Is the fuel injection conversion worth it?

[PlasticBoob]

oh - I'm not knocking FI at all.

Just saying that it's not worth it In My Humble Opinion. As SR sys admin, I am all about technology, but not when I'm in the middle of nowhere and lose an 'unnecessary' electrical component.

LOL, sorry, I just had to laugh out loud at that. Some of us don't live our lives so completely in fear of that extremely rare breakdown that will happen out in the middle of nowhere that it stops us from going with a system that is proven to make more power under a wider variety of conditions than a carb. If you're breaking down every time you take your truck out, there's some serious problems there. EFI, if implemented correctly, is much more reliable than a carb, and I'd put my money on the rest of the car failing before my TBI does. Of course it's good to plan for stuff like that, but basing your whole vehicular life around a rare chance that something is going to go wrong with EFI just sounds ridiculous to me. And if you say that a carb can drive through a lake without fear of frying, you'd also better be running a points distributor, because anything other than that will also get fried, unless you waterproof it (yes, I know points throw a fit any time there's moisture around, but you can replace them and fiddle with them on the trail). And if you can waterproof your electronic ignition, you can darn-well waterproof your entire EFI system too.

Of course, I'm rarely out in the middle of nowhere without at least one other vehicle with me, so it doesn't matter WHAT I run. Life is for the living - I guess EFI is an extreme sport! Just kidding. Just my opinion of course.

I'm with MDill and the others on this - once tailored for an engine, EFI needs no tinkering. If you buy a kit, you're already miles ahead of us do-it-yourselfers AND especially the carb guys. Us tinkerers are going to tinker no matter what system we use, that's why I bought a Holley Truck Avenger many moons ago. I'm sorry to say that TBI still kicks its butt in every possible way, and I haven't even implemented timing control yet!

Think of us EFI guys next time you're cranking and cranking your engine because of carb troubles.

[Blake]

Think of us EFI guys next time you're cranking and cranking your engine because of carb troubles.

LOL

[PlasticBoob]

LOL

BTW, I wasn't ranting at you personally so much as I was ranting at the people in general who say stuff like that.

[Blake]

BTW, I wasn't ranting at you personally so much as I was ranting at the people in general who say stuff like that.

It's all good.

I used to be pro EFI too. I still am pro EFI for new cars (heaven forbid a new car that came with a carb).

But for my use (extreme wheeling) my old holley TA works perfect, has very little that can fail, and wasn't that much $$$.

[PlasticBoob]

But for my use (extreme wheeling) my old holley TA works perfect, has very little that can fail, and wasn't that much $$$.

Didn't know you were into extreme wheeling, hard to argue with that!

[davidrussell74]

Fuel Injection Howell Cost?

Does anyone know about how much I would pay a mechanic when all is said and done to install a Howell EFI in my 83 Cherokee, Inline 6, 258?

[cincyjeeprs]

IF, all you have him do is install the system as designed, it is 4-6 hour job for a pro. If you need new fuel lines, if your tank is full of rust, if you need him to clean up a lot of extraneous PO wiring, if,if,if...you know what I mean. Also depends on how neat you want the beyond the firewall wiring. You can spend a lot of time finding a home for all that stuff. You will also need a new/different air filter assembly.

It is really a simple, straightforward install. If I can do, anybody can. Mine is on a Scrambler and I love it.

[FSJ Guy]

Does anyone know about how much I would pay a mechanic when all is said and done to install a Howell EFI in my 83 Cherokee, Inline 6, 258?

If you can install a stereo, you can install a Howell TBI kit.

I'd expect on average, up to 8 hrs of labor plus misc. shop charges. Esp if the mechanic has never done one before. They'll be learning on your dime.

[seventynine]

Worth it is relative. You won't really see any increase in fuel mileage so you won't save much if any on gas....and certainly not if you consider how many miles you'd have to drive to make up for the cost of buying/installing the kit.

If you are looking for realiable fuel delivery off road at all angles it's worth every penny!

I have a Pro-Jection TBI kit on the 360 in my rock crawler and it has performed flawlessly for 9 years. I've flopped it twice and I had to remember to turn the engine off both times.

Sure cold starts will be easier with fuel injection but once you get used to the technique involved in starting a carb it's perfectly reliable. Your right foot just gets more excersize I'm a drummer so I just look at as aerobic conditioning for my bass drum foot

[Serious Johnson]

...
Carry a spare Throttle Position Sensor at all times, these fail with daily driving about once every 2 years or so, or if they get wet...

Joe:

I don't doubt that this is good advice, but I think you may have overstated things a bit. My regular drive involves some pretty gnarly water crossings, and I've been known to indiscriminately spritz the engine at the car wash. I've not yet had a TPS failure on this Jeep in 7 years. It'll probably happen tomorrow.

S.J.

[Serious Johnson]

Worth it is relative. You won't really see any increase in fuel mileage so you won't save much if any on gas....and certainly not if you consider how many miles you'd have to drive to make up for the cost of buying/installing the kit....

I'd say that you can save considerable fuel with EFI unless you're stuck with a slushbox tranny, and then there's not much that will help. Just running at near optimal fuel/ignition points regardless of temperature, altitude & load makes a big difference. I've topped 20 MPG a few times in a Wagoneer with a hotrod 360 and 3.73 gears, and doubt that I could have achieved that with a carburetor & distributor pinned at one particular performance point. It may be less important for someone in tropical climes with little altitude change, but it makes a world of difference on a mountain Jeep.

S.J.

[fullsizejeepfreak]

YES!!

OOOHHH SOOO worth it! My wife's daily driver hasn't needed anything since the conversion. It's like driving...a "normal" car (except for the growl). Turn the key to start ONCE for about 3 or 4 seconds (without TOUCHING the gas, dead cold) and it lives! Any subsequent starting, you need to be quick with the key, it starts IMMEDIATELY. Touch it, it goes, let off..it idles. It's like you couldn't PAY it to come off 700 rpm at an idle, in gear... I LOVE HOWELL!! We cruise around between 4000 & 9500 feet without noticing any difference at all. Obviously I have had a very pleasant experience and there are certainly nay sayers on any topic, but yes, YOU can install this if you can install a stereo. And yes, noticeable milage improvement; no exact figure as I decided not to worry about keeping track of such silly things when I decided to love wagoneers....does that make me a realist?

[Thomas792]

I installed a Howell system on my 83 CJ7 258 in 1996. I was able to pull to around 5500 rpm vice the 4500 rpm with the sickly BBD carb. Running through the city streets of SoCal I no longer had to do the shifting 2->3->4->3->2 to get over the slight hills here and there. With the Howell I just left it in 3rd and gave it a bit more gas.

I had it for 5 years and loved it. the only problem I had was the adapter and one of the holes needed to be plugged up after I installed it on the intake manifold as it would let the tiniest amount of air slip past the TB.

I took me two days but I didn't know too much about vehicles back then.

[MikeinColorado]

This is a great read. I am enjoying the various viewpoints.
I have an 88 wagoneer, I was thinking of piecing together a junkyard tbi set up. Do you guys have a good list of parts?

[jaber]

The one I have trusted...

FUEL INJECTION FAQ--Start Here!!!!! - Binder Planet Forums

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