T19 to ZF5 Swap

My experience with swapping out a T19 4 speed to a ZF5 5 speed manual transmission in a 7th generation Ford truck chassis. The second half of the video goes into detail on gear rollover noise and why it is common when swapping to a ZF5.
The gist of er:
Clutch kit
ZF5 Transmission
Transmission Crossmember

[@-Oclock]

im doing the opposite swap and this was super helpful!

[@Turbocharged400sbc]

Sad its no 68, Wish we had more informative zf 5spd videos as valuable as yours

[@scallywagon9395]

Boyd the goofball mentioned difference in zf5, there are many so do research. 400-460 different pattern than diesel and sbf, there is a 2wd trans that can be adapted to 4wd if it has a drum brake output, otherwise 2wd trans is pretty specific.

[@wyohorseman9948]

Thank you so much for this I'm doing this exact swap on my 86 460.

[@3wbasie]

Thank you so much for making this

[@MustangsTrainsMowers]

Do your research when adapting a ZF 5 speed to an older truck. Some have slip yolks, others fixed yolk. I had a 1994 F250HD 4x2 with a 300 inline 6. The ZF in it was cast with the bell housing and had a fixed yolk. I regret selling that truck 6+ years ago after the internal clutch slave cylinder failed while I was battling Lyme disease. I’d love to find a similar one that’s 4x4.

[@alexcalmets9633]

I read thru all the comments before typing this but I have A 1987 F350 7.5L gas 4x4 4speed (t19 I believe) so I have the big block 460… i found a zf5-42 From a 1992 ford f350 dually 4x4 that was mated to a 351 Windsor. Borg Warner transfer case and throw out bearing. All fully rebuilt Am I still just a bolt on?

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

Unfortunately the 351 uses the smallblock ZF5 bolt pattern vs the 460 uses a different bolt pattern. Input shaft sizes are different too. So not a direct match. There's 3 flavors of zf5 42. Diesel, big block, and small block. There is lots of shared parts between the 3 types, but the front cases with their integral bellhousings are all different.

[@pugetlexus]

can you address in more detail the clutch / zf bolt up issues. are there any?. suppose one were using the 6.9 flywheel and the zf 5 from 93. the mating you are telling me is as if you were mating a t-19? no issues? i had heard every kind of different story to this. also on fluids. on the zf adding a quart is not a problem. the transmission will take it, this insures the splash rail high up on the front drivers side gets adequate splash lube and feeds the input shaft bearing. Also , you did not hear this from me, but the Hy Trans hydraulic fluid is "da bomb" for these transmissions. its ep rating is high, corrosion protection, yellow metal compatibility, the temperature reductions and is not too slippery for the synchros, anti foam, and its ability to hold heat away from the gears . great stuff. and since you are way under utilizing its rated capacity you can fill it and never change it. add a magnet. transmission tunnel wrap culls noise too. ford engineers were speaking different languages when they designed crosssmembers. i have found 3 different for the same year truck . stupid. you will make yourself crazy (i did) trying to make on work in place of the proper one. nice truck by the way congrats on this.

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

Certainly! So originally I had a 6.9 and a T-19. Then I bought a zf5-42 out of a 1990 pickup. I wanted to be cheap and reuse my original flywheel, so I had to order a clutch kit that fit the smaller flywheel, but had the larger splined hub. By using the smaller flywheel, I had to use a smaller clutch disc, which gave me less dampening, which resulted in excessive gear rollover noise. By swapping to a larger 13" clutch and flywheel, I eliminated my gear rollover problem. The crankshaft bolt pattern on the IDIs are identical. The bell housing patterns are the same too. The only difference that you need to keep in mind is the input shaft size and spline count is different between the T19 and ZF5, so different clutch disc and different pilot bearing. Otherwise its identical. As for oil, I've heard that Hy Trans is good. I've been running Redline AT-4 and it's quite an improvement over basic Dex/MERC 4. Zf5s do have a magnet in the bottom of the case. I have a video I'm working on about the ZF5. And yeah, trans crossmembers on these trucks are a guess. But as long as you have one that doesn't screw up your driveline angles and doesn't contact your front shaft you're good.

