Spare Parts List For Ford Diesel Vans

[cynicwanderer]

I'm trying to collect spare parts for my 94 Ford Diesel Van for traveling back country. The idea is to have enough parts to make it out to safety. I travel in Nevada and plan to do some traveling in Baja.

I had my van for five years and in those years have gotten some experience about what failures will stop me in my tracks and which are survivable and get me home. This discussion has some general items, but also specific items to Ford diesel and van suspension.

At first, I had assumed that this being a diesel van, it would be a show stopper to have anything go wrong with injection system or glow plugs. However, since this beast has a mechanical injection pump, it turns out to not be the Achilles heel. it will run even with leaky/cracked injection lines.

But here is a list of failures that have left me stranded so far. luckily these failures happened in front of my house or at work...

1. starter failure
since this van is automatic transmission, it cannot be bump started. once the starter is out, we're stopped. eventually I plan to convert it to manual transmission, but that's another story project in progress.

2. battery failure
similar to starter failure, but at least it can be jumped by another vehicle... also, I plan to add a isolated "house" battery (a third battery), which can be used to jumper or replace a starter battery. It needs two batteries to cold start. if one fails you can disconnect it at one of the terminals (negative) and if it's not too cold outside, you can jump start it with the good battery and make it home, but it will not cold start when it's below 20F or so.

3. starter relay failure
this is a ford, the ford starter relay has big terminal studs and can be "by-passed" with screw driver across terminals to start.

3. belt tensioner failure
since it has a serpentine belt, any failure of pulleys and the tensioner will cause the water pump to stop and over heat. you can drive for a short while (maybe a mile) to get to a safe place. even though I carry a spare belt, the tensioner failure caught me by surprise, since I would have expected it to make some noise before failing. not, so, the spring assembly decided it had enough and exploded spewing pieces of cast aluminium.

Here is a partial list that I have started for this van:

- isolated house battery (to run radios, inverters and sever as spare)
- starter
- alternator
- misc. electrical parts, like relays, fuses, jumper wire, etc...
- manual shift lever position sensor (it's a ford E4OD thing)
- belt, belt tensioner, idler pulley, AC by-pass pulley
- coolant hoses
- vacuum pump
- universal joints
- brake pads/shoes



Here are some parts I'm considering. I have not had these failures and I don't have any experience on how likely failures would be. I.e. never had any of these fail on any vehicle without some advance warning (like leaky master/slave brake cylinders, water pump seal, etc.). I know a broken axle shaft would stop me and there would be no warning.

- spare axle shafts (has floating axle)
- brake hoses
- master brake cylinder
- front caliper(s)
- water pump
- power steering pump.


what do you think ? what other items do you carry...

 

[gatorgrizz27]

Cam position sensor is something I’d carry in every 7.3L equipped vehicle, as it can leave you stranded with no warning, and takes 5 minutes and a 10mm wrench to swap out.

Starter motors can be beat on while cranking and will keep running for a long time, assuming you have a co-pilot. Carrying a spare solenoid is small and light, so probably worth it. An alternator is an “all or nothing” type deal, but if you’re buying a spare I’d just replace it and carry the old one as a spare.

The water pumps on these motors usually fail by slowly dripping, rather than locking up, same for power steering pumps, you’ll get a whine or leak and can survive without one. Brake calipers generally fail by the slide pins binding up, you can do preventative maintance, and usually “fix” one well enough to keep working with some sandpaper and grease. You’d need to carry all 4 to have them fit and be able to bleed them, not worth it IMO.

If you have a Dana 60 or one of the 10.25/10.5 Sterling rear axles, the chances of breaking a shaft on less than 37” tires is slim to none IMO. A spare U-Joint might be worth carrying as they are cheap, small, and light. Make sure you have the means to actually press the cups in though, I wouldn’t want to do one without a vise. Again, I’d rather just replace it with a quality greaseable one and not worry about it.

