This is the same problem I have had in the past...I will describe again. I have an '89 460 EFI in a E350 Cutaway chasis that only stalls when under a load and it is hot outside. Speed does not seem to be a factor at all as it has happened at 10 MPH and 65 MPH. I can drive the same stretch of road in the evening with same tank of fuel (meaning no more or less Ethanol, dirt, etc) and same load and the van won't stall. Mine will start to pop a little from the engine like it is going lean and then will die shortly after that. I though it was a vapor lock problem, but I know that is rare with these, so I wrapped the fuel lines near the exhaust, etc. just for fun. Obviously that made no difference. If I wait and hour or so it will fire up and run fine again. I also thought that it might be the little box that bolts to the distributor (sorry new to Fords too). Seems that I replaced that once and it ran fine in the heat for a while(Sorta...not quite as hot though). I also heard someone mention once that those boxes are real sensative and sometimes the heat will cause the board inside to warp and loses connections, etc. I guess I need to get one and carry with me and the tools to change it, huh? Someone said it might be in tank lift pump going South, always happens when I don't have or can't check fuel pressure. I can hear the motor turn, but if the fuel is boiling in the pump it might still turn but might not build pressure enough to get to the main pump. I only have tank (@50 gal.).

HOWEVER, I have to get this fixed as my wife hates sitting on the side of the road waiting for this thing to come back to life. We use the van to pull our race to car and when it is working it is a GREAT van and I am quite impressed with it. I get good (relativley) fuel economy, has pretty good power (need to fix that too, would like a little more. Maybe an RV cam would help) and rides quite nice. The previous owner did a home removal of the smog stuff, so I hope a left over bit is not the source.

Thanks in advance.

 

That is the TFI module, if you did not get it from FORD then it may be the problem. The ones the A/P stores sell are reverse engineered, as FORD has never gave out the details as to what is inside. So none of them are as good as what FORD sells. Also make sure you put Thermal grease on it. If you have a three pass radiator change it to a Modine four pass from NAPA.This may be it also. One way around it would be to convert your system over to the 1990 and up fuel system with the high pressure pumps in the tanks and none on the frame rail.Might want to carry an can of Freeze and spray the TFI module when it does this.Could be the problem, what he removed my be causing it to run lean that would make it run hotter and cause the TFI to fail.

 

The PO may have also removed the hot fuel return line not knowing what it was. The hot fuel return was used on 460 vans and some other models to prevent vaporlock.

This is not an "option". It comes standard with the 460 engine in vans.
The fuel pump in the tank is a low pressure pump capable of 25 gph @ 4.3 psi. It
sends fuel to this little gizmo by the carb called the vapor separator. This
works by pressure. What the carb doesn't need, it sends back to the fuel tank.
The idea behind this is it keeps a constant supply of cool gasoline available to
the carb available at all times eliminating vapor lock and other maladies.

There are two different orifices available for this piece, .060
and .040. The note says to use the smaller one if the carb is starving for fuel
or experiencing a power loss. Part #s are E3TZ 9N176B (blue dot, .040) and E3TZ 9N176A (red dot, .060).

 

He has a '89 460 EFI in a E350 Cutaway chasis, EFI has the return from the FPR and does not have the "hot fuel return system".

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I never though of putting the HP pump in the tank, makes perfect sense to me though. I guess I could use 1 pump in the stock pump assembly housing (I had Chevy trucks in the past and I sure the idea in the tank is similar). I have used a guy at www.autoperformanceengineering.com for fuel pumps and he is AWESOME. So I might give that a try if the FORD TFI does not do the trick.

Is there anything in the emisions that the truck cannot do WITHOUT? OR would it be easier to add it all back to the van. The smog pump is gone for sure, and several vacuum lines are plugged, etc.

I do have the Modine radiator (always had good luck with them) although I am not sure how many rows it has, but I will check. The van never runs hot on the gauge, actually it runs below half on the gauge 99% of the time. I was surprised that it ran so cool and still had the problem. I have seen temps shoot through the roof on my turbo race cars when they lean out and pop in the intake. When I open the hood after it stalls it is CRAZY hot in there...of course it always happens on hot days and I am usually a little hot as well (since the van has NO A/C currently (that is my next fix as it HAD A/C and I have a new compressor just need to source the lines, evap, condensor, etc and make the electrical connections).

Thanks again.

