Engine Swap has begun... Now for the fun part.

[n0xdw]

Nice project, well done, almost done like mine.

Do you have to run the PCM inside? Is there room under the steering column for the PCM to be mounted on the firewall, like the Crown Vics?

Do you know how much extra length you need? Spare wiring harnesses are very handy for splicing in new/extra wires with matching colors. Good luck,

Thanks for the comments.

I guess i am not certain how the Crown Vic is set up, but i thought i would mount it where the original one did. It is the same size PCM just more connections. I am guessing about 3 1/2 feet longer will get it right there. Far as splicing on another harness, that is real difficult for me as i am partially color blind so matching up colors can be a significant challenge.

Comparing voltages on Pin 5 of the Cruise servo module with a 97 P/U they were reasonably comparable across the board i thought. I will probably see if i can find another servo.

 

[CDW6212R]

I mentioned the Crown Vic because the existing harness would reach to the area below the steering shaft. In the Crown Vic the PCM mounts to a bracket which mounts to a hole in the firewall. It is just like the 95-01 Explorer mounting except being vertical instead of horizontal. If you have space under there you cold easily find the mounting brackets from any Crown Vic, and cut the hole to match.

Ask Jamie, what did he do with his PCM? Regards,

 

[n0xdw]

OK i know how you mean. I have seen something like that before on a pickup. The way that Jamie did it was to have the PCM installed in the same position as the original computer in the right kick panel. He went to the extensive work of extending the PCM harness one wire at a time so it could go in the original position inside the vehicle. That is my intention also.

 

[CDW6212R]

Well I have a ton of extra wiring, but I myself would try hard to avoid all of that splicing. Is the Bronco II just like the 91-94 Explorer in the firewall? If so I don't think that there is space on the firewall. There is a moderate sized round connector centered there where the PCM might be able to mount.

It's just a thought, when I started my 93/99 project I changed plans several times to refine ease versus cost and difficulty. Regards,

 

[n0xdw]

Mostly successful

Put about 600 miles on over the weekend. About 60 miles of that on jeep roads in the Buena Vista area. Check engine light did not come on once. Got about 20 MPG on the way there, quite a bit less on the trails, but acceptable. i think it will get 17-20 on the highway and a bit less off road. Worst casualty was one of the air lines for the Rancho 9000 series adjustable shocks has a big leak for the front shocks. Got a bit muddy but all the rains coming in on 285 washed the mud back off. So all in all a quite successful outing.

Did not have time to extend the harness for the PCM yet and still need to replace the 2 longer tie rods. Will try to have that done by the next time it goes out of town. I have something that is causing a bit of interference to the radio so hope to chase that down, but all in all quite happy with the outcome. 4.0 is what it should have came stock with in the first place! It obviously does not have the power of a V8, but it has so much better low end torque there is just no comparison.

 

[n0xdw]

Well I have a ton of extra wiring, but I myself would try hard to avoid all of that splicing. Is the Bronco II just like the 91-94 Explorer in the firewall?

Yes it is very much like the 91-94. Goes through the firewall under the blower into the cab on the far right where it fits behind the kick panel against the side wall.

85-88 did not have the round connector. I do have a round connector installed now. It is mostly patterned after the 91 wiring. That is where all my connections go from the cab to the engine and power distribution harness.

If so I don't think that there is space on the firewall. There is a moderate sized round connector centered there where the PCM might be able to mount.

It's just a thought, when I started my 93/99 project I changed plans several times to refine ease versus cost and difficulty. Regards,

 

[CDW6212R]

Well, the good thing about the PCM wiring is that there aren't really any high powered circuits there. The key to adding wiring will be the connections, take your time with them. If the connections are inside a crimped butt connector can work, but outside they do need to be soldered. Regards,

 

[n0xdw]

Yes I plan to solder and heat shrink. I bought a spool of 16 gauge Marine wire from a boating supplier. Man the insulation is thick! I counted the wires i will need and came up with about 54. The communication wires are twisted pair and and the crank sensor is shielded i noticed, but i think only near the coil pack. I installed an additional chunk of shielding of about 1/2 of the extension. I precut a bundle of wire so they will all be the same length. I noticed they will be a quite a bit bigger around then the rest of the harness. If i feel up to it I will begin the cut, solder and heat shrink tomorrow. I wonder how long it might take to solder and heat shrink 108 connections?

