munt Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Hi, Just wondering if anyone can share their knowledge on this subject. Sorry if I use any of the terminology wrong I am only just getting into the ford stuff. I understand the easiest way to do a trans swap is to having a matching TCM and PCM before starting. But I would like to understand how this works on a greater level. For example if I have a 5spd Auto PCM would I be able to flash it with the strategy from a FG 6spd Auto PCM?, would I then be able to then pair that PCM with a ZF TCM?, whether it be with ford IDS or PCMTEC, or is there other Hardware/Module info that would prevent this from ever working?.... Obviously if you were to actually try this there would be other hurdles to overcome like matching up the trans harnessing and potentially ECU pinouts. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 5 speed auto to 6 speed auto would be interesting to try. You may find that the various modules will never talk correctly as when you flash in a different strategy it does not flash the RTOS only the calibration, in the case of a different transmission the RTOS will almost certainly have different IO and Canbus communications. In those cases it is usually easier to just transplant the PCM and TCM at the same time, then relink them to the rest of the car with IDS. You can also change the various scalars such as "TCM Strategy" which tell the PCM what TCM to expect and how to talk to it, I believe people have successfully swapped a BF/FG TCM into the opposite vehicle doing this. This stuff is usually very time consuming and doesn't make good business sense for us to support out of the box, our normal recommendation is to talk to one of the guys who do these swaps everyday. You'll probably end up spending less as well as they will tell you what to buy to get it working first go. Send us an email if you'd like the names of some people who do this kind of work. Otherwise if you are keen to do this yourself and don't mind licensing a few PCM/TCM combinations to get it all working I'm sure others would love to read how you did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl@pcmtec Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Hi Munt, A 5 speed transmission in the FGs is a Ford 5R55 transmission and I believe the wiring is different as the PCM controls the solenoids in the transmission directly. The calibration for the 5 speed is in the PCM and takes up a lot of space. For the FGs with the 5 speed only the calibration is altered to tell it the transmission type. In other words the same OSID (eg something like HAEDJ) runs either the 5 speed logic or the 6 speed logic. The ZF is controlled by the same operating system but its calibration code is different and the transmission is calibrated externally. I have swapped transmissions for my mechanic and if the car was running a ZF prior you only need to configure the transmission to match the calibration ID the PCM is expecting. You cannot change what the PCM expects as you still end up with dash errors. In other software you would have to flash both the PCM and the TCM with a matched calibration to get this to work. In PCMTec you change on entry in the ZF and it works. You could also find another ZF calibration with the correct ID and it would work as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Darryl. Reading what youve just posted, does this mean that PCMTec can change or flash the ZF Calibration so that FG ZF can work in a BF? If so, what level is required? Thanks nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryl@pcmtec Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Nigel, I have put an FG ZF in a BF by changing its config in the ZF only. I have only done this once so I cannot confirm it works in general. I tried getting the car to work by changing what the PCM expected to see from the ZF but there were dash errors being shown. Soon as I changed the ZF calibration ID it was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munt Posted September 19, 2018 Author Share Posted September 19, 2018 Thanks for the replies, it does help. Hopefully ill get the time soon to start playing around and will let everyone know the result. My background is mining systems/automation and telecommunications so as weird as it is to some I do enjoy attempting this kind of stuff!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madk1w1 Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 Hi All, new to this and Fords in general, but intrigued, I have a 2008 FG ute with 5 speed(5r55) thinking of upgrading to ZF6 speed am I right in what I have read above that this only requires telling the PCM it has a 6 speed? Still to see if any wiring changes, finding it hard to locate wiring diagrams. Munt did you get the trans change done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willrace4food Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 I am not a mechanic but i am in the same situation with my G6 5 speed.. I have done dozens of hours research. You will find very few people do the conversion but plenty of conversion kits for sale.. What you need is a donor car or all the parts from a donor car. You need the tail shaft, you need engine/transmission looms the ECU, the zf transmission and the shifter setup from zf donor car. Will cost you $1500-$2000 for this kit from a recycled parts place. Its not a job for home and very hard to find someone to install it all.. I am having a hard time finding someone who can do the conversion in QLD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carjunki Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I have done a few 5spd fg auto to zf 6spd conversions. Happy to do more of them if people are interested. $2800 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jords4169 Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Hi All, just stumbled across pcmtec while trying to get a conversion working am a current hp tuners user but normally for LS conversions wondering if anyone has done or knows if it’s possible to run a btr of a bf xr6t manual pcm? It’s an asu-174 running hacckj6 but is looking for the zf on the bus when I enable auto under hp tuners. also running a fg throttle body so need to match that also happy to purchase software if I can get it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Yes you can make it work. You need the professional version. There is more to it than just enabling the auto switch. You need to match the calibration which is usually easier to do by just loading in the correct strategy from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firstimefordowner Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 On 7/20/2019 at 10:48 PM, Carjunki said: I have done a few 5spd fg auto to zf 6spd conversions. Happy to do more of them if people are interested. $2800 Hi Carjunki what area are you located in and how do I get in contact with you regarding 5-6spd auto conversion for an FG 09 XR6? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flynn Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Anyone in New Zealand doing these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 On 5/23/2020 at 7:55 AM, Flynn said: Anyone in New Zealand doing these? You could try Sam at CTB Performance, they are very capable, if they haven't done it before they would likely be able to without too many dramas. https://www.ctb.co.nz/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 HiCarjunki, where are you located? Anyone got any suggestions for a 5sp to zf conversion in Victoria? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikboi Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 On 9/19/2018 at 9:46 AM, Darryl@pcmtec said: Nigel, I have put an FG ZF in a BF by changing its config in the ZF only. I have only done this once so I cannot confirm it works in general. I tried getting the car to work by changing what the PCM expected to see from the ZF but there were dash errors being shown. Soon as I changed the ZF calibration ID it was fine. Hey Daryl, Ive had a go at changing a few things to fit a FG TCM into a BFand have been unsuccessful, as in the software won't allow me to (workshop) Can you show me what you've done? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 6 hours ago, bikboi said: Hey Daryl, Ive had a go at changing a few things to fit a FG TCM into a BFand have been unsuccessful, as in the software won't allow me to (workshop) Can you show me what you've done? Cheers I believe Daryl actually had a BF tcm not an FG and was mislead. You need to get the TCM converted by someone like Whiteford. It's not possible using our software afaik. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikboi Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 1 hour ago, Roland@pcmtec said: I believe Daryl actually had a BF tcm not an FG and was mislead. You need to get the TCM converted by someone like Whiteford. It's not possible using our software afaik. Ahh yep that makes sense. Ive had a quick look but haven't found much info on converting the TCMs. Do you know if it's something that can be done with IDS or is some ZF proprietary gear needed? Probably not worth going down that rabbit hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 6 hours ago, bikboi said: Ahh yep that makes sense. Ive had a quick look but haven't found much info on converting the TCMs. Do you know if it's something that can be done with IDS or is some ZF proprietary gear needed? Probably not worth going down that rabbit hole. Its done via Kline and requires special software which is not publicly available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puffwagon Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Downloaded a couple of Vector programs, brain hurt just looking at them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland@pcmtec Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 21 hours ago, Puffwagon said: Downloaded a couple of Vector programs, brain hurt just looking at them The software is only part of the puzzle. You need the calibration files, bootloaders and templates that basically tell it how and what to do. The software on its own is not usually very useful as its designed in a generic manner for many applications. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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