Distributor hookup
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Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 14,947
Likes: 6
From: Topsfield, MA
Distributor hookup
Ok, I have a 351w for a 95 F-150. I'm trying to get the correct MSD distributor for it. I have a PN 8452 and it has the plug mounted to the side of it like the 93 and older mustangs had. It's a flat looking plug securely mounted to the distributor. My truck uses a different kind of plug, it has wires coming off the distributor, which are about 4-5 inches long and then it goes into a round plug. It's the same style on the 94-95 mustangs. What I'm wondering is, if I can cut the plug off my stock harness, get the appropriate plug for the older distributor, and connect it. Is there something different in the distributor or the TFI module that won't allow this to work? I'd need a positive answer that it'll work, if no one can tell me for sure, than I will pay to return this and exchange it with the correct one. It's suppose to be a PN8451 I guess. Thanks
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 9,554
Likes: 38
From: Concord, NC
The newer style (round plug) uses a remote mount TFI. I'm not sure how to convert back from a remote mount to a distributor mounted TFI. The only thing I can recommend is either exchange it for the correct one, or sit down with a wiring diagram and figure out how to connect the truck wiring harness directly to the TFI module. The round plug likely only has the signal wires going to the TFI, and might not have the wires from the computer to the TFI. It's probably possible to get it to work, but the easiest thing to do would be to get the correct distributor from MSD. How much will it cost to get it exchanged?
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 941
Likes: 4
It would be a lot of work to convert the harness from a remote TFI to a distributor mounted TFI. And in the end, you 'd have a technically inferior solution, one Ford was forced to move away from due to reliability problems. The front mounted distributor on the Ford small blocks is close to the water outlet from the block. Combine this with the self-heating endemic in driving the coil, and the TFI gets roasty-toasty.
Ford moved the TFI off the dizzy and onto the fenderwell to fix this problem in 1992 or thereabouts. The whole thing was eventually the subject of a class-action lawsuit in California. You'd have to do some surgery on the dizzy connector AND on the TFI connector to make a harness that will work with the older design.
It's probably at least $75.00 of time and trouble to switch it back, so if you can exchange for less than that, by all means do so.
Ford moved the TFI off the dizzy and onto the fenderwell to fix this problem in 1992 or thereabouts. The whole thing was eventually the subject of a class-action lawsuit in California. You'd have to do some surgery on the dizzy connector AND on the TFI connector to make a harness that will work with the older design.
It's probably at least $75.00 of time and trouble to switch it back, so if you can exchange for less than that, by all means do so.
