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1989 F350 7.3L C6 swap to OD Trans

TTMotorsports

Red Skull Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Member Number
3315
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1,294
Loc
Lucerne Valley, CA
OK so i'm going to look at a good deal 1989 F350 with a 7.3L with a C6 trans with 160K Miles. The front axle is also a monobeam style 2WD could I swap out the trans to a E40D or newer 4R100 with 4x4 and swap in a 8 lug solid front axle to convert to 4x4 and get a US Shift controller to handle that. I can fabricate a new transmission crossmember or whatever that needs and have front driveline modified to work. So basically who here has done a 7.3L C6 swap to get an OD Trans since this thing will be at a little high RPM when driving down the road without a trailer and in Cali everyone driver 75 on the freeway and i'd like to keep up with the flow.
 
Also should I just get a mid 90's 7.3L E4OD or go with something newer from a superduty like an 00 or 01? Just using this is an around town vehicle or to go pickup stuff I find online for a deal. I will be towing my 1968 F250 on a flatbed with it as well which OD will be turned off but don't want to do all this work and have the transmission I go with not be able to handle the task
 
I forget what years (Early 90's?) it was available, but Ford offered the E4OD with the 7.3 IDI. They used a standalone ECU, and I think a standalone harness. I think there is a FIPL (fuel injection pump lever) sensor on the engine, and that was about it.
Or put a ZF5 in it.
 
Yeah, 2nd the zf5

An e4od is a good enough tranny, but I would basically budget 1k for the controller then 3k for the rebuild that it either needs now, or will need next year
 
It is an 8 Lug Ex U-Haul F350 no idea on parking brake location but it's an F350 on fender not an FSuperduty.

If I went with a ZF5 would I just need the clutch pedal with bracket and master/slave cylinder? Thanks.
 
On the ZF-5, the Super Duty (F450) had the parking brake on the rear of the trans. When you remove the park brake, a transfer case will bolt on.
I don't remember if the trans cover in the cab floor is the same for standard and auto, but that is something you can modify if needed.
I may have a new clutch kit for that here at the shop. I will take a look.
 
the straight axle up front is very strange for a 350
the 2wd ones got the tib with coils and radarms
f-superduty got the single beam, and iirc it was on leafs

get 3.55s if it doesn't already have them
if it doesn't do 75 after that, it probably has the MDT spec pump on it which is governed lower (iirc 2800 instead of 3200 rpm)
the governor spring can be changed out with the pump on the engine

you can dump an e4od in without any computer, just manual shift it and you'll have 1,2,4 and no lockup
the solenoids can be done with toggle switches for the lockup and shifting all four gears from the D lever position
on the other hand, even a fresh new e4od isn't something I'd put money towards, they're kinda like all the trannies of the era and earlier in that they've got a real limited lifespan between rebuilds
 
OK i'm gonna check it out hopefully tomorrow or tuesday and will check out the parking brake location and front suspension along with rest of vehicle and report back with photos of what it is exactly.
 
If you don't go ZF5 your best option is standalone controller from a 89-91 and 4R100 out of a Superduty (you will need to change wiring, plug pinout on the trans is different).

You can convert to F350 4wd C&C axles easily (just bolt in, I think you want the 350 springs in order to get the height correct) but the rear axle is a downgrade IMO (hubs and ring pinion are lateral move, shafts are downgrade).

Parking brake will be on the trans. If you get a slip yoke BW1356 for your tcase you can just make a new tail-housing/output bearing retainer for the 1356 and it will bolt up since input and output spline are the same.
 
1995 and newer had the most updates in the E4OD, so if you are looking for a donor try to get that or newer.

You can use a stand alone computer or ECM from 92-92 7.3 truck but you will have to change the solenoid pack in the trans to that year.

If you get an older e4OD plan on going through it and doing some updates.

With the IDI you should never burn up 95 and newer e4OD or a 4R100.
 
OK so I bought the truck today since it was a good deal but being an 1989 it's a non turbo IDI Motor. it has 4.11 gears since at 60mph it's screaming this diesel at 2900 RPM. Perfect for towing at 55 but that's about it. Haha. So i'm gonna look into finding a ZF5 or something with overdrive so if I want to drive the truck anywhere not towing it'll be possible and not be passed by semi trucks.
 
TTMotorsports said:
it has 4.11 gears since at 60mph it's screaming this diesel at 2900 RPM.
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forget everything you think you know about diesels

int'l IDI liek governor
you take it away from its best friend in the whole world and it'll teach you just how to walk
 
Ok so after driving this thing around 185 miles now 60mph sucks when not towing and I would love to pickup an engine and parts 180mi away but going 60 makes for a long trip. Would a e4od or any trans that came behind a 7.3l or maybe a 460 work in this thing?
 
