Drivetrain Conversions

[Anonymous]

Folks.
Im throwing around the idea of replacing the single rail 4-spd in the XF for a Toploader.
Am i right to presume it is a relatively straight swap?
Is it just the bell-housing that is needed to allow it to bolt up to the six?Your thoughts guys..

Actually, may as well kill two brds with one stone here...

Whats involved in converting a drum rear end into a disc rear end?

Cheers folks.

-Mike.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, not sure what the size difference is or if the cross member matches up ok. Should be pretty straght forwared though. Have you considered the T5?

Also you have an XF right? You should have discs on the back as standard. In short it's quite a bit of work to convert from drums to discs.

Hey, where has noel (backlash) gone? He used to nail questions like this.

Cheers,
Dylan

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, from what I've observed:

Borg-Warner and FoMoCo crossmembers are a direct swap; most gearboxes will only need you to just bolt the borg-warner crossmember on. Sometimes you'll need to use the other set of bolt holes that have been stamped into the crossmember mounts on the vehicle, like on a Model 40 to C4 swap. Gear shifter mechanisms will be a bit harder to install, or get to work, since from the XA Falcon, Ford have used the single rail manual gearbox. You'll have to go hunting around for XT-XW-XY shifters, and hope it'll be a bolt in swap - I'm fairly sure they changed the chassis to the extent that it might be tough to do so.

Drum to disc on Falcons is easy, all thats needed is to have a disc-disc brake booster unit fitted.

 

[Anonymous]

Dylan, i dont know a great deal about the T5, thats why i was opting for the toploader.
Magnus, i had a feeling that the appropriate booster would have to be fitted..
thanks gents.
-Mike.

 

[addo]

Briefly on the diffs - allow $ for a new flex hose to the diff. It may well be needed, and certainly won't hurt to change.

For a radical change, consider the Toyota Steel Case or the T-5. The former has many adherents, good parts supply, and is readily resaleable. The latter may be cheaper to buy and install. Don't buy a full new kit for the Tojo - shop around.

Regards, Adam.

 

[Anonymous]

Mike,
Hullo, Hope you have now put considerable thought into this undertaking.
My choice would be definately be the steel case toyota five speed.
Many people complain about the weakness of the borgwarner 4 speed single rail but it is a good gear box but not up to handling alot of power.
And the T5 is along the same lines, a good gearbox but I dont believe to be up to handling (reliably) alot of power for any length of time.
Talking to friends who still get grubby rebuilding/fixing gearboxes. Single rails and the T5 transmissions are expensive to repair and alot have dropped dead with no apparent warning.
But if originality is what you are after. To change from a single rail to the top loader. The clutch plate is different, so a clutch kit is required. I believe the bellhousing is different to the single rail but has the same pattern as the three speed, but further investigation is required.
Years ago I wanted an engineer to machine and drill a bell housing to suit the top loader and after four weeks we picked it up unchanged.
The XW/XY uses a transmission that is shorter than the later transmissions so a careful check is required. The long transmissions may have to be located.
Of course tailshaft length may have to be modified to suit. This may not end up as a simple bolt up.
Noel.

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers Noel
By the sounds of it, its as easy as i originally thought it may be..but oh well, shit happens.
The single rail hasnt completly given up yet, but the crunch's and clunks are beginning to give me the heebee-jeebies.
thanks.
-Mike