OBD2 conversion thread/ 95 GT ecm to 96F150 computer

2002BLGT

Well-Known Member
Dec 18, 2003
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Bedford VA
I am getting the ECM today out of a 96 F150 5.0 5 spd , then I have to find an OBD2 port , and the plan is to re pin the ECM plug on the car for the truck ECM and then run the 11 or so wires to the OBD2 port and that way I can use Snipers Special Forces to tune the car , it has a 331 stroker with trickflow heads , Xcam and Procharger D1 with 12 lbs pulley on it ......plus the OBD2 will allow me to datalog thru the OBD2 port which will make tuning the car much easier ..... the idea came after I noticed the 96 F150s had the same 5.0 engine and distributor and a mass air meter on them instead of the older trucks that have Speed density computers and the newer 4.6s have crank triggers instead of distributors ....... I will be posting pics as I go , getting the ECM for $40 bucks at a local salvage yard / figured I would post here since I know some guys might want to do this themselves to take advantage of the easier tuning
 
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I am getting the ECM today out of a 96 F150 5.0 5 spd , then I have to find an OBD2 port , and the plan is to re pin the ECM plug on the car for the truck ECM and then run the 11 or so wires to the OBD2 port and that way I can use Snipers Special Forces to tune the car , it has a 331 stroker with trickflow heads , Xcam and Procharger D1 with 12 lbs pulley on it ......plus the OBD2 will allow me to datalog thru the OBD2 port which will make tuning the car much easier ..... the idea came after I noticed the 96 F150s had the same 5.0 engine and distributor and a mass air meter on them instead of the older trucks that have Speed density computers and the newer 4.6s have crank triggers instead of distributors ....... I will be posting pics as I go , getting the ECM for $40 bucks at a local salvage yard / figured I would post here since I know some guys might want to do this themselves to take advantage of the easier tuning

nice, have you started this yet?
 
I have a buddy who has a Gen1 lightning that wants to swap to this type of mass air. He has a tweecerR/T but wants to move away from speed density when he goes to a 408-410+ motor. If your looking for intrest/help I would bet the NLOC.net would have alot of people interested in this as well.
 
We did this years ago on one of our Gen 1 Lightnings. We used a processor and a harness out of a 96 5.8 van. You DO have to make sure the donor vehicle also has a distributor. Transmissions also must match as in E4OD=E4OD and not 4R70W. In an auto Mustang 94-95 the E4OD flavor just would not work without a standalone tranny controller and a tune to shut off the tranny functions. If the donor had a 4R70W, you's still need to change things for the 4R70W in the tune. If the Mustang is a manual, then all you need to do is shut off the tranny in the tune - I doubt there are too many 5.8, OBD 2's with manual trannies. The 02 sensors can be another issue because many of the donor vehicles will only have hardware in the PCM for one sensor. There is a tuning work around for this though.

The end result is really pretty cool - you can datalog anything you want and flash the processor and do away with chips altogether.

Don
 
We did this years ago on one of our Gen 1 Lightnings. We used a processor and a harness out of a 96 5.8 van. You DO have to make sure the donor vehicle also has a distributor. Transmissions also must match as in E4OD=E4OD and not 4R70W. In an auto Mustang 94-95 the E4OD flavor just would not work without a standalone tranny controller and a tune to shut off the tranny functions. If the donor had a 4R70W, you's still need to change things for the 4R70W in the tune. If the Mustang is a manual, then all you need to do is shut off the tranny in the tune - I doubt there are too many 5.8, OBD 2's with manual trannies. The 02 sensors can be another issue because many of the donor vehicles will only have hardware in the PCM for one sensor. There is a tuning work around for this though.

The end result is really pretty cool - you can datalog anything you want and flash the processor and do away with chips altogether.

Don


Great info as always Don!

I never heard of or thought of doing this, but I can see the benefits from it if tuning it isn't too much of a bear.
 
