duraspark question?

[MUDBUGGY]

i have a 84 ranger 4x4 2.8 and need to do the duraspark trick! but i cant find any for sure info on what to use. i think it hase to be a 1976-79 car all i see is capri's and pinto's and all the junk yards say they havent had any of those in years i would like to get everything from one car dis,coil,and carb if i can. Thanks Rob,

 

[Mutant Pony]

It would be ideal to get everything from one car but, That was almost thirty years ago! You can buy the dist, ignition module, and carb at your local parts store. Any "Blue grommet" harness can be made to work.

 

[MUDBUGGY]

Yea but i would rather not spend $350.00 to to it

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Yea but i would rather not spend $350.00 to to it

I grabbed the harness off of a old 400 we had sitting in the shed, the box off of a truck in a JY with a 300 I6, both those items should be common and very easy to stumble apoun. After all that it was about $100 when it was all said and done to get the distributer, cap, rotor and collar from Carquest. I also tried the junkyard route for the distributer but nobody has one, it was $70 for a rebuilt one.

 

[MUDBUGGY]

where did you get your carb ,i will prob get the distributer new i didnt know i could get any harness. will a module off a 300 fit i can find those .

 

[JoshT]

for the most part you can get it all from one car. Well everything excluding the distributor, cap rotor, and collar. The ignition (Duraspark) module isn't going to care wither it's connected to an I4, V12, or anything in between, same goes for the wiring harness, and coil. Only things that are really application specific are the distributor, cap, rotor, collar, and plug wires.

EDIT: The carb is also kinda application specific but I don't know anything about the OEM carbs.

 

[Crashtest84]

Why do the plug wires matter ?

 

[skippy]

for the most part you can get it all from one car. Well everything excluding the distributor, cap rotor, and collar. The ignition (Duraspark) module isn't going to care wither it's connected to an I4, V12, or anything in between, same goes for the wiring harness, and coil. Only things that are really application specific are the distributor, cap, rotor, collar, and plug wires.

EDIT: The carb is also kinda application specific but I don't know anything about the OEM carbs.

josh,what kind of mileage are you getting w/duraspark?i'm thinking about the swap as i still haven't got the tfi spark advance to work.rather than sink any more money in it and have a system that could cut out at any time leaving me stranded in traffic i may be at the crossroad where duraspark may be the better choice.has it served you well?i have the first shop manual covering the 2.0 and 2.3,and it covers duraspark.the shop manual covering 2.8 is under the x-mas tree,and may give a clue about this tfi crap,but duraspark looks more reliable,what say you?skipdog.

 

[JoshT]

Wish I could tell you on the mileage. I haven't daily driven the truck since 2005 and it was before then that I checked it, sorry but I just don't remember. Even if I did it wouldn't be a good judge since the Holley 390cfm double pumper leaked like crazy.

The duraspark has never let me down, the truck started every time I turned the key unless I let the battery die (but that wasn't the ignition's fault). I can tell you that after having sat at my aunt's house for 3-4 months or more (long story) it fired up with a little starting fluid and a jump start and it drove the hour home without a problem. The only problem I've ever had was stumbling, but that was due to the leaking in the old carb, and never properly adjusting the secondaries in the new one. I can't tell you which is more reliable between TFI and Duraspark as I've never run the former, but dad sure as hell thought so.

 

[skippy]

thanks,you answered my question.i'll probably just run a 2 barrel,and duraspark.i'm getting about 15mpg w/no spark advance now and plenty of power,so if the 84 shop manual doesn't hold the clues i need on tfi i'll just scrap the computer crap and go for it.thanks again.

 

[JoshT]

No problem!

 

[small ranger]

I ran the tfi for a while and it kinda sucked. I then ran the duraspark and a holley 2 barrel 350cfm for 9 months. the dura spark rocked and I got much better millage then the TFI. I am now running a 4 barrel carb(vac 2nd), 4.10 gears on 33in mud tires and getting between 19-20mi/gal, highway, with no overdrive. I am locked in the rear, and can chirp the tires shifting from 1st to second. I highly recomend the swap. I made the 3 prong female harnes from the dizy to the box, and wired the coil to the box. You do not need a wire harness.

 

[JoshT]

Hell if I get half that out of my rebuild I'll be happy. I'm going to be running the same carb as you (assuming you have the holley 390) and 225/70r14 (roughly 26.5x9), so once I get the gearing worked out I should be getting about the same unless the cam throws it off.

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to want a 3.73 (or what ever the close stock is) to give it stock sort of balance of performance and fuel economy. The 3.45 (close enough) it currently has it geared more for fuel economy and highway cruising, or I can go to a 4.10 and get more performance. I'm pretty sure I want to go the middle line with the 3.73 though as the truck is going to be a little more of a daily driver, than cruiser or racer. I really think my best bet will be keeping my eyes open for an early LS exploder axle with the right gearing.

 

[Forcus]

NAPA is your best bet. I priced it all out and it's a little expensive but the stuff is generally accepted as good. Here are some PN's I found:

Distributor / NAPA PN: NRD 482691 - $66.49 / Rock Auto PN: 302691 - $52.79
Core on Distributor / NAPA: $16.50 / Rock Auto: $15.00
Cap / NAPA PN: MPE FA136SB - $8.99 / Rock Auto PN: 3D1109 - $19.02
Collar / Adapter / NAPA PN: ECH FA139 - $9.99 / Rock Auto PN: - $9.99
Rotor / NAPA PN: MPE FA159SB - $2.99
Coil / NAPA PN: MPE 1C21SB - $16.49 / Rock Auto PN: FD476T - $12.79
Coil Connector / NAPA PN: ECH EC238 - $5.99 / Rock Auto PN: - $5.99
Control Module (???) / NAPA PN: MPE TP40SB - $27.49 / Rock Auto PN: - $27.49
Control Module / NAPA PN: ECH TP43 - $68.49 / Rock Auto PN: 6H1012 - $31.79

I haven't priced out Motorcraft parts yet. The rebuilds are A1 Cardone, I believe, and have heard good / bad about them. The main thing to check for when getting a used / rebuilt distributor is that there is very little shaft play. Otherwise they are pretty simple.

And you are right on finding this stuff in a JY! The main things you will find on older carb'd trucks in to the 80's are some wiring, the coil and bracket, and the control module. The reason you can use the control module from other Ford's (I've read) is that they serve to boost the spark output and it doesn't care how many cylinders or in what configuration they are in.

Also the original Duraspark is slightly different than Duraspark II, so if you find an earlier car (73-76 (??)) you will need to make sure you know the differences.