild kit for the ZF today. It's going to be about $600 after I buy the tool that holds the main gear cluster together when it's out of the tranny. This thing better be whisper quiet after I rebuild it.

 

Even after the overhaul mine makes some gear whine noises in 3rd, but 4th and 5th are quiet. Good luck with the overhaul. Take a close look at your gearsets for thooth wear. I had to have 2nd gear replaced in mine. Still don't regret doing it though. This tranny shifts way better than my NP435 did and I like the gear spacings better. And 2200 rpm at 75mph rocks!

 

I'd be okay with gear whine, but mine sounds like you're throwing rocks into a wood chipper which is inside of a 55 gallon drum. It's loud. I hope that when I pull it apart it only needs syncros and bearings and that's it. We'll see.

 

Not to kick a dead horse, but what throw out bearing and clutch disc did you use? Are they the same as the NP 435? After a year, how is the swap going for all of you who have done it?

Thanks,

Dan

 

If I remember correctly, I used the ZF t/o bearing and clutch disc and the 400 flywheel and pressure plate. The clutch disc was a little bit bigger so it had to "clearance" itself against the edges of the pressure plate when I first started it up. Other than that it's working great. I still haven't rebuilt it, but I need to. It sounds pretty scary sometimes.

 

I didn't think it had been a year. It's amazing how time flies when you drink like a college student.

 

Its been 3 years since my swap but if memory serves me I had to go with a L&L flywheel and clutch package since I was bolting an early (pre 79) 460 to a ZF tranny. The early 460s are internally balanced and the clutch is a LUK heavy duty. Got it from Broncograveyard. I used a stock throwout brng from a 89 F250 and fabbed my own mechanical clutch linkage. In hindsight I think a hydraulic setup would have been better, but no major problems so far.

 

I have had my zf in the truck a few months now and absolutely love it, it's one of the best mods I have done. I wanted to thank Solidrunner for the pics in his gallery, they helped alot on the installation!
I ended up using an L&L flywheel and had it custum drilled to fit a 12 1/4 inch clutch for an '89 F-350. I used mechanical linkage, but left the ears on the trans so I can change it to hydraulic later if I decide to.

 

Could you post some pictures of the ZF transmission install?

 

I have some pictures of my install in my gallery.

 

I swapped a ZF behind my 351 in my bronco and was very displeased with it. I have since replaced it with a NV4500 and am far happier. Would recommend staying away from any ZFs, way to over-engineered...

 

Could you be any more specific about you dislikes of the ZF? I am still considering this swap myself but have never had a ZF. However, most my family are farmers and plenty of ZFs in the 'fleet'.... I've never heard them complain about their transmissions being over engineered before.