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I-6 'TeamRush Upgrade' (definitive)

359K views 804 replies 248 participants last post by  moto450r 
#1 · (Edited)
*
I NO LONGER RECOMMEND AUTOLITE PLUG WIRES!

I HAVE HAD REAL TROUBLE WITH THEM IN THE PAST TWO YEARS AND I NO LONGER RECOMMEND THEM!

IF YOU WANT 'OFF THE SHELF' WIRES,
Then Use 'Motorcraft' brand wires instead,
They seem to still be fairly well made...


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PARTS LIST, Advance Auto,

Advance Auto, DISTRIBUTOR CAP p/n C193 from Borg Warner.

Advance Auto, ROTOR p/n D219Z from Borg Warner.

Advance Auto, CAP ADAPTER p/n C193AP from Borg Warner.

Advance Auto, PLUG WIRES p/n WR4050 from Motorcraft.
(Comes with BOTH coil wires, E-core coils are NOT recommended with stock ignition modules)

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PARTS LIST, Auto Zone

Auto Zone, Cap Adapter, $4.99, p/n F960
Auto Zone, Distributor Cap, $20.99, p/n F2104G
Auto Zone, Rotor, $3.99, p/n F953
Auto Zone, Plug Wires, Motorcraft p/n WR4050
(Comes with both types of coil wires, E-core coils are NOT recommended with stock ignition modules.)

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YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CHANGE COILS!

The Factory canister coils is perfectly fine for 99% of the I-6 engines this is going to be used on,
And if you switch coils,
I suggest you use an MSD Blaster 2F, p/n 8205

Fits right in your stock bracket, connects directly to your factory harness and works better than the orignal from the factory.

Keep in mind that most of you have a 25+ year old coil in your vehicles!
This might be a good time to retire it for something a little better and a BUNCH NEWER!
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Decide on CANISTER COIL or E-core coil.


MY Suggestion is to use your FACTORY STYLE COIL

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MSD-8205&N=700+115&autoview=sku

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CHANGE COILS OR BUY A NEW COIL.

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Some people upgrade to an MSD factory style coil (Blaster 2F)
OR,
They use a Ford E-core coil, or an MSD E-core coil.
(Ford, junk yard for about $5. Don't forget to get the coil bracket and coil electrical connector plug if you do!
MSD coil p/n 8227

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MSD-8227&N=700+115&autoview=sku

If you buy a new coil, you will need to fabricate a bracket,
AND,
You will need to purchase a coil connector,
NAPA p/n ICC1, $15.

PLUG WIRES,
Factory Ignition Coil, Autolite p/n 96171

E-core coil, Autolite p/n 96624

NEW PREMIUM PLUGS FOR YOUR YEAR/ENGINE.
All years are different, so I can't give specific part numbers for all variations, altitudes, ect.

Suggestion is to use Autolite or Denso, and gap to 0.045" regardless of the engine you have or what the book says.

Tube of 'Never-Seize'.

Tube of 'Tune Up Grease' (Dielectric Grease)

Tube of Butyl or Silicone caulking, or Weather Strip Adhesive (optional).

TOOLS.
One medium sized flat blade screwdriver,
One medium sized (#2 Phillips) cross screw driver,
One plug socket and drive tool,
Plug gap checker,
Needle nose pliers.

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This is about what your 'PIG' should look like...



TAKE NOTE of where the #1 (front) cylinder plug wire is located on the cap, and then mark that location on the distributor base...
(so you can find it again with the new cap!)
This is showing me marking the distributor cap #1 terminal, but you need to MARK THE DISTRIBUTOR HOUSING, not the cap like I'm showing...



(My mark on the distributor HOUSING wouldn't show up in pictures, so we marked the cap to illustrate that you need to know where #1 plug wires terminal is located RIGHT NOW!)

*IF*, and this is a BIG *IF*...
Your distributor is installed correctly, your #1 terminal mark will be on the housing where the rotor is now pointing. (your rotor will likely be pointing someplace else, but I have this one turned to point at where the #1 plug wire terminal MARK should be for illustration purposes.)



