not sure if i would do this again!

my truck has been in the air for about three weeks, theres a lot of parts in them there 6 speeds, (the work bench in my shop has a 4x8 sheet of metal for a top and it is edge to edge with parts. The Girly saw the table and said if i were you i would just cry ahahaha) not to mention the fact that midwest has shorted me on bearings 2 times...

talk about a snow ball, started as a trans rebuild, which turned into needing a clutch, replacing up pipe gaskets (snapping the bolts off) new turbo outlet, new none EBPV ped. and, 6 u-joints, since the shafts are out i may even have the balance checked...(slight vide from the front one)

anything else i can pile on to this project? before i started this endeavor i looked at dodges and fords, i decided that this was a better route than a new truck... i hope i'm right....

 

If you've got the time, I sure would love to see some pics of that thing disassembled. How much did the rebuild tranny parts cost (not counting the other items you got into along the way)?

 

Subscribing to see the pictures.
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I took the easy route, bought a rebuilt transmission from Fleet Pride for $2400.00 and installed it.

 

thats what i would do is buy a rebuilt one b/c i don't have enough time or tools at my house to pull it apart and put back together. i would like to see the pictures

 

i plan on posting pictures to give people an idea of whats inside and how to take it apart, a step by step photo log with directions would be impossible, these zf's are so involved, something like 100 pages in the shop manual is dedicated to disassembly and assembly.

as far as cost of parts: i have spent spent about $700 on all the bearings (gear and shaft bearings) syncro kit, one thrust washer two bushings (that i had to cut off the main shaft because my 20 ton press would not budge them...bent the press though!)
and one syncro hub that i broke in the press (in a hurry and not paying attention) hopefully when i put it together i wont need different size thrust washers!

the reason i didnt want to have mine rebuilt is because i know what kind of parts are going into it. for instance i know that all the gear needle bearings have ben upgraded with steel cages and are no longer plastic. if anything marginal needed to be replaced it was. all the none replaceable bearing surfaces (such as the ones in the gears) have been polished with 2500 grit sandpaper. and everything has been cleaned and re-cleaned with brake-clean and put together with assembly lube. little things that no shop will take the time to do. plus i am saving $2000 to $2500 (ford wanted $3300 plus $700 core charge) which can be spent other places on the truck.

 

Do both the 5spd and 6 spd transmissions have plastic cages. If you don't mind me asking how many miles did you have on the transmission before needing to do a rebuild?

 

i think they both have plastic cages, they seem similar in design.. its not really plastic its more like a fiber, but its far from steel

the truck has 189,000 miles on it, in all reality i did not have to rebuild the trans i had a problem with fourth gear popping out, 4th is my hill gear so towing lots of weight up hill combined with large turbo and propane spelled doom for that gear, i thought about putting a bandied on it and selling it, i drove the new dodge and ford. i honestly think that my truck pulls harder than the new ones, of course it would be a different story if a new one had a chip. so since i plan on keeping the truck for awhile i decided to change everything that should be changed...

to rebuild these things it seems like all a guy needs is space... lots of space... at least a 17.5 ton press, a 3 jaw puller with a reach of around 15", air tools, the ford "essentials tool kit" (which i plan on selling shortly) another pair of hands, and free weekends.... the reason it is taking me so long is because you never know what you're gonna get when you open something up... i ordered what i thought i would need and needed more....