Shop has checked the compression before removing the intake to get at the fuel injectors, replaced them, fixed the leaky valve cover gasket and put it all back together, still only running on 4 cylinders, new distributor, cap, rotor, plug wires, and plugs, had a miss that slowly degraded to a poor running condition, loss of power, then in a pull the plug wire test while running to find #3 and #4 to not be firing at all. The windshield leaked to the point it rotted out the entire front floor, I've been screaming check the ECM to be ignored, now we have reached the point this POS has more money in it than can ever be gotten out of it, mounting the wheelchair conversion equipment pretty much is committal to a project, but a line must be drawn somewhere. When I got it, there was a slight miss, and warm startup resulted in an idle issue, rev it or the engine would quit, sent it to a shop who found nothing wrong with it, upon pick up the transmission was so low it would not pull, so it went to a transmission shop, was rebuilt, yet pick up there it barely had the power to drive home, no hills, found to be running on 4, so a compression test was done, all cylinders were 160, funny there was no deviates, all even, injectors were ordered, tho upon restart it is the same. Talk of putting in a new engine seems insane as I think it will be the same end result, 4 cylinder, oh I'd love to be able to put a 4 barrel intake and carb, junk all this electronic trash as I miss my 73 more and more, could have gotten the entire front clip replaced on it and rebuilt the drivetrain with money to spare. If you see an 80-96 model van run away, OBD1 is from the devil, no one wants to work on them and evidently they are a money pit, just replacing parts is not the answer, I don't know what to do now, this thing has cost me a fortune, I thought the 300 was Fords most durable engine, this one has 75,000 miles on it and wont pull a greased string from a cats ***!

 

Shop has checked the compression? What is it?
3 being next to 4 makes me want to pull the head off and check for a blown out gasket and or the metal mites eating the valves
Course, I would be checking the compression over and over and shooting some compressed air into those cylinders to see what is happening first
Get after it, pull the head
Then you can say that your wheel chair has not stopped you
Get some help. there is nothing wrong with that
If you lived close, I'd be right over

 

Maples,
What a let-down.
On a good note guy, my E250 Chateau is running the best it has in years. I've been chasing run ability gremlins for 2-years.

If all cylinders are within 15-psi of each other, you have a driver.
It sounds to me like you are hit with no spark on cylinders number 3 and 4, but each cylinder having good compression.

I've been running a Clifford equipped Ford 300 in my pickup now since 1997. It is a Greaser built engine w/ balanced rotating assembly for sustained 3500-rpm running thru the mountains while towing a trailer. I installed metal timing gears and they have a distinct whine at idle. Kinda cool really.

I would consider taking the van to a good Auto-Electric shop and have them tell you what is amiss causing no spark on cyl's 3 and 4.
I assume your mechanical advance is not jumping or doing strange things. Just a thought.
If all other cylinders are getting spark except two, then there must be a fault in either rotor, cap or wires. Maybe even plugs.

I recently got a tip from a buddy to use a propane torch to burn clean the spark plug tip. I was really impressed with how nice my plugs looked afterward.

Make absolute certain your battery voltage idling is at least 13.5 to 14.5 volts, which means your voltage regulator is working to charge the system.

 

I have it at a shop, not seen it in months, don't live here anymore, compression was 160 on all, I took that as no head gasket issues, so he pulled the intake to access the injectors, replacing all of them, and the leaky valve cover gasket, found a bad ground cranking it, but I hear from dad its still a 4 cylinder, I'm thinking computer, but not wanting to replace parts. The van had a leak over the heater box, bad enough to rot out the floor, the ECM being under the heater I'm sure its been saturated, add in the mass number of them that the capacitors leaked, damaging their boards, shorting them out, was without water. The distributor was missing a chunk, one of the cap secure screws, so we had it replaced last year after we tuned it up, was impossible to time, the balancer had slipped, got a new one of those, but timed it by ear, drove for months before it finally got to this point, was a slow degrade, from a slight miss, to hard start, finally to dead cylinders. I thought about what a bad crank position sensor inside the distributor would cause, but don't think it would kill 2 cylinders, so takes me back to the ECM, would hate for the engine to be replaced over an electrical issue, I prefer carbs, look for gas, then spark, makes me miss my 73 more and more, simple trumps all this convenient crap. I checked the vacuum lines after installing the floor, checked over everything I could reach at the rear of the engine, should have dropped the ECM when I saw it just to check it out. My days of wrenching ended earlier this year, had to go into surgery to fix the pump that is linked to my spine, the hose that is said to be absolutely indestructible isn't, I'm the first patient to damage it, leaning over pulling coil springs, made me deathly ill, over 10 surgeries in little over a year, only thing I am going to do is some body work on my vans, add paint and call it quits, tho its starting to look as if the 89 is a waste of time and money, 99 can't stop the roof leak up front, always something.