Start with the DISTRIBUTOR CAP ADAPTER...
That would be the GRAY THING on the RIGHT in this picture...



I often put some 'butyl' or 'silicone' sealer on the bottom edge of the adapter before it screw it down to the distributor.
This helps keep A BUNCH of water out of the distributor.
Your ignition distributor won't by any means be 'Water Proof', but it WILL help keep a large source of water in the distributor OUT!

Since the adapter doesn't have to be removed very often, you can 'Glue' it down with 'Weather Strip Adhesive' if you want to keep a BUNCH of water out!

I DO NOT use the blue 'RTV' sealer or 'Form-A-Gasket'
, since they off gas a LOT of acids while curing... ACIDS & Electronics don't get alone well!
....................

Here is what the adapter and new rotor look like installed...
Put a 'Dab' of 'Tune Up Grease' on the rotor NOSE. Just a little 'dab'.
'Tune Up Grease', or Dielectric grease IS NOT never sizes or caulking/sealer!



Once adapter and rotor are installed, slap the cap on the adapter...
DO NOT forget to put some 'tune up' grease in the groove on the UNDERSIDE of the distributor cap!
(In the groove only.)
This will seal the cap to the adapter and keep one source of water out of the distributor, but still allow you to get the cap off at any time.



Now, with distributor 'Tune Up' parts in place,
You are ready to do the plugs...

Make sure they are properly gapped,
DO NOT Pry on the center electrode to gap them!
DO NOT bang on the 'Ground' electrode to close up the gap!
Modern 'Resistor' plugs are VERY SENSITIVE!
Use a pair of NEEDLE NOSE pliers to bend the 'Ground' electrode instead of PRYING on the center electrode! That's the WORST thing you can do to a spark plug (Prying on the center electrode or 'Tapping' the gap closed!)

They have a 'Carbon Pile' resistor inside the insulator, and if you break that very fragile carbon, 1/6 of your horsepower and torque goes right out the window!



IF YOU DROP A PLUG ON THE GROUND, REPLACE IT!
I can't stress this enough!
This is probably the #1 reason for 'Loss Of Power' or 'Poor Economy' complaints after a 'Tune Up'!
People just don't realize how fragile the plugs are!

You don't need a ton of 'Never Seize' on the threads, but you DO need to use it (Copper if you can find it, but zinc is OK if you can't turn it up easily or Copper is too expensive for your project)

PLUG WIRE TIME,
Use AT LEAST Autolite brand plug wires!
The cheap 'Store Brands' or 'Private Label' brands are CRAP!



MSD wires are without question the best wires on the market, but they are $65+ !!!
For a low revving I-6 engine, the Autolite wires should do you fine.

Use a 'Q-Tip' and put a little dab of dielectric grease (Tune Up grease) in each end of each plug boot.
(If you use factory coil, DO NOT grease the coil end of the coil wire, everything with a 'Spark Plug' terminal gets it!)

This will help keep the water from your connections, and that will keep the ignition from grounding out, and it will keep the terminals from corroding.
The grease also keeps the boots from drying out and cracking.

NOW, If you take a CLOSE LOOK, you will see I mark the FIRING ORDER, starting with the #1 plug wire position, on the cap.
this makes things A LOT MORE SIMPLE! (Old racing trick!)



AMC I-6 FIRING ORDER... 1-5-3-6-2-4 CLOCK WISE!
Cylinders are numbered 1-2-3-4-5-6 Front To Back.

SOMETIMES, when I'm doing this upgrade,
I notice the factory coil connector has seen MUCH better days!
The terminals in the connector are shot, the wires are about broke off the terminals from vibration and corrosion, and it's generally in BAD SHAPE!



These are cheap (around $7) and available from Auto Zone or NAPA.
This one is from Auto Zone...
EASY TO INSTALL, clip the wires to the old one, and use crimp connectors with heat shrink tubing to seal up the splice, and you are DONE!

