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My F650 dash panel (ZF6, custom shift knob)

55K views 51 replies 19 participants last post by  Barnbuilder 
#1 ·
I'm putting a modded F650 dash panel in my truck.





I want to modify the left portion of the panel so that its one continuous switch area.




I'm using the auto version of the F650 panel even though my truck has a ZF6 transmission. I'm doing this because the auto version has more area for mounting switches and the switches are more easily reached and seen by the driver.

The present panel layout has room for 2 rows of 7 Contura switches (14 in total). That sounds like a lot, but I'll be needing 4 to 6 switches for controlling air bag solenoids alone. (Front axle, rear axle and cab) Plus switches for heated mirrors, air compressor, power inverter, backup lights, driving lights, exhaust brake, etc.

I'll be using a custom gear shift linkage such that the shifter doesn't interfere with the panel. I've got it made up, I just haven't taken any pictures of it.

I'll also be mounting a special electric Road Ranger gear shift knob in place of the stock shifter knob with built in cruise control buttons and a button for controlling the exhaust brake.

Pictures and descriptions to follow as the project proceeds.
 
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#2 ·
This project sounds awesome! Keep us updated!

PS - Does the auto F650 dash piece interfere with the shifter? I'm assuming yes, that's why there is two versions.
 
#7 ·
Tell me about the 2 speed rear axle. What ratios is it going to have ?
 
#6 ·
Thanks, guys.

The auto F650 panel does interfere with the stock ZF6 shifter.

On my truck, due to the Cummins swap, the transmission is moved back about 1.5 inches. The shift tower on my ZF6 just clears the back of the shifter cutout in the floor.

On my truck the stock auto F650 panel doesn't interfere with the ZF6 stick very much. I can still put it in Reverse and first, but not third or OD.

I made a bracket that goes between the ZF6 shift stub and the stock gear shift. It moves the base of the gear shift back about 5 inches and stands it up straighter. It then nicely clears the auto F650 panel. As a bonus, it brings the shifter closer to the driver. Its also pretty simple to make.

The stock shifter is a bit long when you stand it up. I'll be cutting mine off to make it shorter.

I think it will be much nicer to use a straighter shift lever with the new shift knob. The shift knob would work with the lever at the stock angle, but its easier to accidentally bump the switches when shifting then.

The new bracket is just a tiny bit big to fit under the '99 to 04 shifter boot. I have ordered an 06+ shifter boot assembly because it is larger, will probably fit the bracket better and is much better designed. (Quieter) It cost me $80.

The shift knob is from a Meritor ESS equipped 10 speed transmission. The part number is A-3280-L-9398

It has 2 buttons on the side. One is an on/off button to turn the ESS system on and off. The other is a 4 position rocker switch that the driver used to run the ESS system. Up means the driver wants to upshift. Press Up means the driver wants to break torque to get the transmission out of gear. And the same two functions for down.

The knob also has cruise control buttons built into it so that cruise can be controlled from the shifter.

The knob buttons are backlit so that you can see them in the dark.

I always found it very cumbersome to shift the transmission and get the truck to the right speed and then have to fumble around with the buttons on the steering wheel to get the cruise set. This should be much better. I might actually fool around with building an ESS system for complete clutchless shifting.

Meritor builds another interesting shift knob. It was for an electronic range shift transmission they built for a while. It has the cruise control buttons and an electronic range shift button just like the air range shift buttons. It is either part number A3280-W9279 or A3280-D-9468

These knobs are not cheap. I could not find either used. If you order them you have to be sure to get the whole knob assembly with the lower part, not just a switch kit. The transmissions they went on were not terribly popular and the parts guys will be pretty confused until you explain things to them because they are all used to air type knobs.

See the documents attached to the next post for more into.
 
#8 ·
Knob documents.

I have 2 other documents that cover these knobs, but both are too large to handle as attachments.

I'll see if I can find them online somewhere.
 

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#9 ·
I ink that vadar is just going to use the switch only to control the exhaust brake not a two speed rearend.
 
#10 ·
Ohhh... thanks for setting me straight, Calo.
 
#13 ·
I'll post pictures as I put it together. I'm waiting for the gear shift, switches and shifter boot parts to arrive and I'm working on other things this week. I'll get back to it next week.
 
