Hello All - 1986 F150, 2wd, base trim, 300 engine, 4 speed

[ArdWrknTrk]

Dave, that’s correct. I bought the truck with the feedback carb already swapped out. But the PO did not swap out the feedback distributor, so I put an HEI in.

I just got it timed to -10 deg. Easy stuff. Thanks for your help on that. I can tell it’s idling much better with the HEI. I haven’t test driven it yet since timing it tonight but very soon.

I’m also going to get a vacuum hose to run between the distributor and carb. I’ll measure the port diameters unless anyone knows off the top of their head what they should be? Should I fool with the vacuum advance adjustment on the HEI or leave it alone?

I have a factory tach so I also need to find the tach wire under the hood and connect it to the HEI. Did the tach wire connect to my old EEC distributor? Assume so.

Tach wire was circuit 11 coming from splice 256 between the coil and the old TFI module on the distributor.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I’m also going to get a vacuum hose to run between the distributor and carb. I’ll measure the port diameters unless anyone knows off the top of their head what they should be? Should I fool with the vacuum advance adjustment on the HEI or leave it alone?

I'm going to say the vacuum hose to my DSII distributor is 3/32", but I've got no idea about your HEI (do you know who manufactured it? -not who sold it-)

Drive the truck and see if you need to mess with the advance.

If you want a tutorial look for the Crane Cams adjustable vacuum advance instructions.

This lays out all the basics and the order in which to do them.

[shosh86]

I’m also going to get a vacuum hose to run between the distributor and carb. I’ll measure the port diameters unless anyone knows off the top of their head what they should be? Should I fool with the vacuum advance adjustment on the HEI or leave it alone?

I'm going to say the vacuum hose to my DSII distributor is 3/32", but I've got no idea about your HEI (do you know who manufactured it? -not who sold it-)

Drive the truck and see if you need to mess with the advance.

If you want a tutorial look for the Crane Cams adjustable vacuum advance instructions.

This lays out all the basics and the order in which to do them.

Thanks very much Jim for all the info. I don’t know who manufactured the HEI. I’ll give the ports a measure at the carb and the distributor.

[mat in tn]

Thanks very much Jim for all the info. I don’t know who manufactured the HEI. I’ll give the ports a measure at the carb and the distributor.

now that both the carb and distributor have been swapped you can unscrew the o2 sensor and use that spot to run a wideband air fuel gauge. bonus!

[Gary Lewis]

now that both the carb and distributor have been swapped you can unscrew the o2 sensor and use that spot to run a wideband air fuel gauge. bonus!

The Crane instructions are on our page at Documentation/Electrical/Ignition and then the Instructions and Crane Cam Instructions tabs.

And I'll say again, I don't think the timed vacuum port on the YFA gives full vacuum. I know that's strange, but I've run into it on more than one carb. So while I advocated ported vacuum for vacuum advance, I don't think it works as well as manifold vacuum on some distributors.

I believe, w/o proof I might add, that the vacuum advance units Ford used for the engines with the YF or YFA carbs were more sensitive than those for other carbs. So the one in the HEI may not work well with the limited vacuum I think will be seen on the YFA's port.

My first move would be to put a vacuum gauge on the ports and find out if I'm wrong. Does one port show essentially 0 at idle and ~21" just above idle when running in neutral? If so, call me crazy and go with it. If it doesn't have full vacuum above idle then it may not work with the HEI's vacuum advance. In that case I'd switch to manifold vacuum.

But please let us know what you find!

[shosh86]

The Crane instructions are on our page at Documentation/Electrical/Ignition and then the Instructions and Crane Cam Instructions tabs.

And I'll say again, I don't think the timed vacuum port on the YFA gives full vacuum. I know that's strange, but I've run into it on more than one carb. So while I advocated ported vacuum for vacuum advance, I don't think it works as well as manifold vacuum on some distributors.

I believe, w/o proof I might add, that the vacuum advance units Ford used for the engines with the YF or YFA carbs were more sensitive than those for other carbs. So the one in the HEI may not work well with the limited vacuum I think will be seen on the YFA's port.

