More TFI Questions.........

OUCH! I got one from a local Autozone and it was only $29.99 with a lifetime warranty. It is a Wells brand. A Ford dealer tech said they are not as good as the Ford ones, but I figure for the price difference I can live with it. Besides I got a spare used Ford one just in case.

Good luck!

Chris_Polley said:

$29.99 really? I guess ND and MN aren't the places to go to buy 5.0 parts. The more I read on the internet, I don't understand how an aftermarket TFI module could be any worse then an OEM Ford one. Sounds like they are a pretty poor part.

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I can help explain this one Chris....I'm an Electronics Manufacturing Engineer and the answer is simply "easy". Part grade, quality (specifications) and manufacturing process play a role in the life expectency of an electronic product. Even the selection of component packaging (inside the unit) play a critical role in harsh environment survivability. Something as seemingly simple as the type of solder used to connect the electronics together in the TFI module plays a critical role in the life of the product as-well. OEM is not always better than aftermarket and in some cases aftermarket is not always better than OEM.

So, how does this help you select the best unit? Not at all. Word-of-mouth and reputation are probably your best friend in this case. Things like heads, exhaust systems and the like generally have some empirical data (dyno's and flow bench tests) to back their claims...most stock replacement parts don't come with (or get advertised) with specsmanship....cause its a stock replacement part (and not an upgrade). I personally won't buy electrical parts from NAPA because of all the trouble I have had with wrong parts, or it won't work out of the box, or damn part lasts a week. But, that might just be me and my local store...others surely have had great sucess with them.

I personally would buy two of the cheapie units. One for the car and one spare. If your a long time keeper of the car the spare will eventually get used (and when you need it the store is closed anyways!) I tend to buy two of everything (gaskets, sensors etc.) cause there are two stangs in the "corral" and it'll get used eventually.

Hope this helps.

Well, my original Ford one lasted 15 years being driven everyday in the Houston heat. I'd say it held up pretty well. So far I had about 2 years on the replacement, but I did have it replaced under warranty last week due to a stator failure on my stock distributor. My car is now back on the road! I like Idwitheld-1's idea, buy two. Check on the internet, www.autozone.com sells them off the website also if you want to go that route.

Good luck!

I have had an AutoZone one in my truck with no problems for quite some time. I've bought a Ford one before and I never noticed a difference between the two. I liek the idea of having a spare as well, I keep saying I'm going to do that...