92 Ford Preventative Maintenance

MWL52 · 12-21-2012, 07:36 PM

Hey guys, Mike from Birmingham here. I have a 92 E350 5.8 Club Wagon I use to haul my dirt bikes to riding spots and events and also do some camping. I've owned the van for 13 years and always thought it was the perfect vehicle for that. I have a few trips planned next spring and need to do some preventative maintenance. I've tried to take good care of it but the fact that its 20 years old means that anything can go wrong anytime. I have the basic maintenance covered, I'm looking for the things that are likely to go bad with these older fords and leave me stranded on the side of the road. Mileage is 187k. I replaced the engine with a Jasper reman. and it has 37K on it now. Here's a short list of things I replaced since the engine was replaced. Computer, alternator, radiator, and most recently distributer stator, ICM, coil, dist. cap, rotor, throttle position sensor, fuel filter and this week, heater hoses. I had some issues with the engine dying but restarting after cooling off. This stranded me twice, had it in the shop twice but they could not reproduce the problem. After some research I decided the most likely culprit was the distributer and ICM. I replaced them with Motorcraft parts and it has not died again (but I haven't been on any long trips either). Anyway, maybe you guys can give me some ideas, I hate breaking down.
Mike

carringb · 12-21-2012, 08:34 PM

Quote:

I had some issues with the engine dying but restarting after cooling off.

Did it die suddenly? Or lose power first. If it lost power first before it stalled, its most likely the fuel pump. If it's never been replaced, you are on borrowed time (the updated Ford version lasts longer, so it would probably be the last you put it.).

Otherwise, you seem to have the engine's problem areas covered. Was the T-stat replaced when the radiator was done?

Do you know if the transmission has ever been done? The E4OD was about 200,000 mile transmission behind a gasser (and about half that behind a diesel).

MWL52 · 12-21-2012, 09:47 PM

It died suddenly. After about 30 minutes it would restart and run 1/4 mile or so and die again. After sitting all night at a repair shop it cranked and ran fine. I'll put the fuel pump on the list to be replaced. The thermostat was replaced with the new motor. The trans works great. The previous owner said he had rebuilt the trans but I don't really know for sure.
thanks
Mike

jage · 12-21-2012, 09:54 PM

Sounds like a crack in the PCM that was heat affected- usually the only thing you can do is replace the computer and wait to see if it went away.

MWL52 · 12-21-2012, 10:30 PM

The rebuilt computer has about 25k miles of use. Haven't heard of a cracked PCM. Is that a common problem ?

rockbender · 12-21-2012, 11:03 PM

I hate to suggest just being a parts replacer, but if a coil isn't too expensive I'd try replacing that again. Check the distributor cap for cracks too.

Crobins937 · 12-21-2012, 11:37 PM

Do you remember what the cost was to do the jasper rebuilt motor and install?

MWL52 · 12-22-2012, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockbender

I hate to suggest just being a parts replacer, but if a coil isn't too expensive I'd try replacing that again. Check the distributor cap for cracks too.

I replaced the coil, cap and rotor when I did the dist. stator and ICM. It runs good now but the longest I've driven it is 2 hours at a time. Not 100% sure I fixed the problem.