At 219,000 miles on the original E4OD, I am thinking towards the future. I don't daily drive it and in a couple years this truck will be a toy (if I ever get out of grad school). I've done some reading on this, but didn't see any OBD-II specific information. I can't imagine a 5.8, MAF, OBDII, manual computer is popular (or even exists)?

Swap parts list includes:
-ZF5 trans for SBF & 4x4
-Front & rear drive shafts for manual SCSB 4x4 (will those from a Mazda spec'd 1/2 ton truck work?)
-manual steering column (optional?)
-Trans hump plate with manual cutout
-cross member from manual truck
-92'-97' pedal assembly
-slave cylinder
-starter for manual truck
-flywheel (junk yard & turn it or new?)
-reinforce fire wall at slave cylinder
-new clutch, pilot bearing, throwout bearing

From an electronics point of view, what needs to be done?
-PCM?
-Clutch interlock switch?
-different trans harness?
-what about reverse light function?

Appreciate the advice/info, thanks.

 

Let me rephrase my question.

Is there a difference between a 96' 5.8L/auto F150 PCM and a 95' F150/250/350 5.8L/manual PCM? I'm not sure if OBDI vs OBDII makes a difference on the PCM.

Google answered my other questions about wiring (man the search function on this site sucks).

Sounds like some guys just leave the MLPS plugged in and set to park (zip tied to frame) and use the original PCM, but this doesn't sound like the best way to do it (no reverse lights, but should be able to get a clutch pedal position sensor to work).

Edit: Found a search tip in the Sticky of this forum by username Frederick, "the best way to search FTE specifically is NOT to use the built-in search feature. This feature is not always available depending on load at the time, so I've instead figured out how to use google for this function.

Go to google.com, and type in your keywords, then "site:" like so, to search on F150 brake rotors for example:
+F150 +brake +rotors site:www.ford-trucks.com/forums

It's 1000 times faster than searching using the FTE search as well, and uses google's cache so the load on FTE is reduced until you start clicking links, so this should help the FTE's server performance as well."

 

Yes, huge difference between the '96 OBD-II PCM and the earlier model OBD-I PCM. Not only the number of pins but how and what it functions.

 

Thank you, that helps. I suspected that was the case due to how much more info OBDII collects. Further searching is helpful too, like post 10 by SubFord here (shows OBDII PCM pinout with 104 pins vs the 60 in OBDI trucks): https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...th-obd-ii.html

To contrast the above link, here is a OBDI 60 pin PCM pinout: 1992-1993 Ford Pickup PCM Pin Out Chart (4.9L, 5.0L, 5.8L Only)

Next question(s): Were there any 5.8L/manual/OBDII equipped trucks made to rob a PCM from? Is there a different solution to this issue, like using a 5.0L/manual/OBDII PCM or even reprogramming my PCM?

 

Realistically if the trans has gone this far there's no reason to think it won't go a lot further with regular maintenance, but if it does give it up what are your plans besides a trans swap? Being OBD2 your truck is a unique beast and therefore not as easy to swap a manual PCM into, but if you have plans to build the engine some too(even if it's not right away) then a tuner likes the Moates QuarterHorse may be the best way to defeat all the auto trans stuff and recalibrate for engine performance mods.

 

Yea it certainly is a unique truck, almost wish I had bought the 95' I looked at instead, but that was 10 years ago now, haha.

I was thinking of that too, that the E4OD may just keep on working, and that's fine. I'll just keep changing fluid & filters. It shifts fine yet and has never given me any trouble at all. This was more of a case of wondering, and not finding the info readily available.

I have a 90' 351W in the truck now with some unknown cam (the power curve is up about 200rpm over the original motor), with the original 96' 351W roller motor sitting in my dad's garage--just waiting for a (re)build. A build is a longer term idea, and considering the low value of the truck (got her when I was 16, then moved to the mountains and the truck reflects that in it's appearance), I see no reason to sell it, so the ideas will happen eventually.

The Moates Quarterhorse looks like the way to go then. Without digging too much, it looks like it costs $249 (no tune) or $400 with a base tune. Seems reasonable to me.

