Is the fuel injection conversion worth it?

[BigOberg]

I did the Howell conversion on my 1989 Grand Wagoneer and I couldn't be happier. It starts right up and it idles perfectly. Last week I had it inspected and it breezed through NJ State Inspection Emissions which is no easy task! IMHO it was way worth the money

[cjsrebiff]

I put a Howell kit on my 84 GW 360. I ordered in straight from Howell. They asked all the pertinent questions and the installation was quite smooth. The instructions are very detailed, but are a one size fits all, which is understandable. I have a full MSD ignition and needed to put the coil wire in a different place. I called and talked to Rob and he got me straight. Starts and runs great. Another note I had all parts mentioned above that were not included in some (air cleaner wing nut, etc).
Do make sure you know your engine specs, as in rebuilt, manifold, ignition. All these matter in the system they send.
I would not pay a mechanic to do it. It is remarkably easy. Just go slow and dont skip.
And yes, make sure you are running right first.

[DenverWoody]

I did the Howell conversion on my 1989 Grand Wagoneer and I couldn't be happier. It starts right up and it idles perfectly. Last week I had it inspected and it breezed through NJ State Inspection Emissions which is no easy task! IMHO it was way worth the money

Lots to like about the Howell kit, apparently. If you installed it yourself, what's your level of mechanical expertise? If you had a shop do it (and you don't mind me asking) what did you pay for installation?

Thanks!

[BigOberg]

Lots to like about the Howell kit, apparently. If you installed it yourself, what's your level of mechanical expertise? If you had a shop do it (and you don't mind me asking) what did you pay for installation?

Thanks!

I installed the entire kit myself. It's not that bad. Just read over the installation instructions about 100 times before you attemp it. Do things in groups. Old parts removal, hardware installation, plumbing and then all of the wiring. There are a few things you'll need to fab up like your throttle linkage and transmission kickdown. Also if you don't have a welder or can't weld you could get someone or a shop to weld in your O2 bung for you. As long as you take your time and just follow the instructions and check things off of the list as you go you'll be done and running in no time. When I have the time I plan on writing up an in depth Howell installation thread complete with pics. I purposely breezed over it in my build thread because I had always planned on doing it seperately for the site. There's a lot of good info in a ton of different posts on here that did help me in my install but not one post that goes through it all. After months of researching on here and other sites I figured it all out and installed mine without a hitch. I drive it daily now and it has been great

[eskimokodiak]

Fuel Injection Problems

My 1978 Cherokee Chief with a 401 engine runs out of gas at half tank.

But does start back up until the next stop light when it dies again upon acceleration.

Have the howell setup, new tank, new pump, new sending unit, and new pick up tube.

I have been told the following:
No baffles so it sucks air.

Have you heard of this before.

I would appreciate and info that you can give me or point me to.

Thanks in advance.

[MysticRob]

My 1978 Cherokee Chief with a 401 engine runs out of gas at half tank.

But does start back up until the next stop light when it dies again upon acceleration.

Have the howell setup, new tank, new pump, new sending unit, and new pick up tube.

I have been told the following:
No baffles so it sucks air.

Have you heard of this before.

I would appreciate and info that you can give me or point me to.

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like your pick up tube isn't low enough to avoid fuel starvation. Have you looked into something like Holley's HydraMat?

[acct21]

My 1978 Cherokee Chief with a 401 engine runs out of gas at half tank.

But does start back up until the next stop light when it dies again upon acceleration.

Have the howell setup, new tank, new pump, new sending unit, and new pick up tube.

I have been told the following:
No baffles so it sucks air.

Have you heard of this before.

I would appreciate and info that you can give me or point me to.

Thanks in advance.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=186182

[babywag]

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=186182

80-up totally different animal in every way.

Early tank pickups can be problematic for efi.
There is nothing to prevent fuel slosh other than keeping tank full all time.

Different ways to skin the cat.
Surge tank setup, mod tank with aftermarket pickup/pump solution, stuff a later model efi tank under the truck.

[Tripwire]

i thought a looooooong time ago there is a "mesh honeycomb kind of thing you can stuff down the sender opening to help relieve the issue? don't remember how they solved the float interference issue..............

[rang-a-stang]

Has it always done this or did it just start doing this at some point?

In my rig (stock 79 tank, no baffles), I just added to my stock pickup. The original pickup feeds my fuel pump and the new 3/8" line is the fuel return line. That green sock thing came with some crappy fuel pump i bought on Amazon.

I can run my tank to almost fumes and I almost never stall, even hard stops or hard cornering with a low tank. Do you use Tuner Pro to tune you system? If so, you can see a loss of fuel pressure in your BLMs and injector pulse width. If BLM goes really high and pulse width is almost the same, you are losing pressure. Also, you could look at your Battery Voltage. Maybe you are losing a ground.

If you do not have Tuner Pro, maybe you could add an inline fuel pressure gauge and video it while you drive. One of these:
http://www.rvmorsemachine.com/product.htm

[rang-a-stang]

Has it always done this or did it just start doing this at some point?

In my rig (stock 79 tank, no baffles), I just added to my stock pickup. The original pickup feeds my fuel pump and the new 3/8" line is the fuel return line. That green sock thing came with some crappy fuel pump i bought on Amazon.

I can run my tank to almost fumes and I almost never stall, even hard stops or hard cornering with a low tank. Do you use Tuner Pro to tune you system? If so, you can see a loss of fuel pressure in your BLMs and injector pulse width. If BLM goes really high and pulse width is almost the same, you are losing pressure. Also, you could look at your Battery Voltage. Maybe you are losing a ground.

If you do not have Tuner Pro, maybe you could add an inline fuel pressure gauge and video it while you drive. One of these:
http://www.rvmorsemachine.com/product.htm