The ZF install begins

[barronj]

8/23 Progress Update

Cross member is installed!

The distance from the pinion nuts on the rear (D20 output and 3rd member) is 30".

The front drive shaft has to be lengthened, correct? Would it make any difference financially to take another rear DS (rebuilt, great condition that I picked up in a deal) and have it shortened instead, using it for the front?

I'm not excited about patching a huge hole in my floor pan/trans tunnel from the Hurst 3spd floor shifter that I removed, but it's damn handy having that hole there, lets you see exactly what you need to do to get the T handle (or J sticks) hooked back up. Using the bracket that comes with the Advance Adapter kit, you have to remove some aluminum from the transmission housing at the rear, and this is straight forward and easy to see what you're doing with a gaping hole right where you need it.

I'll take a measurement on the front DS length, take the drive shafts to the DS shop tomorrow (already been there once to have them rebuild a section of the rear DS, a few years back), and MAY be back on the road by the weekend?!? Doubtful, but possible.

I still need to fab up the shifter, procure a shift boot, install the T handle and cut the metal that covers that mess up. I want to paint it back to match, I really do, but I'm about to cover it all up with matting and then carpet... decisions...

 

[Ethansdad73]

Working on a '73 with a ZF install and the guys used a GearBanger to get the shifter back and shorten the throws. Seems to be working really slick so far, but haven't driven it extensively enough yet to know for sure.

Paul

Would love to see a pick of this..at least how they connected it to the trans part?

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[sykanr0ng]

Working on a '73 with a ZF install and the guys used a GearBanger to get the shifter back and shorten the throws. Seems to be working really slick so far, but haven't driven it extensively enough yet to know for sure.

Paul

For another option on a shorter throw:

http://www.midwesttrans.com/short_shifter.html

They also sell it on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Short-Throw...issions-ZF-S542-ZFS-547-/281942643349?vxp=mtr

A shorter throw could help keep it away from the dash.

 

[DirtDonk]

I'll check to see if I have any pics on the computer. If not, I'll take some this weekend and post up.

Paul

 

[Crush]

Core shifters is old hurst competition stuff. He makes them for a lot of different trans

 

[barronj]

8/26 Progress Updatee

Took the driveshafts in to the DS Shop, and since I'd picked up a spare rear driveshaft, I took the two rears and had them shortened, using the spare rear for the new front. It was more affordable to do this way, and the spare had been recently rebuilt, where as the original front was... original. $160 out the door for them both to be shortened. I'll install them, make sure fit is good, then put new ujoints where needed and take them back for balancing.

Rear length for me was 30.5", front length was 28.75"

Went to the parts yard and found a shifter boot off a 2000's F150, with shifter knob for 5spd, for $10. I will have to trim the plastic for the upward transition of the trans tunnel, want to wait until I have the carpet installed to get that right.

Bought some 5/8" bar to make a shifter with, will post pics of finished product.

Installed the bracket for the T-shift handle (pic of trans case mod needed), but because of how I clocked the D20, and thus how I'd built the cross member with the eye brow on the driver's side to clear the front drive shaft, the geometry wasn't coming together. I started to assemble parts to build twin sticks, then checked with JB Fab and it was more affordable than I thought, plus it came with the shifter boots that I was going to have to procure, shifter knobs, etc. I called JB Fab, they accept paypal, so I paid, and they shipped them out the same day. I'll be waiting for that, so I'll be getting everything else tidied up in the mean time.

I ordered the 4 new seats in spice, rear leafs, 1/2 cab carpet in tan (custom, not listed on their site, but you can get it for a $20 up charge), hold down pieces and rear seat belts, all from Tom's. I've had great experiences with them in the past (I've used all vendors with mostly great experiences; I've been vocal about those who stumble and fall down like it's routine), and they accepted PayPal as well, so it was easy. $400 in shipping costs was not what I wanted to hear, but if shipping is 20% of the bill, it's pay to play.

Bracket installed, .3" x .5" section of material removed.

Trim off the leading edge of this plastic bracket, cut to match the angle up from the transmission tunnel

 

[barronj]

9/7 Progress Update

The JB Fab twin sticks came, but I thought I was missing a part to connect the twin sticks to the AA transfer case bracket, so I called Jon at JB, and he said it uses the bolt that comes with the AA kit for the regular T shift. I explained that the bolt in my AA kit (purchased from BCB and missing parts as outlined in another thread) was boogered, he said "no problem, I have a box of them, I'll send you a new one". So nice! I'd always thought that the bolt that came from BCB was odd looking, and when I compared it side by side to the new one from JB Fab, it was immediately obvious that I was given a junk, modified piece (1/2 the threads cut off). SO FRUSTRATING!!

Bolt on the left is the new bolt that JB Fab sent, bolt on the right is what I received from BC Broncos. The ends were boogered when someone cut it, but the cut was so smooth that I thought it was just the design/fab and the threads got screwed up in the process... I tried filing the grooves back in to the bolt I'd gotten from BCB, but to no avail.

I have to move my center console back a bit to account for the twin sticks, the new seats were installed and the carpet came in, so we're getting close!

(UPDATE- NEW PICS FROM IMGUR ACCOUNT RECALL THE FRUSTRATION OF DEALING WITH BC BRONCOS... ARGH!)

 

[barronj]

9/13 Progress Update

The first design for the cross member needed adjustments, so I made another. It's easy when the material is cheap (2x1 rectangular 11ga tubing, 7' section costs less than $10). The eyebrow I had on the DS was interfering with the transfer case twin sticks hooking up (made it too high) and the PS bar that went straight across was too low, hitting the 2:1 BCB exhaust. New design works, everything goes back in and installs accordingly.

