C6 swap

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Jul 24, 2006 | 10:05 PM

rogersdan

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Mountain Pass

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C6 swap

I have a 1988 F250 4x4 with a 351 and a c6 transmission. Can I swap the c6 for another automatic with overdrive, or a 5 speed manual?

Thanks, Dan

Jul 25, 2006 | 12:39 AM

nighthawk285

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From: La Grande, OR

i have a 1987 F-150 4x4 with a newer '94 351W in it, and I have an AOD (automatic with overdrive). however, under the higher horsepower of the 351(used to have a 302 in it) the AOD is going out, so im looking at putting in a 5spd in mine, probably the ZF-5. but yes, you can swap in either of those, you can do anything with time and money

Jul 25, 2006 | 09:03 AM

rogersdan

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Mountain Pass

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nighthawk,

Thanks for the reply. Can this be done reasonably. In other words, could a competent transmission shop handle the job, or is this going to require a substantial amount of refitting and custom work that very few would be willing or qualified to do?

Dan

Jul 25, 2006 | 11:39 AM

75F350

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The change over you are looking to do, is not very difficult, but is a bunch of work, man I mean a bunch! The auto to auto, is not so bad, but you will have to do your homework, as to which tranny to use, and what to do about shifting into and out of overdrive. Failure to get overdrive / lockup engagement coreectly will result in premature failure. If you run a big lift / big tires then this will add to the potential failure.
Let me ask what you are hoping to accomplish by going to an overdrive trans? I believe the answer will be to lower RPM's at highway speed. What axle gear ratio do you have? Would a gear change be a reasonable alternative? That C-6 is a good trans, that is hard to beat.

Jul 25, 2006 | 12:37 PM

rogersdan

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Mountain Pass

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i'm just trying to get some gas mileage better than 10-11mpg. I have a small truck camper (1400 lbs), but honestly the truck camper didn't reduce the mileage by a gallon. Even unloaded the truck only gets 10-11. I'm looking at all options, but the truck seems to be tuned properly and runs great. I don't know what the gear ratios are. The sticker on the door says that the axle 39 and I can't read the tag on the axle itself. I haven't jacked up the rear end and turned the drive shaft yet.

I had hoped to find some truck that can haul the camper and get 14-15 mpg at 60-65 mph.

Thanks, Dan

Jul 25, 2006 | 01:11 PM

75F350

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What size tire do you have, and what are the engine rpm's at say 60-65 mph? Are you gonna haul anything larger then that small camper? You are only looking to squeeze a few mpg's more, not unrealistic.

Jul 25, 2006 | 04:24 PM

85e150

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OD Unit: $2500

http://www.gearvendors.com/

OD trans links to fix strength and shifting issues.

http://www.baumannengineering.com/aodcat.htm

http://ckperformance.com/ford_aod.html

http://www.tciauto.com/ford/ford_aod.htm

You can change to an AOD, but spend some time and money in getting the right one, beefing if need be, and setting it up right, or your 10 mpg will start looking like a bargain.