460 needs a few holes drilled including the locating dowels
so hold out for a diesel core to rebuild

ETA: the only two that are the same are the top two holes
you can take the adapter plate off the engine and use it as a drill guide, but it's kinda difficult to line it up correctly on an auto, 4spd manuals are a lot easier as you can align them with a dial indicator stuck on the flywheel
 
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Thanks. I found a 460 with a gear vendors a guy is parting out and would buy it just for the gear vendors. Just waiting on a call back and my reasearch on the 1989 F350 460 with a gear vendors would imply that it has a c6 so would love to get it and take the gear vendors off of it to put on mine since the transmission I have works and shifts great. I just had to lock the fan clutch as it wasn't working correctly and letting the motor overheat when pulling a load of hill on the freeway.
 
OK so i did find a F450 zf5 with the parking brake on the back of it. What would be involved in getting this and converting to 4x4. Also what transfer case should I look for to do this to. Thanks
 
TTMotorsports said:
Thanks. I found a 460 with a gear vendors a guy is parting out and would buy it just for the gear vendors. Just waiting on a call back and my reasearch on the 1989 F350 460 with a gear vendors would imply that it has a c6 so would love to get it and take the gear vendors off of it to put on mine since the transmission I have works and shifts great. I just had to lock the fan clutch as it wasn't working correctly and letting the motor overheat when pulling a load of hill on the freeway.
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does your ZF5 question above mean the gear vendors is off the table? heck, i'm interested in the O/D unit if it's cheap enough
 
TTMotorsports said:
OK so i did find a F450 zf5 with the parking brake on the back of it. What would be involved in getting this and converting to 4x4. Also what transfer case should I look for to do this to. Thanks
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The ZF might be tough to redrill with how the bell doesn't come off, I'm sure there's some order of operations you can follow that'll make it work though.
Any 31spl input ford tcase will work. I like the 1356 cases because they're lighter than 205s
 
[486] said:
The ZF might be tough to redrill with how the bell doesn't come off, I'm sure there's some order of operations you can follow that'll make it work though.
Any 31spl input ford tcase will work. I like the 1356 cases because they're lighter than 205s
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Like I said earlier, 1356 is the obvious go to case since he can re use the 450 parking brake with nothing but a new tail housing.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Like I said earlier, 1356 is the obvious go to case since he can re use the 450 parking brake with nothing but a new tail housing.
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huh, don't that mean you could toss together a factory parts double tcase setup?
probably be real good at snapping tailshaft housings with all that weight hanging 3' back though lol
TTMotorsports said:
Ok this zf5 is from behind a 7.3l turbo and it has motor available so may swap the turbo stuff and trans onto my truck possibly
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turbo motor got bigger wrist pins and different rods
I forget what else, might be worthwhile to just stab the whole assembly in all at once.
These are kind of a pain in the ass to get the trans out, the trans tunnel isn't big enough for the bell and the TIB crossmember limits how far you can tilt the motor down
since you're where rust doesn't make the core support into dust, take the core support off then yard the whole mess right out the front
 
Ok so if I get a 1356 tcase what would it come out of to get with correct tailhousing or easier to buy any ford 1356 and then source the adapter housing separately?
 
[486] said:
huh, don't that mean you could toss together a factory parts double tcase setup?
probably be real good at snapping tailshaft housings with all that weight hanging 3' back though lol
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Yes, you can do that. People have. Someone definitely did one on the old board and I'm pretty sure someone made one on the new board too. If you have a crew cab longbed F-series it's not all that bad a solution but a proper doubler is better in every imaginable way. In anything short of a crew cab long-bed truck the driveshaft situation gets stupid real quick.

Like I said, you need to replace the rear output retainer on the 1356 with something else in order to bolt the next case on so at a bare minimum you need a lathe.

I haven't seen pictures of tail-housing failures but I would definitely relocate the trans mount to the "second" tail-housing for good measure.
 
Good to hear you found a zf5, a c6 with GV still doesn't have lockup, you still wouldn't be happy


Afaik, the fsuperduty 2wd, has a 4wd tranny, direct interchange, you simply bolt a 1356 to the back of it.

I have extra 1356 t cases, I'm not sure if you're still coming to az, but I'm always down for trades

Also, that goofy park brake will have value to someone keeping those trucks alive, they have their own oil that gets neglected and burned up.
 
OK I would use this truck a lot more with overdrive. Now if I did the ZF5 swap what would I need to do for the clutch pedal/master setup. Any F1/2/350 setup work, possibly a bronco setup? I would love to convert to 4x4 but I really don't need that right now so I would do the trans swap and keep it 2wd with the parking brake on it for now and in future if I wanted to make it 4x4 and got a dually front axle for it then I could do that swap.
 
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