ZF tranny and a 3208

[Jack Bentley]

Hi again Bruce,

Hopefully you will get additional opinions on the ZF but here is my experience
with it.

The ZF is a pretty much bullet proof transmission and I hear of very few
problems with it. When there is a problem reported to this forum it is normally
some loose wire or such. Although I'm sure there must have been other problems
with the ZF, as with any transmission, there seem to be few discussed on this
forum.

Maybe someone else is familiar with the $6000 circuit board but I don't remember
seeing that discussed. In the late eighties there was a modification to the
electronics module that controls the shift points and provided a more desirable
shift range. ZF provided this at no cost.

The retarder works well and in conjunction with downshifting, provides good
retarding. In fact, I use the retarder for most braking and very seldom use the
chassis brakes except for the final stop. The heat generated by the ZF retarder
is handled by the transmission fluid, which has a cooler. I have never seen the
engine overheated by the transmission retarder. In times when the retarder is
used more than normal I manually turn on the engine fan override to add some
additional cooling to the transmission fluid. The transmission temperature
gauge should always be monitored when using the retarder.

As I know nothing about other retarder systems maybe someone else can give you a
comparison report.

Good luck.

Jack
'87 FC35 "Traveller" (for sale until mid April, then she leaves on a three
month trip through the west)
Franklin, NC

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