#14 ·
Where did you get the switches from?

Sam
 
#15 ·
I bought some switch bodies from Digikey. I haven't finalized my switch list yet nor have I figured out which switch covers (actuators) I am going to use. I'm buying these parts to get a start because its convenient. I'll finalize things and purchase the real ones later.

Accessories | Digi-Key

Digi-Key - 432-1098-ND (Manufacturer - VLD2GHNB-AAC00-000)
Digi-Key - 432-1092-ND (Manufacturer - V6D2GHNB-AAC00-000)
Digi-Key - 432-1094-ND (Manufacturer - V8D2UHNB-AAC00-000)
Digi-Key - 432-1088-ND (Manufacturer - V1D2GHNB-AAC00-000)

I think that most of my switches are going to be DPDT so that I have an option of how to set the function and I have one set of contacts to handle illumination. For example, with my driving lights I'll have the option to have them on with the high beams or the low beams or have them off. Things like mirror heat are just one/off.

Here is a switch list I compiled a while ago.
Switch list

1) exhaust brake (On-Off-Automatic)
2) air compressor (100 PSI/off/150 PSI)
3) mirror heaters (on/off)
4) truck backup lights (on/off/auto) <- includes bed light ?
5) trailer backup lights (on/off/auto)
6) fog lights (high beam/off/ low beam)
7) driving lights (high beam/ off/ low beam)
8) AC inverter power (on/off/auto)
9) tablet power (on/off/auto)
10) Front suspension left (up/off/down, momentary)
11) Front suspension right (up/off/down, momentary)
12) Rear suspension left (up/off/down, momentary)
13) Rear suspension right (up/off/down, momentary)
14) Cab suspension (up/off/down, momentary)
15) Fuel transfer pump (on/off) <- LED should blink red !

I'm not sure that I need separate switches for left/right for the front and back suspension. I'll probably install separate height control valves on each side, but I want the ability to dump air and stay level and that might need separate switches.

Have I missed any ?
 
#16 ·
What about full dump on the bags?
 
#23 ·
I'll just hit the lower button on both sides. I can dump it as low as I want that way.
 
#17 ·
At work in some downtime - will take a closer look tonight. I think I would keep the suspension switches to a minimum - so front suspension, rear susension, cab suspension. From my experience, unless you are going to the low rider route and want to be able to angle your ride - it is easier to stay level if you just have a front and rear. It is "cool" to have the different corners, but so much easier to just raise and lower without having to worry about being level side to side.

You can check out Carlings website for labels - they tell you how to make your own - if I am not mistaken.

Sam
 
#18 ·
At work in some downtime - will take a closer look tonight. I think I would keep the suspension switches to a minimum - so front suspension, rear susension, cab suspension. From my experience, unless you are going to the low rider route and want to be able to angle your ride - it is easier to stay level if you just have a front and rear. It is "cool" to have the different corners, but so much easier to just raise and lower without having to worry about being level side to side.

You can check out Carlings website for labels - they tell you how to make your own - if I am not mistaken.

Sam
you can do that so long as the sway bars are still in place. I've found that it's easier to pair the rear, but to have one for each on the front. every vehicle i've seen, one side is heavier than the other, so the bags have to compensate. not sure why we don't notice it with leafs though.

even with the sway bars in, if the fronts are paired, they seem to want to hang to one side or the other when the truck rolls to one side.
 
#24 ·
I am going to run height control valves, one for each bag, but I don't want to have them active all the time, thus the solenoid. The solenoid will go between the height control valve such that it will allow the bag to inflate to the max the height control valve allows in one position and let me dump it as much as I want in another position.

I think it would be really nice to be able to dump or boost each side individually in case you want to run lower than the height control valve is set for. The loading is generally uneven from side to side due to cargo, passengers, fuel, etc. I'll play around with it. I can always add or remove switches as I need to and fill extra holes with blank covers.

The taller the bag the softer it is. I think I would like to run full height empty and drop a bit when towing for a slightly firmer ride. I'm not into low rider stuff.
 
#25 ·
I think this project is going to get delayed a bit because I think we are buying a house and moving. And we are about to have a baby.

My new place is going to have a bigger garage ! Though I think I'll be doing a big reno on the garage before I move my stuff in to it. And I need to wire it for 240V...

