Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, are you planning to go to the MAF for your EFI? If so you need to find a 460 MAF air filter top, bottom is the same as the non-MAF system and different from the smaller engine MAF one. Location is the same.

Bill - I'm going just like you, MAF. And I have the right parts, inc the air box and its top.

Jim - I'll draw how I did it up in a bit as I just got home from our road trip.

And, speaking of that, a quick report:

The speed control isn't acceptable. The 5+ MPH boost when you hit Set/Accelerate just doesn't work out well. And if you hit it again, which is supposed to let you accelerate and then get a new set point when you release the button, gets you another 5+ MPH.

And, while the fluctuations are better than the previous one, it just isn't acceptable. I watched the vacuum go from 20 to 5 and back to 20 numerous times, but when I ran the throttle manually I could keep it between 10 and 18.

And probably because of that, as well as the head wind we had, we got 10.22 MPG for the contents of the front tank. But we went 199.2 miles before running out and "knowing" that the front tank holds 16 gallons I'd already done the math and thought we'd gotten 12.75 MPG. Boy was I surprised when I put 19.497 gallons in that tank!

On the other hand, on the return trip of 82.7 miles, none of which was on speed control, we only used 6.272 gallons and got 13.19 MPG - running with the wind @ 70 MPH.

Overall we got 10.94 MPG for our 282 mile trip.

Last, I REALLY need to clean out the spray nozzles for the windshield. We got hit several times with road spray and there's essentially no spray on the driver's side and little on the passenger's side. And, I need to figure out what size of wiper blade I can put on the new pin-style arms and buy some. The blades that are on there are toast.

[85lebaront2]

Bill - I'm going just like you, MAF. And I have the right parts, inc the air box and its top.

Jim - I'll draw how I did it up in a bit as I just got home from our road trip.

And, speaking of that, a quick report:

The speed control isn't acceptable. The 5+ MPH boost when you hit Set/Accelerate just doesn't work out well. And if you hit it again, which is supposed to let you accelerate and then get a new set point when you release the button, gets you another 5+ MPH.

And, while the fluctuations are better than the previous one, it just isn't acceptable. I watched the vacuum go from 20 to 5 and back to 20 numerous times, but when I ran the throttle manually I could keep it between 10 and 18.

And probably because of that, as well as the head wind we had, we got 10.22 MPG for the contents of the front tank. But we went 199.2 miles before running out and "knowing" that the front tank holds 16 gallons I'd already done the math and thought we'd gotten 12.75 MPG. Boy was I surprised when I put 19.497 gallons in that tank!

On the other hand, on the return trip of 82.7 miles, none of which was on speed control, we only used 6.272 gallons and got 13.19 MPG - running with the wind @ 70 MPH.

Overall we got 10.94 MPG for our 282 mile trip.

Last, I REALLY need to clean out the spray nozzles for the windshield. We got hit several times with road spray and there's essentially no spray on the driver's side and little on the passenger's side. And, I need to figure out what size of wiper blade I can put on the new pin-style arms and buy some. The blades that are on there are toast.

Gary, on blades, surprisingly enough, the best ones I have found are AutoZone Duralast, they do a great job and last. Washer nozzles can be a real PITA to aim correctly, I use a straightened paper clip and a little tweak makes a big difference in pattern. I aim mine a bit high static so I can get up onto the center of the wiper pattern driving. One thing on Darth that makes it interesting is the Lund Visor, it causes some strange airflow on the windshield.

[Gary Lewis]

Very similar to those David, but they aren't offered in 235/85-R16.

Gary, I want to ask you how you've implemented your Technoversions MeterMatch.

What source of power you used and where you spliced it into the sender wire.

Obviously I can't tuck it up behind the cluster if I need to set the calibration.

I think I will have to run one tank dry over Christmas so I can set the full and empty limits by switching from one tank to the other.

I seem to get right on 165-66 miles from a tank, so if I set the thirds at 50 and 100 miles that should leave about a gallon and a half at empty.

Does that make sense to you?

Jim - Here's how I wired it. I pulled the instrument cluster and did my wiring immediately ahead of the connector. And I put the Meter Match just above the trim piece that goes below the steering column. I stuck that insulating foam on both sides so it won't rattle and used a zip tie to secure the wires to the column.

And I think your plan to set it at 50, 100, and Full is good. But if you can run it dry w/o causing problems that will give you that one more point to learn.

