WTB: ZF4HP22 parts (have transmission already)

[SMN3D]

I need the following to complete the Manual-to-Auto swap in my 1984 240 Diesel:

ZF Transmission mount
ZF cooling lines

If you have parts, or leads to get them, I'd be most appreciative!

Thanks in advance,

Scott

[v8volvo]

Think I have an extra set of the cooler tubes around, or Anders may have several also. The trans mount is easy, you can buy them new for about $5 (the rubber part). The trans crossmember will be a little more of a challenge though. In the 700 series the ZF auto trans crossmember is the same part as the M46 crossmember, they're dime a dozen, I have a few I would give you happily. But bolting it into a 240 would be another matter, since of course it won't fit under a 240 without modifications.

The other tricky piece you will encounter is that the ZF automatic is configured to be installed behind an engine that is mounted at the 700 series slant, which is more vertical. In the 240 the engine is tipped further over to the driver's side. If you are installing a ZF behind a D24 or D24T in a 240, then your options are to either try to change the mounting angle of the engine to the 700 series position which will require custom engine mount fabrication and possible surgery on the engine crossmember, or mount the engine at the regular 240 angle and deal with the transmission being clocked to a non-level angle in the car. In other words the trans pan will not be parallel to the ground, the entire transmission will be tipped to one side. That will create some other issues, all of which are probably solvable but will require effort: custom transmission mount parts fabrication to support the trans at the new installation angle, probably some tweaks to the trans shifter linkage so that it doesn't bind or wear out due to the mismatched angle with the car floor, maybe a custom trans sump and/or dipstick and/or filter-pickup assembly to get the fluid level right and make sure it doesn't starve when going around corners. That's all in addition to custom front half of driveshaft, etc, other standard expected changes.

In short it would be a really neat outcome to have that trans in a 240 but it's unfortunately far from a bolt in swap and will definitely require you to get creative regardless of which approach you choose. Here's another guy who was recently looking at doing it and discussed it in a thread: https://d24t.com/showthread.php?t=1971

You may have already known all this so sorry if I'm repeating it in that case. But if not, might be a good moment to think about some of those decisions before you take the plunge.

Good to see to back here again and sounds like fun either way.

[v8volvo]

One other option if you want an automatic trans turbodiesel 240 that will all bolt right in: you could find one of the old BW55 transmissions that came stock in the automatic 240 diesels. Those are pretty antiquated transmissions that are not on the same level as the ZF in terms of performance or efficiency, and behind a non-turbo D24 in a stock 240 they are slow as molasses, almost dangerously slow. They also are 3-speed units without an overdrive top gear or a lockup torque converter, like the ZF has, so they will have the engine spinning faster on the highway, or you could use a taller rear axle ring and pinion to bring the highway revs down but give up some snap off the line.

But on the upside, the old style BW transmissions are tough and reliable and pretty smooth shifting, it would bolt into a 240 at the right mounting angle with no tricks at all, and behind a good running D24T engine the performance would be much more reasonable, probably good enough to move nicely.

The hardest part about using a D24 BW55 trans would probably be finding one, as those factory automatic diesel 240s were such dogs to drive that nobody wanted to fix them when they broke and most got junked before too long. They're probably out there if you look for them though.

[RedArrow]

Hi,
I have a bw55 tranny lying around and i have the piping that goes with it. A few years back I acquired two nonturbo motors for hobby and learning purposes and one came with the (unknown cond) 3 speed tranny.
I dont think it was the tranny that stopped the car and took it off the road, but it was rather the ford 306 that went in. The entire d24 bw55 combo was out the driveway same month to be recycled and I offered some money and a 12pack of Pabst for it that became 3x12.
Long story.

He bought the car in CT from a diesel lover but (due to no diesel skills And no real d24 tools) they couldnt even get it to start for weeks so another rare&nice looking d24 244 rare blue sedan was due to "die" that death.
I took it.
I got it reclocked, timed, belts, plugs, fluids, valves, injectors etc and the engine ran soon after (vid below) and the bw55 survived as well.
I currently have no plans (and/or time) for it.
Obviously I took it off and stored it all (because I worked on reviving the engine) but good news I kept the bellhousing and all bolts etc hardware too. I dont recall getting the tranny crossmember though.
Crazy to ship these things though.
First, I have to ask a dieseler friend with a bw55 car to confirm whether or not He wants the unit to be his future spare; but if not then I can maybe work it out with you if you take the above mentioned bw55 route for your brick. Would ship from zip 07208.

Nice projects.
You gonna have rare cars!!!

And I have a 2nd bellhousing attached to the other nonturbo d24 that I have for occasional tinkering.

[v8volvo]

OP, what RedArrow offers above might be your easiest path to an automatic 240 turbodiesel. Though it would be fun to see a ZF get put into one of these.

