what would it take to do the swap, i know they have the same bell housings so they will bolt up but what about electronics? has anyone put a beefyer trans in a f150 than the m5od? i know there is the f250 manual but really looking for a performance trans rather than a truck trans, its going in a short bed regular cab 02 that currently has a 4.2 with a m5od 5 speed. but we are swapping in a 97 5.4 with a pi head swap, so most likely it will have a pi 5.4 ecu in it when we are done for ease of tuning for the extra cylinders, and for the time being we can put in the 4r70w that we have. now how hard would it be to wire in a mustang 5 speed and tune it to that ecu?

so summed up, end result we want a 02 with a 4.2 to 5.4 swap with a mustang 5 speed. is it possible, i know mechanically it will but what about electronically?

 

Yes, you turn off the auto transmission controls in the ECU. Get a mustang wiring harness diagram and just make the wiring match.

Pretty straight foward swap. Just look up on a mustang forum with someone doing a 5.4 swap...

The 5spd in the mustangs were pretty weak unless you did a tko upgrade...

 

I seem to remember my son telling that the 04 and up Mustang GTs had better transmissions.

 

well this truck wont have a ton of power, and its the lightest configuration and will never tow, also the newer stronger 6 speed isnt out of the question either i guess

 

couple of different iterations on 5 speed mustang transmissions..

Borg-Warner T-45's in the 96-mid 2000's i believe..
Tremec 3650 (i believe the # is right) which is basically a rebranded Borg-Warner T-45 (Tremec bought out borg warner) from mid 2000's to 2004 GT/2002 Cobra's.
Tremec 6-speed in the 2003 and 2004 Cobra's.
Then they went to another transmission in the newer 2005+ mustangs that i have no knowledge on.

 

The 5spd will be ok as long as you don't completly hotrod the hell out of it, but I have seen those break on stock 4.6's cars with just slicks.

 

My son put long tube headers and larger throttle body on his 04 GT (5 speed) and installed 4.10 gears. he has driven this car aggressively and it has 70 something thousand miles with no trouble so far. He had it tuned on a Mustang dyno that has the rep of being conservative and it had 240hp to the rear wheels. (Stock rating was 260hp net) Actually, The Mustang Shop on Long Island was the shop that did the mods and tuning. He liked the shop. They did a great job.

 

the only manuals surviving behind the 5.4's iirc are the viper spec 6 speeds

 

ok well like i said this truck will be somewhat low on hp, probably going to use stock internals (might use non pi pistons to up the compression), pi heads, and cams. so not huge power, maybe 300 at the crank. also it wont be thrashed on, so i would imagine a stock mustang 5 speed would be fine...mainly just wondering about the tune, i had emailed JDM and linked this thread but havnt heard back, ill send it to troyer as well if i dont hear from jdm.

so FF im assuming it just needs the speed sensor and neutral safety switch? or is there more wiring going to the manuals than that?

 

There is the reverse light switch on the right side of the trans which is a 2 wire switch. Their is no neutral safety switch, but their is a switch on the clutch pedal to keep u from starting the car w/o pressing the clutch. The speedo sensor is also on the output shaft of the trans, and depending on the year trans, u will have a electro/mech. Sensor w/ changeable speedo gears (pre 99) or all electronic (post 99). Either way doesnt the f150 have the vss on the rear axle?

 

good info, thanks

 

I had a '95 Mustang with 5.0 / T-5. Had probs with the T-5. I bought a new Tremec TKO500 and Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch. Thought this was a VERY solid tranny.

 

Just so you know, the ZF was not only used in the Fords but also in the Corvettes. Don't rule it out as a performance transmission. You are using a 97 5.4 PCM that will need a tune so why not get a 4.6 PCM that will have all the provisions for the manual transmission. The engine harness will have to be changed but the transmission harness and body harness can remain the same. All manual transmissions have a back up switch but do not have a neutral switch. The engine will not start without the clutch disengaged anyways. Your M5OD setup will have the speed sensor in the tail housing so you will need a transmission that uses the same set up. The weakest link in the whole thing is the 8.8 rear end. It won't last.