I recently purchased a 1982 E350 with a 351w and the carb that it was sold with is from what I've experienced this far a total pile of garbage. I'm new to full size 4x4 trucks and all things carbureted (as far as cars go, I've got a handful of bikes that have carbs and I'm knowledgeable enough to be dangerous) but don't know much for options and whats out there.

Loosely talking with friends and co-workers I've heard that for what I want, which is simplicity and reliability in this vehicle, I should look into edelbrock carb setups. The PO said the choke on this one is broken, so a new carb with electronic choke and an accelerator pump should do me good in tuning this thing up.

My question to you guys is what sort of opinions you have about these, and who should I shop them through? Without doing a ton of research just yet, I think a ballpark of 550-600 edelbrock is the direction I'm gonna go. I just want to hear it from some of you that I'm on the right track before I pull a trigger.

The engine is stock, it's an auto with a c6 tranny and married transfer case (not sure that matters just trying to inform)

 

I realize now that there's a place for full size van related threads on the site here... Sorry guys, if someone of proper authority wants to help move this thread or I can recreate it once deleted out of here.. I shoulda looked twice before posting

 

National Carb in FLA. rebuilds, dynos, and flow tests.

I sent my brand new Edelbrock 600cfm to them to deal with the crappy ethanol gas here in New England. Fires right up.

 

No problem of it in the "wrong" area.
You have the right year but the "E350" then "4x4" kind of had me saying WHAT??


You may also get more people looking at it here to help guide you on what to do.
You can also ask the same question over in the van thread or even in the gas motor area for the size motor you have.


You may also want to post what carb you have now you want to replace and what is wrong other than the choke.


Good luck
Dave ----

 

As of now, I just brought it home a few days ago. It began dying on me during the drive home when I would get off the gas and get on the brakes, it wanted to quit idling and shut off. So every red light involved me putting it in neutral, pumping the gas pedal and revving the engine to keep it running till I could drop it into drive and take off again. So my idle circuit seems plugged or not proper in some regard...

I don't know the type of carb on it currently, I haven't had the chance to look yet. I just know it's a stock 351w that's been sitting a while. I'm leaning on the side of an Edelbrock 600, do you think it's necessary to have it sent out? I'm from Detroit area so I'm wondering if the gas here may play a part as well.

 

If I recall right, there's a dashpot (electric solenoid) that props the throttle plate open a bit to control idle. When you shut down it allows the plate to close completely to prevent dieseling. Check and make sure it's working. If it's not, the symptoms are very much like you've described.

 

If it has been sitting for a while the ges it the tank could be bad as cause it not to idle.

Also could be rust from the tank made it by the filter to the carb or fresh gas washing crud off everything the cause.

I would do a little more checking to fund the cause before throwing parts at it.
Dave - - -

 

Maybe the carburetor isn't "garbage", but your understanding of it (and all things carbureted) is?


You are going to dismiss the carburetor you have in favor of a new one that costs well over $300 just because the choke is broken?

As far as "simplicity and reliability" goes, you aren't going to find a carburetor that is more simple and more reliable than the stock Motorcraft 2150 carburetor your van originally came with.

And for the record, the Motorcraft 2150 carburetor your van should have will have an electric (assist) choke and an accelerator pump as well.


My opinion is to keep the stock carburetor, but rebuild it with a $25 kit and replace the choke.

Or, replace your carburetor with a rebuilt one for less than $200:
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....110834&jsn=462

Either of these two options will be much cheaper (and easier) than purchasing an Edelbrock carburetor and an intake manifold for $700.

 

Maybe I should've clarified, I've got a sour taste in my mouth from all of my experiences had with motorcycle carburetors. Trying to restore old crusty carbs to be trustworthy components has never been an easy feat for myself. I've found spending a little extra money to go with something new is worth the money to save the headache if it's a priority to spend less time wrenching and more time enjoying.

That being said, I'm also not going to blindly throw money at parts in hopes of making all my problems go away, I came here for advice before triggers were to be pulled so I appreciate all the input. I'll look into rebuild kits, also didn't know the reman carbs were an option either. So all good steps in the right direction. I'll have to pull mine off and get back to you guys with whats currently on there.

 

I have to agree that the 2150 motorcraft is super easy to rebuild, its about as simple a carb to deal with ive yet seen, (granted my personal experience is with a 2150 motorcraft and old quadrajet, that thing has a million pieces and was a pain) for car carbs its very straightforward, worst case your out some carb cleaner a little bit of time, and a rebuild kit/electric choke cost, before moving onto something else.

That said, being it is a 350 you can benifit from doing a swap on the manifold and carb to a 4bbl over 2, youll get better mileage as long as you dont stomp on it with the 4 as it has smaller primary jets (compared to the larger jets of a 2bbl) and the secondarys wont engage until you need the extra power. Plus the lighter weight and the type of material(aluminum) can help your vehicle as well. Just my 2 cents, but i would recommend a 650cfm from edelbrock if you choose that route. Best of luck, keep us updated!

 

If he has a 2150 motorcraft on the motor now and wants a new carb but not swap intakes a Holley 2300 v2 500 cfm would bolt right on to the stock v2 manifold.


You can get parts for the Holley 2300 as it is half a v4 Holley carb and interchange between them.
Dave ----

 

Don't be so fast to condem the carb. The symptoms you describe sound a lot like a sticky EGR. Or maybe a vacuum leak.

Post some pictures of your carb, distributor, and intake area so we can see what you have.

You're posting in the right place for general machanical issues regarding trucks of this vintage.

 

Mightn't an E350 already have an HO engine and 4V 4180 carb?

Who did the 4x4 conversion?
Quigley?

 

it's a pathfinder conversion, there's badges with that name on it at least.. I think it may have been a dealer/factory option? not sure really.

I pulled the Air filter off yesterday to find that:

My choke cable wasn't connected to anything, looks like the choke mechanism on the side isn't functioning at all, when we closed it manually and tried starting the car again it would idle a little bit but not good enough to stay floating. I think we're on the right track here.

Turns out the carb is already a 4 barrel Edelbrock on there... not sure what model as I haven't removed it yet but the badge on the front was pretty clear. So thats good yeah?? can you purchase just the electronic choke setup separately for these? was going to shop rebuild kits for these and try that before getting into shopping new ones.

Additionally, the EGR on the back of the motor looked real crusty, one port was already plugged with a rubber hose and bolt stuffed into it to cap it. My buddy said you can remove that entirely with a block off plate and gasket they make or can make your own.

Air filter was filthy, carb looked crusty, plugs looked new but I didn't pull one yet, it smells really rich when we're starting it.

I think with the right small steps this thing will improve vastly, thanks for all the input guys

 

They do indeed sell choke kits independently, sounds like we are moving in right direction, definitely go ahead and grab a new air filter (k&n is my preference) as well as a choke and rebuild kit, if you need help tryinh to find stuff let us know we love to help. Also keep us updated on what model carb it is.