My first move would be to put a vacuum gauge on the ports and find out if I'm wrong. Does one port show essentially 0 at idle and ~21" just above idle when running in neutral? If so, call me crazy and go with it. If it doesn't have full vacuum above idle then it may not work with the HEI's vacuum advance. In that case I'd switch to manifold vacuum.

But please let us know what you find!

Got the HEI relay wiring in last night, with fuse of course. I also got the tach hooked up. For future folks doing this work, I took the relay trigger and the tach signal right from the two-wire connector going to the old coil. The grounding point I used for the relay trigger ground is the ground screw on the inside of the fender for the front left headlight. High current power through the relay comes from the very large yellow wire under the brake booster. I used a 20 A fuse. That yellow wire is at least 10 gauge. My wire stripper on the 10-gauge notch took off maybe 2-3 strands of copper. I'm mounting the relay and fuse holder on the inside of the driver's side fender, just behind (towards the cab) of the coolant/washer fluid reservoir. It's looking clean and working great.

Gary, I've got a vacuum gauge on the way.

[Gary Lewis]

Got the HEI relay wiring in last night, with fuse of course. I also got the tach hooked up. For future folks doing this work, I took the relay trigger and the tach signal right from the two-wire connector going to the old coil. The grounding point I used for the relay trigger ground is the ground screw on the inside of the fender for the front left headlight. High current power through the relay comes from the very large yellow wire under the brake booster. I used a 20 A fuse. That yellow wire is at least 10 gauge. My wire stripper on the 10-gauge notch took off maybe 2-3 strands of copper. I'm mounting the relay and fuse holder on the inside of the driver's side fender, just behind (towards the cab) of the coolant/washer fluid reservoir. It's looking clean and working great.

Gary, I've got a vacuum gauge on the way.

Glad it is working out for you. And you'll like using a vacuum gauge to tune.

As for "It's looking clean", I'd say it is looking "clear" as I can't see a thing. Like I'm looking right through it. Hint: We have a saying - pics or it didn't happen.

[shosh86]

Glad it is working out for you. And you'll like using a vacuum gauge to tune.

As for "It's looking clean", I'd say it is looking "clear" as I can't see a thing. Like I'm looking right through it. Hint: We have a saying - pics or it didn't happen.

Gary, ha! Here you go sir. In this pic, the relay and fuse holder are (obviously) not mounted yet. I'll also likely loom the wires. I'm also going to crimp cap that yellow wire coming off the relay. It's hot when the relay is switched off.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, ha! Here you go sir. In this pic, the relay and fuse holder are (obviously) not mounted yet. I'll also likely loom the wires. I'm also going to crimp cap that yellow wire coming off the relay. It's hot when the relay is switched off.

Thanks for the pic! Now I see, said the blind man.

But, I have to ask if those yellow connectors are just normal butt crimps? I'm not fond of them as they are open to the elements. We've had quite a debate on here about crimps vs soldering, but we've pretty much agreed that it is best to use a connection that is sealed.

My approach is to pull those yellow crimps apart so I have just the metal crimp part. Then I put a piece of heat shrink, the type with adhesive lining, on the wire and crimp the connector on. Next I solder it, but others say not to solder. Then we slide the heat shrink over and shrink it. That way the connection is both solid and weatherproofed.

[shosh86]

Thanks for the pic! Now I see, said the blind man.

But, I have to ask if those yellow connectors are just normal butt crimps? I'm not fond of them as they are open to the elements. We've had quite a debate on here about crimps vs soldering, but we've pretty much agreed that it is best to use a connection that is sealed.

My approach is to pull those yellow crimps apart so I have just the metal crimp part. Then I put a piece of heat shrink, the type with adhesive lining, on the wire and crimp the connector on. Next I solder it, but others say not to solder. Then we slide the heat shrink over and shrink it. That way the connection is both solid and weatherproofed.

That's not a bad idea. I do have some liquid electrical tape. I was thinking I'd goop some of that into the ends of the butt connectors, at least for the connectors with positive voltage.