BAD COIL CONNECTOR is a VERY COMMON PROBLEM, and the cause of that mystery 'No Start' or mystery 'Shut Off' problem so many people experience,
BUT,
Since it's an INTERMITTENT problem, it's VERY hard to trace!
.............................................

Unless you changed the coil to an 'E-core', you are DONE!
That's all there is to it! A simple ignition 'Tune Up' but using PREMIUM PARTS!
..............................................

*IF*, you did change the coil to an 'E-core', you will need a new coil connector.
Clip the wires going to the factory coil connector,
Match up the wires to the E-core coil connector, RED TO RED, Green To Green.

Don't forget mount the coil!
(Yes, I've got every thing done, and test drove, just to get back and find the coil hanging by the wires!)
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WHY YOU ARE DOING THIS UPGRADE, AND WHAT IT'S DOING FOR YOU...

The small cap and short rotor from the factory allow the SPARK ENERGY to bounce around inside the distributor cap like crazy!
If you ever cut a hole in the distributor cap, and run the engine at night so you can see it, those small caps look like a fireworks display!

The spark energy jumping from the coil terminal to the distributor housing is called a 'Ground Fire'.
This means one of your cylinders, 1/3 of the power for that engine revolution, went right out the exhaust pipe without ever contributing!

Using the TALLER ROTOR lifts the spark energy up, away from the housing and distributor shaft, virtually ELIMINATING the ground fire problem.

In fact, you can actually feed MORE spark energy through the taller rotor without fear of ground fires!
It's FREE ENERGY going to your spark plugs instead of going to ground fires where it does you NO good!
.............................

The spark energy jumping to the WRONG terminal at the very least is 1/3 of the power for the RPM going out the exhaust....
IF YOU ARE LUCKY!

You see, if that spark jumped to a cylinder that was on the EXHAUST STROKE, the spark was wasted, and didn't fire the cylinder it was supposed to...

BUT...
IF that spark fires the cylinder AHEAD of the one it's supposed to,
It's firing the cylinder 120° TOO SOON in the firing order!

Think about that for a minute...

3° or 4° too much timing can cause detonation in your engine,
But people ROUTINELY allow 120° TOO MUCH TIMING ADVANCE without doing ANYTHING ABOUT IT!

That's like hitting the piston with a SLEDGE HAMMER and can break pistons, break valves, ruin rods and bearings, and a HOST of other things you don't even want to know about!

The WIDER cap spreads the terminals farther apart, making the CORRECT plug wire terminal the more attractive for the spark energy to jump to!
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#209 ·
WOW!!! I finally just got around to doing this upgrade and it was well worth it. Thanks Hammer for the write-up and the answers to my questions!!! It purrs now when I start it and there is a lot more power at the high end. I was flying down the road at 65 mph a few minutes ago and it was smooth as silk. There was no way I could have done that before the upgrade. For less than $100 and only a few minutes, I am kicking myself for not doing this months ago. If anyone is on the fence about this upgrade, get off and do it!! You won't be disappointed.....
 
#210 ·
I AGREE....

The best money you can spend on your CJ... CK you mileage too... my pep went way up on a new rebuild and new cap/rotar/plug wires. Even when compaired to OEM Stock New Parts, my performance and mpg went way up. MPG went from like 17/18 to 21, 1000 rpms of easy to reach rpms, like I added a 7th cylinder, 15% pep. AWSOME..

Fred
78 Cj7, 24/25 mpg at 65 mph.... TeamRush, Weber 34,Jeep 81 Intake, Borla Header/Exhaust,Summit MultiSpark Igniton,Used Ford E Coil, T18,stock axles 3.54, unlocked hubs, T18 wide, 33x12.5 tires, aux Grounds. Runs like new and goes about 90 or so easy. Can cruise 70 and 2500 rpms.
 
#215 ·
O know black is bad, but according to their website ( and I know they could be full of it) they say its made of another material and they mention cross firing specifically.. so I was wondering if anyone knows for sure.. other wise.. I will be returning what I got :).. its still in the box lol
 
#216 ·
Even if it's NOT carbon black they used for color,
The black cap will keep you from seeing the graphite buildup inside the cap until the cross fires leave carbon tracking of their own,
And by then the cap is useless.

