ford 302 upgrade to Efi from central FI on 84 country squire, suggestions wanted

starting to look at forums and researching for conversions of my 302 from central fuel injection to multi-port efi. considering the top end intake manifold and wiring harness, computer option, OR just buying a remanned efi 302 from a local engine shop and have them install it. this motor has NEVER run totally right since ive bought it, and my mechanic thinks efi will fix the ping, and misfire problems the engine seems to keep having. the camshaft isn't totally broken in yet, and will wait until its broken in before i judge the performance totally yet, however the ping and misfire weren't fixed with all we did to it. possibly a bad ICM or ECM i think. just about every other sensor has been replaced and really don't want to add more into this cfi. im seeing now why my mechanic hates CFI so much. WAY to tempremental and fickle. the motor shouldnt be running this off with as much new $hit is in it. it still get OK milage, around epa figures, but the motor doesnt run as smooth as i know these can.

budget aside, which would be a better option, keep the lower end, and just replace the top end as mentioned before, or a remanned efi 302 and chuck the whole motor that's in it now? the motor isn't original to this wagon anyways so i have 0 sentiment to it. it IS however an 85/86 block so upgrading to efi wouldn't be hard. im considering both, as i will have budget to do either. i want to have a mild uptweak in perfomance , but nothing too insaned. maybe 200 to 225hp so it has better low end torque, but still get nice mpg on the highway. the wagon is in too good of shape otherwise to let this pain in the ass cfi motor change my mind to selling it! that is out of the question!

Will Hemb

 

does this have a "fixed" distributor in it? meaning you cannot loosen and turn it? If it does have you checked the slop in the timing chain?


As for misfires triple check firing order as i myself have had books give me the wrong one(i am NOT a ford guy) but i have seen 2-3 different 302 firing orders,and i belive the one is regular and one is HO? never hurts to try em all as i have had numerous misfire issuse with 302's because of this

 

Is the new cam stock or something else?
What do you mean by not broken in?
Someone else did the initial start-up before you bought it?

 

I should've mentioned that I have the factory service manuals, the firing order is for sure correct for the cfi flat tappet variant of the 3902 (which is what I currently have), also the camshaft was broken in properly,and is a replacement oe equivalant one from oreilly's my mech and myself installed, but my mech says it takes 1000 miles to wear the lobes properly before its truly "broken in".

Will

 

Not trying to be stupid but do you have a knock sensor on it? That's what keeps the engine from pinging as it retards the timing before you can hear the detonation. + I would have gone with the new bolt on EFI units from MSD or Holley. Those are almost fool proof. No offense, just saying is all.

 

this is central fuel injection as does not have a knock sensor, that is for the EFI multiport which i want to convert it to. and i havent done any conversions yet, just looking for suggestions. it still has the CFI it originally came with and want it GONE. but youre pointing towards just doing the top end, manifold, throttlebody, wiring and sensors option it would seem.

 

Central Fuel Injection? Do you mean throttle body injection? If so then they do use a knock sensor. Or are supposed to use one. I have never seen one without one? Not to disagree or be an ass, just saying. It should look something like this;
By the way, how much are you going to spend to do this transformation? I have seen some bolt on EFI units on Ebay for just over a thousand bucks?
Dave

 

yes dave, throttle body injection. . ill look at the service manual. if it does, ill need to replace it for sure so it doesnt make me freakin nuts more than it already has. and for the top end im thinkint between $1500 and $2000 so i can use quality parts. not necessarily performance parts, but quality parts.

Will Hemb

 

If you do have one, it will be screwed into the side of the block somewhere above the level of the pan. The left side if Im not mistaken. Good luck
Here is a link to the summit MSD version;http://www.summitracing.com/parts/msd-2910?seid=google&gclid=CJeCiJ2V27UCFUeCQgod5CYAHQ This is a supercool item and pretty easy to install. Have fun Tex.
Here is an interesting artical from Hemmings motor news; http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2012/03/01/hmn_tips2.html

 

actually i remember them having a knock sensor on some fords at the very top of the bellhousing area on the block sort of right where the distributor would be on a small block chevy

 

Ping and misfire are usually timing related?
I'd double check all the sensors and the ECM, the cam not installed or broken in correctly will give you all kinds of problems like that too.
I'd be wondering about a "mechanic" that can't diagnose the problem and wants to throw new parts at it because he can't figure it out? The cam is broken in good enough, it wouldn't cause your problem unless it was installed incorrectly or lobes were wiped out during the initial break-in, rocker arms incorrectly adjusted.
I've seen guys that "correctly" broke in cams and wiped them out the lobes too many times, not pre-lubing the engine and holding the wrong RPM or not running it for too short a time at higher RPM's are the usual culprits.
You'll put all that new stuff on and it won't make a difference in the way it runs or run worse if you don't figure out what your real problem is first.

 

A vacuum guage may provide some clues.

 

If the throttle body engine is like the VV engines, the knock sensor is at the top of the engine, behind the throttle body, exactly where the distributor would be found on an Olds engine. Keep in mind, Ford does calibrate the Windsor engine to allow a certain amount of knock under high load conditions. I remember being surprised at that warning in the owner's manual for my 89. You also have a cam grind that is somewhat different that the stock. Did you set the firing order correctly for THAT cam, and not one of the other cams that were available in the 302? There are at least 4 different firing orders for the Windsor engines, depending on year and cam.

 

BlueVista my mechanic used engine prelube and the zinc additive for the cam breakin and did the breakin at 2000rpm for 30 mins. the issues with the mis-fire/ping seem to be separate from what was just done as they were there before and after the top end rebuild, and are the same problems. im seriously starting to think the ecm is bad, but it doesn't matter as i wanted to convert it to multiport efi very soon afetr i bought it before my mech and i did any major stuff to the motor. the ping/misfire is annoying, but doesn't even effect mpg according to factory epa ratings.

Will Hemb

 

lol i think somebody said that