 

You will struggle to find a PCM for that application. F-250/350 PCM's would work also provided they are still obd-2/MAF 5.8/ZF5 combo. Like I said, that will be hard to find. Email Craig Moates and see if the QH can handle running that much interference. I have never heard of a QH being used for that purpose, but it may work. I just don't know, but Craig will.

 

Trouble is, the f250 and f350 trucks never went to OBDII unless cali spec'd (seems exceptionally rare). And I've never seen a 96' F150/5.8L/manual truck myself, nor heard of any, so that*PCM*may not even exist.

Good call on contacting the manufacturer of the quarterhorse.

 

Correct, they are more rare than the obd-II/MAF 460/E4OD EEC that I tried looking for. They would both be cali 96/97 only. Rigging up the MLPS, and a new reverse switch for the lights wouldn't be too bad either. If you do go the chip route, don't bother with anything other than the QH. My opinion of course.

 

Just a thought, could you "make up" a VIN and get a replacement PCM made? I just ordered a new PCM on-line for my sons J**p Cherokee. They needed to know the VIN and the mileage so they could flash it correctly. What would happen if you gave them the VIN for your auto-equipped 351 '96 F-150 but changed the character that indicates the trans to call out the manual instead of the auto? This might be a really bad idea, so don't throw your money at it and blame me if it doesn't work! But as I said, it's a thought.

 

That's a thought. Where did you order it from for the J**p? You would still have the harness issues to deal with, but it may be cheaper than QH and programming.

 

I think it was called "All Computer Resources" or something like that.

Yes, this method wouldn't help with wiring (maybe Painless Wiring could deal with that?). But it MIGHT be a way to get a PCM that theoretically exists, even if it's so rare you can't find one.

 

Interesting idea with the Vin. I'm sure there were plenty of 4.9/manual and 5.0/manual trucks made in 96', maybe the trans harness would work. It sounds like on all the older trucks the clutch pedal position sensor had a place to plug into the harness under the dash, and in the auto trucks it is just jumped in place of a switch. Then to start requires clutch to be depressed for safety and it may even disengage cruise when clutch is depressed. I'll look under my dash for that plug. I have the electric bw1356 that I just rebuilt, so the correct trans harness would be nice to keep that wiring clean, though my dad has manual t-case I could swap in. Reverse lights aren't that big of a deal to me, but if a guys going to do this may as well do it right.

 

Even OBD2 harnesses are all one piece aren't they? Wouldn't that be a whole harness swap for the vehicle?

 

It does appear that way (OBDII harness is not sectioned in engine/chassis/trans). I noticed the driver side bank HEGO is wired into a loom that also goes to the E4OD.. so that sucks.

My 96' is wired for a clutch pedal position sensor though. I pulled the jumper out that is installed in all the auto trucks, and she wouldn't run the fuel pumps or turn the starter. Put the jumper back in, starts as normal. So that means clutch interlock is easy & cruise will function proper.

Pigtail under dash on driver side:

Pigtail under dash with jumper installed:

Jumper itself:


So, it seems to me this project is quite involved (to do it like OEM), more so than on the OBD-I trucks. I think I would do it this way: leave the MLPS plugged in, shifted to park/neutral, zip tied to frame, keep auto PCM and wiring harness, plug in the clutch pedal position sensor (should work fine), figure out which pins in the MLPS are involved with indicating reverse & move them to a plug for the ZF5 reverse switch.

My concern with doing it that way, is how the truck will run when the PCM always thinks it's in Park/Neutral. Does it make a difference?

A guy could swap the whole chassis harness, but that sounds like a PITA (and I'm not sure what truck to take it from anyway, surely a rare build).

FYI, these are some of the threads/sites I have used to figure out some of this:
Post 10: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-question.html
Post 73: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...omplete-5.html
Post 11: E4od to ZF5 conversion check list - Diesel Forum - TheDieselStop.com
Post 45: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...install-3.html
Post 1: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...azda-m5r2.html

Thoughts?