If you see carbon buildup, from graphite, from impurities in the air or whatever,
Use a small NYLON BRISTLE (you don't want to leave metal reside embedded into the cap) brush and some WD-40 to clean and then rince out the cap, and you are back to being as good as new!

Brass terminals will last a VERY long time if you take care of the corrosion and carbon build up in the rest of the cap!
 
#218 ·
#219 ·
I have a '74. I read earlier in the thread that for that year this will not work, need to get a newer distributor then it can be done.

I'm not certain that the distributor in my Jeep is original though, so I took a picture of it to see if it can be confirmed if it's a '74 distributor or not. If it is a '74 and I do need to get a newer one, is it a drop in replacement? Any suggestions on sourcing? There's a junk yard up in Sacramento that deals in Jeeps, figured I'd try there, but thought I'd check and see if there is a better place.

Distributor Pic 2
Distributor Pic 1
 
#220 ·
Kpauley,
What you have is someone that swtiched from Breaker Points to electronic ignition components.
Someone has already upgraded your trigger to electronic ignition.





They used a CHRYSLER style trigger to upgrade.

I do the same thing, takes a while to file out the reluctor to fit over the cam lobes for the breaker point trigger, but you only have to do that ONCE...

The actual 'Stator' (electronic part) is directly off a Chrysler, so you can get replacmets that will just screw in with no issues.

Here is my V-8 version,





The problem with your I-6 version is MSD (and no one else) doesn't make the GM distributor to Ford cap adapter so you can use the large distributor cap anymore.
So you are still stuck...

If you had a V-8, the adapter is still being made so you could use the larger Ford style cap,
But in your case, even though you have an electronic ignition trigger,
You will have to shell out the $50 for a new (reman) distributor.
--------------------------

The V-8 adapter looks like this, with the large cap and plug wire lock installed...

 
#221 ·
OK, thanks for the response. Yes, my father in law (who owned the Jeep years ago) did that electronic ignition stuff, he put in a Jacobs setup. Was hoping to be able to spread the cables out further, I was getting some ignition popping. Good news is that reading this thread I was able to solve it, when I put on the new wires I had put them in some holders I had to "clean" them up. They are Taylor 8.2mm wires, figured they could handle that...turns out they couldn't....and this thread helped me figure that out. In any case, took them out of the holders and all is better now. They still are darn close to each other though, next time I change out the cap/rotor and wires, I think I'll look around for another distributor.

So, when that comes, so I have the info. Is there a particular year distributor that is better, or can I get one from a range of years? Would I use the trigger I have and not really have to change anything else, just pop the trigger in, do the cap modification and it should drop right in and fire?

Ken
 
#222 ·
Metal wire looms, or looms that get the wires too close together are the best way to make things misfire I can think of!
(next to using cheap wires, that's why I say 'MSD' so many times!)

I usually ask for the distributor from a '78 or '79 CJ, in your case, with an I-6 engine.
MUCH better trigger in the Motorcraft distributor than the one you are using.

The cap adapter, cap, rotor will all be for '82 Ford F-150 Pickup with 300 CID I-6 engine, Don't forget the BRASS TERMINALS!
You will probably have to special order the cap ahead of time, not many stores carry brass terminal I-6 caps anymore.

And I would get plug wires from MSD for a '94 Jeep, anything with a 4.0L engine.
They will fit perfect, except for the coil wire which will be for a E-core style coil.

Happy now?!
 
#223 ·
This is great, as usual! This will be good too, because I can get this all setup on the bench for the most part, while the Jeep is operational. I'll need to get a different coil wire anyway because my coil is on the firewall so the length never matches kits to begin with. I'll search back through the thread, I think it was mentioned which coil wire to get.

Ken
 
#224 ·
I think I have gathered up a complete parts list, including the distributor all from one location (Autozone), not necessarily the cheapest, but an option (I'll continue to source).

