3.8l ecm will it work

[level3porkproducer]

now dont kick me off the forum for this question i was reading on the ranger station web site and they talk about doing efi swap using the ecm off a 3.8l engine. they say all the the ecm needs to see is the 6 cylinder pulse. so the question......... can it be done using the ford tempo throttle body, or am i just dreaming

 

[wagon]

M.E.G.A.S.Q.U.I.R.T.

 

[level3porkproducer]

dang i was hoping that we all didnt have to be the same? :roll:
maybe my buddy was right. he said" get a 302"

 

[80broncoman]

dang i was hoping that we all didnt have to be the same? :roll:
maybe my buddy was right. he said" get a 302"

A 302?
I think I can assume that you have a truck if you have a 300 Inline.
So what in the world do you need a 302 for? A 302 is a decent engine for a car . but a 300 is the real star when you need to move a load or yank a school bus out of ditch ( read this http://www.fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=48985 )


Now getting back to your tempo 3.8 ECM idea. the 3.8 ECM does have to be used on a six cylinder engine in order to calculate the rpm correctly.
That part should work.
Now, A tempo throttle body? From a 2.3 tempo? Two of them might work but one I think is just going to starve a 300. I am guessing you have a 3.8 from a CFI 3.8 engine. The dual tempo throttle bodys might just work fine.
A 2.3 throttle body is meant for about 135 cubic inches that is why it it will starve a 300.

Don't let the megasquirt idea scare you, they are cheaper than most people think.

 

[wagon]

dang i was hoping that we all didnt have to be the same? :roll:
maybe my buddy was right. he said" get a 302"

A 302?
I think I can assume that you have a truck if you have a 300 Inline.
So what in the world do you need a 302 for? A 302 is a decent engine for a car . but a 300 is the real star when you need to move a load or yank a school bus out of ditch ( read this http://www.fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=48985 )


Now getting back to your tempo 3.8 ECM idea. the 3.8 ECM does have to be used on a six cylinder engine in order to calculate the rpm correctly.
That part should work.
Now, A tempo throttle body? From a 2.3 tempo? Two of them might work but one I think is just going to starve a 300. I am guessing you have a 3.8 from a CFI 3.8 engine. The dual tempo throttle bodys might just work fine.
A 2.3 throttle body is meant for about 135 cubic inches that is why it it will starve a 300.

Don't let the megasquirt idea scare you, they are cheaper than most people think.

And you can make it run as well or as badly as you want... for virtually no extra money! Once you have the fuel pump, injectors, manifold and wiring (plus ecu) you can change other bits (cam, etc.) and you just plug the laptop in and have a play! Lots of fun (and easier than you think, once you get over the steep learning curve.).

 

[waldo786]

So would something like that computer work with a universal throttle body mounted to one of the aluminium heads here with perhaps port fuel injection?

 

[Bort62]

So would something like that computer work with a universal throttle body mounted to one of the aluminium heads here with perhaps port fuel injection?

sure, very poorly.

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

I was/am in the process of putting a 3.8L CFI setup on a 200. it is pretty much all wired and ready to go. needs maybe 2 days work double checking wiring and mounting some things...

 

[Bort62]

I was/am in the process of putting a 3.8L CFI setup on a 200. it is pretty much all wired and ready to go. needs maybe 2 days work double checking wiring and mounting some things...

Well stop drinkin beer & watching nascar (it's over, anyway) and get 'r done!

I still maintain that the fuel and timing maps will be way less than ideal.

 

[grocery getter]

I was/am in the process of putting a 3.8L CFI setup on a 200. it is pretty much all wired and ready to go. needs maybe 2 days work double checking wiring and mounting some things...

Well stop drinkin beer & watching nascar (it's over, anyway) and get 'r done!

I have no value to add to this thread,

but that was funny right there...

 

[MustangSix]

If you cobbled up a TFi distributor and adapted the 3.8 throttle body and injectors, you could probably get a 3.8 ECU to work on a stock 200.

I think the rpm range and the hp output are close enough that it should work OK. You're not going to be able to do much tuning, though, other than base timing and tinkering with fuel pressure, but it should start, idle, and run without too many issues.

 

[waldo786]

Interesting, let us know how it runs when you get it going.

 

[MustangSix]

Actually, if you are intent on running a stock EFI system cobbled from something else, your best bet is to strip it from an earlier GM 3.8 or 3.1 engine. The ECU can be re-chipped, there is a better throttle body version available, the sensors are cheaper, and there is a lot more documentation on the web and elsewhere on how to do this.

