I have a 2002 E-350 with 75,000 miles that has been sitting for three years now. I plan on putting it back on the road. What are some of the procedures that I need to go through in order to make sure that I don't harm any drive-train/engine components?

I plan on draining the engine oil, tranny oil, rear differential oil, changing the fuel filter, changing out the rotted tires and wiper blades.

I still have about a 1/4 tank of old gasoline. Should I drain it? If so how? And also, what about other fluids such as power steering, brake fluid, coolant?

All input would be appreciated.

 

before running the engine, i would change the engine oil/filter, drain the gas tank and blow out the lines. then put in fresh gas and add some fuel injection cleaner. maybe be a little heavy handed with the additive.

start it up, warm it up and watch the belts and hoses. look for cooling system leaks and stuck t-stat. then if ok drive it ten or fifteen miles. bring it back home.

change all oils and filters. when it cools down, bleed the brakes until clear fresh fluid comes out - if you see a lot of rust as you bleed be forewarned that you may have issues down the road. i would drain enough coolant from the system to see the top of the tubes in the radiator - look to see if chunks of crud have come out of the block and are blocking the tubes or if deposits have formed on the tubes and will cause overheating. then decide if you need to pull the rad for rod-out and backflush cooling system. i would change the coolant and flush the block anyway and probably change the t-stat. don't forget to grease all lube points, check all lamp sockets for corrosion, and be aware the rotors and drums are rusted and you may end up doing brakes.

put it all back together and drive it.

neil

 

So after spending the whole day yesterday, with a help from a buddy of mine, we were able to get this thing started and ready for the road.

We started from the rear. We drained and refilled the rear differential gear oil. Then we replaced the fuel filter. After that, we drained the old engine oil and the engine oil filter. The engine oil filter was a PITA to remove since it was would not budge. I ended up sticking a screw driver through it to turn it lose. Then we hooked up a battery and crossed our fingers hoping it would run.
The van started up first try and it sounded good. After letting it run for about 10 min, we killed the ignition and drained the engine oil again. We then topped it off with Mobil Synthetic Engine oil. We then dropped the tranny pan, removed and replaced the old tranny filter and cleaned the pan. We filled it up with Mercon ATF 16 qts of it.
We drained, flushed, and filled up our radiators with new coolant. Changed the upper hoses (lower hoses are fine and its a dealer item). Replaced the Serpentine belt. Changed the windshield wiper blades.
Then we spent the next 3 hours changing out the spark plugs. (FYI, the 2002 E-350 has more "room" to work with when doing the spark compared to my other 2004 E-350. )

The van runs and sounds great. I had put in some Stabilizer 2 years ago and it seems to have lasted. I have half a tank of old gas left and once its all burned up, I am going to put in some Lucas fuel treatment.

All I need is some new tires as the ones on there are rotted.

 

The brake fluid and power steering fluid looked good so we did not touch them.

As far as brake rotors and pads go, they do look rusted, but i didnt hear any squeals or noises from them.

 

glad to hear you had positive results - come pull plugs on my '95 E350 BB. i do some from below - real quick and easy.

i would flush the brakes. brake fluid is hydrscopic - meaning it likes to absorb water. if the van sits for a long time, the brake fluid is not moving in the lines. consequently, the lines/calipers tend to rust in spots because the water is not moving around. i spent 20+ years restoring english cars si i have seen what sitting around can do to brakes. i would flush with alcohol until clear. i do own the breakout box and controller to operate the abs system pump and solenoids - possibly could loan it out if you decide to do a complete flush.

just my 2 cents
neil

 

this may not be right area , but i need help. i own 2000 e- 150 w/ 4.6, auto ,standerd rear end. it sits most of the time w/ full gastank & sta-bil &fresh oil & battery tender. used for out of town vacations 1 or 2x year. problem--- in may '07 it wouldn't start; motor spun over great. thatwas it .next day it fired right up .has done this 7 or 8x since.wait time to start is usually an hour or so. any ideas? thanks.

