I'm new to FTE, but have found the best information here. Thanks to SUBFORD, CLUBWAGON, and PFOGLE.

I have a 96 E150 with the 5.8 and E40D tranny. I bought it new in Feb 1997 with the MARK III Conversion for $24900 (List was $32k). It has the camper tow package. I Love this van and enjoy working on it whan I have the time.
I have 142000 miles on it now and have been running Syntec 5W30 from 1000 mile oil change (change oil abd filter every 3-4000 miles and hope to make it to 200,000). I've had the tranny serviced with fuild and filter change every 30k miles.

1) Front AC Condensation
I have a severe interior condesation leak from A/C and heater box. It was so bad that the wiper control module shorted out on my last run from Melbourne Florida to Tennesse.

I found a wiper control module from a 1995 E150 and I have wipers again.

I tried to unpluged the drain from underneath with no luck.

So I finally got the time to pull the whole thing apart and found leaves and such to be the culprit. I cleaned everthing out and the heater core looks good, but I was wondering about bypassing it (Don't need heat here in Florida). Where is the blend door on the front? I have the Haynes Manual 1992-2001, but have found better info on FTE.

2) Tune Up:
I'm working on a tune up this weekend too.
I've read up here and will be taking back Champion plugs and cheaper wire set.
I'll be going with the Motorcraft Wire set and plugs.
Any suggestion on best place to buy retail?

I'm currently running an ACCEL 8233 Cap and Rotor and will be replacing these too. Is there a better set out there?

3) Cruise Control:
I lost Cruise Control so I'll be checking the Clock Spring in the steering after disconnecting -ve battery cable to disable airbag. Is it easier to repair or replace? I can solder so repair is okay, but I want the fix to last.

4) Rear Fan and Heater/AC:
I lost rear fan and need to trouble shoot that, I'll start with second fan control in the dash. How does A/C get to rear? I've got the rear heater box 1 foot behind drivers seat. What is the best way to clean and check this thing? I know I need to verify the blend door tab and vacuum motor still work.

5) Electrical Short in K (Trailer Adapter) or T (T/T & AUX BATT):
I have a dead short somewhere between main fuse box and rear end. This wiring harness was a problem from day one for me. The 30 Amp fuse was blown in the K circuit but the 60 amp fuse does not blow. It allows the battery to drain down to Zero Volts in a short amount of time. I think my best bet is to rewire the whole thing. Any advice? While I'm doing it what brake control should I add? I hope to start towing a small camper or boat (less than 16 feet).

6) Tires:
I'm currently running a light truck tire after going through relatively cheaper alternatives. I have a mechanic in Greenville NC for finally getting me the right tires for this thing. I had resigned myself to replacing tires every year. This set has been on for 2 years and they still are going strong.

7) Allignment:
I use to have to have an alignment every year also, but for some reason the allignment has been good for the last 2 years. Now that I think about it I should probably have it checked.

8) Rain gutter rusting:
I've been noticing rain gutter rust through where the paint/caulk cracked. Any suggestions on best way to repair?

9) Fiberglass Top very Dull:
I've been trying to bring back the shine on the fiberglass top (Florida Sun is a killer!). What is the best way to do it?

10) Would like to install solar vent fan:
Keeping my baby cool is always a challenge after being parked in the sun all day. I was thinking of making a fiber glass vent box with a solar panel to run a small fan. I was thinking of putting it in between the rear top stop light and fiber glass top. This would keep me with only one through hole in the roof.
Is there a better solution or an aftermarket one?

Thanks for all of the help past, present and future.

P.S. What happened with the yama916 guy's project?

I'm interested in having a reason to go and buy a welder to do the exhaust mods for better mileage and power. Also I would like to know more about electric fan mod to get rid of mechanical one. What happens with the serpinetine belt?

 

Heater core, unless your blend door is broke don't worry about it. If the blend door is broke then cut the hoses and usea piece of steel pipe to connect them, clamp it pretty good so it doesn't leak.

Clock spring, replace it if it's bad.

The motorcraft cap and rotor, or the NAPA premium are the best. Also the "top line" advance ones are good too. I forget the actual brand name. Wires you can go with the napa premiums there too.

Rear fan... It gets it feed from the switch for the front fan. Pull the whole unit ouf the dash and make sure that it's not a melted plug and switch. This is common. If it is, you might be able to find a good replacement at the junk yard, but I doubt it.

Electrical short, it's probably just a frayed wire in the connector at the back of the van. Crawl under the drivers side rear of the van and find the connector just behind the rear axle. Inspect all the wires from there to the power distribution box under the hood. If you can't find a problem there then it's one of the wires going through the firewall.... This could be a more serious problem. If you're just towing a small boat and a tent camper then trailer brakes really aren't needed. If you're wanted to tow a larger camper like a 20 footer or so then any electronic brake control will work fine. You can't use the older hydraulic style as they will mess up the ABS.

Dull top, get some NU FINISH wax, some rubbing compound, an electric buffer and some different discs and wheels for it. Use the rubbing compound to get it cleaned up and restore some of the shine, then use the wax to finish it off. The rubbing compound will also take the yellowing off the headlight lenses.

Rust, just sand it and paint it.. That's the best thing to do.. If it's too deep you may need to use a little body filler here and there. Keep it clean and sand it down so it countours with the body correctly and you'll never know it's there.

Alignment, you'll find that the better tires will really help this. The stronger sidewalls on the LT tires will really decrease the need for alignemnt. The big thing you'll want to check out is the tie rod ends and ball joints. Make sure they're in good shape.


Fwiw, my '92 E150 with a 5.8 now has over 212k miles and the guy we sold it too is still using it daily.

As to your question on the belt, you just bolt the pulley back on without the fan. The belt is not affected.

For better mileage (I saw a jump from 15 to 17 highway) just remove the muffler and replace with pipe. It will take a little bit off the low end grunt, but it's well worth it in the mileage.

 

Thank You for the advice. I'll put the Front A/C Heater back together and focus on the controls for the rear Fan. Its raining like heck here. They scrubbed the shuttle Launch to try again on July 4th. I assume parts can be ordered from JC Whitney?

 

Pretty much all the parts you might need can be bought at a local auto parts store.