TFI to EDIS Thought Experiment

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Marc Emery (The Prince of Pot) changed the weed game in North America (possibly the entire world) for sure. He was doing some really interesting stuff way back when.. GPS guided autonomous submersible submarines that would surface when they hit a specific GPS coordinate, using the rivers.. Shipping extremely awesome strains of seed to the US even though he knew it was against the law..

A buddy ordered some of his seeds a long time ago when you could still get them to the US, before customs started really going after Mark's shipments. It grew mind blowing weed. A real skunky sensimilla and this was long before all of this super potent modern medical grade weed.

I'm really pissed my government acquiesced to the US and let M. Emery be prosecuted in the states for doing what was legal up here: selling seeds. I didn't follow it that closely so maybe there was something else involved?

IIRC he was convicted and received 5 years, some of which he did up here.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

I'm really pissed my government acquiesced to the US and let M. Emery be prosecuted in the states for doing what was legal up here: selling seeds. I didn't follow it that closely so maybe there was something else involved?

More than likely not. Once the US government decides that you're a problem, and that you're going to be punished, there's literally nothing you can do to stop it. It's unfortunate, to say the least.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

More than likely not. Once the US government decides that you're a problem, and that you're going to be punished, there's literally nothing you can do to stop it. It's unfortunate, to say the least.

With very few exceptions, such as Edward Snowden. So far...

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

So back on topic here....
Having just dismantled a Cologne 4L engine, I've got all the EDIS stuff at hand as shown below. I've also got a 4.0 wiring harness, MAF, coil pack, and a couple early 90's 4L Ranger PCM's. With a Merkur Scorpio in the garage with a 2.9, it would seem to be a worthy recipient for a distributor to EDIS upgrade. I'm not worried about the 4L vs. 2.9 tune being slightly different. Between the MAF input and closed-loop operation, I'm confident the 4L PCM will run the 2.9 just fine. The two threaded holes in the 2.9 front cover for the crank trigger seem to be just a little differently spaced from the 4.0 cover, but that can be addressed by opening up the mounting holes. It's not an uber-precise spacing required there.

Anyone know if that oil pump drive-gear plug from the 4L that would replace the distributor would have the correct length? I'm assuming the pitch of the gear on the cam is the same between the 2.9 and 4.0, yes? Anything else I'm missing?

 

[rusty ol ranger]

So back on topic here.... View attachment 95031

@PetroleumJunkie412

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I’m now a little disappointed that I read through 3 pages with no conclusions….

Seeing those parts @DPDISXR4Ti posted makes me want to ask more questions… I know the 4.0 is essentially a bored and stroked 2.9, but I’m not certain how truly valid that is. If it is valid, then theoretically 4.0 parts should fit a 2.9, so with the exception of having to program everything to work for a 2.9 on an aftermarket system like Microsquirt, everything needed to upgrade to a EDIS system on a 2.9 and even to upgrade the accessory drive to serpentine would be bolt on? Or am I way off base with this?

I have a 2.9 that’s waiting for me to put it back together and I had fully intended on doing as much upgrading and modifying that I could to it before it goes together. This gives me new ideas, lol.

Its also got me thinking that when I overhaul my F-150 I might want to get away from the distributor and TFI. Dump truck too for that matter. Those are both a little bit down the road right now, same as the 2.9, but I’d like to get a plan together and start collecting parts when I can…

 

[fastpakr]

I’m now a little disappointed that I read through 3 pages with no conclusions….

Seeing those parts @DPDISXR4Ti posted makes me want to ask more questions… I know the 4.0 is essentially a bored and stroked 2.9, but I’m not certain how truly valid that is. If it is valid, then theoretically 4.0 parts should fit a 2.9, so with the exception of having to program everything to work for a 2.9 on an aftermarket system like Microsquirt, everything needed to upgrade to a EDIS system on a 2.9 and even to upgrade the accessory drive to serpentine would be bolt on? Or am I way off base with this?

I have a 2.9 that’s waiting for me to put it back together and I had fully intended on doing as much upgrading and modifying that I could to it before it goes together. This gives me new ideas, lol.