 

so you try to start it, it doesn't, you walk away for an hour, come back and it starts right up?

i assume that your trips use up all the old gas and when you put it back in storage it is with new gas + sta-bil and you have run iot long enuff to get the sta-bil into the complete fuel system...

i would find an inexpensive fuel pressure gauge as well as track down an inline spark tester (a plug or coil wire that has a neon bulb in a clear plastic holder that flashes the bulb evry time a spark passes thru) - harbor freight has both cheap - and hook them up and see if you have lost fuel pressure due to a pump or relay or switch issue or maybe have lost spark due to some electrical issue. if you crank it you should instantly have fuel pressure. same with spark.

neil

 

all new gas & sta-bil run it through 15 mins. will try tools. what type relays or switches would be involved? electrical issue? i think engine has cop.

thanx

 

could be fuel pump relay, ign switch, fuel pump cut off switch (for accidents - mine is in the right kick panel), fuel pump fuse or fuse box dirty, bad/sticky fuel pump.

do not understand "cop"

neil

 

"cop" should be Coil-On-Plug. Each cylinder gets its own coil. Usually no plug wires involved, but some have plug wires, fairly short. I think 2000 might still have coil packs, not sure.

Just a wild guess. Since the van sits so long, the fuel pressure isn't maintained. Try to start, but doesn't, then come back later, fuel lines are primed, starts up. Might just have to drive it more.

 

interesting/valid thought, but i have this to say. my van should hold fuel pressure for at least an hour. but it doesn't any more - i lose all pressure w/in 1 minute. when i first bought the van, it started _instantly_. now, with the pressure lost so quickly, it has to repressurize the system before starting. so it now takes a couple of seconds before it fires up.

now i realize there is fuel in the system (lines), but i would think that there is fuel in the lines in "suitcase's" van as well. pressurization _should_ occur almost instantly and it should start. but that would become apparent with the use of a fuel press gauge... it is my gut feeling there is something funky with the fuel system. i think the next time i fired it up, i would top off the tank with some premium and heavyhandedly add a fuel system cleaner, then run the van until the tank is near empty before refilling it w/ fresh gas.

and i would still try to find a way to check spark when cranking that first time as well as fuel pressure. you could just find the fuel rail test port and push down on the schrader valve (cover it with a rag!!!) and see if it spits fuel.

and we still don't know how long "suitcase" cranks the engine before giving up and returning an hour later to find it starts...

neil
ps - another thought... if this is a two pump fuel system, perhaps the in-tank pump has failed and the van is living off of the main pump. that might make it difficult to reprime the system after sitting for a while...

 

sorry for delay; will log on more often, here at library mainframe. yes -cop- coil on plug.
what should fuel pressure be for 2000 4.6 2 valve engine ? gauge to be hooked up today.
i hear pump pressurising w/ key to on pos. that should have fuel to injectors . have cranked starter up to 8-10 seconds; also, on way to bonneville in sept.08, 2 bottles of fuel system (b'laster FIC)cleaner(40 gal. worth)were put through tank. last day on salt it wouldn't fire-2 mins. later it did.
tank is 35 or 37 gal. tank; depending where it's read from. never heard of a 2 pump system. where is second pump?
when this problem first started, schrader valve dribbled fuel out. replaced fuel filter, thought it was fixed.

again, sorry for delay,

suitcase

 

also, most fill ups have been at one quarter tank. to keep fuel pump submerged.

suitcase

 

this problem started almost 4 months before going on salt.

fuel press. gauge is on.-yesterday outside temp. was 68. energized ign.-39 lbs., start then runs at 32. held pressure 6-7 hrs.

today- temp. is 58. energ. @32lbs.- runs @27. 2 mins. later -ign. on- 24 lbs., runs @24. pressure stayed @24 & 24 2 more x.

i don't think this issue is ign. related. will test again today, & early am sat. -temp should be 48 o so.

looks like i need a fuel pump.& a chiltons .

 

also, on losing pressure when sitting-where is gas going? back to tank or through bad injecter? any way to tell? the old days were so much easier.

neil, i will call you back on my dime if you can reach me @ 216 990 8547.
i need to do this before snow flies.

thanks