EFI for stock engine/upgrade automatic transmission

[Tom S]

Rich, is this Dorman 41030 the throttle linkage ball joint the one you used?
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/dorman-help--4422/performance-16477/engine-16841/fuel-system-16571/carburetors-16703/carburetor-brackets---linkage-18345/621ae300ad53/dorman-help-throttle-ball-joint/41030/4527748/1979/ford/bronco?pos=1

[ROKuberski]

Yes, that is it.  Actually, I found one for sale on the Summit Racing site, showed the part number to Autozone and they ordered it for me and matched Summit's pricing.  Everything I found on the internet showed the 3/16-32 threads.  Autozone offered to take it back even though I had already paid for it and it was a special order.  For some reason, I just took it home and intended to pitch it into my junk box.  I got it for $6.99, I think.  From my package, the Dorman part number is 41030, same as your link.

[Tom S]

Yes, that is it. ....
Autozone offered to take it back even though I had already paid for it and it was a special order.

Thanks! If I special order something from Autozone here I have to pay shipping that sometimes costs nearly as much as the part. And they won't take it back.

[ROKuberski]

My video is active.

https://youtu.be/gRtykX2krKE

Consider subscribing to my youtube channel

Thanks,

Rich

[lalessi1]

Watched the video, thanks. Drivability/response, power, fuel economy? Are you satisfied?

[ROKuberski]

Well, I hope to be satisfied.  I am still in the learn mode.  I've driven the car about 25 miles at this point.  I know that the A/F ratio is still a little rich and there are a lot of things that can be adjusted that will affect performance/mileage, etc.  The car starts easily and I no longer have the one-time hesitation after starting out. 

Here is a link to the manual.  Go to page 44 and you will see the numerous things that are monitored and can be adjusted.

https://documents.holley.com/199r11321.pdf

I will take it on the road for a short trip today (50 miles.)   I'll let you know more when I know more, but I am ever hopeful

[ROKuberski]

I put 50 miles on the car today.  Mostly at highway speeds.  I've never had a tach on this car, but today I  saw that at 3,000 RPM, I am cruising at 75 MPH. All seemed normal.  Good pep, smooth acceleration Air fuel ratio at cruse is 14:1, which is what the generic setup shows it should be, also what my friend the Ford research engineer said it should be.  It's supposed to take weeks for the learn mode to get all the information it wants.  I only drive the car several times a week, so that may take longer.  However, it is doing very well right now.

One significant bump in the road.  About 5 miles from home, the engine goes dead, felt like I was out of gas, and I was.  However, I was out of gas because the fuel pump unit was not delivering gas.  When you cycle the ignition on, you can hear the pump pressurize the system.  This time, nothing.  Over a period of several minutes, I cycled the ignition 4 times, on the 4th attempt, the unit pressurized the system and I drove home.  I suppose that there are numerous possible problems, but the simplest one would be a faulty fuel pump relay.  I purchased the units from Summit Racing and spent about 1/2 hour talking with a tech rep.  He had me confirm all the things I did to install the system.  Seems like I got it right.  They are sending me a new relay and I will start to carry a volt meter with me so I can verify whether or not the fuel unit was getting power when it was not pumping fuel.  If it's not the relay, then there are only expensive parts to replace.

[ROKuberski]

Update.

It's been cold and wet for a few weeks, but I drove the car on last Wednesday, the same 50 mile drive as a few weeks ago with almost the same result.  On the way home, just about 3 miles short of the last failure point, the car goes dead again.  I had not installed the new fuel pump relay that Summit Racing sent to me.  But I did have it with me and I installed it, but it made no difference.  After a few tries, I did get the car to start, but twice, it quit after just a few seconds.  I did check if I had power to the pump, but I did not have power.  Finally, as before, it started and I drove home.  I contacted both Summit Racing and Holley.  Holley seems to think I have a bad ground or main power to the EFI unit is faulty.  They want me to install a relay and activate the relay at the ignition switch and run power direct to the EFI unit through the relay.  When the system has died (no power to the fuel pump) I have still had power to the EFI unit, the computer still has a display.  Also, when the EFI was not supplying power to the fuel pump, I jumped power direct from the positive battery terminal to the positive terminal on the fuel pump.  It instantly pressurized the system.

