Using a 1995 distributor in my 93

[04silversnake]

I would like to know if anyone has a diagram or a link of how to use a distributor from a 94-95 in my fox mustang. I like to do this for 2 reasons. First, I already have a new MSD unit for a 94-95 mustang. Second, I think it would be more reliable to relocate the TFI away from the heat it is exposed on the distributor. I believe that is the reason Ford relocated it to the air filter area that is cooler in those 2 years. I have read that the heat is what promote the TFI failures. I have as many others been stranded on the side of the road due to this failure.
I appreciate any help on this,
Franck

 

[buddha93]

I've never heard of doing that before..........I suppose it could be done. Just my 2 cents, but I've had 3 Fox cars and put my fair share of miles on them and never had a TFI failure. I say sell the one you've got and buy the 87-93 version.

 

[red95gts]

I've never seen it done, either - but I guess it could be done. You would need to source the dist connector and the TFI heatsink and wire it up.

One thing to keep in mind is that while the TFI did live a much longer life away from the heat, for some reason the 94-95 distributors seem to have more hall effect sensor problems than the Fox dists.

My point is that you may be swapping one problem for another.

 

[cobra186]

I have never had a TFI go bad on any foxbody mustang and I have had litterally 100's of them that I bought/sold (some low miles & some pushing 300k miles)..... more than 30 foxes that were long term daily drivers.

Only TFI on a Ford that I had go bad was on my 88 Ranger 2.9L that was 6 years old at the time & had nearly 200k miles.

My 95 GT (that I bought new) on the other hand, had the distributor go bad at 36k miles and then again at 90k miles it took another crap.

I would just buy a new quality brand TFI module from either Ford Parts or from a good parts store.... DO NOT buy the crap that AutoZone sells, they are cheap for a reason!

 

[04silversnake]

thank you all for your input. May not be worth it going thru that trouble. Maybe just sell it and buy the correct one.

 

[Tob]

It is absolutely worth it - if you have the time. I started this same project a few years ago, except I was making a harness that would allow you to remotely locate the '87-'93 TFI module. I grabbed a couple of F150 302 EFI heat sinks, which are mounted on the fenderwell. You then have to grind off a few of the cooling fins to allow use of the earlier (ie fox style) TFI modules. Using the SN95 'closed bowl' distributor, you could use the sink w/o alteration. It would just be the harness that would need fabrication.

The fox body TFI modules run very hot, and their failure rates were the subject of a rather large lawsuit(which Ford ultimately lost). For now, just make sure you use the right grease (not the stuff you put into a spark plug boot), and as mentioned you should use a quality module. Carry a spare in the glovebox along with an aftermarket tool to allow quick and easy access to the screws.

If you're interested, I can dig up some of the wiring diagrams and photos of what I was working on.

Tob

 

[04silversnake]

It is absolutely worth it - if you have the time. I started this same project a few years ago, except I was making a harness that would allow you to remotely locate the '87-'93 TFI module. I grabbed a couple of F150 302 EFI heat sinks, which are mounted on the fenderwell. You then have to grind off a few of the cooling fins to allow use of the earlier (ie fox style) TFI modules. Using the SN95 'closed bowl' distributor, you could use the sink w/o alteration. It would just be the harness that would need fabrication.

The fox body TFI modules run very hot, and their failure rates were the subject of a rather large lawsuit(which Ford ultimately lost). For now, just make sure you use the right grease (not the stuff you put into a spark plug boot), and as mentioned you should use a quality module. Carry a spare in the glovebox along with an aftermarket tool to allow quick and easy access to the screws.

If you're interested, I can dig up some of the wiring diagrams and photos of what I was working on.

Tob

Thank you very much for this input. I remenber doing some reading a while back on the law suit and the heat being the cause for the TFI failure.
I do use the grease and always carry an extra TFI with the tool for the 2 screws in the car just in case.
I was wondering if I decide to go and do it, is it necessary to fabricate the harness, or could I just get the one from a 94-95?
For those that never had a TFI go bad, I am not saing this is a frequent issue. I only had one go bad once. But they do go bad.