[scooter99]

I posted on here a recently that I was having 3/4th shift issues that put the truck in to limp mode sometimes and at the end of the day it turned out to be a bad TC I would like to thank “Bill Racer” AKA RacerX for selling me the TC and shift kit and the truck is now running champ!
After all this I decide it was time to look for a Parts truck after sniffing around for a bit I found local a F250 7.3 Diesel XLT Lariat, power every thing and a nice bright RED interior....!! But with a 5 speed stick transmission Yeah! That alone is worth the 500 dollars i paid for the truck. On getting it home and a long look around it I realized is was actually in very good shape and the kid we bought it of had tried to do a head job on it to remove a bustard GP and actually messed up the rebuild after putting a lot of new parts on it. It ran with water in the oil, even the Ball and Chain said u cant pull this one apart[must have been the red interior] so i guess we will C

picture below

http://www.t5.net/F250/F250-003.jpg

 

[Mr_Roboto]

Both transmissions have their issues, I suppose it comes down to whether you like to shift or not. I personally would not "choose" a manual transmission except for long distance driving where there is a distinct advantage in fuel economy and little shifting.

 

[scooter99]

So I ripped down the parts truck this afternoon to see what the heads was like, cos of the water in the oil, very interesting just like I was told it had just been rebuilt to repair a broken glow plug/s. The head gaskets still peeled right off, but they where damaged on assembly on the passengers side between the middle cylinders water in one , oil in the other. It’s easy to see how those heads weigh a ton! And 5 of the bolts don’t come out so they get snagged up making it a lot harder because of the heater box. I held them up with rubber bands and there is only one on the driver’s side right at the back. Anyway bores are in grade condition with .030+ pistons just like I was told it would have because of a rebuild some 30k back.

Pictures below
http://www.t5.net/F250/engine.jpg

http://www.t5.net/F250/engine-bed.jpg

 

[xtremefreerider]

I replaced my stock E4OD with a 5sp about 40k ago. The tranny was trashed when I bought it and the only reason I rebuilt it was because I replaced the motor, 12k ago. Yes you do have to shift alot but its almost bomb proof. I have put it through some rough times with no problems. If you have a parts truck it would be an easy swap. The major benefit in my eyes is the greater control when towing in the hills. Just outside of town there is a 3mi 6% grade on the freeway and coming in 4th towing about 6k the motor holds me at 55. With the E4OD I would be going much faster than a speeding ticket. Due to this it has greatly increased the life of my brakes.

I would choose the 5sp conversion again.