hello out there everyone, i just got refd. here by a user who said that someone here maybe able to help me with some advise on my e-150 club wagon it is a passenger van that i currently use to work out of as a painting contractor. i do haul alot of supplies and a couple of ladders but the mileage is ridiculously low [10 m.p.g.] it does not seem to matter if it is empty or full [equip.] it is the same. it was tuned up and i put a tornado in the air can[no diff.] and a k&n air filter [gained about 1/3 mpg] any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! i was told by a mechanic [that i no longer use] that if he put a holley 600 4barrrel it would get better mileage maybe 13-15 [but at around 400.00 thats money i cant afford to throw away] which i would be happy with! this van has low miles and is very comfortable for my commute[ 3 hr.s & 75-80 miles a day] but the gas is killing me! plus i have a seeping head gasket i put 3 packs of Bars tablets, it still seeps plus i cant get it to give heat when the outside temp is below 32, is it possible that the previous owner removed the thermostat to prevent the head gasket leak from squirting? thanks again porky

 

What engine does the van have? I would check to see indeed there is a working thermostat in there, like a 180F. Running without one will not only give you poor gas mileage, but it will cause build up of sludge in the engine. You can do a quick check by opening one of the valve covers to see it there is any build-up in there. I guess there is no way for you to find out how ling it's been running this way?

You should definitely replace whatever gasket is leaking. All those leak-stop stuff are temporary patches at best, and putting in too much can clog up your radiator.

BTW, that Tornado device is one of the biggest jokes I've ever seen, and a complete waste of money.

 

Need WAY more info. What year is the van? What engine and transmission?

 

sorry about that, the engine is a stock 351 winsor with a stock carb. i dont what type of tranny it has i guess it is a stock 3 speed auto. it does have trailering pkg. the orig./previous owner used the van to pull his camping trailer . when i bought it almost 2yr.s it only had 76,000 miles on it so i thought i was getting a van that i could work out of for a while. thanks for the response! porky

 

OK so it's older than 1987 then. Check the drivers door or pillar for an axle code and post it up.

 

You are at a crossroad - you can either fix the van now (which will cost you a decent bit of money) or you can band-aid your problems and hope it doesn't get much worse.

To band-aid it: Inflate the tires to their max pressure, get a balance and four wheel alignment. Make sure the brakes aren't dragging.

Fill your radiator, and check it daily to be sure it's full. Replace the thermostat.

Replace the cap, rotor, plug wires, and spark plugs - no need to splurge but don't skimp either. Replace the EGR and PCV valves. Replace the fuel filter. Warm up the engine, pour a pint of Marvel's Mystery Oil in the crankcase, drive it for 20-30 minutes, then change the oil/filter with 5W-30. Drive it for a week, do the Marvel's thing, and change the oil/filter again.

If you're up to it, rebuild the carb. Take it to Napa and they've probably got a kit. At the very least make sure the linkages and choke are clean and working. Make sure the butterflies are opening all the way and the accelerator pump is shooting gas into the venturi. Look in the carb with the engine running and check for gas leaking. Run a can of Berryman's B-12 through a tank of gas, then run a bottle of Techron.

Get a timing light, tach, and a vacuum gauge and connect to the engine. Set the idle to ~650rpm. Check the vacuum advance on the distributor - the timing should advance and the engine speed up when you apply vacuum. Clamp off the vacuum advance link and set the timing to 10-12 degrees. Speed up the engine slowly to ~3000 rpm, the timing should gradually advance up to ~34 degrees.

Now check the vacuum gauge. It should show a steady 18-20 pounds. Assuming the carb has been tinkered with before, you can turn the idle mix one way or the other and see if the vacuum goes up. Keep going until you get the highest vacuum reading.

If there are no other underlying problems, that should buy you 3-4 mpg.

If you're gonna fix it:

1) Replace the head gaskets, nothing you can pour in an engine will fix a blown gasket. While the heads are off take them and get them rebuilt (or buy some rebuilt heads)- it will cost $200-500 (call around) but you're better safe than sorry with a blown gasket.

2) Since it's off, rebuild or get the carb rebuilt.

3) Aftermarket universal catalytic converters are $40 on eBay, replace your cat.

4) Everything else above plus replace all your belts and hoses since you've got to take them off anyway.

You'll get the same 3-4 mpg, but it will run for another 75,000 miles with regular maintenance.

