When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I've got a clean 86 F150 with a worn out EFI 302.. how bad would my 86 ECM hate life if I dropped in an explorer 302 out of a 96 explorer? I know I'll need the steel gear on the distributor and all of that.. I'm just wondering if the F4te cam, Different firing order and better heads/intake will confuse the 1986 computer or if it will drop in and function like it should?
Firing order should be the same if you stick with pre 1990-ish distributor. I think it would run OK. The ODB-I system can "learn" a bit. Worst case scenario throw a carb on. or go to ODB-II computer from truck of same era.
The camshaft determines the firing order. If it has the 302 ho, which is the 351w firing order, you can just move the wires around on the distributor to reflect the new firing order. These old trucks were batch fired, so the firing order will not mess up the injector timing. They squirt each stroke, squirting the half of the required fuel each time. If it's not time for the intake valve to open, the fuel just lays there till the next time and then the injector fires half again and that and the fuel that has been laying there gets sucked into the cylinder. It was the mustangs that were sequential firing, and the explorer may have been also, but you are just going to use the long block, and use all the 86 efi and wiring so it should work fine.
The camshaft determines the firing order. If it has the 302 ho, which is the 351w firing order, you can just move the wires around on the distributor to reflect the new firing order. These old trucks were batch fired, so the firing order will not mess up the injector timing. They squirt each stroke, squirting the half of the required fuel each time. If it's not time for the intake valve to open, the fuel just lays there till the next time and then the injector fires half again and that and the fuel that has been laying there gets sucked into the cylinder. It was the mustangs that were sequential firing, and the explorer may have been also, but you are just going to use the long block, and use all the 86 efi and wiring so it should work fine.
I think that if it DID work, it would be a drastic improvement over the original set up.
The camshaft determines the firing order. If it has the 302 ho, which is the 351w firing order, you can just move the wires around on the distributor to reflect the new firing order. These old trucks were batch fired, so the firing order will not mess up the injector timing. They squirt each stroke, squirting the half of the required fuel each time. If it's not time for the intake valve to open, the fuel just lays there till the next time and then the injector fires half again and that and the fuel that has been laying there gets sucked into the cylinder. It was the mustangs that were sequential firing, and the explorer may have been also, but you are just going to use the long block, and use all the 86 efi and wiring so it should work fine.
If you don't have a lead on a particular engine, it might be worth it to hold out for a 351w. I believe its a drop in swap, i'm sure some one will correct me.
You are just looking for a 302 engine correct? If you strip it down and put all the 86 stuff on it, it will work. You may have to strip the front off the engine like the other poster said, you may even have to swap oil pans. But underneath it all is a good ole 302. I would not use any of the computer or electronics/sensors from the later setup unless you want to do some head scratching and playing with and splicing wires.
12-17-2018, 06:23 PM
