Does anyone know if you can bolt on a fuel pump eccentric on the cam gear of a 88 and later 351w? I know that you would have to use a different timing cover. What else do I have to change to put a eccentric on this block. Did the cam gear or the cam have special holes drilled to accept this eccentric?

Any info is appreciated, just trying to learn more about the predecessors to my EFI engine.

Thanks in advance.

 

Actually I just read a post somewhere that someone took an efi block apart weather it was 5.0 or 5.8 I am not sure but it actually had the pump eccentric on it and it was a stock efi engine, don't know how common this is but its food for thought

 

You can put a mechanical fuel pump on any SB Ford engine. Even the roller cams use the same timing sets, which is where the eccentric bolts on to. I have a roller cam, late model block that I bolted the eccentric to and swapped my '77 timing cover on. You don't even have to remove the timing set, you just remove the cam bolt, and it slides right in place. You're right about the timing cover though, I'm pretty sure the EFI timing covers didn't offer a home to a mechanical pump. This can be fixed at any junk yard, as any of the timing covers will interchange for any of the Windsor engines, but you may run into issues with the water pump and your other accessories. The rule that I like to stick to is that if you change the timing set, make sure you use the exact same accessory setup as the donor vehicle, just so that you know everything will match up. TK

 

Why wouldn't my pump fit the older style cover? did the pumps change? Is the cover for a non EFI block thicker (sticks out more) because of the eccentric behind it?

 

Actually you need an older cover for a mech fuel pump. The EFI covers have no pump (mounting) provision.

 

I'll just add my 2 cents to verify that what's said above is correct. Every EFI engine I've torn apart has the fuel pump eccentric, and you need the older timing cover to mount the fuel pump.

 

Just a thought but why not just get an 6-7psi electric fuel pump if you plan on using a carb they run for around $50 in jcwhitney/or summit/jegs, so then you can leave everthing as is, definitely spend more on a cover, mechanical pump. Didn't know if this is what you where getting at.

 

Out of all the fuel pump nightmares I have read about on this site, 99% of them have been with electric fuel pumps, The more reliable setup seems to be a 4160 or 4180 carb and mechanical pump. I am concidering it, but the cost to convert the tanks to non efi and getting a new tank switch setup is going to cost an arm and a leg. Not to mention the cost to convert the ingnition system to Dura spark. I just want reliablitly, I.E the ablility to not have breakdowns in short periods of time over the life of the vehicle. I don't want my truck to nickel and dime me for the rest of its life due to the EFI. Dura spark II and a 4160 carb would be more reliable than the EFI, in my opinoin

thanks for the responses. Keep the recommendations coming.

 

What I need to know is: Do I have to change the whole serpentine belt system because the water pump won't line up after changing the timing cover?

This would be a major snag in my plan for engine reliabilty.

 

Yes you will. The timing covers are different, and so are the water pumps. You will have to do some mixing and matching of accessory brackets. Do you have Air Conditioning? if you don't, it will be a breeze to match up the accessories you need, just grab any old timing cover from a truck with a mechanical fuel pump, and grab all the accessory brackets as well. If you do have air conditioning, you may find an old truck that has a bracket for it, otherwise it would be somewhat simple to make one, and use a longer belt that drives it from the alternator belt.

I think you are correct about mechanical fuel pumps being far more reliable. If you used an Edelbrock carb, then you'd be even more fail-safe, IMO. Use any aftermarket mech. pump with an Edelbrock 1406 carb, and you'd be driving every day worry-free and getting great gas milage. You may want to call March Performance, they make fantastic serpentine kits for just about any application under the sun, but their kits usually cost around $200. TK

 

A fellow sometime back went from efi to carb and he did not do anything to his fuel tank other than unplug it he ran a line of the current line and went from there. you can get a fuel pressure regulator that would drop your stock efi fuel pressue down to the 6-7 psi you need with a carb. personally I wouldn't do that but you can. If you wanted to spend a little more on the igniton a durapsark II distributor with an msd box would do wonderful things and wouldn't cost too much more. Good luck

 

I thought about using the stock in-tank pumps, they are only 15 PSI pumps. The problem I have with that is, still, the electric pumps. Mine are 16 years old, only 82K on them, but still 16 years old.

