93 E250 Sportsmobile build/4x4

[Mwood95]

Hey folks

I think I'll do a thread on this rig.
It's a 1993 Extended E250 Sportsmobile with 94k original miles and the 5.8 windsor.
I got a great deal on it because the previous owner couldnt get it to smog.

I'm an artist and art teacher. I've been messing with cars my whole life. I lived between my art studio and my astro van for about a year and decided to upgrade to something bigger.






It's definitely been neglected and will be a longterm project.
I'd like to eventually redo the interior but plans for now are to get it running well, deal with some rust in the gutters and 4x4 swap it with a kit from timberline vans that I am preparing to order.
The van will also be getting a FF Dana 60 for the rear with 4.10 gears. If it still wont get out of its own way I'll swap it to 4.56s once the 4x4 is done.

Here are a couple photos of my old astro that has just sold.







I really went crazy on the astro with Journey's offroad parts and a whole new front end, insulation, solar, inverter etc. The new owner is planning to use it for what it's actually good at which is short trips.

I haven't had a chance to really diagnose the Ford yet. Could be a vacuum leak, could be a sensor issue. OBDI is definitely a pain in the ass that I am getting used to.
More soon.

Mitch

 

[Pntyrmvr]

I put an obd1 motor into a 1984.

A buddy had a SnapOn tester that could read the codes off the computer. I remember pricing it out on ebay. Seemed cheap enough to consider buying one if I couldn't borrow it.

 

[Mwood95]

I put an obd1 motor into a 1984.

A buddy had a SnapOn tester that could read the codes off the computer. I remember pricing it out on ebay. Seemed cheap enough to consider buying one if I couldn't borrow it.

I have a cheap innova code reader, they are available at autozone/oreilly.
The code I am getting is unspecific, 172 bank 1 lean (engine has 1 o2 sensor before first cat.

After sitting for days the van tested at 140psi on all cylinders cold compression. I haven't had a chance to test it hot.
It doesn't sound like it has a burnt valve or anything, all the original plugs were ancient autolites, came out looking the same: white with deposits and were gapped at .055.

so far I have just replace the plugs,wires cap and rotor. I used platinum motorcraft plugs gapped at the stock .044.
I also replaced the ECT.

The engine was acting up electrically, alternator had a rhythmic surge from 14-17v every 5 seconds and the idle was surging as well.
I noticed the alternator cable was a mess so I made a new one and after warming up and driving a bit it appears to be charging normally and has a constant idle.
The CEL stays on now instead of coming on and off.






The engine appears to have good fuel pressure under load at the regulator but I still want to replace the fuel filter as it looks original.
However, you cant get to the fuel filter hardly at all because the rear AC compressor (called Starcool on SMB) is directly next to it.
I will unfortunately be ripping out the original Starcool, propane furnace and water heater to replace later with diesel heater and tankless water heater.
After I do that I can replace the fuel filter.

The engine seems to lean out under load, at least that's when it pings and sounds bad (sounds pretty good at idle), so maybe a new fuel filter will help it rev

One thing that confuses me is the van is apparently lean but fails smog pig rich (gross polluter in CA) high CO and slightly high HC.
I am assuming that once the o2 sensor triggers a lean code the engine starts sending extra fuel and that is what causes the rich smog results? which would suggest the
fuel system is not restricted and the injectors are good.
It could also have bad cats, but they aren't clogged. There is no backpressure at the o2 sensor.

As soon as I get this thing to run right the build will get interesting... for now I am just pretending to be a mechanic.

Mitch

 

[Pntyrmvr]

The Snap On unit I used would let you monitor the engine while driving it. I my case it was a bad O² sensor. That would jump out with an obd2 tester today, but not so easy in obd1 days.