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Ford Bronco Parts - Classic Vintage Early Bronco Parts

Convert a Mustang 55mm throttle body to a 65mm Explorer

Tech article by admin and filed under - Fuel Injection, Engine

Tech article by Chuck (blazinchuck)

Before you can slap that Explorer throttle body on, a few things need to be changed.

  1. The throttle lever is indexed wrong and needs to be swapped with the one from the Mustang.
  2. The Explorer TPS can be used, but the connector plug is wrong and must be changed out with Mustang connector.
  3. The vent tube needs to be re-clocked to match angle of the tube on the Mustang TB. For the throttle lever, I used an angle grinder and ground the tip of the throttle shaft that holds the lever in place.

For the throttle lever, I used an angle grinder and ground the tip of the throttle shaft that holds the lever in place. Grind it smooth and flat, then pry the lever off of the mustang TB. Both shafts are the same diameter, so the lever assembly from the Mustang will fit the Explorer shaft perfectly.

55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB 55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB

Once the Mustang lever is swapped over to the 65mm TB, I drilled and tapped the center of the shaft to secure the lever. I used a drill size #29 and tapped it 8-32 x 3/8”. I used a drop of blue lock-tite and a washer.

55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB 55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB

55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB

As for the TPS, this is pretty simple.  Both plug connectors are different in shape, but the pins are the same. I removed the center lock in both connectors and then pulled the pins out from the back.

Once the center plastic lock is removed, there is a plastic “flag” securing the pins in their holes… I used a small pick to pry then towards the center of connector. It doesn’t take much to pry it and pull the pin from the back side-you don’t want to break any of this.

55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB

The colors are the same on the Explorer TPS and Mustang TPS.

55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB

Here you can see the connector was removed from the Explorer TPS wiring.

55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB

Ready to reinstall pins from Explorer TPS into this Mustang connector.

55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB

Pins are in, and the center plastic lock is installed…now the TPS is done.

55mm Mustang Throttle Body to 65mm Explorer TB

Now, for the vent line… My Explorer TB came with a vent line, but it was pointing in the wrong direction. I sprayed it with WD-40 and used pliers to turn it to match up to the Mustang’s. I didn’t see a need to remove and reinstall with epoxy. This was still very tight once I turned it. I’ve heard some models do not have a vent tube, but there is a spot in the housing for it. If this is the case, you will need to twist and carefully remove the tube from the mustang and measure it. Then drill the correct hole to insert the tube into the Explorer housing. For this you may want to use epoxy to lock it in.

Hope this helps converting throttle bodies for you, chuck@cb4x4.com

6 Responses to “Convert a Mustang 55mm throttle body to a 65mm Explorer”

  1. f1drivr Says:

    Great article!

    Thanks

  2. broncoitis Says:

    good job!

  3. blazinchuck Says:

    thank you

  4. chuzie Says:

    Keep in mind there are 3 variants of Explorer TB.

    Best has a split shaft on the butterfly with the pigtailed TPS.

    Another has whole shaft butterfly with pigtail TPS

    Worst case is whole shaft butterfly with integrated plug on TPS.

    Split shaft at your discretion. Pigtail TPS so you can adapt the plug to your existing engine harness. Otherwise, you will have to cut the Explorer plug and splice it in to your harness.

  5. chuzie Says:

    addition to my above statement.

    Fourth option is split shaft with integrated plug.

  6. chuzie Says:

    addition to my addition.

    Found a variant of TB on a 96-97 explorer that has the same TPS as the mustang with the exception of a different plug on the pigtail.

    Why does this matter? Well, you can just remove the explorer TPS and install your mustang tps without the need to do pin/plug swaps.

    This will only work on the F67U throttle bodies on the 96-97 explorers as the 98 and newer had a different style of TPS and the mustang will not mount to the TB.

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