I've come to the conclusion that i'm tired of fooling with automatic transmissions knowing that stick shifts are much more reliable. I have a 2000 Ford Excursion 7.3 233K Miles 4x4. I have seen multiple threads of people swapping their transmission with a ZF6, pictures and details and all and I was wondering if it would be the right route to take, and I have a few questions.

-Is it the ZF6 or the ZF5 I should be using? Sadly i'm not familiar with ford manual transmissions

-Is there a transmission from a certain year that I would need for my Excursion?

-Where can I find a donor truck or the ZF6 itself? I've heard that they are pretty rare to find

-Lastly all I can think of at the moment is, does there happen to be anyone living in South Carolina who has one up for grabs?

Thanks guys!

 

We do them all the time, it would be better to find a donor truck that way you can pull all the parts off of that truck. you can use a ZF6 out of a 99-03 7.3l

 

Is a donor truck basically a wrecked truck? I like the idea, but where would I find one? And who is "we", do you run a shop or are you part of one? If so and if you're close by, I may pop in

 

A donar truck is no doubt the way to go. It would have a zf6, but you can use a zf5. I put a zf5 in my truck since the 6 speed is hard to find, I looked for 2 years before I decided to just use a 5 speed. With a 5 speed you won't be able to just swap everything with a parts truck. But it's an option.

 

yes it you would need a wrecked truck would be the best, look on line or junk yards is the best place. sorry i own a diesel shop in salt lake city, utah (stroker diesel)

 

What are the downsides of having the ZF5? Would I still have 4x4? Would I have to change drive shafts aswell? or is it basically the same deal, but with one less gear?

 

Ahh, I gotcha, i'll do that then, thanks!

 

The 6 speed has an extra low gear, and can hold more torque without breaking. In hignsight I probably have been better to use but oh well. As long as you get a tranny with a tail housing that you can mount your transfer case to it will still be 4x4. No matter what tranny you choose, you will need different driveshafts.

 

I'm looking at a 2WD ZF5 right now, would I still be able to have 4x4 if I choose to install that? Sorry, i'm still getting familiar with all this, I don't use 4x4 frequently but i'm a fan of the theory its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

No, a two wheel drive tranny will not have four wheel drive.

 

With a ZF-5 you can expand your donor truck search all the way back to 1994. The ZF-5 equipped trucks have dual mass flywheels, which is bad. You'll need to do a single mass conversion, which is an easy parts swap. The ZF-5 also doesn't have an internal pump to circulate fluid to the cooler. Weather or not that is an issue is up to you.

Between 99-01 about 10% of all superdutys had manual transmissions. 02 and 03 was even lower than that. That's why it's so difficult to find donor trucks.

If it's me. I hold out for a 99-03 truck. That way every component is a bolt for bolt swap to include the PCM and wiring harness. You will need a 4x4 donor truck to keep your 4x4, and you will also likely have to have both driveshafts modified to be the correct length.

 

I don't really have any advice for you other than I love my ZF6 transmission. You can get a new one from Midwest or All Star Standard Transmissions, but that won't get you the additional parts you need.

The ZF6 is a beast. The low (granny gear) is amazing to say the least, and having 100% control over the gear you are in for is the best option for me and my style of driving.

I wish you the best of luck, but it took us a year to find the exact truck we wanted.

 

Would a ZF5 from a F250* be compatible with my 2000 Excursion? That seems like a little tranny for a huge vehicle. Thanks for the input!

 

F250 is a 3/4 ton truck. Same chassis your excursion is built on. It's not a tiny transmission. But there are differences between the zf-5s they put behind gas engines and the diesels. To simplify your life find one from behind another 7.3. Any transmission that shares the same Bell housing will bolt on. So anything attached to any powerstroke 7.3 will work but anything not attached to a 99-03 superduty will add to the difficulty level. It's easy to find zf-5s. But as mentioned you'll need to find the correct pcm.

I have a question to add to the mix. I thought a 2wd transmission could be used with 4x4. But you had to divorce the transfer case. Is this not correct. I know it would require additional driveline work and some fabricobbleing of supports. But I thought it could be done.

 

You could swap the tail housing and the output shaft to put your transfer case on, but on a zf5 everything connects to the rear of the case, and you will be doing a complete disassembly to put it on.

The zf5 had an S42 and an s47, one is commonly called the "close" and the other "far" in reference to the gears. The s47 is much stronger and found in 1996 and 1997 trucks, you'll want one of those.