Most of the other items on your list can be bypassed/dealt with/limped along rather than replacing in the field, assuming you’re in the US and parts are somewhat available. If you’re planning a trip across Africa or Siberia, carrying more parts is probably wise.

 

[cynicwanderer]

Cam position sensor is something I’d carry in every 7.3L equipped vehicle, as it can leave you stranded with no warning, and takes 5 minutes and a 10mm wrench to swap out.

Starter motors can be beat on while cranking and will keep running for a long time, assuming you have a co-pilot. Carrying a spare solenoid is small and light, so probably worth it. An alternator is an “all or nothing” type deal, but if you’re buying a spare I’d just replace it and carry the old one as a spare.

The water pumps on these motors usually fail by slowly dripping, rather than locking up, same for power steering pumps, you’ll get a whine or leak and can survive without one. Brake calipers generally fail by the slide pins binding up, you can do preventative maintance, and usually “fix” one well enough to keep working with some sandpaper and grease. You’d need to carry all 4 to have them fit and be able to bleed them, not worth it IMO.

If you have a Dana 60 or one of the 10.25/10.5 Sterling rear axles, the chances of breaking a shaft on less than 37” tires is slim to none IMO. A spare U-Joint might be worth carrying as they are cheap, small, and light. Make sure you have the means to actually press the cups in though, I wouldn’t want to do one without a vise. Again, I’d rather just replace it with a quality greaseable one and not worry about it.

Most of the other items on your list can be bypassed/dealt with/limped along rather than replacing in the field, assuming you’re in the US and parts are somewhat available. If you’re planning a trip across Africa or Siberia, carrying more parts is probably wise.

thanks, for the feedback. I have never heard of a Dana 60 axle breaking under normal conditions, so probably not worth taking it. luckily, the older 7.3l IDIs don't have a cam position sensor (or need electronics to run in the first place). there is a sensor, but it's only used for RPM for the powertrain controller, which will work OK in limp mode.

The last starter that failed, shorted some of the windings due to overheating. apparently, that happens when you run it too long (e.g. when bleeding air in the fuel line after running out of fuel). I have been more careful just running the starter for shorter times and giving it more rest time to cool, and haven't had any starter problems for a while. I also plan to install an electric fuel pump to augment the mechanical one. this helps it bleed faster, without having to crank the motor for such a long time. I did that on my last diesel truck. I have had other vehicles where I had to do the "********** the starter with a rock". I usually just by-pass the starter relay when I'm by myself.

There are some remote places in Nevada, but Baja definitely has some out of the way places where people die of "exposure" when they break down and no one finds them. luckily, nowadays we have satellite trackers (Spots) and PLBs, that can alert people, if something is seriously wrong. I'm usually not too concerned when I travel by myself, but when I travel with my family in remote places, I'd rather not put them in harms way and just have a "way out".

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Cam position sensor is something I’d carry in every 7.3L equipped vehicle, as it can leave you stranded with no warning, and takes 5 minutes and a 10mm wrench to swap out.

Starter motors can be beat on while cranking and will keep running for a long time, assuming you have a co-pilot. Carrying a spare solenoid is small and light, so probably worth it. An alternator is an “all or nothing” type deal, but if you’re buying a spare I’d just replace it and carry the old one as a spare.

A lot of Ford's truck starters have a cable that goes from one part to another. They rot off with time and when it happens you are DRT. It takes a long time for it to happen, the one in my '150 lasted 17 years in the salt belt... before it caused the truck to leave me stranded for the first time ever in my parent's driveway last spring.

Since the starter on the truck is newer and it isn't in the salt belt I don't know if I would worry too much about it.

 

[eblau]

there isn't much on an IDI that will truly leave you stranded, I honestly couldn't think of a more perfect engine for backcountry travel really... just stick to the basics which is basically what you've already listed and you'll be fine

 

[eblau]

A lot of Ford's truck starters have a cable that goes from one part to another. They rot off with time and when it happens you are DRT. It takes a long time for it to happen, the one in my '150 lasted 17 years in the salt belt... before it caused the truck to leave me stranded for the first time ever in my parent's driveway last spring.

