I am having a personal struggle with the concept of replacing my van because my wife cannot be comfortable in the passenger seat. I am completely bothered a lot by these thoughts every single day. But it's kind of a hobby to shop for stuff and it takes a lot to push me over a price edge where I have never been before. My van was $23k new and anything I look at costs $30 or $35k, used Expys and new minivans.

Plus my search has this "new toy" aspect but nothing I'm seeing (like minivans or an Expedition) is enough of a toy *with* function to get me to lose my van. Almost 30 years now that I've had a big van...the Ford is by far the best one I have ever owned and it's got more miles than any of the others did when I sold them. Honest, Ford does build some tough trucks and these vans are a doggone icon in America.

I have maintained that we would have no plumbers, carpenters, flooring people, electricians, utility workers, ambulance chassis, etc. without white Ford vans. Civilization as we know it would not exist without Econolines

Good luck,
George

 

Any legitimate shop will give you an estimate, some even like a challenge!

Get a couple estimates; even let a shop diagnose, it may not be as bad as you thought.

At least you don't have a rust bucket (Midwest rust belt here!) John

 

Hard to answer that without seeing the specific vehicles. Our vans at 150k are almost like new. But it's almost always cheaper to keep stringing along an older vehicle as long as the body is solid. There's a headache factor to consider though, and how much your time is worth. That counts whether you're repairing things yourself or taking it to a shop and waiting for it. Plus being without your van for a day or two for longer repairs. And having more confidence that you won't have any problems on that long trip you want to take. It's a trade-off. You'll just have to decide yourself what you want.

 

It's kind of like changing jobs. The devil you know vs. the devil you don't know.

 

And now we wait...

 

So the van went to the garage, and they said it started up and ran.... !

But then they said it quit on them, and after messing with it, they decided it was the air fuel ratio sensor. They replaced that and say it runs fine. The oil is clean and they aren't getting any white smoke.

But I know what I saw, and I tried it several times. Does anyone think my symptoms can be explained by a bad sensor or are they missing something?

I'm having them do the 90,000 mile service and a tuneup and hope for the best.

 

Who said the head gasket was blown ?
What did the "smoke" smell like ? Did it smell sweet ?
Was there oil in the coolant ?

 

Sitting in the drivers seat, I didn't notice anything other than that the engine wouldn't catch -- it turned over, but died as soon as I let off the key.

When I gave up and got out of the seat, I tried it one more time and caught the sight of white smoke out of the corner of my eye. I assume it was steam -- it dissipated very quickly, and left no smell or smoke in the area.

A friend said to check the oil, but since I use a wheelchair, I can't get up high enough to even open the hood, let alone check the oil. But he said white smoke is head gasket for sure! Reading online, various auto advice sites said the same. This forum suggested it could just be the intake gasket.

IF there's nothing in the oil, and it's running now, I suppose this was all a false alarm. But steam implies some fluid in the engine, right? So I'm confused.

 

There is difference between smoke and steam.
White smoke is usually gas. Black smoke is usually oil.
I wasn't there so it's hard to diagnose from here.
I have to assume the latest mech. looked at the usual things. Oil and water.

 

Yeah, I have to trust them, since I know nothing about engines. We'll see.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

If the garage is honest, it seems as though they did an honest job for you. A glimpse of white smoke or steam can be a lot of things. If you saw smoke or steam and the engine was cold, that doesn't seem like a head gasket or intake gasket as the reason you would expect steam from one of these events would be when the engine is hot enough to vaporize water.

Was the puff of smoke/steam coming out of the exhaust pipe or from under the hood or thru the grille? Was the engine definitely cold at the time or did it run a short while or was it fully warm? Exhaust systems accumulate water vapor, and after a cold start, the exhaust may steam and/or spit water droplets for a while. This is normal; one of the by-products of combustion is water.