 

thanks for the responses,conanski i will post that axel code later this morning, xlt4wd90 believe it or not when i put a tornado in a aerostar i used to have it gave me 2 miles more per gal. but in this van, nothing. baronvonautomatic wow ! i guess i was looking for a smaller bandaid,one that was easier to apply. i allways keep my tires 2-3 lb.s below max. to allow for heat expansion,havent had the wheels front balanced[the back were just done with the 2 new tires] or aligned [why 4 wheel alignment?]the brakes have been done, front pads maybe 1 yr. ago,the back shoes,wheel cylinders and new drums were done 2 months ago i dont think they are dragging or i wouldve noticed the smell.i do check the rad. weekly it is usually ok.i dont know about the thermostat,i'm afraid to check to find out that the previous owners grandson may hve taken it out to take the pressure off the head gasket seepage,i'm trying to avoid having to pour a bunch of money i dont have right now into a vehicle i'll probably trade in this summer for something smaller.the rot. cap,plugs,wires and pcv were replaced when i got it i'm not sure about the egr [how important is it with regard fuel mileage?] after the mechanic that did the tune-up i checked the timing only to find that it was off by a couple of degrees[called the mech. and asked if they checked it and he said no ,the timing doesnt usually move so i no longer use that guy] i set the timing according to the book spec.s but i dont have the tool or knowledge to check/set the vaccum or idle , could you please explain the purpose of vaccum to me because i am lacking knowledge in a lot of areas i am barely a shade tree mech. i work on my vehicles only out of necessity and usually its only external parts replacement. as i said i really hoped to avoid the cost of head replacement. as far as the cat goes my dogs will take care of that[sorry i had to throw in a little humor] i found out the last time i got my van inspected[ in metro atlanta we have to get emission inspections every year,even though i'm 35 miles from the city.] the guy said i dont have to get the inpection any more and i could take off my cat if i want to. another mech. said this would not be good for my back pressure? any thoughts on this what about duel exhaust?[ if i decide to keep it] the belts were replaced when i got the tune-up done. since i've had this van it has been consistently at 10 mpg. i wondered about putting a used 300/6 cyl. or a 302 in it , any thoughts? some people i have talked to said those engines wouldnt have enough power to push my tools and would get just as bad mileage because of overworking,thoughts ? thanks again for all of the tips everybody! porky

 

A vacuum gauge is one of the best tool for diagnosing problems with carbureted engines - just hook it up to the manifold (or carb if it has an unported vacuum source) and read it. Like I said, at idle it should read a rock steady 18-20 lbs. If it's low or high or twitchy or drops and surges you've got something amiss. You'll have to look around online, there are plenty of guides to what different vacuum readings mean.

A good, clean cat won't affect your power/mileage but a bad/clogged one will. It is illegal to remove it, but if you don't need to have it for inspections you could ditch it. As far as I know, "backpressure" is a made-up word. There are a lot of factors to designing a good exhaust system; restricting flow to provide "backpressure" ain't one of them.

For what you'll spend on duals you're better off fixing what's broke. If you're sure you're going to trade it soon, just forget it all and bite the bullet on mileage. You'll never get more than ~14mpg out of the van.

 

thanks b.v.a., yea i kinda figured that but you never know if somebody out there knows some special trick or adjustment that might make a diff. i definatly dont have what it takes to re-build a carb. what about the e.g.r. i think it stands for exhaust gas re-circulation. what is the importance of its function ? what about the idea of replacing the 351 with a 300/6cyl. or 302?

 

Manifold vacuum is generated by the pistons going down the cylinders, trying to draw in air and fuel. That's the rough description. It would be the highest at idle, when the throttle is mostly closed. As BVA mentioned, using a vacuum gauge to monitor manifold vacuum can reveal all sorts of problems with the engine, such as poor carburetor function, timing, or even valve problems. (BTW, it should be 18-21 inches of mercury at idle, not pounds, but inches hg can be converted to psi, but I don't know the factor off the top of my head.)

The EGR helps to reduce production of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions. It can also help prevent detonation at part-throttle loads. If it's stuck open, it can cause the engine to run stall or run poorly. But it should be maintained in good working order.

Going to a smaller engine will definitely help with overall mileage a little, but it will probably be cheaper to find and fix the main cause of the poor mileage of the current engine. But don't expect the mileage to be too great, since it's a big heavy van. Also, installing another engine, no matter what it is, will cost more than repairing the leaking heads/gaskets. If you got a really cheap crappy engine, it may run worse than what you have now.

There is no physical basis that a Tornado device will help an engine run; at most, it presents a restriction in the air path. So the mileage improvement that you got with your Aerostar was most likely from something else.

 

thanks xlt, i'll check on that egr . it does stammer slightly at take off from a dead stop.