more auto to zf5 swap questions

[JohnBarnett]

hello all i am new to this site but everyone seems to know what they are talking about so i figured id see what you guys had to say about this... i have a 97 f250 2wd with the 7.3 and the e4od i bought this pickup because its fairly low mileage (184000) for the year and what it is and i needed it to pull my 5th wheel travel trailer but i believe the transmission is the weak link in this truck and think its on its last leg...i recent acquired a 1991 F450 2wd cab and chassis with the older 7.3 idi with 35000 miles since an overhaul and the complete zf set up so my question is how much headache would be involved in this swap? can i use the flywheel off the '91? what clutch would you recommend? or should i sell the 97 and fix up the old '91?

[JohnBarnett]

anyone? surely someone could chime in..

[1Dieselman]

First off if you are towing in the mountains or city a auto trans makes things much nicer. A heavy duty rebuild can be done for under $2000. The 91 trans will swap in but the cab and chassis trans will have the parking brake bolted to the back of the trans and if you pull that off you will have a 4x4 trans and if you leave it on most likely you will have to have a custom driveshaft made but it is possible that there is one that will bolt in. Yes you can use the idi flywheel on your powerstroke but if it a DM flywheel and you are doing a lot of towing you may want to change over to a SM flywheel such as Valiar. Sometimes if your auto trans isn't hurt you can change out the torque converter, valve body, and install a large cooler and it will live just fine.