Since the starter on the truck is newer and it isn't in the salt belt I don't know if I would worry too much about it.

these IDIs have one large power cable from the batteries to the starter and one smaller ignition wire from the solenoid to the starter, I've had problems with the smaller wire coming loose at the little screw connection on the starter and making it not start intermittently, give that a check and replace it if it looks crusty

 

[cynicwanderer]

these IDIs have one large power cable from the batteries to the starter and one smaller ignition wire from the solenoid to the starter, I've had problems with the smaller wire coming loose at the little screw connection on the starter and making it not start intermittently, give that a check and replace it if it looks crusty

I have also had problems with that cable. also, when I have diesel leaks (normal for 7.3 IDI), fuel drips from back of the cylinder head down onto the starter and makes a huge mess by attracting all kinds of dust/dirt. I suspect sometime some fueld/dirt gets into the brushes/commutator as well, that's easy enough to clean out when rebuilding the starter...

 

[cynicwanderer]

there isn't much on an IDI that will truly leave you stranded, I honestly couldn't think of a more perfect engine for backcountry travel really... just stick to the basics which is basically what you've already listed and you'll be fine

part of the reason I have chosen a Van with that particular diesel. I have had several IDIs over the year, and they just keep running... Also, OM617/602 are super reliable diesels for backcountry traveling, but for smaller vehicles. I do have a story of a friend's newer Sprinter. he spilled coffee on the ignition switch, and the vehicle was disabled. it took a 300 mile tow, 2 days and several thousand dollars to replace the ignition switch module. even if you have a spare one, you need to go to a Mercedes dealer to have it programmed for your vehicle, oh and that was in the US (Nevada) and not even in the backcountry.

 

[eblau]

Once I sealed up the fuel return and went to a spin on fuel filter I've never had a leak. Perhaps you are getting a little seepage and its collecting in the valley and emptying out on the bellhousing? Our powerstroke truck did that when the fuel bowl/ pump/ lines were leaking.... wonder if the IDI block has the same hole in the rear of the block for it to drain?

I have also had problems with that cable. also, when I have diesel leaks (normal for 7.3 IDI), fuel drips from back of the cylinder head down onto the starter and makes a huge mess by attracting all kinds of dust/dirt. I suspect sometime some fueld/dirt gets into the brushes/commutator as well, that's easy enough to clean out when rebuilding the starter...

 

[cynicwanderer]

Once I sealed up the fuel return and went to a spin on fuel filter I've never had a leak. Perhaps you are getting a little seepage and its collecting in the valley and emptying out on the bellhousing? Our powerstroke truck did that when the fuel bowl/ pump/ lines were leaking.... wonder if the IDI block has the same hole in the rear of the block for it to drain?

I only have leaks when the little fuel return rubber hoses pop off the injectors, or when one the injector lines crack. when I got, it had the crappy OEM water sensor on the bottom of the fuel filter, which always leaked. I have since replaced that whole mess with a proper spin on fuel filter as well. yes, it collects in the valley and there is a drain somewhere and the back, or it just gets full enough to overflow... ah the joys of diesel ownership. I don't have many leaks anymore since I have fixed everything that was neglected.

 

[cynicwanderer]

Just an update from my last trip. I ended up chasing for a Baja 1000 team. there were some gnarly water crossings on the way down to Ensenada before the race, which ended up fouling some of the transmission connectors. the water was up to the floor ! I also lost *both* dust caps on the front hubs on the gnarly cross over road that was all washed out. of course, I didn't have any contact cleaner/alcohol to clean/dry the connectors, nor did I have any dust caps and they weren't available from Autozone back in Ensenada. needless to say, those items are now in my parts kit.