[Dyn4mo]

Hey,

Haven't been on in some time. My engine's idle is all over the place and my inkling is that the distributor is shot and needs to be replaced.

For a while I thought about putting a new engine block in but that's just too expensive at this point.

I have a '93 5.8, to the best of my knowledge those would be non-hydraulic roller, is that right?

I'd like to upgrade the distributor and thought about an MSD, however I'm somewhat confused in regards to the correct model. Seems the 8453 would be correct choice, but I'm simply not sure.

Anybody got experience with this in particular?

 

[DOUROS81]

I just put a MSD cap kit, coil , wires and new plugs on my Bronco and it runs great.

 

[Dyn4mo]

Yep, that's what I did 1 1/2 years ago.

But the distributor appears to be internally damaged, which isn't all that surprising after about 18 years of service.

 

[Seattle FSB]

A new MSD 8453 did wonders for my 1990 at 20 years old. I can testify to the big gains.

Now I am running a MSD 8451 for my Remote Mount CCD TFI Upgrade. Still have the other 8453 around in a new box somewhere...

 

[Dyn4mo]

Very good to know.. Did the distributor swap right in or did you have to make any modifications?

 

[Seattle FSB]

Do you have a Black or Gray TFI ICM and is it mounted on the Distributor or Remotely on a heatsink? The 5.8L Block did not become Roller Ready until 1994 so you should be flat tappet requiring an Iron Distributor Gear.


MSD has three different Ford 5.8L TFI 351W Pro-Billet Distributors:

MSD 8453 - Push Start Distributor Mounted TFI, iron gear, non-roller cam
MSD 8452 - CCD Distributor Mounted TFI, steel gear, roller cam
MSD 8451 - CCD Remote Mounted TFI, steel gear, roller cam



The swap is easy as long as you remember to mark the orientation of your distributor/rotor and use distributor gear lube as required. Distributors do wear and lose tollerances. The question is what kind of distributor do you require?

 

[Dyn4mo]

While I'm at it, would it be beneficial to install a new distributor replacement module?

 

[Dyn4mo]

Okay, small issue.

I ordered the 8453 without really taking a look at my engine bay. As it turns out, I actually have a remotely mounted TFI. Because of that the 8453 will not fit, nor would the 8452 for that matter.

Now, my Bronco is a '93, so I assumed that I had a non-roller cam, which is why I would think that the 8451 is not the right one.

Anyone able to shed some light on this, because the only way I know how to find out whether or not I have a roller cam is to open the engine up to take a look..

 

[SnowTom]

Do you have a Black or Gray TFI ICM and is it mounted on the Distributor or Remotely on a heatsink? The 5.8L Block did not become Roller Ready until 1994 so you should be flat tappet requiring an Iron Distributor Gear.


MSD has three different Ford TFI 351W Pro-Billet Distributors:

MSD 8453 - Push Start Distributor Mounted TFI, iron gear, non-roller cam (89-93 Bronco)
MSD 8452 - CCD Distributor Mounted TFI, steel gear, roller cam (94-95 Bronco)
MSD 8451 - CCD Remote Mounted TFI, steel gear, roller cam (96 Bronco)



The swap is easy as long as you remember to mark the orientation of your distributor/rotor and use distributor gear lube as required. Distributors do wear and lose tollerances. The question is what kind of distributor do you require?

You say that you originally were running the 8453 which seems to be the proper one for your 90. But then you switched to the 8451, so my question is Why?

 

[Seattle FSB]

Ford TFI Ignition Control Modules :thumbup

 

[Dyn4mo]

Not sure if that post was in response to mine or Tom's.

Question for me remains whether I need to relocate the TFI, and subsequently rewire the entire thing, or if I can use the 8451, even though I'd prefer the cast iron gear over the steel.

 

[Dyn4mo]

Okay, now I'm thoroughly confused.

The tech support from MSD just informed me that every '93 5.8L with TFI was outfitted with a hydraulic roller cam and therefore the 8451 should fit without changing the gear.

WTF?

 

[Seattle FSB]

You say that you originally were running the 8453 which seems to be the proper one for your 90. But then you switched to the 8451, so my question is Why?

Allow me to be more specific. I upgraded my Hydraulic Flat Tappet block to Hydraulic Roller with my 408 stroker build which requires a Steel Distributor Gear. My associated MAF Upgrade uses a 1995 F150 MAF PCM which originally used a Black CCD TFI ICM.

I originally retained my MSD 8453 and simply changed the Distributor Gear from Iron to Steel, retaining the Gray Distributor Mounted Push Start TFI ICM. All was well until I started to have problems with the Gray TFI ICM which was due to either heat from the engine or content of the signal.

I decided to upgrade to a Black Remote Mounted TFI ICM which required the MSD 8451 Distributor for standardization, unless I wanted to significantly modify my existing distributor. In other words, the MSD 8451 helped facilitate my CCD TFI Upgrade.

Read the Ford TFI Ignition Control Modules Link I posted for more information.

