I have an `89 E-150 302 60,000 miles with auto tranny that is difficult to start when the engine is cold. I replaced the Cap, Rotor, Spark Plugs, Wires and IAC. It finally starts after several tries. Then it either stalls out while fast idling or the rpm`s will slowly decrease until the engine stalls. But it will continue to run if the throttle is played with to keep it from stalling. If I start it and put it in drive, then it usually won`t stall. Starting problem is much worse in the winter. Please, can anyone tell me if they had this problem and what I could do to remedy this? Other than this, it`s a great van!

 

First I would pull the codes from the computer and see if that turns up anything. Next clean the Idle air bypass valve and throttle body, it is located on the side of the throttle body, you can also set the TPS voltage while you have the throttle body off. Also check the intake to make sure it is clean, the ports to the EGR valve get pretty clogged, you may have to remove the throttle body and egr to clean the passages. I would check for vac. leaks at the same time if you have a vac. test kit. If you can't find any vac. lines broken or leaking it could be leaking at the lower intake. The easiest way to check lines if you don't have a vac. gauge is to unplug all the lines off the top of the intake and plug all the ports, if it runs fine go buy a vac. test kit like a MityVac and test your lines. If the problem is still there the problem may be the upper or lower intake gaskets. You can lightly spray some starting fluid along the intake to see if it changed the way the engine runs, this will tell you if it is sucking air. It is kind of dangerous to do this. If it seems to be sucking air you can re-torque your lower intake bolts and be very lucky to fix your problem. If it doesn't seem to be sucking air it could be sucking air from the lifter valley inside your engine. Another way to tell if you have a vac leak at the intake is to go to a shop that has a nice laser temperature gun and have them measure the temps on your exhaust manifolds. The cylinders getting extra air will be hotter than others that are still sealed because they will be running lean with the extra air. If you have to take everything apart to get at your lower intake bolts to try and tighten them it isn't that much more work to just pull the lower intake and replace the gaskets. It takes about a day to do the entire job if you know what you are doing. Vac. leaks will cause a rough idle, hard starting when cold and poor fuel economy. I had a lower intake gasket problem, my vac. was running about 14-16 in/Hg at idle in N when warm. After I fixed it 18-20 in/Hg. Idle was smooth and gas mileage went way up. My problem was due to aftermarket heads not fitting the stock intake very well. I got a new setup to fix my problem. There were some TSB's on lower intake problems, you could inquire at a Ford dealer, might get it fixed for free! Ya, right. Hope that helps.