I asked Holley if anyone else is having this problem, NO, they said.  The are reluctant to replace the EFI unit.  My contact with Summit Racing, where I bought all of the equipment, says to try what Holley suggests and if there is still a problem, they will replace the unit.

When the EFI is working properly, which is most of the time, it is great.  Starts great, I no longer have a hesitation when the engine is cold, slightly more pep.  My mileage on the highway is about 18 mpg.  The computer tells me pounds per hour of fuel consumption, so I watched it for a while when going 60 mph and made the calculation.

Another issue I may have is with the heater.  I had to use the hot water port on the intake manifold for the added coolant temp sensor.  I installed an inline fitting on the radiator hose and put the heater line there.  I don't have water circulation through the heater.  It's possible I disconnected something during the EFI install, but I don't think so.  Dgasman had a picture of a special fitting he made for a heater line that would connect on the other side (correct side) of the t-stat.  I may make one for my engine.  He has a different engine, but I think it will work on the Y-Block too.  It would shorten the already very short heater hose at the T-stat housing by 1" but it should still work.

Hey, if this was easy, then anyone could do it.

Rich

[lalessi1]

It is precisely those types of issues that have me a little leery of aftermarket EFI units. I do realize that usually the fix is typically something simple but sometimes my appliances with smart controls seem to have a mind of their own. 

[ROKuberski]

Believe me, I know what you are talking about.  As much as I wanted to do this, I was aware of people having problems. 

I just got a relay installed and the engine is still running.  So, at least I did not screw that up.  It's cold and wet here this week, so I am not going to do any test drives until at least the weekend.

This is one of those things where there are very few people that can assist with problems. The installation is really pretty straightforward.  Knowing why I have a problem is like deciphering a magic trick.  The EFI unit is sealed and I am NOT going to start popping screws to see what makes it work.  Anyway, I will get through this and will keep you informed on my progress.

Rich

[ROKuberski]

Heater problem solved.  I built the part that Dgasman mentioned.  I made mine of steel and it took me about 2 hours to hack it out of a 4"x4"x1" piece of steel.  It looks good and it works.

[Ford Blue blood]

Most excellent, looking forward to "trip" reports and an opinion as to whether or not it is worth the effort.

[ROKuberski]

It't cool here today, but dry.  I'll drive the car on my regular Wednesday 50 mile run.  However, I am installing a "band aid" for supplying power to the pump.  I have a switch installed that will allow me to send power directly to the fuel pump if the EFI system decides to quit working again.

Apart from the power to the fuel pump issue, I am very happy with the EFI system.  And, yes, I'll update on any future issues.

Rich

[ROKuberski]

Well, after being pretty sure that the engine failures on the Fairlane were caused by the Holley EFI unit, Friday, I had a failure that was definitely the fuel pump assembly.  Drove the car about 25 miles for lunch with a friend and on the way home it died on I-70 about 5 miles from home.  I had installed a wire where I could directly provide power to the fuel pump, but it did nothing.  I then jumpered directly from the battery to the pump just to be sure, nothing.  In the past, it had reset itself in about 5 minutes.  Not this time.  I finally had the car towed home.  After about 90 minutes the pump did start to work again.  Each time the pump failed it was after about 1/2 hour of driving.  I've notified Summit Racing that they can have the pump back.  By the way, my pump was from FiTech, their Command Center 2 unit.  It is no longer listed on their website although it is still for sale on the Summit Racing site and likely a few other places.

I have several options on how to provide fuel to the EFI unit.  I am leaning towards modifying the fuel tank so that I can install an in-tank pump.

State Farm will shortly have a check in the mail for me on the tow charges.

[RICH MUISE]

Rich..if you decide to install an in-tank unit, look at Tanks Inc "recessed box". I installed mine towards the front of the tank (opposite the filler neck), but in hindsight I should have installed it on the left side. I ended up having interference issues running the fuel hoses out the front because the floor support brace is right there. Before you pull your tank, have a look under to see the best location for the lines to run........which I'm sure you'll find will not be the most direct route to the hard lines. Also,  I have had zero issues with their in-tank pump in 26k miles.
Somewhere in my build threads I have pics of the recessed box install. I can find them if you want.
Here's a link to my recessed box install, but as mentioned, I wouldn't put it where I did.
http://57fordsforever.com/smf/index.php?topic=3750.300   you'll have to scroll down a bit