I wonder if I can use the stock fuel lines to get to the mechanical pump and still draw fuel from the tank, I would bypass the Hi pressure pump on the frame rail and disconnect all the pumps. Would I be able to suck fuel? Good part is about doing it that way is that there are check valves in the top of the pumps that do not let the gas back in the tank. The system would stay primed probably indefinitly. ( or at least until I run it out of gas!). I would think that it would pump fuel fine that way.

What do you think? Doing it this way I would not have to remove anything except the wiring (well, not remove just disconnect). That saves money on the conversion.

On the ignition: I don't want to use very many special parts, Only if it's my only choice. Keeping this as simple as possible. If I use the stock Duraspark II dist and box, If I have to replace both It would cost me a whopping (sarcastic) 80 bucks. I would start with a new reman dist anyway and a new reman box, both with at least a one year warranty or i'll buy the ones with lifetime warranties for a little more. i know the ignition boxs are not know for durability, but they are only $15 and easy to change. I not into buy a $200 MSD unit, and I'm not doing this research to create ponies. I am trying to combine the most reliable stock components to create a engine that should have very few breakdowns or quirky drivability problems.

Any other Ideas on reliable stock components or systems?

P.S. An engine change is out of the question. I know the 300-6 is more reliable than Old Faithful, But money resticts. The 351w stays.

 

The msd cost more but if you have ever experienced one you know it is worth it. They are dependable and can increase mpg to a small degree, they make throttle response better as well as cold start ups, the cold start ups will impress the crap out of you. Hey I get what you are saying when I rebuilt my motor I purchased all reman durasparkII due to budget but if I had to do again you know what I would have done. Why not now you may think? I have my eye on a cam.

Like I mentioned I asked that fellow a lot of questions on his efi 300 swap to carbed v-8 he said all he did was disconnect the fuel pumps and ran a fuel line to his mechanical fuel pump. I was gonna do this to my efi 300 but ended up with another truck with the 351. Good luck hope it works out for you

As mentioned before instead of going to the trouble of changing timing covers and accesories I would save the money and just get a new electric pump for the carb you can get a carter for $57 that would be a lot less than timing cover and accesories and carter has been around forever. Word of caution any time you change motor or do a swap there seems to always be an issue or two pop up that you didn't expect as in something doesn't work right, but your researching and that is good seems you have the right frame of mind. Good luck

Your ps has me at a loss. What exactly are you doing? If I may ask? At first I thought you were going to a 351 from 300 or 351 to newer 351 but you make it sound like you already have the 351, or you can't afford a 300 so you are sticking with the 351? you mention engine swap out of the question. Not trying to get personal just would hate to give advice or recommendations about something that doesn't apply.

 

Did this fellow have Dual tanks? How did he setup the switch? is there a mechanical valve or soleniod activated valve that came standard on older trucks before the EFI?

Swapping from EFI to carb is strictly in the interest of reliablity. This is only part one (researching), part 2 will be gathering parts for the changes i determine will increase the reliablity of the engine and its systems. Part three will be installing the parts and tracking repairs outside of normal maintenence for a period of 1 year. There will be a 1 month evaluation of the changes to fix any defective parts (that are new to the truck) or mess-ups on my part prior to tracking for the full year.

The P.S. was to anyone thinking a 300-6 swap would be a better choice because of the known reliablity of that engine. I agree that the 300-6 would be a better choice, but I have the 351w already.

 

I didn't say go to a 300 it is a fine engine but not the end all so you don't really have to worry about me makeing a comment about that.

I figured you were gonna ask that and I can't be certain but I think he did. If you hook up the line after the selector as you probably would you should be fine the pump and selector I believe run seperately so again it should work. If the truck already has dual tanks and an operational selector then you should again be fine, unhooking efi pumps