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1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks 1987 - 1996 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350 and larger pickups - including the 1997 heavy-duty F250/F350+ trucks

speed density vs. mass air?

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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 02:46 AM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by swenglert
Bronco's all were speed density. I believe that lightning was mass air. Ford racing caries a conversion kit that includes computer, harness, etc...When converting, the harness as well as computer needs to be changed due to different injector firing sequences. Good Luck.
All of the GEN 1 Lightnings were speed density. Ford did come out with a mass air conversion for these trucks though.
Some of the Broncos were mass air...BIO1, VEX1 and WAY1 are some of the mass air PCM's that were used.

4x4man514...all you have to do is pop the hood and see if there is an air meter next to the airbox. I have heard many people say that the late 96 F-250/5.8's were/are equiped with mass air from the factory, but I haven't actually seen it myself.
 
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 05:41 AM
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Regarding F-150s:

94+ cali emissions vehicles were MAF.
95 automatic / V-8 vehicles were MAF
96 all were MAF but also OBD-II (onboard diagnostics)

The F-250s and F-350s were not MAF equipped except for possibly cali emissions vehicles. The 97 at my buddy's marina is a SD 351.


This is not set in stone, but it's the conclusion I've picked up after reading so many threads.
 
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 08:36 AM
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i was looking on car-part.com at engines and they had a AIR IN HEAD motor and a AIR IN MANIFOLD motor.can anyone tell me the difference?what does this mean?
 
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 11:36 AM
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Sorry for misinfo on broncos. Just going on what I knew, should have qualified it with that. Getting back to the initial question, why do you want to know?
 
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 12:55 PM
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my online source does not specify if a motor is MAF or SD but it does have a air in head or manifold option.i didnt know if that had something to do with if it was SD or MAF.im wanting to swap this motor into my early bronco and im trying to find out all the differences brtween the motors before i buy one.thanks,kevin.
 
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 01:29 PM
  #21  
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i was looking on car-part.com at engines and they had a AIR IN HEAD motor and a AIR IN MANIFOLD motor.can anyone tell me the difference?what does this mean?
That has to do with the air injection for emissions controls. The heavy duty trucks generally had pipes to each port on the manifold, while the lighter duty trucks had a passage drilled in the head, and a air fitting on the back of both heads. Doesn't have anything to do with mass air or not.

Looks like your mass air conversion was a success by the pics in your albums. What type computer did you use/where did you get it? Also, did you buy the conversion kit harness or modify your existing harness?
I used an A9L from a 89-91 mustang 5.0, which I bought off of eBay. I modified my truck harness using the needed wires from a couple of old mustang harnesses, bought on ebay along with the computer.


I think generally the MAF option progressed as Justin (MustangGT221) posted, so that would be a good general rule you could follow.

Keep in mind, if you are buying the harness and electronics for the swap, pre-OBD-II would be the best solution. OBD-II has more wiring involved, and is less friendly to modifications - plus, you have to have a code reader to get the codes, whereas you can pull them with a paperclip on the older stuff. Also, engine size isn't as much of a concern with a mass air computer - a 302 computer will run a 351 just fine. Make sure you match up the computer to the transmission as well; the newer automatics are electronically controlled, and thus must have an automatic computer to control it.
 
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Old Jan 16, 2005 | 05:43 PM
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Still not sure what you're trying to do here. If its a 5.0-5.8 conversion or if you're replacing motor for motor. Why not tell us what you're trying to accomplish and ask for any info that would help?
 
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Old Jan 19, 2005 | 10:37 PM
  #23  
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swenglert,im taking a carbed 5.0 out of a 72 bronco and i want to replace it with a efi 5.8.sooner or later i m sure i will be upping the cam,stroking the motor,or some head work so i want to get the mass air to accomodate all this.im sure buying a donor vehicle with all brackets,wiring,accessories, and what i need would be the cheapest and easiest way to go, but im not sure what year to go with to get everything.i see there are kits to swap from SD to MAF but thats upping the cost substantially.so if i can get it all in one whack id be better off.
 
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Old Jan 19, 2005 | 10:53 PM
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A good stand alone harness can be found in '87 and '88 5.0 F150's. The engine harness is completely separate from the underhood harness and would be better suited for an EFI swap into a carbureted truck. While wiring for that, just make the necessary changes to be able to run a mustang computer and mass air system. This is easiest if you have a decent mustang harness to pull a couple of wires from and add them to the stock truck harness. Check out this website for a little more info on the wiring: http://brembs.net/cars/maf_conversion/
 
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Old Jan 20, 2005 | 01:03 PM
  #25  
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A little off topic, but i'm currently putting a 351 efi into my 90 stang. I was told my computer "A9L", would work. All I need is oil pan conversion, headers, spacer kit for accessories, and a 351 efi truck lower intake (just like the one on my truck now) to match my Holley upper, 351 efi distributer, flywheel and balancer & new pushrods. New ARP head studs, main studs and rod bolts are necessary as well. I have to ream out the clearance holes in the heads too. I owned my stang for over 10 years and have been modifiying it ever since and I just got my truck last year, so most of my knowledge comes from the stang.
If you plan on modifiying your truck, which you said you are, i'd skip the conversion kit and piece it together with an aftermarket mass-air (pro-m). No sense in buying things twice.
 
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Old Jan 20, 2005 | 09:45 PM
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^ I have the A9L in my truck now, and from what I've been told, it will run a 351 just fine. Are you sure you need new accessory brackets? I've heard that they will interchange between the 302 and 351. You might be better off getting a matched upper and lower intake manifold, as the lower 351 truck manifold has absolutely tiny ports. The holley upper has the same ports as the truck 302 and the same bolt pattern as both the 302 and 351 truck manifolds, but the ports would be what I would be concerned about.
 
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Old Jan 20, 2005 | 10:48 PM
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Fuel and spark curves are different between a 351 and 302. A Mustang PCM will work on a 351, but a chip and/or dyno tune will yield the best gains for HP and TQ. Having the lower intake extruded honed will also help support more airflow/HP.
 
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Old Jan 21, 2005 | 06:35 AM
  #28  
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I've noticed that the spark curves are different between the truck computer and the A9L as well. Where did you get the superchips tuning program, Blurry?
 
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Old Jan 21, 2005 | 07:56 AM
  #29  
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Starting in 94 all Bronco's and F-150 s with an AODE trans were equit a batchfire mass air system.I'm not sure about 5.8s or F-250s
 
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Old Jan 21, 2005 | 08:03 AM
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The A9L and A9P (which should be used with an AOD trans) computer are multiport mass air systems.I would recomend for best performance to use this setup.It will work pretty much any combo all the way up to big stroker engines with no or minimum tuning if the right supporting sensors are used ,ie MAS,Injectors.
Custom chips with these ECMs will ultimately get you the best performance but they have a very wide range and forgiving nature on there own.
 
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