Convert 88LX from carb to FI?

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

My pristine (no dents, no rust) 88LX with AC and all the trimmings and only 35K miles since engine overhaul (except carb not overhauled) failed emission idle CO test recently.

I'm disassembling (interior and instrument panel out) a rear-ended 92GL but still have the motor running so I know it's all there and working. and have been running it regularly.

Would I be crazy to think of using the 92GL to convert the 88LX to FI? I've never been a fan of all that carb-related plumbing, and I'm reluctant to pay $400 or more to have the carb overhauled, only to still fail smog testing because of something else wrong with all that plumbing, sensors, etc.

What parts would the donor have to provide to the recipient? Would the recipient (88LX) likely have the mounting brackets for whatever electrical devices (e.g. computer) have to move over? Isn't there something different about the catalytic converter (already gone from the donor) between carb and FI? Also, are the fuel tanks/fuel pump/etc. the same?

[93 FordFestiva93]

you would need the donor cars entire engine(if you'd like) or the just intake, wiring harness, ECU VAF box & meter, and a few other mics. things like hoses and such. anyone else wanna fill in what i forgot?

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

I'd like to keep the recipiant's block, head, etc.

Since I overhauled the recipient's (carb'd) engine just a few years ago, with new pistons, valves, block/head machining, bearings, oil pump, and all that good stuff, I'd like to keep as much as possibles as-is in the recipient. I don't know anything about the histories of the candidate donor FI engines other than that they run.

[93 FordFestiva93]

True, and you will also need the fuel tank, pump and lines along w/ a new FI fuel filter.

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

What exactly is different about the fuel tank for FI?

Is the wiring harness, at least the portion aft of the instrument panel, going to be OK, or is there something about the fuel tank/fuel pump that would necessitate changing that, too?

Also, I seem to recall when I last installed a catalytic converter on another 88 that there was a hose that came off the top of it, and that may not be on the FI-flavored converter ...

Is there somebody out there who has actually done this swap before?

[93 FordFestiva93]

the hose on the converter is EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) the harness for just the engine unplugs from the ECU separately that the instrument panel wiring. the difference in the tanks is the pump, carbed cars don't use pumps.

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

So do I transplant the FI ECU (Engine Control Unit?) to the recipient? Do carb'd cars even have ECUs? That's the box behind the left fresh air vent, right?

[93 FordFestiva93]

yes, carbed festy's have ECU's but u will need the FI ECU, if you remove your gauge cluster, u can see the ECU and remove it. yes its over to the left.

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

fuel pump

So I'm understanding that carb'd cars don't have fuel pumps, at least not in or near the fuel tank, but FI'd cars do.

Doesn't that say that the carb'd car will not have wiring for the electric fuel pump, or does it get its power perhaps from the same wire that probably powers the fuel quantity sensor?

[htchbck]

the carb'd cars have a very different fuel pump than the EFI cars. I've never really poked around a carb'd festy before, but since you are working with an 88 I would be willing to bet that its not wired for an electric fuel pump (the EFI one). Festies are notorious for being prewired for every AVIALABLE option, but since EFI wasn't available in 88, you will probably need to run some wires... shouldn't be too hard to do though...

FI-flavored converter

its nice to know that I'm not the only person in the world who likes to use the word "flavor" to denote any particular variety of something

[Guest]

Take the fuel pump block off plate on the efi car and remove the manual fuel pump from the original head and put the block off plate on it. Use the efi intake, harness, ecu, fuel cell, Fuel pump,fuel lines, VAF Meter/airbox/relays/sensors..

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

vocabulary

Thanks. I'll have to study my wiring harnesses carefully before I kill the donor, and keep the other potential donor (a 93L) intact so I know what the post-transplant recipient is supposed to look like before I take him off anesthesia and try to start him.

The "-flavored" term is old industrial programmer-speak coming through, from before most of that got outsourced to places like Bangalore, where $3/hour is considered great pay, and before a character named Gates taught the world that it's o.k. for software to crash, hang, and corrupt user data.