1995 4.9L to 1990 5.8Lw Conversion
#1
03-31-2005, 07:06 AM
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1995 4.9L to 1990 5.8Lw Conversion
Has anyone out there attempted or know somebody that has attempted this conversion. The truck is a 1995 F-150 4x4 short box, stick that had a 300 inline 6 in it. The engine is coming out out of a 1990 2x4 automatic. It has been rebuilt and the mounted in the 95, and almost all back together. The problems are centered on the wiring harness. The plugs that connect through the firewall (low driver side, beside the EEC) are different (1990 351 is round, 1995 300 is square). Will a harness off of a 1995 302/351 solve my problem? Also are all EEC IV the same?<O:p</O:p
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Thanks<O:p</O:p
John<O:p</O:p
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Thanks<O:p</O:p
John<O:p</O:p
#2
03-31-2005, 07:30 AM
The harness connectors you are referring to changed in 92 with the "new" nose shape - so yes, you'll need a 92-96 EFI harness that matches your engine and transmission that you are putting in, as well as the EFI computer to match the powertrain. I6 computers don't like V8's and vice versa.
The 92-96 V8 engine harnesses will fit your 90 engine just fine, though you will have to change the 90 water temp sensors (both of them) to a 92-96 sensor. Also, if you snag a 93 -96 engine harness, you'll need to take the TFI module off your distributor, and mount it either on the fender well, or the firewall, closer to the EEC module. The 93 and ups use remote TFI rather than distributor-mounted TFI modules. You can also extend the wires if you wish. But if you find a reasonably intact Donor truck for the wiring harness, you can take all the sensors and the remote TFI modules... why not! Makes the swap easier instead of finding parts one at a time later.
The 92-96 V8 engine harnesses will fit your 90 engine just fine, though you will have to change the 90 water temp sensors (both of them) to a 92-96 sensor. Also, if you snag a 93 -96 engine harness, you'll need to take the TFI module off your distributor, and mount it either on the fender well, or the firewall, closer to the EEC module. The 93 and ups use remote TFI rather than distributor-mounted TFI modules. You can also extend the wires if you wish. But if you find a reasonably intact Donor truck for the wiring harness, you can take all the sensors and the remote TFI modules... why not! Makes the swap easier instead of finding parts one at a time later.
#3
03-31-2005, 07:46 AM
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#4
03-31-2005, 08:32 AM
Lets backup a bit.
Your truck is a 95, correct? That means for the connectors to be plug and play, you need a 92-96 engine harness for a V8 engine (302, 351, 460 EFI). They'll all fit your truck as well as the 1990 engine that you have.
Then you need a computer from the 92-96 year range as well, which you probably would acquire with the wiring harness. Then you wire it up to the new engine, toss it in, connect the connectors to the firewall connectors and the EEC computer, and start the truck.
You will need to acquire 351W sensors for the 92-96 year range, but that's not a big deal because they are different than the older sensors - mostly in the connectors, so to save you the aggrevation of splicing connectors on the new harness to match your 1990 engine, you just replace the sensors, pretending your engine is a 92-96 engine. It all works out nicely.
The computer will have no communication with the manual transmission, other than to know if it is in neutral or not. You can use an automatic computer in a manual transmission truck, and it works fine. The only caveat is when you go to pull error codes, the computer will tell you it cannot see the automatic transmission. But this error doesn't light the check engine light in the 92-96 year range so it doesn't hurt anything at all. Just when you pull codes someday, you'll always get those codes.
Does that help?
Your truck is a 95, correct? That means for the connectors to be plug and play, you need a 92-96 engine harness for a V8 engine (302, 351, 460 EFI). They'll all fit your truck as well as the 1990 engine that you have.
Then you need a computer from the 92-96 year range as well, which you probably would acquire with the wiring harness. Then you wire it up to the new engine, toss it in, connect the connectors to the firewall connectors and the EEC computer, and start the truck.
You will need to acquire 351W sensors for the 92-96 year range, but that's not a big deal because they are different than the older sensors - mostly in the connectors, so to save you the aggrevation of splicing connectors on the new harness to match your 1990 engine, you just replace the sensors, pretending your engine is a 92-96 engine. It all works out nicely.
The computer will have no communication with the manual transmission, other than to know if it is in neutral or not. You can use an automatic computer in a manual transmission truck, and it works fine. The only caveat is when you go to pull error codes, the computer will tell you it cannot see the automatic transmission. But this error doesn't light the check engine light in the 92-96 year range so it doesn't hurt anything at all. Just when you pull codes someday, you'll always get those codes.
Does that help?
#5
03-31-2005, 08:39 AM
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#6
03-31-2005, 08:53 AM
No problem, happy to help.
Here is another fun thing to try... follow my suggestions with the exception of the computer. Get yourself a 94 E350 van computer, and plug it in as-is. Not an earlier year, and not an E150/E250. E350.
The timing curve is very aggressive, giving the 351W a lot more "snap". Just did this in my 93 F350 crewcab... huge difference. I swapped it based on a wild guess on my part, and it worked out very nicely. The F-series all the way up to 96 aren't very aggressive with the timing... in fact by 1200 RPM it's backed way off already. The E350 Van, unlike all the other 351W trucks of the 92-96 year range, backs it off much higher in the RPM range. Why? Who the heck knows.
Here is another fun thing to try... follow my suggestions with the exception of the computer. Get yourself a 94 E350 van computer, and plug it in as-is. Not an earlier year, and not an E150/E250. E350.
The timing curve is very aggressive, giving the 351W a lot more "snap". Just did this in my 93 F350 crewcab... huge difference. I swapped it based on a wild guess on my part, and it worked out very nicely. The F-series all the way up to 96 aren't very aggressive with the timing... in fact by 1200 RPM it's backed way off already. The E350 Van, unlike all the other 351W trucks of the 92-96 year range, backs it off much higher in the RPM range. Why? Who the heck knows.
#7
04-04-2005, 07:24 AM
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Sorry to bother you again,
I have just accumulated a couple of questions after the installation of the new wiring harness. I got a wiring harness out of a 1994 302 Mass Air Flow. The concerns are centered on the distributor and the computer. The computer out of the wiring harness donor truck is gone. However, I have found one out of another 1994. Were all 1994 v8’s Mass air flow, or were some of them speed density. The 1995 300 inline 6 I believe was speed density because of the MAP sensor. My next question is about the distributor. Will a distributor out of a 1994 302 work in the 1990 351?
Thanks again
John
I have just accumulated a couple of questions after the installation of the new wiring harness. I got a wiring harness out of a 1994 302 Mass Air Flow. The concerns are centered on the distributor and the computer. The computer out of the wiring harness donor truck is gone. However, I have found one out of another 1994. Were all 1994 v8’s Mass air flow, or were some of them speed density. The 1995 300 inline 6 I believe was speed density because of the MAP sensor. My next question is about the distributor. Will a distributor out of a 1994 302 work in the 1990 351?
Thanks again
John
