S.O.S. in Florida

[Dandelion]

Can anyone help me figure out what’s the matter with my van? I have a 1993 Ford E250 camper van.

The last few weeks, I have had a problem with the engine acting as though it wants to cut out — whether I’m idling or going full speed ahead. When I’m going fast it is more of a jerk and very startling to experience. I have seen 2 mechanics for this problem, spent a lot of money in repairs, and the van is still bucking and sputtering. It is really so intermittent that it wouldn’t do it for the mechanics and it may be that it happens more if the van has been driven a lot. The “Check Engine” light has NOT come on.

Here’s what has been done so far:
Throttle body and fuel injectors cleaned, ignition wires, new fuel filter and air filter, tune-up including spark plug and plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, the drive belt was fixed as well as the parts that were damaged when it broke.

Last night as I was idling in the dark, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. The engine would sputter as if it would stall, like before, but this time, not consistently, the headlights dimmed and I noticed the battery/alternator gauge needle was jumping a bit also.

Please help! I just don’t know what to do! I have been trying to leave this state for weeks now but with the van having this and other problems I cannot feel safe driving it. I have already spend $5000 on repairs of various types and I have been exhausting my savings staying at campgrounds and hotels due to the need to have the van in the shop so often. If I don’t get this resolved, this state or this van is gonna bust me. Help!

 

[Bela's Mom]

I will say from the start that I am not a mechanic. But maybe you can check this until someone who is a mechanic chimes in.

I would check the ground wire on your vehicle, coming from your battery negative to wherever it is grounded. Is it clean and tight? That connection never gets the same attention that the battery posts get.

If you are able, check other wires for tightness, corrosion, frays. I think your latest observation is sending you in the right direction. The drive belt may have hit a wire that is now loose or frayed.

Will the real mechanic please stand up?

 

[Dandelion]

Hi Bela's Mom, thank you for your reply and suggestion. The thought occurred to me that those connections should be checked. Although when it comes to anything mechanical, I don't have the knowledge or experience conclude anything from what I see, much less fix it. It could be the way a mechanic hooked everything back up after repairs, I just don't know. I do have a house battery too in the mix. I will either have to take it back to Mr. Thousand Dollars mechanic ... again ... or maybe Camping World. It is costing me so much money to pay these guys to fix "what it might be" and still have the problem after they clean out my wallet. I am at a loss, but maybe you are right about this!

 

[Bela's Mom]

That is the problem with intermittent problems. It's hard to diagnose something that is working when they are trying to diagnose. If they can't find the problem, the unscrupulous will just throw parts at it until it runs right. Or until you run out of money.

I hope that someone can help you out soon.

 

[concretebox]

Unfortunately with an intermittent problem the only solution is to throw parts at it and see what sticks. Engines require four things to operate: Fuel, Air, Compression and Spark. Sounds like they've thrown parts of three of the four. I'm not a mechanic, but I'd say Compression is the least likely to be the issue.

I can only think of a few parts that you can try replacing yourself, and see if that fixes it. The Ignition Coil, and the PCV valve are relatively inexpensive and easy to replace. That's assuming your E350 is anything like my E350, which is a few years older.

Luckily there are resources for DIY auto repairs. If you have a library card, call your library and ask the reference desk if you can access DIY auto repair manuals (a feature of ESBSCOHOST) online with your card number.

 

[user 2252]

Perhaps you got a tank of bad gas?, water in the fuel?

 

[Patrick46]

Perhaps you got a tank of bad gas?, water in the fuel?

I was thinking this too.

Do you buy your gas at the same place??

I'd get some gas at a different station, oh, and put acouple tankloads of premium in it too. That swill they sell us isn't gas anymore!

 

[Bela's Mom]

Yeah, thought about bad fuel later myself. You might try some Seafoam treatment in the gas tank and run the heck out of it. Might help and certainly couldn't hurt. You can probably get it at any automotive store in the area.

If your van wasn't doing this before the drive belt came apart, I would still be thinking about something it could have damaged that wasn't very apparent. Or, like you said, something the mechanic didn't put back together right. But coincidences do happen.

I wish we could be more help.

 

[kyonu]

Spark plugs cause intermittent issues as such. Happened in multiple vehicles I've owned.

 

[Phreedom]

Did they think of replacing the fuel pump? I had a old 99 3 series BMW that gave me similar problems. Symptoms were it would occasionally run rough, like a few spark plugs weren't firing properly. It went away after a few minutes (it happened about 3-4 times in two weeks) I was thinking bad gas so I switched gas brands but the problem didn't go away. Finally the fuel pump gave out completely - which made for an easy diagnosis.

Something to consider anyway.

