I have a 1988 gt donar mustang that I want to take the motor and transmission out of and swap into my 1993 mustang 4 cylinder. The donar car runs and drives but is rusted at the frame and strut towers beond repair. I am confident I know everything about the mehcanical side of the swap however the wiring is confusing. I want to work with what I have and not spend money on a new computer/harness. It looks like I need a 1993 v8 engine harness but I dont want to convert it all to mass air because then I would need a new computer and I don't have the funds for that. All that being said how do I make the 1988 speed denisty motor work with the 1993 mass air harness without changing the computer or converting the 88 harness to mass air.
88gt swap into 1993 4 cylinder
- Thread starter KIDFOX
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Have not done this, but I would start with using the working v8 parts, wiring and computer, since you have them. I put a v8 into a straight six car using a 4.2 v8 harness.
The 4 cyl cars have different wiring for electric fans, the fuel pump and ac and use an IRCM module. The v8s had a mech fan. The most difficult part may be the dash/instrument panel wiring. It may work to use the v8 under hood harness and connect to the four cyl dash. Save the module, they are like gold four four cylinder cars. Use aftermarket electric fans later if you want.
But I would check the pin out of all the wires before hooking it up. I smoked some stuff plugging a 1980 dash into the 1982 dash harness. Checked it all and put the 82 dash in, and it pluged in and connected properly.
The 4 cyl cars have different wiring for electric fans, the fuel pump and ac and use an IRCM module. The v8s had a mech fan. The most difficult part may be the dash/instrument panel wiring. It may work to use the v8 under hood harness and connect to the four cyl dash. Save the module, they are like gold four four cylinder cars. Use aftermarket electric fans later if you want.
But I would check the pin out of all the wires before hooking it up. I smoked some stuff plugging a 1980 dash into the 1982 dash harness. Checked it all and put the 82 dash in, and it pluged in and connected properly.
My 93 coupe was a 4 cylinder and the v8 harness plugged right into the dash harness no issues. Swapped to a v8 instrument cluster and it was plug and play.
You are going to have to look at the ECU wiring differences between the mass air car and SD and repin the harness.
You are going to have to look at the ECU wiring differences between the mass air car and SD and repin the harness.
evintho
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Here's the ECU pinouts for a '93 2.3 4cyl and an '89 5.0 (I don't have an '88 but they should be the same).
keel
Active Member
Just my 2 cents but if you plan on keeping this car long term I think it is probably worth it to convert the car to mass air and use a '93 5.0 engine harness and mass air ECU. The harness is specific to '93 but the ECU can be used from any mass air car. You may find that you thank yourself later when it comes to ease of serviceability and installation. Plus there are some nice benefits to running mass air in my opinion.
If you want to reuse the computer and the engine harness from the '88 it can be done, but you will need to find a way to adapt the connection from the engine harness on the '88 to the '93 dash harness because the connectors are different. The location of the fuel pump relay also changed from underneath the passenger seat to inside the engine bay between '88 and '93.
If you want to reuse the computer and the engine harness from the '88 it can be done, but you will need to find a way to adapt the connection from the engine harness on the '88 to the '93 dash harness because the connectors are different. The location of the fuel pump relay also changed from underneath the passenger seat to inside the engine bay between '88 and '93.
I would strongly suggest finding 1993 harnesses. Take all the mechanical parts, add a physical MAF and track down 1993 engine harnesses.
A LOT changed between 1988 and 1993 that I would not recommend using the '88 or hacking it in. There was a major change in wiring in 1990. For the sake of your sanity and to increase the odds of a properly running vehicle get the correct harnesses. I'm not saying it can't be done to use the '88 wiring, but I would recommend it only for those who are already well experienced in Fox body electrical and wiring. If this is your first time...buy the 93 engine harness.
A LOT changed between 1988 and 1993 that I would not recommend using the '88 or hacking it in. There was a major change in wiring in 1990. For the sake of your sanity and to increase the odds of a properly running vehicle get the correct harnesses. I'm not saying it can't be done to use the '88 wiring, but I would recommend it only for those who are already well experienced in Fox body electrical and wiring. If this is your first time...buy the 93 engine harness.
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I think we lost him. Hasn't been back on the board since day one.
Another thing that you will loose are the front center and right air bag sensors as their wiring is in the EEC harness. Can be added but wanted to point that out.
Another thing that you will loose are the front center and right air bag sensors as their wiring is in the EEC harness. Can be added but wanted to point that out.
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