Thanks! I'd love to claim credit for that swap, but I HATE wrenching - too much of an old fart - I'm strictly the tuning guy! Rob, my son and partner designed that project and did all the work. Looked factory. Besides tuning it I DID have a part though - since he was busy, I was the one who drove to the junkyard, and had to pull the processor AND the complete harness with just minor hand tools and a rusty junkyard jack. The best part is it was like 15* out with the wind blowing and snow falling. I could not feel the 55 cuts I had on my arms and hands until I thawed out though. I just love junkyards!

Don
 
got the car ECM harness out , started wiring the 104 pin connector to the cars wiring on my kitchen table last night , got about 90 percent done , just had to stop because the truck has 3 02s , 2 front and one rear and I did not know which 2 were the fronts ....got the wiring for those now so I will probably post some pics up tonight , I am going to probably have to wait till next week to finish since im going out of town this weekend , gotta wire the front 02s up , I am disabling the rear in the tune ...... and the truck and car are both manual trannys so I dont have to worry about that ...... and from what I can tell all the trucks that year had distributors although I could be wrong .......have not seen a 96 F150 5.0 yet that did not and all the wires match up so far , 7 out of 10 are even the same colors ....
 
Ok here is another question , I just went and looked at my uncles 96 f150 5.8L , it has a crank sensor and a distributor , anybody got a clue as to what wires go to what pins in the ECM , the ecm pinout subford got me only shows the PIP , Ignition ground , etc which I wired to the cars wiring , which only has a distributor , and what is the misfire sensor and does it have to be wired up ? is the misfire sensor the crank sensor , the reluctor behind the harmonic balancer only looked to have one peg sticking out ?
 
old plug
100_1444.jpg

new plug
100_1445.jpg

about to get started
100_1443.jpg

2 hours later , still have 02s to figure out and then remove any pins for the auto tranny crap im not using
and then clean up the harness some as well and try to wrap it so I can get it back in the car
100_1446.jpg
 
Didn't see this mentioned yet....the 94-95 Mustangs all have an OBD-2 port on the right side of the driver's footwell, not too far from where the center console attaches to the dash. Ford tried to save money by using the same dash wiring harness for the V6, GT and Cobra; since the V6 is an OBD-2 car, all dashes have that port. I couldn't tell you which wires it uses, however.
 
Didn't see this mentioned yet....the 94-95 Mustangs all have an OBD-2 port on the right side of the driver's footwell, not too far from where the center console attaches to the dash. Ford tried to save money by using the same dash wiring harness for the V6, GT and Cobra; since the V6 is an OBD-2 car, all dashes have that port. I couldn't tell you which wires it uses, however.

that port is wired into the airbag diagnostic from what I know ....this car will end up having 2 ports
 
Subscribing to this one. I always hated that the 5.0 in our cars couldnt be looked at with any of the good diagnostic equipment ford has out. I had a 95 T-bird in the other day that even used obd 2. Its be nice to run power balance and look at pids on the IDS instead of a breakout box.
 
2002BLGT, you have some serious patientence!!! Does anyone know if there is a company that makes a new harness for this kind of swap??

no and the swap would have been alot easier had they both had 60 pin connectors , but the car has a 60 and the truck a 104 pin so it was a cut and splice job , but we are soldering every single wire one by one ........I have to double check the O2 wires and then wire and solder the OBD2 port in the car but should be done in a few days I hope , hope to get it tuned and drive it by this weekend ....this car has had several problems that were the result of impatient people working on it , its been here at my shop for about 8 months been working on it as time and money permitted ......I know the owner will be glad to get it back .....he only drove it about 500 miles half ass tuned and running like crap before the car had some what I would call major malfunctions LOL but hopefully thats all taken care of now .........I will just say this fuel lines , battery cables and driveshafts dont get along when you run them close together ..........this guy is lucky he still has a car at all......
 
harness is back in the car , now I just have to run the 6 wires to the OBD2 plug and mount it in the car .......should have a few more pics up tomorrow night
/ and anybody wanna buy a PMS for 94-95 GT shoot me a PM with an offer .....