Its also got me thinking that when I overhaul my F-150 I might want to get away from the distributor and TFI. Dump truck too for that matter. Those are both a little bit down the road right now, same as the 2.9, but I’d like to get a plan together and start collecting parts when I can…

IIRC, the 4.0 block is physically bigger akin to the 351w vs 302 so a lot of the parts are similar but can't be directly transferred.

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

IIRC, the 4.0 block is physically bigger akin to the 351w vs 302 so a lot of the parts are similar but can't be directly transferred.

I only included the 4L front cover in the pic as a reference. Indeed it would NOT fit on a 2.9 as it's taller. I'm pretty sure the crank pulley would fit fine, but you would indeed need to switch from V to Micro-V belts. Usually that's not too difficult except for the A/C compressor. I might decide it's a good time to ditch A/C.

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

...so with the exception of having to program everything to work for a 2.9 on an aftermarket system like Microsquirt, everything needed to upgrade to a EDIS system on a 2.9 and even to upgrade the accessory drive to serpentine would be bolt on? Or am I way off base with this?

See my added comments above. I'm pretty confident that you could run a factory EEC-IV 4.0 PCM just fine.

As for the accessory brackets, I imagine the 4L brackets would not fit the 2.9 given the taller 4L block. I'm not certain of that however. But if you don't have A/C and perhaps go with electric power steering pump, all you need to do is put a Micro-V pulley on your alternator.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

.

Anyone know if that oil pump drive-gear plug from the 4L that would replace the distributor would have the correct length? I'm assuming the pitch of the gear on the cam is the same between the 2.9 and 4.0, yes? Anything else I'm missing?

Hey, long time no talk. Hope all is well.

The short answer is that it will fit with modifications. The DOHC Scandinavian guys do this conversion.... iirc, they cut down the EDIS plug from an American 4L.

Skogen Racing occasionally sells them as well.

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

The short answer is that it will fit with modifications. The DOHC Scandinavian guys do this conversion.... iirc, they cut down the EDIS plug from an American 4L.

Skogen Racing occasionally sells them as well.

I was out in the garage tonight and decided to try fitting the 4L oil pump drive "plug" into the spare 2.9 block. First I checked it dimensionally compared to the 2.9 distributor and everything seemed to match. The plug goes in fine but something seems to be stopping it from going in the final ~3/8" or so. Any idea what exactly needs to be cut down?

 

[bobbywalter]

I was out in the garage tonight and decided to try fitting the 4L oil pump drive "plug" into the spare 2.9 block. First I checked it dimensionally compared to the 2.9 distributor and everything seemed to match. The plug goes in fine but something seems to be stopping it from going in the final ~3/8" or so. Any idea what exactly needs to be cut down?

You need more block.

Iirc the 2.9 has significantly smaller injectors....

If you use the early style 4.0 setup you won't need a cam sensor.

Of course that may or may not matter depending on system.

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Iirc the 2.9 has significantly smaller injectors....

Yes, the 4L has 19's, and so if going with the 4L PCM you'd need those. That's easy - that's just about the most common size out there so it would be easy to toss a new set of 19's in there.

If you use the early style 4.0 setup you won't need a cam sensor.

Right, I don't think the cam sensor arrived on the scene until EEC5 in 1995 or '96. So I'd just use one of these...

Here's one that's got the cam sensor and has been modified for use on the 2.9. It would seem the solution is to space the gear down and add a washer. But I'm not sure how this is done as the gear doesn't just press off. There's a ridge there on the shaft that the gear abuts. Worse case, I can just leave the 2.9 distributor in there as the "dummy plug" but it would be nice to do a cleaner install.

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Weird, I just got a notification that someone had posted asking what engine management I was intending to run with EDIS, but the message isn't here. <shrugs>

Any way, there's a couple different options...
1) Megajolt Light Jr. just to run the ignition and continue to run stock PCM for fueling
2) Megasquirt (or any other after-market PCM that uses EDIS for ignition)
3) 1990+ 4L OHV factory PCM that natively uses EDIS and MAF

Door #3 is what I'm currently favoring.

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Back to the 4L oil drive "dummy" plug, I'm having trouble figuring out what is different between the 2.9 distributor and the 4L plug. As you can see from the pic below, they mostly look and dimensionally measure the same. But yet the 4L part won't go all the way in.