Thanks Papa- I'm familiar with the site. The only problem is it doesn't list output shaft configurations. Hard to know which transfer cases are supported by each variant.

You can see from the table the the Zf was never offered in the f150 but I found a post from a guy that swapped out a m5r2 with a ZF unit in a 150 BUT there was no mention of 2wd or 4wd.

 

I dunno man, you got a lot of work to do that really requires a donor vehicle..
I'd sooner stuff a power stroke in with all of its problems than that Benz diesel.. Maybe drop the Benz in an old 70's van or an older truck..

You got a lot of changes to make I haven't seen mentioned that are not quick..
Drive by wire delete (you don't need a throttle body)
Fuel system (all of it)
The ford tranny won't work without fly by wire, so right there you've already lost the battle.
The PCM and TCM are all one unit, and it would take a lot of work, wiring and some very tough tuning from the ground up.
Bell Housing
4x4?
I could go on..

I like your idea of an f150 diesel, but if I was you I'd blueprint this idea around a donor truck, it will help with all the nuances that aren't even on your radar yet.. Plus it will help maintain a cost structure that could really run away from you..

 

There's a shop here in my city that does diesel retrofits installing a cummins instead of the 5.4 3V. I thought about it but it was almost 6500 out the door. Would have been nice tho

 

Yeah- I don't want a power stroke or cummins.... too big/heavy for the f150 and on the power stoke side... too many issues.

Especial86... that's exactly what I'm trying to figure out. BTW- the OM606 is also throttle by wire... just a different protocol (which i have a plan for). AND- my plan is to keep the existing stock TCM/PCM as if the 5.4 is still there. All the engine sensors and loom connections will be adapted from the 5.4 onto the Merc. I'll have a custom tone ring for the crank position sensor. The coils and fuel injector connectors will go to resistor loads so the ECU will think all 8/8 are still hooked up. MAF will be stock with a smaller aperture to increase air velocity to compensate for the 3.0 litre vs 5.4 litre. I'm thinking the tranny should still work fine if the PCM thinks the 5.4 is still there and that resolves the 4x4 issues as well.

I know there will be challenges... for example- I'm sure I'm going to throw some codes -Evap, Egr and O2 sensors etc. but I'm thinking I'll be able to simulate correct signals with a piggy back controller (arduino based).

But- these are the very issues that's what I'm trying to identify now- what will the Ford ECU stumble on if I'm providing it a valid RPM signal, valid CHT, valid MAF readings etc. How does the ECU determine miss fire codes? What's going to be the hardest signals to simulate etc.

 

I realize I'm resurrecting a dead thread but I see you (the OP) are still active on the forum. Did you ever do this swap? How did it work out or why did you abandon it?

 

I did complete the swap. I've been driving it for about a year and a half. It worked out pretty well... not without it's challenges and this isn't for the faint of heart. I like the truck a lot better and don't miss the 5.4 at all.

 

So your concept of fooling the 5.4 ECM worked essentially as planned? You were able to use the original dash instruments?

 

It did work "mostly as planned". All the dash gauges work, the 4x4 works, the transmission shift points work, Some things didn't work. For example- I had hoped I could use the Ford Electronic throttle body to control the diesel engine and thereby keep the Ford cruise control. That didn't work. The Ford throttle body isn't strictly a "throttle by wire"... the throttle body butterfly does act in a 1:1 servo mode while the engine is not running BUT once the engine starts, it acts independently of the gas pedal and reacts to "torque demand" based on a whole bunch of parameters so the diesel engine was doing all sorts of strange things even when I held the throttle steady. IN the end I had to piggy back directly off the throttle pedal signal and just left the throttle body in the loop to keep the Ford PCM happy but I'm not using it for anything on the diesel control side. That meant that I couldn't keep the Ford cruise control functional but my diesel ECU has cruise control capability... I just don't use it.

 

Any chance you'd be willing to do a write up on the swap? Mainly interested in resistor values, sensor locations and specs, programming. I've got too many 5.4 pickups right now but I think I've got one of them sold which is allowing me to start actively looking for a donor 300D Merc.

 

A write up is no small task. I can tell you won't need resistor values. The ford PCM doesn't require plugs or injectors to run the transmission or avoid FMEM. If memory serves, these are critical sensors I kept.

Crank position sensor
1 cam sensor (2nd isn't required)
Electronic throttle body
MAF
Pedal position sensor
Cylinder head temp sender
oil pressure switch
oil temp sender
Air temp sensor
AC pressure sensors

With these everything, on the dash worked and the transmission shifts fine.