Hello there community,

I am reaching out to anyone who has experience fixing ford econoline vans, more specifically fourth gen vans. I have pictures to accompany my issues but first and foremost i will provide CONTEXT:
Buddy of mine said i can keep his work van if i was able to fix it, was sitting in his garage for two years, cosmetically perfect but said it doesnt run (duh) and will need the tranny (liberals say wuuut ?) replaced, Upon opening the hood i immediately noticed that part of the air filter assembly was missing (the bigger molded rhombus shaped part) and that a red wire with the brittle black conduit guard thing was dangling on top of the battery with its end taped off. I have worked and repaired my own vehicles before more specifically my 08 Colorado and 03 Explorer but the configuration under the hood of this van threw me way off, especially finding what looked like a toiled black squishy thing that im assuming is for air or fuel purposes that was resting on the air hoses.
Ive ordered the actual shop manuals and they will arrive next week but in the meantime my questions to you all are:

• Is there a real life video or pic (not a pic of a diagram in black and white were parts are indistinguishable and mashed together and their label above) picture of the under the hood configuration 95 E350 V8 and possible descriptions of them ? all the pics i found on google were diagrams and im looking more of a custom pic with someone describing the parts inside the hood, with connections and solenoids and the smaller electrical and electro-mechanical components as well (sorry i dont know what i am looking for cause this van scares me)

• Why do i have 2 battery trays on the passenger side and the driver side in the engine bay ? from doing a quick search it looks like my battery is suppose to sit on the passengers side, HOWEVER when i got it, the battery was resting on the drivers side...what gives ? is there suppose to be extra components resting there and are missing ? or is that a spot for another battery ?

• what is that black buoy balloon looking thing with hoses coming out its bottom ?

in my photos uploaded there are approximately 3-4 connections that are not terminated to anything. 2 are on the wiring loom on the driver side and passenger side and then the third connection which is a lot wider and slimmer (which i thought terminated to the pcm but boy was i as wrong as the progressive state of gender ideology in the US)

Can you guys please help me with links to other postings/videos/pictures/discussions that could help me out ? i apologize to all the OCD mechanics for fudging up nomenclature and such but again im not a mechanic, just a construction worker who refuses to pay for repairs and rather do it himself to save a months worth of rent

 

I have nothing to offer but is this a 5.8/351 or 7.5/460 engine?

Some Diesels of that vintage have a battery behind each headlight. Maybe heavy duty gassers of that vintage had a dual batteries option. I forget which side the single battery was in our ‘93 E150 5.8 but there was a battery platform on the other side as well.

Same ‘93 E150 5.8 throttle body had two throttle plates. 5.0s and 5.8s of that vintage were that way. Maybe 7.5s too.

Good luck with your research! The variance between vans of the same MY as they were built plus 30 years of keeping them running means a heavy dose of YMMV against pictures on the internet.

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 193K miles

 

Newbie posts with the "generation" BS need to understand year, chassis, engine CID and naturally fuel type are the best way to receive helpful replies!

 

this is. A 1995 V8 5.8L/351 model

 

1995 v8 5.8L….I will update at the eow for the chassis and CID

 

I am not experienced with the 1992 and up Econolines but the 95 is not that much more advanced then the 1991 and below.

One of the first things I would do is to remove the spark plugs and spray some fogging oil in the cylinders and let it sit overnight and soak in around the rings. Also if you have a PCV hose on one valve cover and a oil filler tube on the other, spray some fogging oil into the valve covers Next I would turn the engine over by hand using a ratchet on the crank pulley bolt and feel for any binding. Next I would install a battery and do a compression test.

Better then just using the fogging oil would be to pull the distributor and use an adapter tool to turn the oil pump to get everything lubricated before attempting to start the engine. 2 years sitting though may not be that bad though.


You should check the coolant for any signs of oil or milky look. Check the oil for any sings of water perhaps brownish looking. Change the oil before trying to start the engine.

After sitting for a long time all of the oil drains back down into the oil pan.

Since the van has sat for 2 years, you should drop the fuel tank/tanks and clean them out as well as test the fuel pump/pumps. Two years sitting may not have caused any rust but the fuel is defiantly bad. Your friend was probably running fuel with ethanol and if the fuel sits in the tank/tanks long enough, it will draw enough moisture from the air to cause phase separation.That is where the ethanol separates from the gas and blends in with the water. We had that happen to an old tractor and the tank had to be cleaned out because it had a yellow oily like residue coating the tank that slowly worked its way into the filters continuously stopping them up..
You don't want to turn the key on and have the fuel system prime with the old fuel as it will work its way to the injectors.
Its mostly labor but one should drop the and flush it out. With the tank still on the ground and the pump installed, add a couple of gallons of gas and connect a hose to the outlet side of the pump and energize the pump to test it out as well as flush out any old fuel. After that install the tank. Next take the fuel line loose at the fuel rail and and run the pump to flush out the lines from the tank to the fuel rail. Replace the fuel filter and repeat this step one more time and then connect the fuel line back to the fuel rail and your fuel system will be pretty well flushed out except for the fuel rail and injectors. Cleaning the fuel rail and injectors is another job within itself and may not need to be done if you flush out all of the old gas first instead of just pumping from the tank and through the system.
There are many posts here about folks with bad tanks and clogged systems.

The battery clamps on that pic showing the battery on the left side looks like aftermarket clamps to me. Perhaps someone added a second battery. My 1985 has 2 battery trays in it. The second battery was set up as an accessory battery.
That appears to be the factory starter solenoid on the right side from the pic. You should zoom out some distance so we can get an overall view. .

Some of this advice may seem a bit overkill but if your friend says that the engine was in good shape and you are planning on keeping this van for the long haul, It wont hurt to take a bit more time and make sure you do it right as you don't want to start a dry engine or pump sludge up to the injectors. Its mostly labor on your part.

 

They are all about the same when they sit for a long period
Mercedes, Mustangs, Trailblazers
Pull the tank, flush or replace it and the pump
Start with getting good fresh fuel to the engine