87 Grand marquis 5.0 Sefi

[friskyfrankie]

While on this subject, its a good idea to carry a Ford TFI module in the trunk, when that craps out its lights out and no start!........simple to R&R in the "field".........I learned the hard way;-(

Can't really hurt as long as you also pack the nice TFI tool along with it. I think it might be a 5.5 mm socket tool?

[Toploader]

Forgot all about that..............anyone know for sure what specific tool is needed to R&R?

[friskyfrankie]

Look up Ford TFI tool. Several companies make them and they are not expensive. Amazon, Ebay and many local stores should carry them. Here is one example:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lisle-646...SABEgJ2T_D_BwE

[Arquemann]

Or swap out the 7/32" hex bullshit and put in some allen cap screws or philips heads and get an offset screwdriver / allen L-key.

[friskyfrankie]

Or swap out the 7/32" hex bullshit and put in some allen cap screws or philips heads and get an offset screwdriver / allen L-key.

Not a bad option but since the tool is so cheap - why bother?

[Arquemann]

If the hardware is lost maybe? Easier to replace. Also in my case the nearest walmart is quite far away.
I'm not a fan of unneccessarily specific tools, especially in a critical use case. But I guess one of those won't hurt too much to carry in a car.

[friskyfrankie]

If the hardware is lost maybe? Easier to replace. Also in my case the nearest walmart is quite far away.
I'm not a fan of unneccessarily specific tools, especially in a critical use case. But I guess one of those won't hurt too much to carry in a car.

Good point about possibly losing the screws. Hopefully that is not an issue for us and we can simply keep the tool in the glove box or tool box in the trunk.

[Tiggie]

When I was running 2+ hour interstate commutes before I had a cell phone, I just carried an extra distributor since it was just one 1/2" bolt. Never needed it.

[jaywish]

A regular socket which has been ground a bit thin works just fine.

even one of those ultra cheap china made ones are ok for this.

[friskyfrankie]

A regular socket which has been ground a bit thin works just fine.

even one of those ultra cheap china made ones are ok for this.

Would work, in a pinch, but for les than $10 (in most cases) there is no real need.

[gadget73]

the problem with the tool is getting it in there. Half the time the distributor is at a spot where it won't fit unless you un-clamp it and rotate. The hex key gets you around that.

or just carry a distributor, honestly its about as easy to swap the whole thing out, and it also gets around the possibility of a dead pickup. I have had two ignition failures in my nearly 20 years of driving these cars. One was an honest to goodness TFI failure, the day after a water pump failure caused a serious engine overheat. The other time the magnet fell out of the distributor. The 240k mile TFI module was absolutely fine and I still have it around as a spare, but the pickup was junk. Called 86VickyLX for a rescue and he brought me a spare distributor to chuck in on the side of the road. When the TFI went TU in the Towncar, I got my stepdad to bring me the spare distributor and I did the same thing. If your ears are good you can get it damn close without a timing light. Both times I stabbed it and went I was within 2 degrees when I got home to check it.

The other time I thought it was an ignition problem was actually the timing gear fell off, but thats a different matter entirely.