 

[Dandelion]

Thank you to all who are responding! You are making me feel so much better and less panicked. After reading these suggestions, I drove by some sites at the campground and stopped to talk to a camper who had a van that looked similar to mine. I asked if he would help me determine if my battery wires and connections were tight and clean, and if I was properly grounded. After inspecting it, he told me it looked great and was connected properly and there should be no reason that the battery would cause my engine to sputter. The battery itself is new. So it doesn’t seem to be the battery or connections. Thanks Bela’s Mom for suggesting I get that looked into. Bela’s Mom, oddly the van didn’t have this problem until about 500 miles after the drive belt was replaced. It started after I had my transmission fluid drained and changed by another mechanic. But you could be right that the drive belt may have done more damage than immediately apparent.

Also, for the last 2 weeks that this has been going on, I’ve been hoping it was just bad gas. Vonbrown, could bad gas engine hiccups linger after 2 more fill ups? I heard that the ethanol in gas can evaporate and leave water as a byproduct. Perhaps the next thing I need to do is take the suggestions here to fill up with premium a few times on a near empty tank.

Anyway I threw my hands up in the air and got on the road. Florida has been very rude to me. I’m leaving, no matter what happens ^^

I’ll post an update soon. Thanks again for helping me! Wish me luck!

 

[Seraphim]

Alternator...?

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If the alternator is going bad, the battery isn't getting fully charged. Had a problem like this in our old Class B (Ford) - I was draining too much power (12v fridge) as I ran the unit, and the battery would eventually get too low.

perhaps the new belt is loose, or was not properly run through the pulleys? Push on the belt - there should only be about 1/2 inch of slack.

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With the dimming lights, the problem definitely sounds electrical.

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Didn't think to ask - are you running any additional 12v items as you drive? In our B, the fridge drained the house battery (which was bad) and the alternator couldn't provide enough current to run the fridge AND operate the car, so it drained down the car battery as well. Had to turn the fridge off to get the car battery recharged...

 

[patschum]

I just talked to a guy about buying his Ford 95 van that sounded like it had the same problem. He found that his fuel pump pressure was 25% of what it should be. So it ran, but acted up. Have someone check fuel pump pressure. Sounds like that is all you haven't done.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

Here's a guy with a similar problem:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=1111482

Here's a couple of quotes from the thread:

"My van is 1992 E150 4.9L V8. Idling is very rough...."

"I finally fixed the rough idling problem. It was the throttle body position sensor."

I like that automotiveforums site. They cover all the different makes and models, and I've gotten some real good info there. That's a pretty old van. You probably want to mention which engine it has. I'm sure thousands of people have experienced the same problem. If it wasn't so old I'd suggest trying a good dealership, because they work on the same vehicles all the time and most problems they've seen before.

Good luck!

 

[highdesertranger]

unfortunately nowadays you need more than just spark, air, fuel, and compression. that used to be the case but now your computer runs your engine, good for fuel economy and the power curve over various driving conditions but not for much else. just throwing parts at it is not good you can go broke doing that, plus the parts from the parts store could be faulty right out of the box. this gives someone the thought that you have replaced it so it can't be bad. what do you mean by the drive belt? do you mean the serpentine belt that runs your accessories? this problem is going to be really hard to diagnose over the internet, because we are not there. this mechanic your taking it to is not helping you. you need to find someone who can find the problem, not just throw parts at. I wish I could help but I am a long ways away. all I can say is good luck. highdesertranger

 

[bigsallysmom]

Find repair sites specific to your vehicle and start learning. You will be impressed with what others know and can teach you.

 

[ccbreder]

What belt broke? The one you can see or the timing belt?

 

[compassrose]

#1 run a treatment/cleaner thru the tank of fuel every other month. It will help keep the water out of your tank.

#2 stop by an Advance or Autozone have see if they can hook up a diagnostic machine to give you some ideal as to where the problem might be. It's always been free when we have done it.

 

[user 423]

Find repair sites specific to your vehicle and start learning. You will be impressed with what others know and can teach you.

Best advice yet from BSM. There are others but here's one that I've used for my Crown Vic:


http://www.fordforums.com/f115/

 

[Dandelion]

Alternator...?
Didn't think to ask - are you running any additional 12v items as you drive? In our B, the fridge drained the house battery (which was bad) and the alternator couldn't provide enough current to run the fridge AND operate the car, so it drained down the car battery as well. Had to turn the fridge off to get the car battery recharged...

I am only using the starting and house battery to charge my tablet and phone while I'm on the road. Just in case what you suggest is true. I was plugged into shore power before getting on the road. Thanks for the suggestions!

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Highdesertranger thanks for your comment. I had my drive belt replaced in late September along with the tensioner pullys and some other things that were damaged in the process. That was about 500 miles before the fuel hiccups.