carb to fuel injection conversion

[Heath Hubbard]

I’m thinking of getting an 84 dodge ram charger with a 5.9 carb engine. I’m sure it gets terrible gas mileage and would be better with efi system installed. I’ve found that an 98 jeep grand Cherokee limited uses the same engine and is fuel injected. Along with the 2000 dodge darango RT. Could I find one at as scrap yard and take the whole system and ecm and fit it on the ram? Or swap the ecm with a programmable ecm or try and fiddle with the ecm off the darango or what?
Any ideas are also appreciated. Also ideas on making it more eco friendly would be great lol.

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[none]

My neighbor’s 85 Ram pickup says absolutely you can. It’ll run, but you’ll probably have a hard time accessing the PCM without a reflash. I can’t remember the specifics, but the neighbor said something to the effect that the PCM won’t talk to a scan tool through the DLC because the PCM can’t communicate with the instrument cluster. That aside, I’ve known this neighbor and his truck for seven years now and it generally gets him wherever he wants to go. He pulled the engine, trans and rear axle out of a 98 full size IIRC and I believe all of it bolted right in. He did tell me that the crank sensor would be a bear to get to as it hugs the firewall pretty tight. If you’re going to commit to the swap, I’d suggest you install a new crank sensor right away as a precaution. He did his swap leaving the original radiator in the truck too. I don’t remember if his speedometer is in any sort of working condition though. I don’t know when I’ll see him next so you’re on your own with that one.

Good luck and share some pics if you do jump into this project. You’ll do fine.

[Mike]

I’ve seen at least one EFI conversion for a domestic V8 in every Pace Performance catalog I’ve ever been sent. There is a definitely an aftermarket system for doing that, and maybe one that caters specifically to the engine you want. So definitely look at pace performance and whatever competitors they may have with that kind of stuff. I have to admit I’d trust an aftermarket engine management system before I’d trust a stock Chrysler one to do the job right. Other than that, I’m a moron in this area so I’ll bow out now.

I bet AndrewButton and Chevyman are going to tell you to stick with the carburetor. Whatever is said, they know what they are talking about.

[Allan]

The easyest way is go for aftermaked efi, like Fast ez-efi or edelbrock e-street. Holley have too, and sure there other brands to 🙂

[Gary]

[quote=”Fopeano” post=127570]I’ve seen at least one EFI conversion for a domestic V8 in every Pace Performance catalog I’ve ever been sent. There is a definitely an aftermarket system for doing that, and maybe one that caters specifically to the engine you want. So definitely look at pace performance and whatever competitors they may have with that kind of stuff. I have to admit I’d trust an aftermarket engine management system before I’d trust a stock Chrysler one to do the job right. Other than that, I’m a moron in this area so I’ll bow out now.

I bet AndrewButton and Chevyman are going to tell you to stick with the carburetor. Whatever is said, they know what they are talking about.[/quote] You bet correctly my friend! Yes, to me it’s too much trouble for very little gains if any. A carb can be just as efficient as EFI when applied and tuned properly. Rejetting the carb is one thing you can do and replacing the carb with a more efficient model is another option. You will get more mileage gains by swapping your rear gearing than a fuel delivery change in any case. If you plan to not haul/tow you can change the gearing to higher gears(lower number) to achieve the same effect. Keep in mind, a carbs efficiency is in the jetting, the number of barrels, and in the tune among some other things. You don’t want to undercarb when searching for better mileage though so keep that in mind. I think swapping the rear gearing is the superior option and it will be less hassle.

PS: The problem with an 84 is your options furthering fuel mileage gains are limited if you live in a state that requires inspections. I could offer you a wealth of information to improve mileage if you lived in a non-emissons state to use at your own discretion.

[Author]

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