I'm still waiting for the shifter boot and stuff to arrive.

I can't wait to do this project ! I've wanted switches in my truck for 10 years.
 
#26 ·
Congrats. I am in the same boat... My wife is due sunday, we are closing on a house on Nov 23rd, and then I will get my truck back in Dec/Jan... And I will have a nice comfortable garage to store it in while I tear the interior out. It will be nice to have a garage again large enough for all my tools and projects...

I will look for the guide on making your own labels for the switches and post that when I find it.

Sam
 
#27 ·
Awsome ideas, really anxious to see some pictures and wiring diagrams of your shifter idea. I'm interested in doing that now!

If you wanted to get really ambitious, you could make your old cruise control switches on the steering wheel control your radio!
 
#29 ·
I received the new shifter boot on Friday. I haven't measured it yet but it looks like its going to work perfectly. I've been too busy to do anything else.

The shifter knob still hasn't arrived.
 
#30 ·
The shift knob arrived. I hope to work on things later this week.

We've got a baby on the way due in 2 weeks and we are probably building a new house, so life is a little busy right now.







It feels great in my hand. Its a nice size and the texture is perfect.

Its about 6 inches long overall. It mounts with a thread. I haven't measured the pitch or diameter yet.
 
#31 ·
It feels great in my hand. Its a nice size and the texture is perfect.

Its about 6 inches long overall. I haven't measured the pitch or diameter yet.
Im sorry but i had to do this......

THATS WHAT SHE SAID!!

Lol but on a serious note, this looks like a great project. Awesome work, keep up with the talent
 
#32 ·
:laughs: My wife says the new knob is the "ultimate truck phallic power symbol".
 
#33 ·
So I finally got a bit of time to work on this.

Here is where we are starting. Its a stockish Superduty with a ZF6. The only difference from stock is that this truck has a 3rd gen Cummins in it. And the back of the cab is riding on air struts.







Here is what it looks like with the boot lifted.

Its a mess because the lower boot is torn and has been letting gunk up into the upper boot area. Its been torn for quite a while. I've been too busy to do anything about it.

The lower boot isn't shown in these pictures because I removed it a few weeks ago when I started this project.

The lower boot is built into the upper boot assembly on the '99 assembly. Its not a good design.

The other issue is that the transmission (and shift lever) got moved a couple inches back when I did the Cummins swap.





Here is what the 04 to 08 boot system looks like. Its a 2 piece setup with the lower boot separate from the upper boot assembly.



Here is a comparison of the '99 and 04+ lower boots. The '99 boot is normally built into the upper boot assembly but here I have it torn out for comparison.



Here is a comparison of the '99 and 04+ upper boots. Notice how large the 04 upper boot is compared to the '99 boot. You'll see why I needed a larger boot in a bit.





Here is what the shift lever area looks like once I removed the soundproofing and cleaned it up.




The 04+ lower boot fits nicely on the '99 shift lever stub. It will not be mounted in the stock location.


Here is the shift lever extender that I built. It moves the shift lever back and makes it more upright. This allows it to nicely clear the manual shift F650 dash assembly.







Here is what it looks like installed. I don't have the F650 dash panel installed, but trust me, it works great. I'll take pictures of it installed when I install it later.




The extension makes the stock shift lever too long, so I cut it. The Meritor shift knob is also longer than the stock, so it needs to be cut for that too.

The top part of the shift lever is hollow tubing. The ID is about 9/16".




Once I cut the shift lever, I could install the top part of the boot easily. I am going to angle the boot. This will make sense once you see pictures of the later work.









Sorry for the long post. This website disables editing once you post another post so I tried to fit as much as I could into one post so it could be edited until I made my next post. Hint... it would be a lot nicer posting here if you could edit posts for a while after posting them.
 
#34 ·
The Meritor shift knob connects to the shift lever via a 1/2" coarse thread stud. (13 TPI, IIRC)

A skirt below the shift knob covers up the thread and the wire connections.



Test fitting the Meritor shift knob. I recut the shift lever so that the top was level when the lever was in neutral. I tested the lever in various positions and it clears everything quite nicely. The last picture is in OD.











I think the knob is just a tad too high yet. I'll probably cut the shift lever a bit shorter before I weld it.

To be continued.
 
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