Re: 89 e250 SMB with 5.8 struggles to climb high altitude pa
I would expect the 5.8L to do a better job climbing. My '94 had a little more power, but I pulled almost 10,000 pounds up through Eisenhower tunnel, in August. I never dropped below 30 MPH.
I did have an intake and exhaust, and after that it did run warm when towing, so I upgraded to the radiator for the 460. However, if you aren't towing there is no reason yours should run warm. If the radiator is original, it is probably plugged up internally.
Have you checked the basics? Air filter fuel filter etc? Also might be a good idea to pull a spark plug and verify the fuel mix is right. It's pretty easy to see if its been rich or lean, looking at the plugs.
Also, older Fords did have some problems with the original coolant temp sensor (the one for the PCM, which is different from the one for the gauges) failing, which can cause it to get stuck in open-loop/warm-up mode.
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2000 E450 dually V10 wagon
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