TFI_Upgade

Coil: AutoZone, Wells Part #C839, for a 1989 Ford F350 P/U 4WD 8cyl 460 7.5L FI, $16.99. A bracket needed to be fabricated for the coil in order to mount it. You can purchase a TFI mount or pick one up at the salvage yard. I modified the factory mount to fit. After modifying the factory coil bracket I had a perfect mounting bracket for the new TFI coil. It mounts in the same place as the old coil. Installed pix: 1 2

Distributor Cap & Rotor Kit: AutoZone, Conrad Part #F2103G, for a 1984 F350 P/U 4WD 8cyl 7.5L 4BL, $16.99. This has the brass terminals as you can see in the picture. It is red and fits perfectly. I measured the height of the rotor to where it would rotate in accordance with the cap and it's right in the middle of the terminal. Installed pic

Spark Plugs: AutoZone, Bosch Part #7522 for a 1983 Jeep Wagoneer, 360 4WD 8cyl, $0.99ea. The gap is set to .44 because that's what the 1989 Ford truck with this TFI system calls for. These plugs were the same price as the standard Champion plugs. Why did I choose to go with Bosch? My parts guy said they have a solid core to get more volts through the plug. One less obstacle for the voltage to overcome to it is supposed to be a better built plug. I coated the plugs with Dielectric grease before installing the wires for a water proof seal. I coated the threads with anti-seize, which increases the plug grounding to the block and helps prevents them from seizing.

Spark plug wires: AutoZone, Accell Part #5040K, Super Stock, Universal Fit, Spiral Core, 8mm, Black, $39.99. This kit is awesome. It comes with a crimping tool. One end goes into a vise and the other is hit with a hammer to crimp the terminal so it looks like a factory crimp. It also has two sets of distributor cap plugs (HEI and non-HEI).In the pic you can distinguish the HEI buy the nipple on top of the 90 deg boot and the shorter, silver terminal. Mine is non-HEI but the boots fit snugly around the coil plugs so I used them instead of the standard boots. I also had to replace the terminal on the coil-wire with an HEI terminal supplied in the kit. Installed pic: 1

Distributor Cap Adapter: AutoZone, Wells Part # F958, Off of a 1986 Ford F350 P/U 4WD 8cyl 460 7.5L 4BL, $5.99. This part is needed to adapt the motorcraft distributor to the upgraded cap and rotor. It's gray and fit perfectly. Installed pic

Introduction: With all of the encouragement from my friends on the IFSJA web site I decided to install this TFI ignition upgrade on my Jeep. It boosts the spark voltage from the standard 20,000 volts to 30,000. I searching for used parts at the salvage yard with no luck (because I didn't know what I was looking for) so I decided to buy new parts. I'm glad I went with new parts because they're warranted and above all, new. The total cost of these parts was $104.71 including tax, not including the consumables listed below. I went with the "Spiral Core" wires so that brought the cost up a bit. I have a friend at the parts store that took the time to research the correct parts I needed or should I say wanted. I read an article by Gary Boyd to get me primed for this adventure. Find Gary's article here, which I printed and keep it with my tech stuff.

Solder: Radio Shack #64-013 E, High-Tech Rosin-Core, Silver-Bearing Solder, .22dia, 1.5oz, 62/36/2. I used this solder to tin all the wire ends. The connections were then covered with heat sink. This provides one of the most durable and low resistance connections.

Dielectric Tune-Up Grease: PepBoys, Permatex #22058, 3oz. tube, $6.49. I put this on all of my plug wires. On the plugs before installing the wires and on the terminals before putting the boots on. This stuff will repel water and reduce the chance of arcing.

Coil Plug: PepBoys, Conduct Tite #85121, Ignition/Charging section, $9.99. This Ford Coil Socket was made for the TFI coil so it snapped right into the plug slot on the coil. It has two negative wires so I used one for the resistor to lower the radio interference. Installed pix: 1 2 3

Anti-Seize: AutoZone, Permatex #133A, 1oz. I coated the spark plugs threads with this to increase grounding to the block and so the plugs will not seize to the block. The coil bracket mounting bolt was was also coated.

Why upgrade: Increased voltage, better gas mileage, increased horse power, faster starting engine, shiny parts under the hood, to say you did it and to ease the ever burning desire to spend some cash on your Full Size Jeep.

Why did I put this page together? I was blind. I didn't have any idea what to look for before I started searching for these TFI parts. Maybe some of you can benefit from this information to make this upgrade easier for you than it was for me. Good luck if you decide to upgrade your rig with this TFI system and let me know how it went.