 

160 is sure good enough if it was accurate
The odds of the processor are slim as the injectors on those old ones (your 89) run batch fire or bank A and bank B firing injectors 3 and then 3 more
I take it your cap and rotor are new and the wires are good (7500 ohms a foot)
You should be able to find a used processor cheap to use as a test

 

Wires were new, warrantied, but the guy said the ends came off when he went to pull them off the other day, don't make them like they used to it seems, get to buy more, this vans motto is replace everything every year. I had to pour 3/4 gallon antifreeze in it before it left months back, absolutely no leaks, not a drop of anything under it ever, never an answer for 4 qts of transmission fluid disappearing either tho, may need a priest to exercise it too, I'm out of cash, dads paying now, and boy is he paying, he needs stop using the word junk in reference to my 73, I didn't spend in ten years whats been spent on this 89 in one, and it was a daily driver, should have pulled the head while the intake was off it seems, head gasket still in question, but then how did it have a high compression.

 

Been tons of fun, radiator broke from its mounts and spewed coolant upon touching, mechanic was getting ready to remove the transmission lines from it to add an external cooler, so radiator upgrade, aluminum built for a big block, relocation of the lower hose was needed to attach it, and moving the AC condenser, a custom scoop to direct air to the transmission cooler was added. Before I could get it back, dead battery, alternator was removed and rebuilt, there were no brushes left inside, completely worn down, when it was reinstalled still no charging, the external voltage regulator had a wire broken off of it, no way this has been charging my entire ownership, months of work and I may be getting it back tomorrow if it doesn't break anything else, practically rebuilding it, need to find a priest to exercise it, I believe it must be cursed. From a corroded ground wire, broken charging wire, burnt up alternator, I don't see how the ECM was getting required current without a drop, add in the hole in the vent above the heater box pretty much drown the ECM every rain storm, enough to completely rust out the floor up front. Well I sold my spare wheelchair, so I hope I got enough cash to square it with my mechanic, he's gone above and beyond on this thing as it just keeps breaking as fast as its assembled.
Ebay now has welded aluminum radiators for the 4.9 again, they had been out for some time, no plastic tank junk, I had been waiting for them to come back in stock, I knew mine was on borrowed time, was stained green all over.
Plug wires were replaced again, a heavier set was used, it has more power than when we got it, but still isn't running completely smooth, I believe fault rely in the ECM as everything else is new and tested out as good now, even got that valve cover leak dealt with, was a mess.

 

Not trying to be rude but that's the reason or allure for this van that keeps your pouring so much money into it?

 

Well the handicap equipment is over $10,000 to move/replace, once you rig one you are committed, and since I suggested getting a new van and was denied, well its almost as if I am involved in teaching a lesson, tho a futile one since they rarely listen to me anyway.

 

Okay my bad then---I keep forgetting your van's need that equipment. I really hope something changes and you're allowed to obtain a more suitable mechanically sound van.

 

Its running good now, not going to pull the ECM, guessing the tab broken off of the voltage regulator was causing the intermittent miss, would be a voltage issue, don't see how it could have been charging at all, it has the 100 amp alternator, not the fire starter most came with, the brush holder is burnt up in it.
All this handicap equipment is heavy, now we've gotten too old to move it again, and the shops that do that work only want to sell new equipment, not move old stuff, would cost a fortune to start over, I am shocked at the inflation on the prices now, they have near doubled in just 2 years, I don't know what I'll do when my current vehicles are beyond repair, if I did buy a new van, it'll go to a conversion shop to add another $30,000 in equipment to it, those shops are pushing $120,000 minivans on wheelchair users, special financing for 10 years, not sure who has that to pay, I couldn't cover a car payment, doing good to cover my credit card now.