If you remember, I ran my rear tank DRY and taught the Meter Match to make the gauge point right at E with that resistance. Then I added 6.3 gallons and made it cause the gauge to read ~1/3 and hit Save. Added another 6.3 and made the gauge read about 2/3 and hit Save. Finally I filled it up completely and made the needle point to F and hit save.

Should be pretty accurate, right? Well today I first used it on the front tank and it read way over Full and then dropped like a rock until 1/4 tank, at which point it took forever to finally run out way below Empty. But when I flipped to the rear tank it went right to Full and came down at what I think is about the right rate.

So apparently the two sending units are very different in their readings. I guess I'm going to have to get used to that 'cause I don't want to spend another $60 to buy another Meter Match and put them ahead of the switch. I'm sure that would do it, right now it isn't worth it to me.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, on blades, surprisingly enough, the best ones I have found are AutoZone Duralast, they do a great job and last. Washer nozzles can be a real PITA to aim correctly, I use a straightened paper clip and a little tweak makes a big difference in pattern. I aim mine a bit high static so I can get up onto the center of the wiper pattern driving. One thing on Darth that makes it interesting is the Lund Visor, it causes some strange airflow on the windshield.

Bill - What size blades did you go with? Or, are you running the pin-style arms?

As for the nozzles, thanks for the tips.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Bill - I'm going just like you, MAF. And I have the right parts, inc the air box and its top.

Jim - I'll draw how I did it up in a bit as I just got home from our road trip.

And, speaking of that, a quick report:

The speed control isn't acceptable. The 5+ MPH boost when you hit Set/Accelerate just doesn't work out well. And if you hit it again, which is supposed to let you accelerate and then get a new set point when you release the button, gets you another 5+ MPH.

And, while the fluctuations are better than the previous one, it just isn't acceptable. I watched the vacuum go from 20 to 5 and back to 20 numerous times, but when I ran the throttle manually I could keep it between 10 and 18.

And probably because of that, as well as the head wind we had, we got 10.22 MPG for the contents of the front tank. But we went 199.2 miles before running out and "knowing" that the front tank holds 16 gallons I'd already done the math and thought we'd gotten 12.75 MPG. Boy was I surprised when I put 19.497 gallons in that tank!

On the other hand, on the return trip of 82.7 miles, none of which was on speed control, we only used 6.272 gallons and got 13.19 MPG - running with the wind @ 70 MPH.

Overall we got 10.94 MPG for our 282 mile trip.

Last, I REALLY need to clean out the spray nozzles for the windshield. We got hit several times with road spray and there's essentially no spray on the driver's side and little on the passenger's side. And, I need to figure out what size of wiper blade I can put on the new pin-style arms and buy some. The blades that are on there are toast.

13 mpg is awesome for a 460!

You're doing well.

The ~11 mpg average seems about right for 'conserative' driving.

Sorry to hear your speed control isn't working out.

I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of that.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

Jim - Here's how I wired it. I pulled the instrument cluster and did my wiring immediately ahead of the connector. And I put the Meter Match just above the trim piece that goes below the steering column. I stuck that insulating foam on both sides so it won't rattle and used a zip tie to secure the wires to the column.

And I think your plan to set it at 50, 100, and Full is good. But if you can run it dry w/o causing problems that will give you that one more point to learn.

If you remember, I ran my rear tank DRY and taught the Meter Match to make the gauge point right at E with that resistance. Then I added 6.3 gallons and made it cause the gauge to read ~1/3 and hit Save. Added another 6.3 and made the gauge read about 2/3 and hit Save. Finally I filled it up completely and made the needle point to F and hit save.

Should be pretty accurate, right? Well today I first used it on the front tank and it read way over Full and then dropped like a rock until 1/4 tank, at which point it took forever to finally run out way below Empty. But when I flipped to the rear tank it went right to Full and came down at what I think is about the right rate.

So apparently the two sending units are very different in their readings. I guess I'm going to have to get used to that 'cause I don't want to spend another $60 to buy another Meter Match and put them ahead of the switch. I'm sure that would do it, right now it isn't worth it to me.

So, the resistance wire in circuit 30 doesn't have any effect?

My '87 Bricknose has no ICVR, so I have to be conscious of that.

I actually don't ever want to end up 'dry', I want the gauge to read empty with some small reserve.

I have no idea how consistent the senders are, tank to tank.

I just watch the odo and hope!

[Gary Lewis]

So, the resistance wire in circuit 30 doesn't have any effect?

My '87 Bricknose has no ICVR, so I have to be conscious of that.

I actually don't ever want to end up 'dry', I want the gauge to read empty with some small reserve.