 

Sounds like the in tank pump to me. They are at their worst when it's hot outside. If your fuel is an ethanol blend it's even worse cause it can cavitate in the pump due to it's lower vapor pressure when it's really hot out. Some of the Ford RV guys make sure they fill only at Chevron when going through corn country when it's hot out. I almost forgot-check the EGR valve to make sure it's not stuck open and maybe a new fuel filter.

 

The only Chevron around here in corn country is on an Army mans sleeve. I think they may have Chevron gas stations in California. I think I saw one there back in the 60s when I was in the service.

 

A vehicle not designed for Ethonol usually has issues with the O2 sensor not being able to read the out put due to it burning cooler that it is designed to read. I read about this on a site designed to sway people from using it in non flex fuel vehicles, that's why I only run 1/2 tank or E-85 to 1/2 tank of 87 octane gas in my chipped 99 E-350, I loose 1 to 2 MPG and have NO issues at all.
I was on a road trip with a guy with a 460 in a 80's Econoline, towing his heavy camper with 3.50 gears causes such a load on hills his boils the fuel out of the line all the way to the tanks, his tanks even read up to 120 degrees, causing same issue as yours. I figured it a heat issue, not enough air flow, a friend had the same problem with the rescue squad ambulance, they added chrome air scoops much like you see on the rear of boats, to vent the tank area, tuned to vent toward the windshield, letting air out, ended thei overheating issues. I discussed this with the guy above, he removed the hood under my suggestion and ended it on the trip back, no stall outs, and his wife was pushing it twice as hard as he did driving it back.

 

Yes I had the heat issue in my 460, I had a 80's Econoline Class "C" RV. I did every thing I could think of, added more fuel pumps (two) and on and on. I fixed it by changing my three pass radiator to a four pass, no more problems. That is why I said what I said above about the radiator in my first reply. Mine had a carb and what Torque1st was talking about might have helped but mine but it did not have the "hot fuel return system" as it had an engine mounted fuel pump. I had more problems with it getting fuel at high altitudes as gas boils at a lower temp way up there at higher elevations in the Mountains. Worked fine in Canada on trips up there and trips to the East Coast and southeast.

 

I hang out at the RV.net site alot. My Rv is a 95 with the 460 with 47 K on it. Those guys advise me to go ahead and change the pump now before it cost me $1000 to do it on the road. The original Ford pumps fail reliably, and they say the new Ford pump is a entirely new design. I could put in a Walbro for 1/2 the price of the Ford pump so do you guys have any opinion's on ford versus aftermarket pumps? I do all my own work.

 

I did not see your posted problem, what was it?
Take what ever you hear on the RV.net site with a grain of salt, their mechanical knowledge does not seem to go to deep, mostly hearsay.
I guess you know that and that is why you are asking questions over here on ford-trucks.com.
I would not change it to be changing it. I do not think the FDM go out that often and they did change the design in 1990.
A lot of Auto P/S sells just the pump and not the whole FDM.
I think I would stick with Ford on this one.

 

Trust me, I saw a guy crawling under his every 20 miles on the side of the road purging the lines due to it boiling out, he had a point heat gauge, he found the entire undercarriage was radiating enough heat to cook on. He ordered what was supposed to be a 4 core, drove to his other home 600 miles away before openning the box to find it was only a 3 core, installed it anyway.
Forgot to add, the transmission also causes heat with the engine, more when under load on a hill.

 

Subford, Yes I was thinking of changing the pump prophylactically. Not having any problem yet. I suppose those guys have me spooked with all their nightmare stories of their breakdowns. Perhaps their heat related problems are worse cause their pullin so much weight. Some of the guys with the RV's do some careful measuring then pull up the carpet and cut a hole in the floor right over the pump so they dont have to drop the tank. Then they patch the hole. Alot of the guys who's pumps are failing have rigs from the mid-90's and as Maples points out its frequently in high heat or mountains when it fails. Maybe I will keep the current pump but add a chassis rail in line pump as emergency backup. Ive heard that an in-line pump will draw through a failed in tank pump but not sure about that.

 

Technically speaking though, if I am running below the mid point in the temp gauge (well within specs), then I think that whatever radiator I have should be sufficient...although I did just put a new w/p and rad in...it is a Modine but I am not sure of the number of "passes". I am gona check all the temp sensors this weekend and the TFI. Was also thinking EGR so I will lookinto that too.

Thanks