My '84 E150 won't start. It kicked over once and then died. It has a 351W HO wi the 4 barrel. It looks like the flaps are stuck closed. Anybody have any ideas where I need to start tinkering? Thanks in advance.

 

Check to see if you have spark, if not see if you have 12V at the + side of the coil. If so check the - side of the coil with it cranking to see if it is flashing the test light. If not change the Ignition Module and if no luck then change the pick-up coil.

If you have spark stick a screwdriver in the flap (choke plate) to hold it open some and crank it with your foot all the way to the floor. If no luck look down the Carb and move the linkage and see if you can see gas squirting.

If no squirting of gas and if you have electric fuel pumps it may be an electrical problem.

Up date us and we will get back with you.
Good Luck.

 

Thanks for that help. The battery I have is gone so I have to get that so I can run those tests.

I went ahead and bought a Holley 600 cfm Avenger carb. It was only $264 and it needed it. The accelerator pump was bad and it looked as old as the van. I also bought a fuel pump, inline fuel filter, cap & rotor, thermostat, and intake manifold gasket.

The engine leaks. I did the rocker arm cover gaskets a couple months ago. It still leaks really bad at the oil pan and quite a bit from the intake manifold. The right side head gasket looks like it leaks too but cylinders 1,2, & 3 have low compression.

I got the old carb off and started on taking the intake manifold out but the EGR has way too much in there. I'm considering deleting it. I don't drive the van that much for now and it would simplify it by a bunch. I'm also considering getting a Weiand Stealth intake manifold because the stock manifold looks like it has a lot of EGR ports and plugging them would be a pita.

With all this work to be done I should just scrap it and get a newer one but I'm attached to it and want to lift it in the future. Just a cheap old truck to tow my race stuff is all I want out of it.

Who ever read all that thanks and hope to hear your advice!

 

Run an edelbrock performer RPM intake, with a 500cfm edel carb. The holley is an OK carb but the edel is easier to tune. The low compression is most likely from the head gasket. I think i'd tear it down and do a full gasket set on it. Check the bearing clearances while you have it out. NAPA sells bearings in .001 increments so you can get whatever size bearings you need.

 

The Edelbrock setup sounds good and I would have done that first off. The carb I got is less expensive and I'm looking at the Ford Racing manifold in the Summit catalog for $175, again cheaper than the Edelbrock. If I had better funds I would go all Edelbrock.

The engine is still in the truck. It has 194,xxx miles on it. Is it do-able to do a headgasket job with it still in? Thanks for the advice.