Van drives sluggish
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Joined: Jan 2004
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Van drives sluggish
I own a 1990 Ford E-250 Super Cargo van(long wheelbase) that has been turned into a van conversion- it has a 351 fuel injected motor with an automatic with overdrive transmission but don't know what model. Many years ago I had this van in a van conversion shop for a year and a half. After getting it back I discovered it lost all of the power it used to have and it had 15,000 miles on a brand new warranteed engine from Ford. I took this van to two different shops and haven't fixed the problem. Right now it has been sitting for more than three years. Anyhow, whenever I have driven it the van feels very sluggish and I can hardly feel the kickdown from the transmission at full throttle in street and freeway driving. The van idles fine but just no response and also the ABS light stays on all the time. Can anybody what might be causing this problem. Any helpful responses are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 877
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From: Colorado, U.S.A!
What did those shops do to try to fix it? Seems like the first thing would be standard tuneup items, plugs, wires, cap & rotor, filters, etc. Pull the codes. Compression test. Check fuel pressure.
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I can't remeber what the first shop did but the second shop said there was an electrical problem. It was supposedly having to do with oxygen sensor connector. They had to splice and replace the connection. They did a full tune up. They changed the spark plugs, spark plug wires(Accel Blue wires), Napa Echlin distributor rotor, cap and coil. They cleaned all injectors and no improvement. This was back in 1997. Where do I put code scanner in the vehicle?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 877
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From: Colorado, U.S.A!
If it's like my 89, it's on the passenger side between the battery and the fender. It's a red connector with 4(I think) sockets and a gray connector with 1 socket.
I wonder about the ABS light. Don't know much about that, but I wonder if maybe the brakes are dragging?
I wonder about the ABS light. Don't know much about that, but I wonder if maybe the brakes are dragging?
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Metamora
I had a similar problem with my 91, 351. After changing the plugs, wires, cap and rotor, I finally bought a code scanner from Auto Zone and plugged it in to the diagnostic port (as c96 mentioned, above the battery on the pass side) and it gave me a code for a bad throttle position sensor (TPS). The TPS is under the throttle body, kind of a pain to get to, you need to remove the intake box and tubes, throttle linkage and a couple of heater hose fittings. Then just unbolt the old sensor and replace it with the new one.
My van really woke up with this thing fixed. I had problems before where the thing wouldn't kick down out of OD on the highway when the accelerator was floored, now the thing accelerates hard and downshifts when it is supposed to.
I am not saying that this is your problem, but I would seriously suggest that you check for trouble codes with the scan tool, the parts store can do it for you if you don't want to buy one, and see what the computer tells you...
Good luck
My van really woke up with this thing fixed. I had problems before where the thing wouldn't kick down out of OD on the highway when the accelerator was floored, now the thing accelerates hard and downshifts when it is supposed to.
I am not saying that this is your problem, but I would seriously suggest that you check for trouble codes with the scan tool, the parts store can do it for you if you don't want to buy one, and see what the computer tells you...
Good luck
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 354
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From: Memphis, TN USA
If the brakes are not binding, I would think it is a tranny related. Just check the tranny fluid, tranny filter, differential fluid.
If they are fine, then I would check for somewhat restricted catalytic converter if it has one.
Lastly, clogged up fuel filter or low fuel pressure. It was on a car though. The car would barely move on level line and you can feel the vehicle not able to climb up a hill. Many shops could not find the problem, which puzzled me. Finally, after finding a shop that did a thorough test and found that there is another fuel filter in the engine aside from the fuel filter in the frame. Power was back again.
If they are fine, then I would check for somewhat restricted catalytic converter if it has one.
Lastly, clogged up fuel filter or low fuel pressure. It was on a car though. The car would barely move on level line and you can feel the vehicle not able to climb up a hill. Many shops could not find the problem, which puzzled me. Finally, after finding a shop that did a thorough test and found that there is another fuel filter in the engine aside from the fuel filter in the frame. Power was back again.
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