[u2slow]

Anyone heard of, or seen, a 5-spd manual conversion for the 90's E-series vans?

IMO the hardest part is going to be the clutch pedal & master. The rest seems pretty straight-forward.

 

[bill_noorlag]

Hi U2slow,

Ive been kicking around the idea, I saw a 1992 to 1994 7.3 IDI E350, it was on a car lot, listed on ebay, it was a roach, but appeared to have a ZF 5 speed in it. I think I found it on a link on one of these diesel forums. I was kicking around replacing my 4R100 with a ZF6 speed, for improved fuel economy and most all my driving in my van is highway, very little city. I prefer autos to sticks, but Im always overloaded and pulling more than I should, add in automatic transmissions, well they are the best of friends. Ive got a gas/auto silverado I bomb around town in.

As far as a factory built 92 up Evan with a stick, Ive never seen any, and I would clearly notice something like that!(Ive been driving diesel E-350's since 1990, a 1992,1994,1995, currently a 2002) But I have seen several buyers guides listings on clutch master cylinders, and other clutch parts calling out for econoline, which left me wondering if Ford had built a special order fleet volume deal once upon a time for somebody. Ive got all the ford dealer parts catalogs, if I get time, tomorrow I will poke around and see if there is any record of them in the parts manuals....catch you later, Bill

 

[Mr_Roboto]

There was one listed in this forum maybe 6 weeks ago, it was on eBay. And there are a couple people here that have done the conversion.

I rode in a 5 speed van when I was 16 which was in 1992. I'm thinking it was a new body style van but after this many years I can't say for sure. The owner did say that he special ordered the van.

 

[bill_noorlag]

Hey Guys,

I just combed through the 1990-1995 Ford Master Parts Catalog, the only mention of Econoline is 1990 1991 1992 1993, stripped chassis only, which Im thinking is motor home, and step van, the ZF 5 speed and to my suprise the T18 are the only trannies mentioned. But only in the trans parts like shift tower. When you browse the 7000s numbers (manual transmission parts and related), for clutch master cylinder, pedal assemblies and so on, there is no mention of econoline at all.

So my guess is that the ones rolling around, as Mr Roboto has added are home grown tomatoes or where custom aftermarket built. For example, I had a customer in the 90s who drove an E350 that had a 5.9L with a 5 speed, dont know whos trans it was, I never got work on it, just all the other garbage he owned. He took it to Colombus,Indiana, dropped it off, and picked it up a week later. He orderd the van, had it converted (camper), it was extended, filled it up with the family, hooked up the trailer and after one vacation he was ready for a motor swap. He ordered it with the 7.3L IDI NA. Talk about throwing money around. He puts people under for a living, must pay well?

So there you have it, the most I can come up with!

 

[Jakey]

I have successfully completed converting my 1996 E250 to 5 speed. If you check my other posts, the info may be helpful. Floorpan is an issue with the tall ZF. This can be alleviated by tilting the engine and trans back. The exhaust may need some finessing.

The clutch pedal assembly is a treat because the fusebox is right where the pedal arm needs to go. And there is no readily installable assembly, why I reengineered an older 84-89 E-van assembly to fit.

 

[toalpi]

I'm pretty sure that 89 or 90 was the last year with a manual transmission in the van. It was standard issue ONLY with the base motor. And that was a 4.9L 6cyl. All other motors came with an automatic. I suspect that all passenger vans had autos.