 

[Seattle FSB]

While I'm at it, would it be beneficial to install a new distributor replacement module?

You can install a fresh Motorcraft DY1077 TFI ICM and keep the old one for a back-up. Be sure to use Dielectric Grease on the contact side to ensure good thermal conduction to the heatsink.

Okay, now I'm thoroughly confused.

The tech support from MSD just informed me that every '93 5.8L with TFI was outfitted with a hydraulic roller cam and therefore the 8451 should fit without changing the gear.

WTF?

Well, they aren't exactly correct.



The Bronco 5.0L went Roller Ready in 1987. The 5.8L Bronco went Roller Ready in 1994. With that being said, Ford began using the 1994 Roller Ready blocks in Broncos around April 1993. This is why some 1993 5.8L Broncos are anomalies regarding correct parts due to this transition.

What you can do is simply look at the block part number to see if it is an F4TE Block. This will be located on the passenger side, above the starter and immediately adjacent to the Oil Pan. You will probably need to clean the area and use a flashlight. If you find an OEM F4TE Block, it would be indeed Roller Ready and require the MSD 8451 Distributor with a Remote Mount CCD TFI Ignition Control Module and Steel Distributor Gear.



Here is my E9AE Block Part Number showing it was a 1989 Block in my 1990 5.8L Bronco. This was due to my receiving a factory ordered 1990 Bronco in October 1989.

 

[SnowTom]

Allow me to be more specific. I upgraded my Hydraulic Flat Tappet block to Hydraulic Roller with my 408 stroker build which requires a Steel Distributor Gear. My associated MAF Upgrade uses a 1995 F150 MAF PCM which originally used a Black CCD TFI ICM.

I originally retained my MSD 8453 and simply changed the Distributor Gear from Iron to Steel, retaining the Gray Distributor Mounted Push Start TFI ICM. All was well until I started to have problems with the Gray TFI ICM which was due to either heat from the engine or content of the signal.

I decided to upgrade to a Black Remote Mounted TFI ICM which required the MSD 8451 Distributor for standardization, unless I wanted to significantly modify my existing distributor. In other words, the MSD 8451 helped facilitate my CCD TFI Upgrade.

Read the Ford TFI Ignition Control Modules Link I posted for more information.

Thanks for taking the time to clear that up for me. I did use your link from the first post and saw that you changed to the Remote Mounted TFI. But, I didn't realize until this post that you had to do the dizzy and tfi switch because of the roller upgrade.:rockon I'm following your progress very closely. I will definitely never get to your level of upgrades, but I'm probably going to be buried in my BKO like LoneWolf McQuade so I'm planning on keeping it around.

 

[Seattle FSB]

But, I didn't realize until this post that you had to do the dizzy and tfi switch because of the roller upgrade.:rockon

Not specifically because of the Roller Upgrade, but because of the MAF PCM Upgrade. The Roller Upgrade only required a Steel Distributor Gear which I had replaced on my old Distributor.

The Stroker Upgrade required MAF. The MAF Upgrade required CCD TFI. So I guess they are related in a round-a-bout way.

 

[SnowTom]

Not specifically because of the Roller Upgrade, but because of the MAF PCM Upgrade. The Roller Upgrade only required a Steel Distributor Gear which I had replaced on my old Distributor.

The Stroker Upgrade required MAF. The MAF Upgrade required CCD TFI. So I guess they are related in a round-a-bout way.

Gotcha. I guess what's really been in the back of my mind is your post back in Aug. in this thread http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=179464 where you made the point that it was simpler to install a Dizzy Mounted CCD-TFI.:rockon

 

[Seattle FSB]

Gotcha. I guess what's really been in the back of my mind is your post back in Aug. in this thread http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=179464 where you made the point that it was simpler to install a Dizzy Mounted CCD-TFI.:rockon

That was because he had a 1990 SD 5.8L, a 1994 MAF 5.0L parts truck, wanted to go to MAF, couldn't use the 5.0L Distributor and wanted to keep his 1990 5.8L Distributor with Distributor Mounted TFI ICM. I recommended to install a CCD TFI ICM and rewire, as appropriate.

I would always prefer a Remote Mounted ICM to prevent heat related failures. In my TFI Thread, you can see how to do it with your existing distributor or a new distributor.

 

[Red91XLT]

at 1993, you should have fender mounted ICM/TFI which means you will need a different model.

If you feel the distributor is "internally damaged", that's called a Pick-Up coil, and can be bought and replaced from a parts store fairly easily.

If you really feel the need for an MSD dizzy, go for it, but I'm running an old motorcraft dizzy with new pickup, new tfi, cap & rotor... No problems here.

also, only a 351W with "F4TE" at the beginning of the casting number is a roller ready, or roller equipped block.

 

[philj]

Since i am new to this i hope 'm not breaking some rule by asking this question here... But i have a 1983 Bronco with a stock 351w. i would like to update the ignition with a MSD distributor, but am totaly confussed as to the best choice. any suggestions would be great or point me in the right direction to look it up... this site gives me information overload . thanks