5.0 fuel injected engine swap

[fordmike1]

I can do efi, just not with a factory Ford system. The intake ports are different on the efi heads. If I do go with efi, I would do it using a TBI from a big block Chevy with an adapter to a carbed manifold. The GM TBI units can be modded for some decent flow.

You can get a carbed intake with injector bungs on it or you can buy the injector bungs and have them welded on your aluminum intake if you already have one. Then you just run the Mustang EFI system.

 

[5.0]

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I'm not a carb hater, but I certainly prefer EFI. Even though I don't like carbs, I can still be honest...

The badness of a carb is overly exaggerated.

First off, better mileage does not come from EFI...it comes from O\D transmissions that came about around the same time EFI came around. I had a '78 F150 with a 302 and 3 speed manual that got 21 mpg consistently... which I think is better than any fuel injected full size truck made in the last 20 years.

Extreme angles? They make a carb for trhat....ever hear of a truck avenger? Who needs their rig to run upside down? I have never had an efi engine "stumble" when I nailed the gas, but I have with a carbed motor. I would run efi off road for this.

Elevation? It'll kill the power in an EFI engine to.....the ONLY way an EFI engine can compenasate for less dense air is to add less fuel. Power goes down anyways. The only advatage i could see here would be MPG staying roughly the same.I'm not concerned with high elevtion

Temputure changes? Thats what a good choke is for. My 78 Ford will fire up when its cold just as good as my 08 Colorado. Very true. My '78 had a manual choke and would start on the coldest days as soon as I bumped the key.

Throttle Response, Once a carbed engine is warmed up you cant tell a difference. Sometimes I think the carb is more responsive, assuming things are working properly.

....and bobby, i do understand how engines work, im not the greatest at wireing though i will admit. But i dont see the point in doing all the extra work to obtain the same thing.My efi swap was no extra work really. Think of it like this... the only difference in wiring between carbed and efi is the sensors, injectors, throttle body, etc right? Well I did NOT touch any of these wires, they all stayed intact in the factory harness and run from the engine directly to the computer. There was no need to splice any of these. The wires I did need to splice were for the reverse lights, neutral safety switch, ignition, etc... which I would have still done if I went with a carb.

I think it's way more work and money to swap an efi motor to carb than to just use the efi. My 460 swap will likely be a carbed motor, but that's how it is now, so it's no extra work to convert the motor.

But... now I gotta work out the small details like making a throttle cable work and buying a fuel regulator, then wire the dura spark ignition and adapt the alternator wiring and external regulator in addition to the same amount of wire splicing I did on my efi swap. So for me, the carb swap is actually more work.

later,
Dustin

 

[5.0]

You can get a carbed intake with injector bungs on it or you can buy the injector bungs and have them welded on your aluminum intake if you already have one. Then you just run the Mustang EFI system.

This would be excellent and is still an option I'm considering, although I haven't had any time to research it yet to see what is involved... I've been reading about the GM TBI swap lately.

Would you happen to have a link handy for the ready-to-use manifold? That would get me going in the right direction lol. I don't have an intake yet, so I need to buy one anyway.


.

 

[cammeddrz]

Would you happen to have a link handy for the ready-to-use manifold?

the ones i have seen are around $1,200

 

[5.0]

the ones i have seen are around $1,200

Yikes! That's what I was afraid of. This engine is going in a $400 truck, and I'm a cheap ass that is looking to do it on a budget. The 460 has a new Carter 750 on it, so I'm thinking it's going to be that or the BBC TBI, depending on lucky I am finding a steal on the parts.

I got a recently rebuilt AOD from my brother for cheap, so I've got my transmission problem mostly solved.


.

 

[cammeddrz]

i have the adaptor plate you'd need for the gm tbi..........

 

[bobbywalter]

steady state and all around performance are two things.

a carbed oem 302 pulling 21 mpg would seem useless next to say a 94 efi 302.


those old wheezer 302's are the engines rusty thinks of when drawing comparisons to a maxed 300 six.



obviously rusty has no idea what it takes to do a conversion. only reason i ever respond to ignorant posts with opinion almost covered by fact.

its simple to do a run of the mill obd1 swap when starting with an obd1 vehicle and oem obd1 engines. actually more difficult to put a carb setup in place of efi on a oem obd1 efi system....and like mentioned the same holds true the other way.

i have driven all around and across this country in carbed and efi gasoline , diesel, propane, and even natural gas vehicles, towing or just cruising. and have done this at every available max elevation on the public highways except for a few. run of the mill shlubb mobiles are what they are. high performance not so much.


rustys opinion fits his range perfectly. my range is altogether different. the op's is different as well.

this threadjack we all have going, not necessarily so.

seen eec4 run wildly awesome 440 mopars, so 460 not a problem if thats what one wants. bossed 460 intakes are not easy to find but i have seen nitro bossed intakes that would be easy to adapt stang stuff to...not sure if they are commercial products though. thing is dyno tuning is needed. thats not easy to do though in most locations. this intake would be easy to use for stang based efi though http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-2965/

i personally get my truck in positions...(and it has even been upside down) that a 4 bbl would fail me, where efi allowed me to continue. though a 2 bbl would have likely made it on the same engine. but overall performance is nothing compared to the efi.

its the actual range of power in all conditions that make efi superior, and its ability to maximize economy in the same overall conditions.

try not to lose sight of that.

the vast majority of people definitely would be happy and satisfied with a carb.


simply put,
those same people will also be happier with efi and have a product that goes farther and lasts longer..

