Im looking at buying a superduty and wanted to know if anyones heard of any major problems with the "ZF" trannys.

 

I have a problem, they are really d**n heavy, and hard to manuver. But other than that, they have held up well in the super dutys.

 

Which one do you have and what are you powering it with?

 

Don't have either, just work on them for Ford. Have seen some in the 6.0L's loose the cluster, but that was with 2 chips stacked and a race clutch Don't see any problems out of the 5.4 or the 6.8.

 

Im looking at getting a 250 with hopefully a 6.0 and the ZF6. I plan on putting an edge in it. Should i be wary of anything?

 

Clutch Slippage The trucks hold up well, but take it easy with the edge turned on 4(race) or 5(extreme), and 6(hot juice) if you get that, don't powershift it and lug it alot, clutch goes quickly, and a look at mode 6 by the dealer and any warranty you might have had will be gone, unless you have REALLY good connections. Watch the EGT's, 1200+ is not your friend. What year are you looking at, the 03-04 or 05-07?

 

I would love to find an 04 because i want the 6.0. I do not want an 03 with all the problems they had. And i dont want an 05+ due to the fact they got rid of the solid axle.

If i cant find an 04 then im guna go down to the 01-02. All my family has had 7.3's(95 and 99) and i am familiar a bit with them. The problem with that is that i wont see the power from the 7.3 as i would from the 6.0. Which would you take as a ford mech?

HOw well do the autos hold up to the chips. I know a guy that had one with an upgraded turbo and ran an SCT chip on looney. He went through 3 trannys. But he had some work done to the engine.

I would prefer the ZF6 but if the auto is better than i know the wife would be happier with me...

 

Purdy much the holy grail of sticks in ford trucks. Pilot bearings are known to be a weak point.

Adrianspeeder

 

What do you mean got rid of solid axle? All the 4x4's I see are the solid axle. But the auto's are good with stock power levels, the deal with 6.0 is that they were made to run, not to "P***Yfoot" around in. Work them, they run best a with some weight behind them and at WOT. The 6.0 is far superior to the 7.3 in performance and advancements, but the reliability seems to be better in the old 7.3. I personally like the 6.0, I have chipped many of them for friends and even done some custom tuning. My roomate is about to get his back after $8300 worth of turbo, injectors, fire rings, full FASS system and head studs and gaskets, and not to mention the $8000 ATS stage 5 trans he has, we are hoping to see north of 550/1000 out of his truck. As far as a chipped application goes, the auto's will always outrun the 6 speeds out of the hole, and I see less trouble out of the trucks with the Torque Shift, but when a chip is envolved, nothing is normal wear, and nothing is cheap when if breaks.

 

I guess i meant to say with the coil overs in the 05's. Sorry to confuse. I want the leafs. But im sure there is a reason that they put them there. They ride way nicer and have higher GVWR. As for the trannys. I want something that will last me a while. You say that there really isn't a reason to be shy about an 03? I have just heard so many bad thoughts about them as a first year production model.

Maybe i should stat looking into an auto. I have just been raised all my life to take a 5spd over an auto for control of the shifts. And preferably i like it better then having an auto shift when you dont think it will.

 

when you say the auto will beat the 6spd out of the hole that maybe true but when you start raising power with the auto you have to biuld it and thats big big $$$$ where as with the stick all you do is put a better clutch in it which is MUCH cheaper and the stick has many advantages over the auto mainly in simplicity and reliability and mpg and really most people dont race these trucks so it may not even matter

i have a friend with an 03 ram ctd 6spd w/90k making 450/950 since 50k on the stock nv5600 and CLUTCH and it doesnt slip but he knows how to drive it and he is not nice to that truck but when he races people he tryes to get them to go from a roll where he has the adavtage over the auto he usually goes 3rd - 5th - 6th and rarely loses

 

Well the ZF's don't take well to the power, and believe me when I say this, unless you are running a pulling rig, the best clutch to go back to is stock. The aftermarket ones will hold, but they don't last and are not made like the stock ones. A guy I know went through 3 aftermarket clutches and had 2 new ZF's installed on his stacked 6.0L. The Torque Shift is supposedly rated to 1000ft. lbs, and the clutch on the ZF's is not much over 850. With just a tuner/chip, the Automatic will outlast, outpull, and outrun the ZF, but if you really want to get dirty with it, better have some $$$$ to put in it.

 

All i want is to have it chipped. I would never get into it like some of these guys are. It has plenty of power stock as i would need. But were all power hungry. I put a centerforce in my f150 and have dealt a lot with clutches so that is no new ballpark for me. But the auto is a different story. I think im guna stick with the 6 speed just for the easy fix of the clutch. As far as the tranny goes though... Everything else interanly can hold up?

 

Take it easy on higher levels, clutch will most likely slip in 5th and 6th gear, get it into gear before you rip on it. I know some that have held up fine, it just requires you to drive smart, 750+ ftlbs to the ground, really puts alot of stress on the driveline, just drive sensible on the higher levels.

 

The 4R100 is rated for 1000lbs, and the 5R110 torqshift is rated for 1100lbs (hence model numbers), but that is after torque multiplication by the TC. Input numbers are much lower.

The '88-'95 ZF S5-42 is rated 420lbs input, the '96+ S5-47 is rated at 470 and the six speed S6-65 is for 650ft lbs.

Adrianspeeder