KO Posted August 17, 2002 Report Share Posted August 17, 2002 Posted by ADI2UDE: "As many people that ask this and the answer is not in the FAQ as of yet. This procedure is for 87 ONLY...86 and earlier are wired differently. Remove the ECU from your 87. Have the 88-89 In hand with the 87. Go to a place where ou think there is not much static electricity around beause a static spark has the ability to destroy the ECU's. 1. Remove the covers on both ECU's, this is four screws on each one. 2. There are six screws on the bottom board of the 87 ECU. Three on top(plug side), One in the middle and two on bottom. Remove the board. 3. There are two boards on the 88-89 ECU. Remove the three screws on the top board. Move the top board out of the way a little bit. Now remove the screw holding the main board on. The bottom side(opposite plug side and middle) have three spacers between the two boards. If I remember correctly a 8mm wrench will work. This should remove the 88-89 ECU from the 88-89 ECU CASE. 4. Return the 88-89 ECU into the 87 case. Replace the screws as you took them out of the 88-89 case. Don't forget that the spacers go on the bottom to seperate the boards. 5. Replace the 87 ECU COVER back on the case. The 88-89 will not work because the screw holes on the side are different. 6. Replace the ECU back in your car plug it in and your ready to ride. INFO: The cases ARE different between the 87 and the 88-89 ECU. The screw holes are different. This way you don't have to move anything and it is a straight swap over. This took me 15 minutes or less to do including the removal and installation of the ECU fromthe car. Havefun Guys!!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestTSl Posted October 22, 2002 Report Share Posted October 22, 2002 I know the ECI is located on the inside passenger side but where is the actual ECU located? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 It's a metal book shaped box to the right of the passenger foot compartment mounted on the side. Â It's behind a plastic wall cover that easily comes off with one or two screws. I've done this swap. It's real quick and easy, just don't touch any of the circuitry as static may short out the internals. ANOTHER HINT....you may want to check that pin #4 is indeed getting a proper ground before finishing the re-install. Unless that is getting a strong ground, you may want to bridge a chassis ground of of it. (This is also the ground you'd use to wire an A/F ratio gauge. -Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frog0utlaw Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 what would an 88-89 ecu upgrade do to my 85 starquest ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Rock87TSi Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 Well, to start with, I'll give some background. After 85, the cars have unique wiring and sensing systems. The 87 widebody cars, which are mostly like the 88-89's with a few exceptions, namely the actual ecu box. The 86 cars simply aren't hooked up the same, and to my scattered knowledge 85 -like your car- down to maybe even the 83's are all wired about the same. 82 1/2 has even different wiring! It's kinda weird and I'm still learning about my 87, but you catch the drift. These cars arent camaros, they changed a lot year to year, and with little changes come different wiring schemes. Perhaps an 86 flatbody computer would do you some good? Don't take that from me though, ask a flatbody owner. Point is, if you try putting an 87 or later computer in an 85 down car it will chug up to about 400 rpm and fire a few times, then collapse. I tried it when I had some problems with one a few years ago... it made things worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armygreen11 Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 I just bought an 87 with an 89 ECU already in it. What exactly does the 89 ECU buy for you? Just the boost increase? Or are the maps different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihavenoname Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Hey, i have a 84 and i was wondering if anyone has done the swap to a 88-89 ecu and if they knew the wireing diagram for this year and what needs to be changed. Thanks, Marcus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanitariumite Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 So whats the difference between the '87 and 88-89 ecu's? I would do the upgrade, but i don't know what it does. Thanks Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikec Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 88-later ECUs can tolerate higher boost levels before they go into fuel cut. The 87 ECUs generally will cut off at some moderate level of boost (it varies from 9 psi to 13 or so); the 88-later ones take more than that. Swapping ECUs does NOT raise the boost on your car though - that's entirely the job of the wastegate actuator and/or a manual boost controller attached to the wastegate actuator. But, to use big boost, you need an ECU that can keep up with it... the 88-later ones. mike c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanitariumite Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 I wanted to run my '87 at like 12 psi, once it's running again. How easy is it to tell when the fuel cut hits? Thanks Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts