mitchmitchell

Hey all. New to the forum. Have a ongoing project and getting stumped. I have a 1989 Ford F-150. It used to be dads. He payed some guy to put motor in it. Well that guy took everything and left him with a truck with no engine transmission or anything else. Well me being the dumb butt I am figured I'd put it back together. Well transmission in. Transfer case in. Motor in. Motor is out of a 92 F-150. Apparently Ford changed a lot of things in a couple years. Engine harness changed over to the 89. Problem is distributor plug ins are different. Way different. Know I need a distributor for 89 but do I get one for roller cam or flat tappet cam? Is the 92 a roller or flat tappet? Heard you can really chew up a motor getting one with wrong gear. I have a lot of money wrapped up in a project that I shouldn't have done. Hate to screw it up. Thanks for all your help. Sorry for the rambling.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

You should be able to tell by the gear on the 92 distributor. Flat tappet had a cast gear.

qdeezie

Unless I missed it, what engine?

mitchmitchell

It's a 92 302. So to tell the difference if a magnet sticks to the gear it's a roller if not it's a flat tappet. Is there another way to tell the difference between cast and steel? Thanks.

qdeezie

The 92 302 is a roller engine. It was the first year Ford used rollers in our trucks.

Regarding a distributor, you'll have to use a '91 earlier Mustang (or other Ford car) distributor with the TFI mounted on it.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

A magnet ? They should both be magnetic - cast iron or steel.
The cast gear is rough on the un-machined parts.

mitchmitchell

A magnet ? They should both be magnetic - cast iron or steel.
The cast gear is rough on the un-machined parts.

That's why I'm here. I'm clueless. So does it have to be a mustang distributor or can I get one for a 89 f150 with the right plug ins with a steel gear? Can the gears be changed? Sorry for the rookie questions.

qdeezie

Yes, the gears can be swapped.

I mentioned above that you can get a distributor for a 91 Mustang or earlier and it will have a steel gear because the Mustang had the roller cams and the distributor had the TFI mounted onto the distributor. You can buy a Richporter distributor part number FD17 (or another manufacturer's equivalent) and that will work on your application as well.

mitchmitchell

Thank you for your help. Ordered one from O'Reallys today. Once again thank you for your patience.