I have no idea how consistent the senders are, tank to tank.

I just watch the odo and hope!

Nope, the resistance shouldn't have an effect because the input voltage range is 7 - 16 volts.

As for not running out, you can stop when you think you have the right amount in the tank and use that to make it read E. Just don't forget to hit Save. DAHIK how easy it is to forget that step.

Oh yes, I got strange results when I turned the key Off, turned the switch to what ever setting I wanted to learn, and then turned the key back to On. But leaving the key On and turning the switch to the setting to learn worked.

As for 13 MPG, I'm thrilled. But I'm not going to go to the bank with it. And yes, I was driving conservatively.

On the speed control, I really would like to get it working correctly as that makes the long drives much more pleasant. I know it can be done as Dad's truck's speed control worked superbly. But I don't know where the issue is. It acts like it is way too sensitive. I put my foot on the pedal and didn't let it drop the throttle as much as it wanted to, and that helped a bunch. So I'm thinking that if I can't find a module that works correctly I may play with either a capacitor in the electronics or the equivalent in the linkage.

[Nothing Special]

.... Should be pretty accurate, right? Well today I first used it on the front tank and it read way over Full and then dropped like a rock until 1/4 tank, at which point it took forever to finally run out way below Empty. But when I flipped to the rear tank it went right to Full and came down at what I think is about the right rate.

So apparently the two sending units are very different in their readings. I guess I'm going to have to get used to that 'cause I don't want to spend another $60 to buy another Meter Match and put them ahead of the switch. I'm sure that would do it, right now it isn't worth it to me....

If you recall, I said my Bronco's gauge on the main tank dropped to "E" right away, then sat there forever while the gauge on the (much smaller) aux tank works a little better. I generally deal with that by using the main tank first, then switching to the aux tank when the main runs dry.

But I don't know that you should run Big Blue's tanks dry on a regular basis. You've got high pressure electric fuel pumps, right? Are they in-tank? I've heard that running them dry tends to shorten the life of the pump. No experience with that, in fact I've run tanks dry on my '97 more often than I've intended and at least so far no issues. But I still try to avoid it, just to stay closer to the safe side.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Jim - Here's how I wired it. I pulled the instrument cluster and did my wiring immediately ahead of the connector. And I put the Meter Match just above the trim piece that goes below the steering column. I stuck that insulating foam on both sides so it won't rattle and used a zip tie to secure the wires to the column.

And I think your plan to set it at 50, 100, and Full is good. But if you can run it dry w/o causing problems that will give you that one more point to learn.

If you remember, I ran my rear tank DRY and taught the Meter Match to make the gauge point right at E with that resistance. Then I added 6.3 gallons and made it cause the gauge to read ~1/3 and hit Save. Added another 6.3 and made the gauge read about 2/3 and hit Save. Finally I filled it up completely and made the needle point to F and hit save.

Should be pretty accurate, right? Well today I first used it on the front tank and it read way over Full and then dropped like a rock until 1/4 tank, at which point it took forever to finally run out way below Empty. But when I flipped to the rear tank it went right to Full and came down at what I think is about the right rate.

So apparently the two sending units are very different in their readings. I guess I'm going to have to get used to that 'cause I don't want to spend another $60 to buy another Meter Match and put them ahead of the switch. I'm sure that would do it, right now it isn't worth it to me.

Thanks again Gary, for taking the time to help me prepare.

In looking at my '87 EVTM I don't have any resistor, because I don't have an ICVR.

So I should be good there.

Looks like I can take power from circuit 18, anywhere along wire 640 since I don't have speed control -or- electric fuel pumps.

And cut into the signal wire 29 between connectors 244 and 208A.

I sure wish I had a new flex circuit, so I could change that over while the cluster is out.

The only problem with running my tanks dry is that it takes so much cranking to prime the system.

I usually notice the bog and flip the switch before the truck can roll to a stop, so it is not much of a problem and of course there is no electric pump to overheat.

I do keep one of those big syringes in the box so at least I can prime the carb if I do get stuck in a spot (like the coffee shop drive thru, when my pump arm pivot wore through)

I'd rather the gauge reads empty before I actually run out of fuel, but like you Gary, my two senders seem to differ in how they read.

So, my main concern is 'E'.

It's going to be so weird not having to track miles between fill ups.

 

[kramttocs]

I sure wish I had a new flex circuit, so I could change that over while the cluster is out.

Do they make new ones for 87+?

If looking for used, I am making a jy run next week so can check some out if needed.