OBS F250/F350 Flatbed camper build

[BajaSurfRig]

@longroad2nowhere what were the symptoms of your trans acting weird?

I have a 96 with 237K miles on the original trans that was slightly upgraded by the previous owner and I am nervous it will give up the ghost with no warning one of these days.

 

[longroad2nowhere]

A built transmission and good tunes will help your shifting. Just keep in mind the E4OD is a very basic trans. I have a built trans and a tunes from jelibilt and I got it dialed in. It may take a few revisions to get it dialed in right. You will probably just have to keep it locked out of OD in the hills. Which is something I have had to do on every auto truck I have had. Everything from a 4 speed, 5 speed, and 6 speed.

For the cost and time of a manual swap you could have a overbuilt auto trans put in. And a 12V swap is just silly when there is nothing wrong with the original 7.3.

Also more power will help alot. I got 180CC 30% injectors, 17* Hpop, up pipes, and a bigger turbo. With 4.10 gears and 35's I know longer have to rely on downshifting for more power when it comes to passing. . I just ease into the fuel and it takes off like a rocket in 4th.

I have jelibuilt tunes, but havent put my exhaust on yet, my transmission has a shift kit, but not sure how built it is beyond that. It had just been rebuilt right before i bought the truck, so i dont know the details. Once I get the exhaust on, then I can play with finding the right tunes for my driving.

The cost of the manual swap isnt that crazy. For whatever reason you can get a zf5 with like a stage 2 clutch for significantly cheaper than you can get a good built e4OD. Its also not my daily driver so if its down for a bit, not a huge deal, however I dont know if I trust myself to do the work, so the labor probably evens that out or makes it slightly more by the time I round up the needed misc parts.

I know more power will help, but I get concerned about reliability at that point. This is my road tripping truck. Dont want it to give out 1000's of miles from home or deep into baja. I think exhast and intercooler would be as far as I'd go to engine upgrades.

 

[longroad2nowhere]

@longroad2nowhere what were the symptoms of your trans acting weird?

I have a 96 with 237K miles on the original trans that was slightly upgraded by the previous owner and I am nervous it will give up the ghost with no warning one of these days.

It was revving super high. Seemed like it wasnt shifting up. Kind of felt like a clutch was slipping.

 

[longroad2nowhere]

Think I’ve decided to just try and do a zf5 swap. Now on the hunt for parts. The zf5 itself isn’t terribly expensive for a completely rebuilt one (significantly cheaper than a HD built e4OD) but all the little pieces could end up costing me an arm and a leg of i have to buy everything individually off eBay. So the CL hunt is on for a donor truck/trans. I’ve put my parts list together so now we wait.

I think this will leave me very happy with the truck. My 7.3 seems to be running strong. Starts right up in the cold andat the highest of elevations, so kinda decided it would be dumb to swap the engine now, and if i decide to Cummins swap down the road, I’ll need the zf5 anyways.

 

[UHAULER]

Here is a parts rig that has most of what you need. Has a swapped in zf5 and dana 60.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/alameda-1986-ford-idi-4wd-zf5/7013768592.html

 

[IdaSHO]

I wouldnt touch that unless you know for certain which ZF it has.

FYI... some good info here.

ZF S5-42, S5-47 Transmission Specs & Ratios

ZF S5-42 and S5-47 5 speed manual transmission specs, ratios, and information. The ZF S5-42 was introduced sometime during the 1987 model year and was optional in 6.9L/7.3L IDI and 7.3L Power Stroke equipped Ford pickups. The marginally stronger S5-47 was later introduced for the 1995 model year...

www.dieselhub.com

 

[UHAULER]

I wouldnt touch that unless you know for certain which ZF it has.

FYI... some good info here.

ZF S5-42, S5-47 Transmission Specs & Ratios

ZF S5-42 and S5-47 5 speed manual transmission specs, ratios, and information. The ZF S5-42 was introduced sometime during the 1987 model year and was optional in 6.9L/7.3L IDI and 7.3L Power Stroke equipped Ford pickups. The marginally stronger S5-47 was later introduced for the 1995 model year...

www.dieselhub.com

Yeah, you would need to find out for sure if it is the right one. If it does have a front dana 60 in good condition you could sell that for most of the cost of the truck.

 

[Last Frontier Wrangler]

Not sure if you ever experienced your issues with the e40d again, but mine was doing the exact same thing. Started out very occasionally and progressively happened more and more often. Would act like it was slipping and revving ridiculously high without laying down any power.
Turned out to just be the overdrive button on the shifter, which is a common issue. Swapped in the shifter and the overdrive button from my other 7.3 and it instantly solved my problem. Never had it again. You can replace the shifter and the button in about ten minutes.

 

[Chorky]

I ordered an adjustable trackbar to try and even out this wheel spacing, but I could not for the life of me get the axle to move more than like an 1/8" tried a strap rated at 3000 lbs and it wasnt budging. not sure if I'm missing something, but i'd love to get it more even so I have less wheel rub on the leaf spring. On the plus side, since installing the adjustable track bar, for the first time since putting the rsk and new axle the cab of the truck actually sits straight, so I am pretty stoked on that.