For the shifter bracket that AA provides, it was putting things too low for me, so I cut it out, flipped it, moved it in (more towards the transmission, and shortened it.

I made a couple of patches for the holes that were in the floor board, added some shielding from Lowes that's popular on the site, added carpet and put the new seats back in. At this point, I need to reconnect the front drive shaft, bleed the master/slave cylinder, and tighten the exhaust back up. Everything else is DONE.

My center console is the Tuffy box, it was painted to match in the beginning, and the arm rest pad was covered in vinyl that matched the back seat, but now that the seats are all spice from Toms, I need to get that recovered. Also, the center console needs to be moved back a few inches for the twin sticks, so I need to make that adjustment and reinstall. Then install the seat belts for the kiddos, then put the new tom's 9 pack 2.5" leaf springs in, then replace the alpine stereo with a blue tooth (these things are awesome) head unit, THEN, I think I will be done and done.

 

[nutter3]

Looks great!

 

[Casey4wd]

Great job! I want mine to look like that some day.

 

[DirtDonk]

Hey Ethansdad, here's a close-up of the attaching point between a standard Gear-Banger linkage and the ZF shifter.

Basically just a quickie adapter interface welded together and bolted in-between.

The shift arm and plate are bolted to the floor just behind where the custom (taller) tunnel meets the floor (raised for the shifters).

Pretty straightforward, but still a clever use of the shifter.
The big shift boot for the trans is still temporarily lodged on the Gear-Banger just out of view in this pic, but will eventually go back on over the trans shifter where it exits the tunnel.

Paul

 

[Jedeka]

Did you install a body lift to help with clearance issues underneath ?

 

[barronj]

I put a 1" body lift on in 2010 when I built it. I don't see any way of doing it without a 1" minimum BL.

 

[barronj]

Drove it for the first time in a long time, and things were going well until the hydraulic hose popped out of the slave cylinder (throw out bearing). I was in third gear on a busy road toward the tail end of rush hour traffic, so I rev shifted down to 2nd gear, and crept back home. I wasn't far from home, but there were stop lights and intersections to navigate without the ability to go to neutral and stop. Sheesh.

I figured out what I'd done wrong when I hooked it up / clipped it in originally, used a vacuum pump to pull the air through the line (fluid had drained out), and I got to drive it again for about 8 miles. The transmission is pretty smooth, loving it so far.

 

[barronj]

OK, hydraulic hose blew out again, what's going on? I was sure it was clipped in this time, drove it quite a ways, then went to shift and pedal went to the floor again. Fortunately, I was headed home, and took neighborhood streets where I could stay between 2nd & 3rd, rev matching to shift up & down.

The pedal is super stiff, so I'm guessing that the pressure is just too great? Is this because I chose to use the 3 finger PP and not the diaphragm style clutch pressure plate?

 

[DirtDonk]

Could be.
Don't have any idea what the fittings are rated at, but it might be why all the normal modern vehicles with clutches have been using the diaphragm style for so many years.
Lighter pedal pressure for the same amount of clamping force was one of their selling points, so there might be something to that.

Really don't know though. Just a reasonable "assumption" at this point.
The difference shouldn't be enough to blow the hose off the fittings though either, I wouldn't think. You would hope that the factories added enough safety factor to cover a little bit of extra resistance.
Unless your clutch is a big bad mac daddy, it should only be about 15% stiffer than the diaphragm. If that.
Seems like a slight amount for it to be causing a failure so soon. Unless it's a real stiff model?

What about the pedal ratio of the vehicle the hydraulic setup came out of? Is it possible that it was that much different?
The pedal ratio in itself should not create any more pressure on the fluid, but you mentioned it feeling stiff. This might indicate that you're pushing against a stiffer than expected pressure plate.

Good luck figuring it out!

Paul

 

[gunnibronco]

I *think* you are running the "newer" ZF slave cylinder & the "older" ZF master cylinder. The 2 master cylinder's have different bore diameters. I know, because I purchased the wrong m/c & s/c for the ZF I'm working on. I wanted to possibly mix & match the m/c & s/c, but noticed the bore diameter difference & decided they should probably be matched. I don't know if that would make the pedal stiff. Also, the hose should be secured with a roll pin in the slave & master.

 

[barronj]

9/29 Progress Update

To hear my wife, you'd think I'd worked on this every day since my last update. Oh well, at least she talks to me.

After swapping in the small diameter MC and the hose still blowing out, I decided to pull the 3 finger clutch I'd left in. Went with a diaphragm style clutch from Napa, house brand, made by LUK, PN 1107027. Neighborhood machine shop (literally, they have zoning grandfathered in) is 2 blocks from my house, and they resurfaced the flywheel for $35 while I waited. I swapped out the slave cylinder while I was in there, just replaced it with the same. Then, when I was putting everything back together, I realized how shot my U joints were on the rear axle at the transfer case, so I tried hunting those down locally. The '68 is funny in that you can't always find your parts in an easy search. These U joints for example, NAPA & O Reilly's were both willing to sell me the wrong part b/c that's what pulled up in their system. I still had spicer U joints (probably the factory originals) so I took them in and an ambitious girl at O Reilly's went through the spicer boxes individually until she found a match, since the #'s on my 'stock'(?) spicer U joints didn't cross reference with anything... That Spicer/Dana PN is 5-153X.

Wife sat in the truck and helped me bleed the clutch. Almost back on the road.

 

[Ethansdad73]

Could you be over compressing things. I thought I saw a article somewhere her about making a stop on the fire wall or pedal so not to fully depress the slave master or slave throw out.. Not sure which?

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[barronj]

Could you be over compressing things. I thought I saw a article somewhere her about making a stop on the fire wall or pedal so not to fully depress the slave master or slave throw out.. Not sure which?

That's a thought, probably not far off the mark.