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ZF Behind 400M??

19K views 24 replies 15 participants last post by  jzeke  
#1 ·
Hello Broncoland, has anyone ever heard of swapping a ZF 5-speed behind a 351/400M engine? I know the bell housing pattern is the same, but I wasn't sure about the starter, flywheel, clutch interchange. Anyone know anything?
 
#2 ·
tried this with my 351m (which is the same as the 400 basiclly) the prblem i had was the input shaft on the zf for a 460 will just barely reach the clutch plate and the pilot bearing, this is because the 460 crank sticks out of the back of the block farther than the 351m/400, also the zf bellhousing will most likely hit the firewall unless you do some trimming. the zf i was going to use was out of a 95 f250, also this tranny has a 1 1/4" input shaft instead of the 1 1/16" shaft, so you will have to mix and match the clutch plate and such. you will also have to notch the t/case flange on the tranny for the shifting fork on the 205 t/case if thats what you are going to use.

I aborted this project on my bronco because i didn't like the way the input shaft was engaging the clutch plate and pilot bearing on the M block.

I might try puting it behind my 460 when i do the swap though

hope this helps
 
#4 ·
#6 ·
Image
you know? kinda looks like he made it 4wd too me! :goodfinge and if im not mistaken the EB also had a married tcase and tranny.

and the zf is a manual 5spd not an automatic.
and to whom is this aimed at?

and doin this to a fullsull why not? just need a engine to mount up too.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the info guys I guess I will stick with my T-18. I am planning on backing it with a NP271 until i can afford a doubler That will give me just a little extra edge on gear ratio. The only reason I was considering it would be for the OD on the highway, but most likely this truck isn't going to see much highway duty.
 
#16 ·
I *hate* reviving an old thread.

So what's the consensus, then? Can you run a ZF-5 behind a 400 reliably without issues or not?
 
#17 ·
the input shaft on the zf for a 460 will just barely reach the clutch plate and the pilot bearing, this is because the 460 crank sticks out of the back of the block farther than the 351m/400, also the zf bellhousing will most likely hit the firewall unless you do some trimming. the zf i was going to use was out of a 95 f250, also this tranny has a 1 1/4" input shaft instead of the 1 1/16" shaft, so you will have to mix and match the clutch plate and such. you will also have to notch the t/case flange on the tranny for the shifting fork on the 205 t/case if thats what you are going to use.
Don't think so.
 
#19 ·
Saw that, but then I also saw a lot of praise for the ZF5 itself. Anyone know if there'd be any way to make it work?
 
#21 ·
Yeah, that's one way to fix the 351m/400 crank to ZF input shaft problem. :)

There doesn't seem to be a part that a guy can just point to from Jegs or
Summit because I've never seen that done, ever. {oops, are there longer
ZF input shafts for sale tho?}

But guys are running them somehow. :) A couple of them were/are running
with just a tiny bit of shaft inside the hole tho! :/ (yeah I know, but if you
don't like it, you reword it)

But there's plenty of space between the end of the crank and the center hub
of the clutch disc to make something that'd fix it tho.

I'm wondering if a tube couldn't be machined to fit the crank and used as an
extension?

It'd hold a 17mm i.d. needle bearing like...

http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/Kit8628

Or maybe a 11/16" i.d. needle bearing, since that's what Ford uses, but inch
bearings are harder to find. I was told caged-needle-bearings like those are
either inch inside-and-out or metric inside-and-out and not mixed-up like the
way you can get ball bearings.

Ok, I'm not saying any of that's a good idea.

But what idea you got figured out that's better? :)
Let's hear it 'em.

Alvin in AZ
 
#25 ·
I would call around to the main conversion companies and see what they can do. Just because it is NOT listed does not mean it cannot be done. I learned this on an NV4500 in a FSB. Its not exactly plug and play, but in comparison to other conversions it is pretty straight forward.