 

[fordconvert]

I read the same thing about the GM ECU's being the easiest to tune especially with the newer chips you can flash yourself. I looked into that for my projects but was not happy with the amount of info out there or the willingness of those that knew to share it so I went with Megasquirt. Once you alter anything from the factory systems you need the ability to adjust and tune things, with MS its basically unlimited what you can do with it and it can be done real time if you have a co-pilot and laptop. MS also has an autotune feature. Most of the GM ecu's can not be done real time, to make changes you need to remove the chip and install it in a 'burner' then reinstall it in the ecu. I guess there were a couple of years they could be done real time but they were not as common so the tend to cost more. When I was looking at the GM stuff a used ecu was $50 and up. The burnable chip was like $50 and the burners were another $100. You can buy the base MS for that. I have not looked lately so things could have changed.

All things that need to be taken into account when making your choice.

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

I was/am in the process of putting a 3.8L CFI setup on a 200. it is pretty much all wired and ready to go. needs maybe 2 days work double checking wiring and mounting some things...

Well stop drinkin beer & watching nascar (it's over, anyway) and get 'r done!

I still maintain that the fuel and timing maps will be way less than ideal.

well being the car is 1200 miles away back in IL (I am in NM for a job for another year oor two it looks like) so no progress for awhile. plus I roasted the trans in my truck so the 6 speed swap has been moved up to get a daily back (been riding the motorcycle in sub freezing temps all month.....when I am not sick)

truck might be goign together this weekend I think (need to pick up some clutch bolts and heave that beast up in there)

 

[MustangSix]

I read the same thing about the GM ECU's being the easiest to tune especially with the newer chips you can flash yourself. I looked into that for my projects but was not happy with the amount of info out there or the willingness of those that knew to share it so I went with Megasquirt. Once you alter anything from the factory systems you need the ability to adjust and tune things, with MS its basically unlimited what you can do with it and it can be done real time if you have a co-pilot and laptop. MS also has an autotune feature. Most of the GM ecu's can not be done real time, to make changes you need to remove the chip and install it in a 'burner' then reinstall it in the ecu. I guess there were a couple of years they could be done real time but they were not as common so the tend to cost more. When I was looking at the GM stuff a used ecu was $50 and up. The burnable chip was like $50 and the burners were another $100. You can buy the base MS for that. I have not looked lately so things could have changed.

All things that need to be taken into account when making your choice.

That's why we went with the SDS on the original crossflow install and now have a Megasquirt in it. Even a "free" ECU can cost lots of money to get running.

 

[Bort62]

I converted my camaro to TPI from carb, and am WAY too familiar w/ the GM ecu stuff. I have all the tools to burn the EEPROMS and everything.

It worked great, MS wasnt a reality at the time.

MS is now... and you won't see me trying to use a GM ECU on anything anytime soon...

 

[waldo786]

Can someone tell me a little more in a nutshell how MegaSquirt works?

 

[fordconvert]

This is the ECU. Its missing the end and top covers. This happens to be the more or less top of the line current model with the MS2 processor (the daughter board) and a V 3.0 board. You can buy it complete ready to program and tune or you can get it in kit form and build it yourself.

You can also buy this relay board that makes it a bit easier to retro fit to a carbed car. It gives you a main relay, fuel pump relay, and fast idle relay along with various fuses. It has a 37 pin D connector that matches the output of the ECU. You can make or buy a pre made cable. If you choose not to use the relay board you can buy a cable that had the plug for the ECU on one end and colored & laser labeled wires that you can run to your own relays or existing ones if it was an efi car. The relay board has regular screw terminals to hook to the various sensors.

The system comes with defaults for the most common (and cheap) GM sensors. Many of the vendors also sell these with connectors to make it easy. If you have special or unusual sensor needs you can pretty much calibrate them to anything. Same goes for TPS as long as it is a continuous variable signal. It can pretty much run any number of any style of injectors. It can run no O2 sensor, or an OE style narrow band, or a wideband with a controller. Once you get it hooked up you just plug in a computer and program in all the basics and with a little luck it will start and run. You then get to tune it real time. It can also do spark control. THe MS2 with 3.0 board can do direct coil control so you dont need any kind of module with something like a DS2 dizzy. If you want to get real fancy you can pick up a EDIS dizzyless system and run off a crank trigger.

There is a learning curve but I think it is worth it in the end because you truly understand what you have and how to work on it and its easy to improve and expand your set up as you want to.


Here is a good place to start reading. When you are done read some more and start asking questions. Then read some more, then ask some more questions, then order some toys and start having fun.
http://www.megasquirt.info/

 

[Bort62]

Can someone tell me a little more in a nutshell how MegaSquirt works?

MegaSquirt is a fully programmable fuel injection computer.

google it.