the ground strap that is connected somewhere on the engine to the fire wall. does it have to be there or can i put it somewhere else. like the valve cover bolt to the fire wall or intake bolt to fire wall?
I got a new one and was just curious if it has to be where ford put it?
You can use the back of the cylinder head to firewall or engine block to frame or any good grounding points. No it doesn't have to be in the stock location.
The location of the ground strap isn't critical. The back of the head to the firewall, the lower intake manifold to the firewall is fine. Just be sure that wherever the ground bolts down to, the bare metal is clean and shiny.
For a car with a 3G alternator, I recommend a 4 gauge cable run from the same spot as the engine to battery ground to the common ground point near the windshield washer filler neck.
The battery common ground is a 10 gauge pigtail with the computer ground attached to it. Picture courtesy timewarped1972