If the oil is clean, that tells me the head and intake gaskets are probably OK; the oil would be milky and sludgy if it had coolant mixed in it, and the coolant could likewise have oil in it and leave black gooky residue in the overflow bottle. Usually a head gasket failure would let the coolant and oil passages bleed into one another under pressure while the engine is running. You could also have the shop pressure-test the cooling system (they pump up the pressure thru the radiator cap and see if that pressure bleeds off indicating a leak somewhere).

If it runs good when you get it back, I would proceed to drive it with a fair amount of faith; one suggestion I would make is to arrange for maybe a full-service gas station or a friend to check your oil and your coolant every time you fill up with gas for a month or two. You are looking for milky looking oil with coolant in it, or signs of oil in the coolant (as well as a possible drop in coolant level). If the oil stays clean and full, and the coolant stays clean and full, all is well. If you do see steam rising out from under the hood, it *may* be a leaking gasket, but as an engine warms up, there is sometimes rain water on the radiator that steams off when the hot coolant hits the radiator, and maybe even some places on the engine that can get little puddles or rain water or AC condensate water on it and that can steam off.

I hope your immediate outcome is just a solid running van. These vans are tough and reliable and it is rare that a doomsday scenario happens.
Best of luck to you,
George

 

Thanks YoGeorge. I told them to do the 90,000 mile service and a tune up (which they recommended -- said it looked like it had been a long time.)

The steam was coming out of the tailpipe. If it had been a cold winter morning, it would have looked just like that, but it wasn't. It's been over 90 every day here for weeks, with no rain (central California in a drought!) I was trying the van around noon. I had tried to start it maybe four times when I saw the steam. I hadn't run it for a few days before that.

I'll keep an eye on it. I drive it so little that a tank of gas lasts me a month, but I will drop by this garage after I've run it for awhile and have them check it again. They seem pretty helpful.

 

In your situation and particularly because you are not deeply knowledgeable about cars, I would say your best resource is a good, trusted mechanic. Based on them finding a problem that is not the most expensive solution, that is a good sign.

If you can use this shop and develop a friendship and trust with them, that should be a great strategy for you; they will get to know you and your van, and should be able to take note of any changes in its health.

Again, best of luck to you,
George

 

My water pump failed catastrophically about 2 months ago. I knew it was starting to go so I got a replacement a few months prior. Finding the time to swap it in tho' was a leetle tough; as the only driver and the only working vehicle for 3 households, my time is not my own. Of course, it blew while I was away from home; fortunately, only a couple of miles. Nursing it back home, I steam separated the top tank from the radiator core AND blew the head gasket. Took me a month to figure it all out, though.
(20 year old 4.9L I-6)

Facing a repair bill that would be worth more than I am, I punted. After doing some on-line research, I bought this stuff at Advance Auto Parts:

K & W Chemical FiberLock® Head Gasket & Block Repair, 32 oz.
<table class="table-prod-info-block" width="100%"> <tbody><tr class="topTD"><td colspan="3" class="topTD">
</td></tr> <tr> <td class="table-prod-info-block"> Part No. 401224-6 </td> <td class="warranty-prod-info-block">
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr class="bottomTD"> <td colspan="3" class="bottomTD">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="58%">
</td> <td width="38%">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> $25.99, was $35.99, you save $10.00

The lower price is ONLY available if you order on-line!

This is the only head gasket fixing goop I found that does not require you to drain the engine; says on the bottle that it works with all coolants. I followed the directions to the letter 3 weeks ago and have put on a few hundred more miles. I haven't lost a drop of coolant since and the engine SEEMS to be healthier than before. I don't know how long this will last, so I'm crossing my fingers and my toes.

 

rustbucket, the friend I first told about this problem had the same advice -- put some sealant gunk in there, and then sell the thing to some sucker and buy another car. He goes through a used car every couple of years, since he's extremely accident prone, and buys the cheapest crap he can find and runs it into the ground.

Not my style... For all I know though, the sealant will work for years. Good luck!