Any more luck with your centering issue? I have been trying to chase down a similiar issue for 3 years now. I have come to the conclusion that with the shackle reversal kit, the axle will just never be center. That's due to the extra space between the steel shackles and the leaf springs. I have consulted SKY directly, spring manufacturers, and 3 different off road shops. They all say it's normal, even though it seems like it should not at all be. Strange. So, if yours is at all like mine, it sometimes feels like the front is a tad loose, and sometimes the axle sits to one side, and sometimes ot the other. Its concerning, but I have experienced no damage yet.

I know more power will help, but I get concerned about reliability at that point. This is my road tripping truck. Dont want it to give out 1000's of miles from home or deep into baja. I think exhast and intercooler would be as far as I'd go to engine upgrades.

When I built my truck, reliability was the utmost importance. So considering what it is, it's probalbly as reliable as possible. A 17* swash, new updated glow plug relay, and aliant power injectors, from my research, are the key items. I did a minor tune upgrade, and also a new auto trans. Other than that these engines are pretty solid. I think the bigger issue as far as reliability is concerned is electrical wires/connections and sensors going bad.

 

[Chorky]

Having an OBS 7.3 myself, it always amazes me that so many people seem to tow REAL heavy with them without melt-down.
I can peg the EGT gauge pretty easily, even when 100% stock. Perhaps they really are that tough

I always wonder about this as well. Coming up Evaro Hill (if you know where that's at, I'm sure you do), I have to take OD off and even then slow down to about 45 before reaching the pass. It's surprisingly lame. And that's not towing anything, making sure temps stay below 1,200. But I see others just foot to the floor punishing their 7.3s and they never seem stuck on the side of the road. But boy oh boy somethign just feels wrong doing that to a heavy truck.

 

[OBS_Overlander]

I have jelibuilt tunes, but havent put my exhaust on yet, my transmission has a shift kit, but not sure how built it is beyond that. It had just been rebuilt right before i bought the truck, so i dont know the details. Once I get the exhaust on, then I can play with finding the right tunes for my driving.

The cost of the manual swap isnt that crazy. For whatever reason you can get a zf5 with like a stage 2 clutch for significantly cheaper than you can get a good built e4OD. Its also not my daily driver so if its down for a bit, not a huge deal, however I dont know if I trust myself to do the work, so the labor probably evens that out or makes it slightly more by the time I round up the needed misc parts.

I know more power will help, but I get concerned about reliability at that point. This is my road tripping truck. Dont want it to give out 1000's of miles from home or deep into baja. I think exhast and intercooler would be as far as I'd go to engine upgrades.

I have a similar rig and I have a REALLY good diesel mechanic. He won't let me do any more to my truck than the Banks intercooler, exhaust (turbo back) and chip flashed to the middle of the road settings. It has a new Ford Heavy Duty reman trans with the Banks Trans Command. I still have stock gears ( at least until this coming weekend) and rides on 35" tires. It will pull a 24' box trailer with about 8000 lbs of race car and gear up the Grapevine at 50. Not a ball of fire but it suits my #1 goal of reliability. I drive mine to northern Idaho at least once a year (about 3200 miles round trip) and I plan to drive it completely across the Country.
I really like your rig. I am considering a flatbed myself.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

@OBS_Overlander out of curiosity where are you located? I am looking for a good diesel mechanic that is willing to take the time to help me track down some electrical gremlins, and help me dial my e-fuel conversion.

 

[longroad2nowhere]

After a long wait, I'm finally getting this project moving again real soon. I debated long and hard what to do about my trans, decided to do a zf5 swap, gathered up a bunch of the parts I needed, and then life got weird. Covid hit. My wife and I have our own design and build company, and projects got canceled, clients stopped reaching out, and dumping money into this truck seemed irresponsible. Then in May I broke my clavicle and scapula mountain biking. I'm finally fully healed, and work projects picked up, and its time to get this thing road worthy again. In all that downtime I got sick of looking for swap parts and just order a John Woods e4OD heavy duty build. Figured it would be the faster route than doing the swap and tracking down parts. The trans should be here Friday, and Im damn excited. The trans on this thing as been finicky since I got it.

I've also got some other fun parts on the way as well. I still wanna build a camper for it, but change my mind on design and building technique almost daily, so I love this set-up for the time being, and not gonna rush into that. Just excited to have it back in the dirt soon.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

I've also got some other fun parts on the way as well. I still wanna build a camper for it, but change my mind on design and building technique almost daily, so I love this set-up for the time being, and not gonna rush into that. Just excited to have it back in the dirt soon.

Good looking truck! What are you leaning towards today for your camper construction?

 

[longroad2nowhere]

These are my most current quick sketches. A much more toned down camper. No more cabover.

As for construction, as a woodworker by trade, I am very tempted to do it out of wood, and resin. It would be extremely fun to build, and wood and work quite well if done right, but I do worry a bit about it holding up, and it will likely be heavy.

The other option is aluminum. My lady is actually a pretty good welder and did the current box on the truck. It would probably hold up a bit longer and be a little lighter. I dont love the look of aluminum tho, and dont love how it handles extreme temps.

I know composite is the way to go these days, but I dont wanna build just a square box, which seems to be what most people end up with when they go composite.