On another note found a small hole in the air line for the front shocks. It has now been replaced. It appeared that it melted at just one tiny spot. I had vacuum line over it to protect the plastic and the vacuum hose was not damaged. So not sure how hot it may have gotten. Course the Vac hose is black so may have pulled in more heat? It worked fine for probably 500 miles but it failed on the jeep trail so maybe the slower speeds allowed more heat to build up under the hood. I replaced it with black air shock line. So see how it goes.

Here is an under the hood shot with cell phone. Not too whippy but you can see the new harness over the top of the AC Evap and the Cruise servo on the left of the picture. The power distribution box is on the Right side of the picture and the item with the 3 posts but barely visible is the battery isolator. I might try to take a better shot with a real camera perhaps in the daylight... Lighting provided by flourescent shop lights.

Bottom shot is of harness just before taping and putting into loom. It needed 1 1/4 loom but all i had was 1 inch so there was a gap to be taped.

 

[n0xdw]

RFI on 40 meters.. Mass Air Flow Sensor DTC

When i key up the transmitter on 40 meters (7.285 MHz) it causes a Mass air flow sensor trouble code. I did try to shield the extension that i made to the PCM harness tonight. When i tested things it causes a small hiccup in how it runs and set the DTC. Before shielding the extension to the PCM it would really hiccup and buck and snort. I thought it was perhaps causing interference to the crank sensor. If so that has been resolved. I did test it with the MAF disconnected and it ran fine. So i guess i will have to find a way to resolve this issue.

 

[CDW6212R]

Can you find another MAF to test with? It is very common to have a bad MAF still run the engine, and throw odd codes, or intermittent codes. Just a thought, that would be better than some other possibilities.

 

[n0xdw]

Maf Dtc

It only sets the DTC when i key up the transmitter. I have put nearly 3,000 miles on it since doing the swap and the only time i have set that DTC was transmitting on 40 Meters.

On another note, it also set a fuel sender code. The fuel sender was working well till this last trip. I took a trip down to Boise city Ok, and back up over Raton pass and around. About a total of 750-800 miles. I noticed on that trip the fuel gauge reading was not consistent. It was reading a bit fuller then it should have part of the time. Strangely enough it did fine before that. I installed a can of fuel treatment plus in it tonight that is supposed to clean senders and it was reading noticeably lower then it did prior. Hopefully that will take care of things. The sender is a used one from a 1990 vintage. It tested well when i installed it.

 

[n0xdw]

Front end lifted alignment

Well i raised the front by installing a spacer under the front springs and replaced the standard Rancho RS9000 series shocks with the ones for 2.5 inch of lift. Hopefully i am in the neighborhood. I am wondering if i should replace the snubbers with a bit taller ones to insure i do not bottom out the shocks and what is recommended.

Then when i checked the alignment i found i could not get down to 1/4 degree with the camber shims that i have in the axle, so after reviewing the spec that 410 used i set it to 1.1 degrees so i could get 2.2 to 2.7 for caster.the lowest camber i could get it to was about .96, and then caster was less then 2 on both sides. So going with 1.1 i was able to get quite a bit more caster. A lot less then i wanted, but better then it was. The factory toe in spec for the Dana 35 axle in 90 was like 0 deg, but i have read a couple of places suggest a bit more like around 1/8 inch. I do a lot of alignments but not much on Ford products, does 1/8 degree perhaps sound like a good place to start? Tires are only LT215 75 15 KO series BFG All Terrains.

I have not gotten around to changing the rear axle for the 8.8 yet. Was hoping for a rear disc axle instead of the drum set up i picked up when i picked up the D35 unit. Gotta love OBD2 it really runs the way i wish it had when i first got it several years ago with the carbed 2.8 V6.