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Ford 6-speed tranny?

pELYgroso

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
I've been on the prowl for a tow/work rig, looking for either a 12v cummins or 7.3 PS. I've kinda narrowed it down to the 7.3 due to the Ford's more reliable front end stuff, as I'll probably be putting a plow on it in the winter. I just found an '02 with 210K miles and the 6 speed. It's been taken good care of and seems pretty solid. I wouldn't mind the auto tranny but the trucks with the rebuilt trannies are out of my price range, and I don't want to buy a truck and drop another $2-3K on a tranny shortly after I buy it.

Are the Ford 6 speeds pretty good trannies? I haven't heard much about them...probably because ya don't see many for sale.

any advice?

Also, the seller told me that it gets up to 20 mpg's. Could that be true with the manual?
 
I Lean

I Lean

Mbryson's hairdresser
Vendor
Location
Utah
I have a 2000 7.3L 6speed. I had to look around for a while to find a manual trans, since I prefer that anyway, plus you're basically guaranteed to spend a bunch of money on an automatic trans rebuild sometime, sooner or later.

I'm not sure if a manual is the best choice for snowplowing or not, but I really like my 6speed. The only real "weak spot" is the input shaft housing, which you can plan on replacing when you replace a clutch. (it's like $200)

I average around 17 MPG, I have gotten 20 driving easy (slow) and unloaded on the highway.
 
pELYgroso

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
That's good to know. I figured it would be a bit tougher plowing with a manual but I don't do a ton of plowing so I think I'll stick it out to have the manual the rest of the year. I also don't know for sure if I'll be putting the plow on the truck or not.
 
Rot Box

Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Supporting Member
Location
Smithfield Utah
Its a ZF 6 speed and I haven't really heard anything bad about them. The ZF5 was great and the 6 is supposedly stronger... They have a nice shifting pattern (reverse is up near first) so it will be easier with a plow compared to some of the other manual trucks.
 
L

LT.

Well-Known Member
Location
Los Alamos, New Mexico
The Ford six speed is a good tranny. We used to have two 2000 models in the fleet. Never once did we have a problem with the tranny. We only had problems with the motor. Fords six speed is as trouble free of a tranny as I know of.

LT.
 
R

rockdog

Guest
Your gonna hate plowing with a manual. I have an 8 foot plow on my 01 F350. I haven't had any trouble with the auto trans. But my truck is stock and I don't thrash on it. I've pulled a lot with it though and it has about 127,000 on the clock.
 
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SnwMnkys

SnwMnkys

Registered User
Location
Orem, Utah
Ive got an Auto in my truck, and my brother has a 6 speed in his. Both of us use them as daily drivers as well. Ill gladly pay to have my auto rebuilt (which I already have at 235k miles) over having to drive with that 6 speed tranny every day. Between it being a long bed crew cab, Fords horrible turning radius, lack of turning power with big tires, and the 6 speed. I feel like im driving a dump truck.

A good torque converter, valve body, and bigger tranny cooler eliminate most of the problems with 4R100s.
 
Crankylove

Crankylove

Crankylove
Location
South Salt Lake
Anybody have experience with the 5 speed?
Click to expand...

I have a '89 ZF 5 speed I swapped into my '86 F250. No problems in the year I have had it in the truck (it already had 177,000 miles on it when I got it too). My only complaint (if it can really be called that) is that reverse seems a bit........shallow, I guess, when you shift into it. Every once in a while it will pop out, not really often, but it dose happen. But, talking to several owners of '89-97 Ford owners with the two variants of that tranny ( ZF S5-42 and ZF S5-47), it seems to be a fairly common issue in both the gas and diesel versions. If i put it in reverse, then let the clutch out while applying a little pressure the the shift lever to make sure it is fully engaged, it dosen't happen.
 
pELYgroso

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
I haven't had that happen yet, but sometimes I do have to keep pressure on the stick while letting off the clutch for it to pop into reverse, but it doesn't grind or pop back out.....so far I love it! I like the "big rig" feel it has w/ the manual!
 
R

rockdog

Guest
pELYgroso said:
I haven't had that happen yet, but sometimes I do have to keep pressure on the stick while letting off the clutch for it to pop into reverse, but it doesn't grind or pop back out.....so far I love it! I like the "big rig" feel it has w/ the manual!
Click to expand...

It will have an even bigger, big rig feel when you go put that first $80.00 fuel tank full in. :ugh:
 
benjy

benjy

Rarely wrenches
Supporting Member
Location
Moab
I Lean said:
$80?!? The pump shut me down at $100 today, before I got all the way full. -_- I hate that.
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:rolleyes: better that than having to refuel at every station with a 26' trailer and my 25 gallon duramax getting 10mpg
 
pELYgroso

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
I'm used to driving a chevy w/ a 34 gallon tank getting 10 mpg's, so filling these (2) tanks will be reeeeal nice knowing I'm getting 16-20 mpg's!!!
 
gijohn40

gijohn40

too poor to wheel... :(
Location
Layton, Utah
There must be something wrong with my 01 ps with the 7.3... I am only getting like 11-14 mpg... its really taking it toll... the other day I filled up the 30 gallon tank and it cost me $98. I have the auto that has been rebuilt already by the previous owner.

Carl do you have a chip in yours? I know that Kiel does if I remember right it was done by jody...
 
I Lean

I Lean

Mbryson's hairdresser
Vendor
Location
Utah
gijohn40 said:
Carl do you have a chip in yours? I know that Kiel does if I remember right it was done by jody...
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No chip, the only mods I have are the 10K mod (kinda like a super-mild fake chip), and a BHAF. Your auto will reduce your mileage some....
 
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