Ford 85 Econoline 350 Desert Wanderin'

[Supposed Mocha]

Crashing around Tucson Arizona in our (my partner and I) Econoline 350 Motorhome tho we've ran into an issue on the road with the engine failing to start after successful cranks. We've hit it with cold start, tried resetting the fuel pump, bypassing it, even smacking the fuel tank to clear the rust from the tank but we've had no luck thus far. Don't know if anyone has suggestions? Would pick up a road dog and let 'em stay with us even for a tow.

 

[Ynwdwndrr]

Maybes post to car mechanic reddit an ask around. This what I have done when truck trouble.

🙏

 

[MichelleA66]

What year is your engine? We had a 1990 Ford Econoline cargo van (carbeurated engine) that did this. It was vaporlock so we took out the mechanical fuel pump and installed an inline fuel pump. Before that, a quick fix was pouring water on the fuel pump to cool it enough to get going again.

 

[MichelleA66]

I see now it's an '85

 

[MichelleA66]

Inline ELECTRIC fuel pump. My boyfriend says you need to take the gas line off the carburetor turn the key on and if gas comes out of the line then it's not your fuel pump.

 

[Supposed Mocha]

Inline ELECTRIC fuel pump. My boyfriend says you need to take the gas line off the carburetor turn the key on and if gas comes out of the line then it's not your fuel pump.

Thank you that's some solid advice! We'll give it a go. Trying to replace the pump too asap.

 

[MichelleA66]

We've lived in a 1995 RV towing that beastly van for the last 7 years. Believe me when I say, it's always something. Ha! Good luck. Also Quartzsite is cheap for RV'ing on BLM land. Good luck 🙂

 

[Big George W]

Stupid question, if I may....

Is this thing gas or diesel ??

I have an 84 diesel 350 van that last ran about 10 and a half years ago, one day it stalled in my front yard and it never ran again.
But diesels are way different than gas motors.

This part here has me a little confused: We've hit it with cold start, tried resetting the fuel pump, bypassing it,

I'm wondering if this might be electrical, meaning ignition related.

Is it cranking good but simply not wanting to catch ??
Is this a fuel injected motor or is it carburated ??

Can you smell fuel [gas] when trying to start it ??

What size motor does that thing have, and if you can tell me if it is carburated or if it is fuel injected.

I have a friend out in Arizona who I'll ask for you to see if he has any insight, as he is super smart with these kinds of things.

 

[Cereal76]

On those old Fords (and any engine, really) it's fuel, air, spark. Timing as well but you'd know if your engine jumped timing. Someone already walked you through how to check for fuel, the other thing you can try is pulling the air filter off and spraying some starting fluid or brake cleaner into the carb while cranking the engine to see if that'll fire it up. Finally, pull the spark plugs to make sure they're not fouled, and check to make sure they're sparking hot and clean when cranking the engine. Sometimes if you have bad spark plugs they won't spark clean enough to ingnite the fuel and get you going. This is all off the top of my head first thing in the morning, hope it helps!

 

[texastraveler]

You might be able to try switching out the fuel pump relay with one that matches it but doesn't run something necessary to start. If it still doesn't go you'll probably need a new fuel pump. Do you drive around with less than a quarter tank around? I burnt mine out recently from driving around with very little gas in it

 

[MichelleA66]

I read in another thread they ended up scrapping this van. Sorry to hear, Supposed Mocha. Hope you find a ride to Chicago. 🙂