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1987 - Ford Econoline E350 Club Van - Starting Issues
Hey there,
My 1987 Ford Econoline E350 Club Van (7.5L V8) is having issues starting cold.
If starting cold, 80% of the time I will have to hit the gas pedal to get it to start.
If I don't hold the gas pedal at least slightly down, it will sputter out and die.
I have the pedal down for like 60 seconds then it's usually good.
Usually, each starting attempt after the 1st seems to get better.
I can always get the car started and going using this method: takes between 1-3 tries.
If i have to reverse after a cold start, sometimes it will sputter out.
It always runs fine once I'm in drive and on the road, but it has a high idle.
It also starts up nicely once it's warmed up, 100% of the time.
Would appreciate any advice.
I was looking at Jamie Clay's recent thread: "7.5L EFI running rich, rough idle - 173 code." and thought I might follow what he did? Just bought some new spark plugs.
I'm with Wireless here---your entire ignition and fuel delivery system needs attention. Since this seems to be more a cold weather issue that just reinforces this is a lack of maintenance issue.
New spark plugs might help but that's certainly not the full cure for what you're experiencing.
I'd also visit the sub-forum for your engine and get some ideas what to look for and at, what's needed to assure more consistent starting during the cold.
I'm a total n00b to my van and after seeing the responses, I popped the hood and peeped under the air filter, and I do have a carburetor! Hah, the guy i bought the van from was selling it for a friend of his, and didn't know much about the vehicle. And i just started it right up the couple times that I had looked at it. Thought it was fuel injected. As I said, I'm a van n00b and didn't realize how recently carburetors were still being installed in vehicles.
So now, I've been hitting the gas pedal 3-4 times to start, and just giving it some time to warms up and idle and it's been good.
I swapped out the spark plugs and saw it was running rich.
I then had the carb professionally tuned by a shop. Idles much better.
I decided to replace the valve cover gaskets as my mechanic had recommended.
The van smokes a bit of oil sometimes on the passenger side, and my mechanic had suggested a steam cleaning of the engine (to clean up the oil) and new Valve Cover Gaskets.
Anyways, I was taking off the Air Cleaner - and I knocked a small part of the carburetor off. It's a tiny black piece of metal (pic #1) that attaches to one of the rods that controls the Choke mechanism (pic 2 - that rod should be in the hole). After taking the photo - I was trying to place the black piece back on and it wound up breaking : (
Is there anything I can do about this? I'm unsure what the whole mechanism looked like before. Could I fix it temporarily by getting a nut and bolt that fits? Or maybe even a ziptie?
It's better to start a new thread for a new problem. Makes it easier in the future for people searching for answers. You are also more likely to attract the attention of someone who has relevant knowledge.
I'm guessing that clip goes on the other side to hold the rod in place so it doesn't slip out.
Quote:
"If starting cold, 80% of the time I will have to hit the gas pedal to get it to start."
That is the normal way to start the engine.
When you hit the gas pedal you release the choke and it goes to the closed position to start the engine.
01-28-2019, 11:42 PM
1987 - Ford Econoline E350 Club Van - Starting Issues
Always start with the basics!
