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I stopped by my buddy's house this morning to drop of the license plate sticker for my trailer that he keeps at his place...
Years ago, he converted the stock 220k-mile 5.8 to a complete factory-style 5.8L Mass-air conversion using a donor Bronco wiring harnesses, and also swapped every XLT goody over from his former rust-bucket '93 F150 XLT. headliner, carpet, cruise, power windows/locks...
Anyway, the 393W that he put together several years ago is finally in his '95 F250 XL standard cab LB 4x4 and running. The 393W is 9.3:1 using Keith Black 364 22cc dish pistons, Ford motorsport Z-303 64cc heads, FMS roller cam (I can't remember which one), Edelbrock EFI intake, 61mm dual BBK throttle body, 30# injectors. I was wrong about the shorty headers, they are JBA, not FPA. The old oil cooler adapter was replaced with a oil cooler adapter from a Perkins diesel (and using a short filter). He is also running a dual electric fan/shroud setup, fans being thermostatically controlled. That Edelbrock upper intake is within 3/8" of hitting the firewall!!!
According to his 'live scan' tool, the fuel map is within 3-4% of optimal, and he'll be tweaking that a bit if necessary. Same for timing. That will be determined as he starts driving it. His deep-dive scan tool is of the type than can 'flash' new parameters to the factory mass-air ECU.
Truck is not on the road yet, however, due to the 10k-mile Ford reman E4OD, installed just before he bought the truck. As long as the engine was out, he decided to go through it to be sure. Good thing. He tore it apart and the center support was loose, the thrust washers were toast as a result, one planetary was fubared up... so he rebuilt it himself, using a combination of 'upgrade' parts (bigger clutch packs, planetaries with more pinion gears, shift kit, later model valvebody with Teflon seal pistons...), BUT the shift kit instructions were vague on which checkballs got used with which year trans/valvebody, so the one clutch pack isn't working properly (he will need to drop the pan and valvebody to fix it). Pan/filter is deeper 4R100-style
Other than that, it starts with just the slightest touch of the key - less than a half crank rotation and it is running! idles smooth, great throttle response.
That's cool.
I'd like to more details:
1 - which EEC
2 - which shift kit
3 - which scantool
There are zero/none/nope for a factory MAF computer of this era that can be reprogrammed. There are piggy back modules, Tweecer/Quarter Horse, and there are stand alone systems PimpX.
Unless he put a newer EEC-V in it, which can be reprogrammed(some).
Also, how old are the body mounts? Old, squashed out pancaked broken body mounts lower the cab, hence why the intake gets close to firewall, or the frame is bent being a 4x4.
His is using '96 Bronco 5.8L EEC-V ECU and complete FWF body harness wiring harness, engine harness, and injector harness was swapped into his truck. Complete Mass-air conversion, including 'misfire sensor' crank star, etc. Some re-pinning necessary for the '95s E4OD trans harness, as well as 'turning off' the Bronco's ECU 4wh ABS warning.
We did the same EEC-V Mass-air conversion to my '95 7.5L F250 using '96/97 CA-spec Mass-air 7.5L ECU, wiring harnesses, crank sensor, etc. The Mass-air conversion allowed me to get a bit more 'oomph' in my recent engine rebuild over the speed density system. A slight increase my compression ratio from 8.5 to 9.4:1, add a bit more camshaft, eliminated the AIR system that also allowed me to run headers...
I don't know what brand/model his diagnostic scanner/programmer tool is, but is not just a 'code reader' - it does live function scanning. We can watch the real-time values of the O2 sensor, or engine RPM, ignition timing, A/F ratio, TPS position, -- Just like the 'tuners' can. Some functions of the ECU, Body Control Module, FICM, and other modules in newer cars can be accessed/and settings modified through his scan/program tool. His multi-thousand-dollar scanner requires yearly subscription updates for all makes, and Ford has a service tech subscription to access all FoMoCo features.
His OEM upper intake fit just fine, with lots of clearance. It is just that the Edelbrock upper is much taller/larger - for the larger runners - and that large plenum box hangs more to the passenger side (which has the added benefit of access to that center Torx bolt easier, LOL!)
I did a lot of mods on my E4OD. Lots of clutches, GPz clutches, Kolene plates, shift kit, more planets, etc. When I was done, the transmission shifted hard. I eventually put in a trans pressure/temp gauge to replace the temp gauge. With my Tweecer, I was able to get the line pressures down to where the trans shifts firm.
If you run into a trans that shifts too hard, you might need to 'adjust' the engine torque numbers lower so the line pressures are lower.
I did a lot of mods on my E4OD. Lots of clutches, GPz clutches, Kolene plates, shift kit, more planets, etc. When I was done, the transmission shifted hard. I eventually put in a trans pressure/temp gauge to replace the temp gauge. With my Tweecer, I was able to get the line pressures down to where the trans shifts firm.
