if We get to page four, someone can copy/paste it there?

 

(originally posted by Fonefiddy)
There is much debate about whether the IDI is comfortable spinning dual counter shafts and a pump.

Some say it eats just enough power to drop the IDI rpm's. Thus making You downshift earlier. I dunno?

I found a little info on Jaybee's swap.

Ok, I am still getting occasional requests for info on how to do this swap, so I'll make a post with all the info I can remember on how to do it. It's been almost 2 years since I did it, so please excuse anything I forget to mention.

I now have about 20,000 miles on the truck with the conversion, and could not be happier. My only complaint in that time was with the ceramic puck style clutch disk I used. I have since replaced it with a conventional LUK disk and love it! There will be more on this to follow.

First of all, you have to remove the approximately 1" thick adapter plate the IDI's use in order to get the clutch and flywheel spacing correct. In other words, the bellhousing on the ZF6 is deeper and the input shaft is shorter, so the spacer has to go. The 7.3 powerstrokes have a different bellhousing bolt pattern cast into the block compared to the IDI. The good news is the 2 dowel pins, and 4 lower bolts do match up. The upper 2 bolts are the only difference. I made a stepped adapter to go from the upper 2 bolts on the IDI block to the upper 2 bolts on the ZF6. It was 2 pieces of 1/2" x 2" flat steel bar overlapped and welded together, making sure both bars were parallel after welding. The lower bar bolts to the upper holes in the block, and the upper bar sits behind it and has the upper 2 holes tapped for the tranny bolts. That makes the front face of the upper part of the adapter flush with the rest of the bellhousing in the block. I bought the stock tranny dust plate for a '99 and had to cut a little clearance into it for the adapter.

The next big hurdle is the clutch. The ZF6 has a 1.375" input shaft, and the smallest disk you can find with that spline is going to be 13" diameter. A 13" disk will not fit under any pressure plate that fits an IDI flywheel. My first way around this was to use a custom made 12.25" disk with the 1.375" spline and 4 ceramic pucks per side. This disk turned out to be miserable! The more you tried to slip it, the harder it grabbed sending the truck into convulsions. Backing up to a trailer was virtually impossible. So, I recently went a different route.

I had already used a LUK solid flywheel, so I pulled it back out and redrilled it for a LUK 13" PSD pressure plate. I now have the LUK pressure plate and disk for a '99 PSD and it works great. It reduced the pedal effort, virtually eliminated the gear rollover noise, and is very smooth. This is definitely the way to go. Oh, and you can't use a LUK flywheel for a PSD because they have a different bolt pattern on the crankshaft.

The clutch hydraulics weren't too bad, but not a simple bolt together deal, either. I used the correct master cylinder for my year truck. I used a slave cylinder for a '99 ZF6. The fork, pivot, and throwout bearing were all for a ZF6. The only real problem was trying to come up with a clutch hose that would work. I ended up making adapters that fit into the clutch and slave with a -3 AN on the other end. I then made a stainless steel braided hose to connect them. Bleeding was the typical pain, but it has worked great ever since.

The shifter ended up in exactly the same spot as a ZF5, so the tranny tunnel cover for a manual and boot all bolted up fine. I made my own cross member for the back of the tranny by heavily modifying the one that was in my truck with the E4OD. You might be able to bolt in a cross member from a '99 ZF6 - I'm not sure - was too cheap to buy one.

Of course you'll have to visit a driveshaft shop and get yours modified or a new one made. I also went to a '99 E350 disc brake rear axle at the same time, and had an all new driveshaft built to fit.

The ZF6 does not have a speedo drive gear. This is where a '92 up truck has the advantage. I used a speedo from the '92 up truck and made it fit inside my cluster with some slight customization. The '92 up speedo is all electronic, and I was able to drive it from the sensor on the rear axle.

The 7.3 IDI starter bolts directly into the bellhousing of the ZF6 and works fine. The bellhousing lower cover for the '99 bolted right up.

Oh, I did have to bend the floor of the truck up just a little bit for clearance, but it's under the seat and totally unnoticable.

I think that about covers it... If I remember anything else I'll reply to this post. If anyone wants a flywheel redrilled I could probably take care of that part of the conversion for them.

Jason


Man those heooge azzed pics really suxor on dial up

 

I have been told that a 1-2" body lift will cure any need to 'modify' the floor in the cab.

Just what I have been told.

Thanks,
Chris

 

I would think a few well placed hockey pucks would give plenty of clearance.

 

In other words a reneck body lift.

 

I'm sure no one will see this, I'm also looking into zf6 for my '92 F350 QuadCab 4x4 zf5 IDI ATS Turbo, she's 2-tone blue, I named her Babe. And yes, it's because I haul a lot of firewood... I never seen so many truck guys concerned about speed! Like you were the little sister on the block that needs looking after! LOL! The way I see it, "I'm the biggest truck on the road, I'll go as fast as I feel like. Go ahead and be dumb. Get in my way. See what happens. You'll part ways with you totaled rice burner, and I'll cut your tongue out to paint over the scratch you left on my truck!" LMFAO! I admit that I will not mess with a Peterbuilt though. And the only thing that walks away from that fight, is Union Pacific! But to me your fancy 2020 f150, might as well be a Toyota Corolla, or a beer can for that matter!

 

Excellent insight. Thank you. Seems like the hassle my not outweigh the benefit for me. My brother-in-laws '97 power stroke automatic(otherwise same exact truck) is screaming trying to do 75 mph down the interstate and I cruise pretty good at 90 mph. It's just that if I'm empty I could easily go up another gear. Biggest issue is reverse. I could almost swear with the clutch out and idling I'm going 35 mph! And the smaller the trailer the the faster it wants to jackknife. Ideally reverse would work like an automatic. Other wise I hate my transmission trying to guess what gear to be in. I swear my B-I-L is on his breaks constantly. I don't know that I would hardly notice if my breaks disappeared one day. Plus I can always just go into low gear. But would it be easier, cost effective, time saver... If a tranny shop changed my reverse? If that's a thing that can be done? I would assume there's not room to also add a 6th gear inside the zf5 housing. But I don't know the private workings of a transmissions upskirt either so...? I do know that a dual mechanical/hydraulic drive & steering system would be nice. The engine running would could run a hydraulic pump like a PTO. That connects to hydraulic drives in the steering wheel and axles/wheels whatever. Trans is in neutral and the steering lock is off. So when you're squeezing a camper into a tight spot, or using the truck like a tractor to drag logs or something and the constant back and forth and all that could be done outside the truck with 1 or 2 joysticks... or even by wireless remote. I've seen it with roofing suppliers boom trucks. With hydro drive, the farther you move the joystick forward the faster the truck would move forward let off and it stops. Same for backwards and side to side for steering. When loading the truck and you need it to come back farther every 10 min. Just tell the truck to roll back a little and it does. When you're done, a button releases the pump from the drive of the motor and now the hydraulic system is in neutral. Now you can drive normal with clutch and gears and whathaveyou. That hydraulic drive could also be connected to other things for when applications of real on-demand power is needed like; dump bed, winch, air compressor, generator, depends on the things you do with your truck. And adding propane to the air intake would save fuel for mileage as well as make the response of the engine and hydraulic pump stronger and more instantaneous. Just a thought.