 

[Teddyzee]

I was just going to post the same thing, many current carb manifolds have the bosses there already for injectors. Not drilled or machined, but it's a start.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-2966/?rtype=10

Once you're familiar with something like the Mustang EFI, you realize it's simple to adapt to a different manifold. as long as injectors can be mounted, and an elbow is available to mount a throttlebody. Peripherals like IAC, EGR, etc. are completely unnecessary.

I like reading the EFI/carb debate. If you stand back, both sides say the same things.

They can both run awesome, just a preference, really.

 

[cammeddrz]

They can both run awesome

i guess so, i mean nascar still runs carbs. but the absolute fastest, and quickest accelerating vehicles on the planet are fuel inected........


and no carb can run upside down like efi can , and even the "truck" carburetors have their limits as to how far off-camber they will go before it bogs, or floods

 

[GDAWGMX396]

swap

I disagree, but that's the fun of all this.

I got a 99 ranger with the a arm front end and im deciding what would be a good swap. efi or carb. i know the older rangers are easier to drop in but what about the a arm front end? can i still use the same tranny? if i use the efi, what parts can i still use?

 

[GDAWGMX396]

o and would it work out of the same year mountaineer?

 

[Teddyzee]

Al the 302/5.0 engines are pretty much the same. Physically speaking.
And carbed or EFI doesn't matter in your truck, whatever you prefer.


Coil spring or torsion bar front end? If it's torsion bar, the Explorer motor mounts are the way to go. Otherwise, you'll have to make something. Not sure how common torsion bars were in '99...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Al the 302/5.0 engines are pretty much the same. Physically speaking.
And carbed or EFI doesn't matter in your truck, whatever you prefer.


Coil spring or torsion bar front end? If it's torsion bar, the Explorer motor mounts are the way to go. Otherwise, you'll have to make something. Not sure how common torsion bars were in '99...

Every '99 4x4 was torsion bar, most 2wd are coil but Edges and Trailheads (and maybe some other packages) were also t-bar.

I am going carbed because my truck is carbed originally. My engine came with the upper/lower intake and dizzy for EFI, but I didn't want to dink with getting the rest of it. I wouldn't rule out going to a GM TBI setup down the road, but I don't think it is much of a big deal. I have a second set of gauges under the dash already, they are mechanical and actually tell me something compared to the facotry analog idiot lights (which also still work, and will work after the swap as well)

I have been around a lot of carbed stuff and haven't had much issue in the cold except for the buggered feedback crap that is on my truck now. If you go in the ditch by my house in the dead of winter it will be a chained up 1950's carbed tractor pulling you out. I have never had my truck on enough of a grade to stumble so I don't see it being a issue. If If my truck is upside down, it is fine if it goes ahead and shuts itself off. Never had much of a problem with a properly tuned carb stumbling while revving either.

On something as new as a '99, don't think of anything but EFI.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

The only time ive ever had a carb stumble on me was on a full throttle start when the engine was cold.

Come ride in my dually, you wont be able to tell its carbed except for when i pump the gas before i start it...

Oh, and i dont compare a 77 302 to a 96 300 btw....Your 94 EFI 302 would seem worthless next to a 94 300 I6 when being used like a truck should be used. Would i want a 300 in a mustang? No, same reason i dont want a 302 in a truck.

Its like argueing over Chevy and Ford, Coke or pepsi, Mcdonalds or burger king, etc etc. Both sides can keep argueing when in reality Either one gets you down the road, satisfys your thirst, or makes you not hungry.

A EFI system meters fuel and air into the cylinders through use of electronics. A carburator meters fuel and air into the cylinders through use of mechanics. Thats what it boils down to.

I prefer carbs because they do the same thing as EFI, and there alot simpler to work on, cheaper to fix, etc. Here are some questios You have to ask yourself to decide if EFI is right for you....

.How often will I be starting this thing and taking off full throttle when its -20* F?

Do i REALLY need my truck to run on its roof?

Is it really worth the hassle of traceing down miles and miles of colorful speghetti to track down those inevitable wireing gremlins that happens everytime you try to wire something that wasnt supposed to be there?

Is it REALLY worth the extra money, time, and effort to initally get the thing running?

Now after these questions doesnt seem smarter, and better, and eaiser, and cheaper to hook up a fuel line, throttle cable, and choke cable and call it a day?

later,
dustin

 

[GDAWGMX396]

Al the 302/5.0 engines are pretty much the same. Physically speaking.
And carbed or EFI doesn't matter in your truck, whatever you prefer.


Coil spring or torsion bar front end? If it's torsion bar, the Explorer motor mounts are the way to go. Otherwise, you'll have to make something. Not sure how common torsion bars were in '99...

Its a coil spring front end. im just trying to find the best way to go on a newer ranger. obviosly the carbs are easier to drop in but the efi is more reliable. how do i find out what parts i can still use? its got a 2.5 in it now with a manual. can i still use the tranny or should i go c4? a friend was telling me i can use the motor and mounts out of a 2wd mountaineer, is that true? i dont care either way carb or efi. i dont kno much, i just kno i can do a 302 swap in a ranger. just trying to ask the profesionalls their opinion.lol