If you run into a trans that shifts too hard, you might need to 'adjust' the engine torque numbers lower so the line pressures are lower.
I'm going about it the other way, using the TransGo HD2.
I'm leaving the tune as is, and firming up the shift pressure by drilling out the calibration plate.
I've got 2-3rd perfect, and 1-2nd is still a bit soft.
Once I get the shifts perfect in the hard parts I'll be able to fine tune in the software.
I too put in a HD2. My theory is that it would work as designed if you are not putting in more clutches and using clutches that will grip more.
If the standard clutch with the HD2 shifts firm at 120psi, mine would be harsh. The option I had was to put it back to stock [what the HD2 was designed for] or back down the line pressure lower. Fortunately, I have a tuner that I was able to do that. Right now, my line pressure is around 90psi and it shift firm. The line pressure can't go any lower. I would love to take out the HD2 regulator spring and go back to stock [I believe it's around 70psi] but that means the trans would have to come out and the pump removed.
Yes, the line pressure changes with the electric pressure regulator so it does raise when the throttle is pressed, but right now, with regular driving it keeps around 90-95psi.
I am only posting this because I would have loved to read someone posting this information when I was searching about harsh shifting on a heavily internally modified transmission.
My buddy's '95 F250 393W Mass-air stroker pics. There is still some 'temporary' wiring for the electric fans - working on a dual-temp controller, and mass-air sensor - plug was different.
Last edited by cougrrcj; May 31, 2025 at 11:41 AM.
Reason: added info
That's really cool. Lot's of work and I can appreciate the effort. I don't really know which Ford's had the mass airflow sensor and which didn't. For instance, I know there are 460's that came that way but I don't think that I've ever seen one. Was it a California emissions thing
That's really cool. Lot's of work and I can appreciate the effort. I don't really know which Ford's had the mass airflow sensor and which didn't. For instance, I know there are 460's that came that way but I don't think that I've ever seen one. Was it a California emissions thing
'96-97 F250HD/350 7.5L CA emissions was Mass Air. IIRC, that included California, New York and Massachusetts, PLUS many nation-wide 'fleet' vehicles. My local (Ohio) suburban F-350-based Ambulance had a CA-emissions spec Mass-air 7.5L.
'96-97 Federal emissions 5.0 and 5.8 in F-150s/Broncos were also Mass-air, in addition to the 'over 8500GVW' CA-emissions F250/F350 5.8Ls
OF course, this ALSO goes for '96-97 Econolines! Don't forget to look at those as well for Mass-Air goodies!!!!
Buddy's 393W SEFI Mass-air truck is now on the road. Everything works, except now his rear tank pump failed, so the bed is coming off and both pumps getting replaced with 155lph pumps. Fuel maps are now within 1% of optimal. He's not sure if he needs to tweak it, or if it should self-learn being that close.
Trans issues fixed - and I asked specifically, he's using the TransGo Tugger kit in the now freshly properly rebuild of a 10k-mile Ford reman E4OD - he says it is the best shifting E4OD he's ever felt. When he rebuilds a trans, he's **** about getting clutch stack clearances and overall endplays perfect. He's the guy that built the custom wide-ratio AOD that is in my 395W Crown Vic...
His exhaust is up temporarily - Shorty headers, factory Y-pipe to the stock cat,I guess he's going Flowmaster 44 with dual tailpipes, so that's where he's going to be taking it to a custom exhaust shop for that. Not sure where his tails are going to exit. I assume either behind the rear wheels or out the back.
New tires going on soon. Some sort of 265/75-16 all-terrain. Something a bit softer riding because his is a '95 F250XL 5.8L single cab longbed 4x4. Driving it up from Tampa -where he bought it- about killed his back, LOL.
Buddy brought his truck over yesterday, when he brought his scan tool to look at both my '17 Taurus's CEL, and wife's '05 Towncar shifting funny (dropping in/out of lockup on the highway) He commended me for noticing that- most people don't! Mine was corroded/broken wire on the canister purge valve (easy fix), and hers is inconsistent communication with the VSS.(speed sensor), which also should be just R&R of the sensor on top of the rear axle, and clean it along with the electrical connections.
Anyway, his truck runs great, instant throttle response, lots more power than the stock 220k-mile 5.8. I was concerned about the 3"in/dual 2-1/4-out Flowmaster, but it sounds OK.. his is the Super 50-series.. Tails are routed like stock 7.5s - dual parallel exiting behind the right rear tire. Slight header leak out of the JBA shorties. E4OD with Tugger shift kit shifts a bit early, but all shifts are smooth and not too harsh. He added all of the necessary upgraded internals to make it close to diesel trans specs. Should last forever! I might have him do the same to my truck since I'll be towing a 26' enclosed trailer with it now... Mine shifts good now, but I'd rather be sure it is good for the rest of my days...
Next for his truck is a fresh paint job. All white truck , but getting the silver XLT two-tone side treatment.
393W mass-air stroker runs!
