F250 5 Speed in a Lightning

[1stGenerationL]

I have a good chance at finding a decent 1st gen in my area, but I love driving a manual. I've researched a little and it seems like everyone who tries to do a manual swap in these lightning's ends up with some problem they can't seem to figure out. I was thinking if I can get my hands on a 92-96 351W 5 speed F-250, then the swap seems easy, all the parts I need are there and on paper everything should just bolt on the lightning. The only issue I can think of would be the computer, would I be able to also swap that over and have it run close to flawless or would there be some issue with that? If there's anything here I'm missing or if you can direct me to a cheap 5 speed swap that runs and drives without any problems, that would be a great help.

 

[SID297]

That truck would be a good donor for the ancillary parts, but the tranny itself wouldn't be a great choice. It's a truck tranny, what you'll want is a more performance oriented piece.

 

[1stGenerationL]

That truck would be a good donor for the ancillary parts, but the tranny itself wouldn't be a great choice. It's a truck tranny, what you'll want is a more performance oriented piece.

Ok, I know what I need for a parts truck, so could you recommend a transmission that would be more suitable but would still be a drop in replacement for the truck tranny? Would a T5 drop in, or maybe a T56? I'm looking to make this as painless as possible.

 

[robbyrobs]

i researched this a few years back pretty heavily. There is a lot of information on nloc.org, most guys that had success were using a TKO-600. You have to use a slave cylinder and what not, and there is a company that makes the necessary bracket/pieces to make the hydraulic system work with the cable clutch. I was going to pull the trigger on it, but I was looking at $3k plus to do the swap in just parts alone. join nloc.org and do some searches, the info will come up

 

[1stGenerationL]

i researched this a few years back pretty heavily. There is a lot of information on nloc.org, most guys that had success were using a TKO-600. You have to use a slave cylinder and what not, and there is a company that makes the necessary bracket/pieces to make the hydraulic system work with the cable clutch. I was going to pull the trigger on it, but I was looking at $3k plus to do the swap in just parts alone. join nloc.org and do some searches, the info will come up

Ok, I'll definitely look into that website, thanks

 

[scriced]

It's NLOC.net and there is a lot of info about the 5-speed swap. Most all have used a Tremec TKO 600 gearbox. I have one but bought it as a swapped truck. I've "massaged" things a bit and continue to do so. The trick most use is to leave the trans electrical harness plugged in to the computer and put the MLPS in the neutral position which fools the computer into thinking the trans is in neutral. It works pretty well but there are better ways to address that. I chose to replace the whole computer with a F.A.S.T. classic unit (used). These archaic computers cannot recognize boost to the engine so they are tuned around that issue with a TwEECer or Quarterhorse. Mine has a Vortech S trim that will go back on with the installation of the F.A.S.T. system.

With the engine NA it works okay and I've driven the snot out of it this past summer just for fun 'cause I really like shifting ! It's not a daily driver though. It's a toy.

Scott