One other question that someone might know the answer to (I do not): is the bellhousing from a BW55 able to bolt onto a later AW70/71/72 overdrive transmission? If it is then that might be another good option. If it were possible then the resulting setup probably would bolt right into a 240 as the gas versions of those usually had the AW70 and old gas turbo automatic 240s had the AW71. If you could find a later year AW transmission it would also have a lockup torque converter, though whether the gas TC would bolt up to the diesel flexplate is another unknown question.

In any case the BW55 wouldn't be bad, they are a little more primitive than the ZF but with a healthy turbo engine spinning it I think the driveability and performance would be just fine.

[SMN3D]

Hey V8Volvo,

Yes, long time no participation from me here at D24T... (not voluntary)

Thank you for that other link, discussing tilting the transmission vs. tilting the engine.

I have been trying to get this project going for several years; the person who originally signed on to do it decided to "move onto greener pastures", so I brought the whole pile of engineless 82 sedan and parts up to Anders. The other guy made it seem like a slight transmission tilt was easily dealt with, but reality is reality, and he didn't provide ZF cooling lines or crossmember (And yes, I meant "crossmember" not "mount", thank you for clarifying).

He did provide a temporary drive shaft which he said works, but which I would probably want to use only as a template to have a custom one built.

ZF notwithstanding, now I feel like both of you are either conspiring, or helping, me to make a B55 decision!

Timing is working against me--my wife recently had surgery, and needs an automatic to drive in a few weeks, so I may postpone my ZF dreams until some future date when time is not of the essence and I can do it properly. I DESPISE quarter-assing things (half of half-assing), but I'll just consider this a temporary "rear end ratio w/o overdrive test" :-D

I really, really, really wanted overdrive and lockup torque converter, but Anders believes a B55 (which he happens to have laying around from a recent purchase) with the 3.31 tallest-of-tall rear ends (also from the same vehicle) would be a fine combo. My wife will not mind missing "snap off the line", and hopefully the turbo will spool up a bit during regular in-town acceleration.

So I'm still collecting ZF parts, but with less urgency now. Maybe a summer project (didn't say WHICH summer--I have a neglected Corvair, GMC Jimmy, and Travco motorhome which I'll probably focus on this upcoming summer)

I'll have to look for a Electronic Speedo-compatible rear end and electronic speedo at some point too for the ZF conversion--but the B55 of course has the cable speedo mount which I can use now. And I can see how the 3.31 feels, vs. going back to the 3.54 (which the car currently has). And yes, I still need a crossmember and the cooling lines.

Thank you RedArrow for an offer of B55--if something goes haywire, I may need one!

Thank you again for being such a great community, and hope to see you at the XXX Root Beer fest in February (which I FINALLY made it to for the first time last year, snow postponement and all). Maybe that's a good time to collect the parts I need...!

Scott

[SMN3D]

Well, we decided to go with the B55 in Feb.

And then pandemic...

Anders and I are buttoning it up now after months of delays, and we need transmission cooling lines.

If anyone has original lines in very good shape, please let me know.

Or, if anyone has threaded adaptors on both the radiator and transmission side, I can have custom lines fabricated.

Thank you!

Scott

[v8volvo]

I have a couple of sets for 740 ZF but that would probably be wrong in every way for your 240 with a BW.

From RedArrow's post above it sounded like he had a set of cooler lines. Might be tricky/expensive to ship cross country without damage though, as they are long (5-6' I think) and easily bent so would have to be packed carefully.

Maybe your easiest solution would be to figure out what ends you need on the lines and then have a hydraulics shop make up new lines from scratch just using oil and temperature rated reinforced hose? These don't see hardly any pressure so it wouldn't need to be hydraulic hose, just a cheap bulk hose would work fine. You could probably even clamp it onto barbs.

If it were me I would probably go about it that way rather than going in circles trying to find a set of OE pipes. But maybe you'll find a set and a way to get it to you.

Another option would be to try to figure out whether gasoline 240 BW55 cooler pipes are the same as for the diesel, or close enough to fit with minor modification. Diesels of every type of course are hard to find, but there are still plenty of 76-82ish gasoline 240s around and in junkyards. Those early year models used BW55 like the diesels.

Glad to hear its getting close to the road!

[SMN3D]

Yeah, I’m already leaning towards custom lines, but am hoping that there exist threaded adaptors from “vintage Volvo” side (both transmission and radiator) to a common pipe thread. Then I can have simple custom lines built (and rebuilt if needed)

It might be worth getting gas lines just to get the fittings...

Being 200 miles away from the car makes it a bit of a pain—thankfully Anders is on the case!

[v8volvo]

Originally Posted by SMN3D

It might be worth getting gas lines just to get the fittings...

Good idea there. Even if the lines are different gas/diesel, the ends will probably be the same.

On the 7's at least it's a flare fitting on both ends. Then a banjo fitting at the trans end with a flare connection coming off it. No standard NPT anywhere in the system that I can recall, but any hydraulic/fluid power shop probably should be able to build whatever is needed.