[@pugetlexus]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 thank you for this. so to recap, i can simply bolt them up. all things being equal. on the other points yes , full agreement. i use redline in the gasser. its ok i suppose but very expensive. whew! thanks again

[@alvinmitchell6799]

When the dual mass wears some you will start getting major banging whenever the clutch is used.

[@NathanPurvis-hm8nc]

Wanna do the same swap on my 86 F150 5.0 4X4, just wondering if the bell housing bolt pattern and input shaft splines will be the same

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

I believe you will need the zf5 with the small block bellhousing and input shaft that is found in the f150s with the 351w engine. 460 and diesel zf5 transmissions use a different bellhousing and input shaft.

[@Koop92tc]

Thanks for the great video dude! What did you do for the master cylinder? That's the only thing I haven't decided on for mine yet.

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

If you're doing a t19 to zf5 in an 84-87 truck the factory master cylinder should work. If you're doing a zf5 in a 70s Ford, I have found that the stock manual pedals don't survive. I usually take a pedal assembly from a 1994 f350 and cut a couple new holes in the firewall to make it fit. Works great.

[@arturolozano4639]

I have a 1985 f250 7.5L 4x4 with a T-19 I just got a zf5 do I need to change the flywheel? Or can I use the same one and just buy a stock zf5 clutch kit

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

So you have the 460? I have compared 460 vs 7.3 ZF5 transmissions. Aside from the bellhousing pattern and the gear ratios, they are the same, including the input shaft. Measure your current flywheel. If it's 12" you can use it. If for some reason it's 11", it won't fit the stock clutch kit.

[@arturolozano4639]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 thanks man I appreciate it!!!

[@morgan5630]

Smart editing, easy to follow. Impressive!

[@commanderdan2319]

I've got an 87 F-250 4x4 with 6.9 idi 4-speed, bought her a year ago (roughly) with 660,000 miles on her. I've been wanting to swap her over to a ZF5 but could never find enough info to do the conversion. This will help a lot! Also, what if I just put spacers between the crossbar and the frame to drop it? Would that work? If so how far should it drop? None of the junkyards around me have a truck with a ZF5

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

Long comment but ultimately it depends on your cross member. It needs to have enough of a dip on the driver's side so the front driveshaft doesn't hit it when the front axle travels down, and it needs to be low enough to support the transmission mount and not screw with your driveshaft angle. The problem with spacers would be that since the cross member has braces that bolt on either side, you might not be able to make those work. Considering your truck is an 87, the cross member might be fine, since some 87 6.9 trucks were zf5 equipped. 87 was the last year of the 6.9 and at some point that year the zf5 appeared as the manual option for the diesels.

[@commanderdan2319]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 Hm.. so basically just see what it looks like with this one and go from there?

[@commanderdan2319]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 Also, I'm not super knowledgeable with transmissions, and this'll be my first time doing something like this. But what flywheel and clutch kit did you get?

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

@@commanderdan2319 I'd see how it bolts up first and go from there. If your too high, the tailshaft of the trans will be pushed into the floor of the cab. Since you're doing this in a stock 7th gen, you might need to modify your transmission tunnel cover. This can be removed by pulling the seat out, then the carpet, and then undoing the bolts. You might need to cut the thing a little bit to fit the shift tower, since it's a little further back than the t19.

[@commanderdan2319]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 Thanks for all the info! I'll let you know how it goes when I get the time to swap it

[@superviking2468]

Great video !

[@slomotrainwreck]

Thanks for the video!

[@piercer2]

Is a T19 similar to a NP435? 1980 Bronco. 10.2:1 stroked to 331, aluminum heads, sfi rated flywheel, mcleod clutch, 3.73 limited slip front & rear. 35” mud terrains hand siped every lug. It’s a mover. However, freeway speed at 75-80 is about 3k rpms and average 15 mpg. Wouldn’t mind bumping it up the mpg to 17ish with lower revs

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

The t19 isn't going to get you much compared to the np435. They're both 4 speeds. I'd look for a zf5 that has the small block pattern. There's two real types of zf5. The smallblock pattern, and the big block/diesel pattern.

[@piercer2]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 I understand the t19 & np435 are both granny low 4 speeds, I asked if they were dimensionally equal so I could apply this T19 video towards my no435 for the express purpose of executing a straightforward swap, sans moving tranny mount and getting the zf specific mount as well

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

@piercer2 Oh, in that case yes they are pretty similar in size. The zf will be a bit taller, but should be relatively straightforward.