The only thing I think is missing is the magnetic pickup, it says in the notes that it is without the module. So if I need one of those, is it the Duralast #252 pigtail assembly that I saw on the first page?

Here's what I have:
For Your 1979 Jeep CJ5 4.2L 2BL 6cyl
Cardone Reman/Distributor
Part Number: 30-4691
Notes: Without module
Warranty: LLT
$30.00 - core
$49.99
$79.99 - total

For Your 1982 Ford Truck F150 1/2 ton P/U 2WD 4.9L 1BL 6cyl
Duralast/Distributor Cap Cover
Part Number: F960
$6.99
$6.99 - total

Gold/Distributor Cap And Rotor Kit
Part Number: F2104G
$20.99
$20.99 - total

MSD/Wireset - Performance
Part Number: 32233
Notes: Black
$78.99
$78.99 - total
*
MSD/8.5 mm. black super conductor ignition coil wire
Part Number: 84033
Type: Coil Wire
$19.99
$19.99 - total
 
#227 · (Edited)
If this is the same Matt G from the other forums I've been on, this is going to be a challenge...
 
#229 ·
According to the guy I talked to Advance, there is not a single store that carrys or can even order the blue streak kit...I bought the parts from Auto Zone (not blue streak). Their p/n F2104G distributor cap comes with a rotor...should I still buy the rotor listed seperately in the parts list, or will this one suffice?
 
#233 ·
DO NOT get stuck on Blue Streak parts!
ANY BRASS TERMINAL DISTRIBUTOR CAP WILL WORK!

Any brass terminal distributor cap for '82 Ford F-150 with 300 CID Engine will work!

This is why I HATE giving part numbers!
As soon as I do give part number instead of APPLICATION,
The parts stores change filing systems or suppliers, and the numbers change!

APPLICATION NEVER CHANGES!
Brass terminal cap for Ford F-150 Pick Up, 1982 year, 300 CID I-6 engine.... That is NEVER going to change!


It took me all of two minutes to look this up on Auto Zone web site...

Brass terminal cap & rotor,
P/N F 2104 G, $20.99

APPLICATION, APPLICATION, APPLICATION!
--------------------------------------------

Also, will the 6-8* BTDC recommended by nutter suffice with Team Rush? I have read and re-read and can't seem to find proper timing instructions...
Timing shouldn't change after upgrade. Stick with what was working for you!
 
#231 ·
yes, that is the general timing for the 4.2. The spec is 8 DEG +/-2. I run mine around 9-10 DEG. It just seems to run better. If I start to get around 6-7 the idle will begin to get rough. So start with the 8 and see how it does. I would not recomend getting outside of the low of 6 and the high of 10 though.
 
#232 ·
I just looked up the factory spec and it is 9 +/- 2. I think 8 is said because most marks are done on even numbers.
 
#234 ·
JeepHammer,
What about a carb adjust after a TR? Prior to doing my TR, I had nuttered & done a rebuild on my Carter carb. I was running fairly decent and would hold an idle at around 750rpm. It did have an occasional miss, so I decided to TR. After TR, it fired up and ran great. After warming up, idled good at 750. But then after about 5 minutes it stalled like it was running out of gas. I was finally able to get it running again, but now will not hold an idle.

Could the mixture need to be adjusted due to the TR?
 
#235 ·
Some people report leaner fuel mixtures are needed once the spark actually arrives on time,
But those cases shouldn't keep it from running!

If it sounds like it's running out of fuel,
How about doing a line pressure test on the fuel supply to see if your pump is laying down on the job,
And checking fuel filter for restrictions...

You might have another 'Issue' that just cropped up...
You know how these old CJ's are!
Never a dull moment!

When you did the Upgrade, did you go to a E-core coil, or keep the factory coil...?

Often, the factory module replacment won't live with the E-core coil, too much current getting through,
So it might be the module overheating...

If so, consider the 'John Strenk Stealth HEI' where you replace your factory module 'Guts' with an HEI module that will handle the higher current pass through from the coil...
 
#239 ·
Not unusual to turn the distirbutor while wrestling with cap adapter and cap...
 
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