[@piercer2]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 thanks again.

[@jeffray2071]

Hey do you still have the t19 bellhousing by any chance?

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

Sold it a long time ago

[@tobymacauley6890]

If I was to swap from a t19 to zf5 is it best to use the t19 pressure plate or the zf5 pressure plate? Thanks

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

Usually the clutch and pressure plate are swapped as a pair. The t19 clutch won't fit the input shaft on the zf5 so you have to use a zf5 clutch and pressure plate.

[@tobymacauley6890]

Ok. Also would I need to put a tin spacer plate between the bell housing and where it bolts to the back of the engine when swapping from a 4 speed to the zf5?

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

@@tobymacauley6890 Not necessary. Both bellhousings are the same with the same pattern and the same input shaft depth. Just the shaft diameters are different and obviously the back half of the transmissions are different.

[@scallywagon9395]

It's complete bolt up drop in assembly exactly same.... Ya jus gotta drill sum holes and change this here do hickeys

[@garetherrbach4988]

What was the rpm with the zf5 doing 65 70 with the 4.10 axle gears

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

It was 2500 if I remember correctly. When I went to 3.55 it dropped 600 rpm

[@garetherrbach4988]

Would you be able to take a measurement and tell me have far you moved the cross member back ?

[@mikebarbera254]

Was the zf noisy at idle or the t19?

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

The ZF transmissions growl a lot at idle or when creeping. They run ATF versus 80/90wt gear oil. Gear rollover is the sound of the input shaft gear teeth rattling due to the lack of power stroke pulse dampening. A large enough sized flywheel with a large pressure plate helps add enough dampening to quiet it down. The stock 7.3 trucks run a dual mass flywheel to dampen the pulsations

[@mikebarbera254]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 right on thank you that is helpful to know. I've got a buddy with an e40d who is swapping in a t19 so good to know they aren't loud.

[@tylerhedin3763]

I picked up a zf5 from a early powerstroke. Any info on what clutch n flywheel setup that will work?

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

You can run a factory style dual mass flywheel, but again I recommend a single mass for price and reliability. I'm running a LuK brand kit (flywheel, clutch, plate) Luk # 07-225. There are other kits out there from Southbend and others. Just gotta make sure the flywheel is for the IDI engines. 7.3 and 6.9 idis have the same balance and crank bolt hole pattern. Any 7.3 idi clutch/flywheel kit will work. The Powerstrokes have a different bolt hole pattern so those flywheels won't work. The important change between the T19 and the zf5 is the input shaft diameters are different. Big takeaway for ya: Clutch must fit a 10 spline, 1.250 inch diameter input shaft. You also want to run the 12 inch flywheel and clutch. The smaller 10 and 11 inch kits will rattle the input shaft and cause the rollover noise.

[@SanAntonioNewHomesForSale]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 I have a zf5 4x2 but I'm doing a 4x4 conversion I would just tranfer the flywheel and clutch to the other zf5 4x4 right ?

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

@@SanAntonioNewHomesForSale If you mean reuse your flywheel and clutch that's already bolted to your engine, then yes. The front half of the ZF5 is exactly the same between 4x2 and 4x4

[@adamborrowman7904]

Hey any clue what I could buy new to replace my snapped t19 clutch fork

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

Is the steel fork broken or the pivot stud that's pressed into the bellhousing? I'd try ebay or your local junkyard for a replacement. The pivot studs cracking are common unfortunately

[@brcisna]

Hello Humboldt Hillbilly. Do you still have your old T19 trans? Would you be interested in selling it. Will buy it if you would be willing to part with it. Thanks.

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

Sorry partner, I gave that old trans and bell housing to a mechanic friend of mine over a year ago.

[@brcisna]

@@humboldthillbilly1848 ,OK

[@West_Side_Diesel]

@@brcisna I got 2 t 19 trans

[@psd28]

I just run straight waste oil, dont care about mileage if fuel is free

[@chuk2795]

Can I buy your crossmember for the t19

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

It's been a long time since I got rid of the old crossmember

[@dustinallyn6732]

What rpms are you running at 60-70 mph

[@humboldthillbilly1848]

With the 3.55 gears and 31 inch tires I'm running about 2000 RPM at 65 mph