460/7.5 engine surgeing and stalling

[billybtalkin]

Hey ya'll... First time caller... My name is Billy and I live near Chas. SC. I recently purchased a 94' b190 w/460 (7.5) engine. Upon test driving van I noticed a surge/stall occuring at various speeds. I bought it in hopes of fixing at minimal cost ( as I got a very good price on it ) . Thus far I have changed all spark plugs and wires ( I hope to never have to undertake that again, try it sometime and you will see what I mean ) as well as dist. cap and roter. Does not appear to have vacuume leak and changed fuel filter. Having done this the problem persists. Anyone have idea what may cause this ( I have other theories that I have not tested yet ) or better yet has anyone else experienced this problem or any recalls or defects that could contribute to this ? I neglected to mention the engine only has 43k miles on it. Please give me some feedback or opions. Also what kind of mileage can I reasonably expect. Thanks and Godspeed...

[skater]

Welcome to the site.

You got all of the things I would've checked first. My next suspects would be fuel pump or coil (coil for mine is cheap, yours is probably the same).

[Roger]

Had a similar problem with my 94 460...Upgrading computer fixed the problem.

Roger

[rbtbvan]

check catalytic converter

[ChasingRain]

When I saw the title, I just had to guess that it was a '94. There seems to be a trend here. Looks like Roger, baggydew, and spayallpets have all had computer problems that cause this sort of problem, all in '94. (see various threads in the drivetrain forum) I've got similar problems with my '94, and just sent the computer out today to get rebuilt. Hopefully they'll be able to get it fixed, and done quickly, and I'll report back. The computer isn't really expensive- ~$350, or rather wouldn't be, but the problem is they don't seem to be available from anywhere really. There are places that rebuild them though, but I've heard mixed things about success rates.

I've already been through plugs, wires, cap, rotor, stator, ignition module, O2 senor, MAP sensor, fuel filter, and a couple cans of BG 44K with no luck, to the tune of ~$2000 to the dealership. In that light, it might be worth sending the computer out for testing before starting to throw parts at it.

Good luck
Jeremy

[cellogirl]

I have this same problem in my 1994 B-van. I have not verified this, but my uncle (who owned several 1990's Ford Econolines) said that for a few years in the early 90s, Ford upgraded their engines, but were using an older transmission. The communication between the two still had bugs and caused that surging and stalling thing. That would make sense with the upgraded computer helping solve the problem.

[craigmar]

In the drivetrain forum, there is quite a bit of info on the problem you are experiencing, seems as though there are a few fixes. I tried pump replacement etc but the final fix that still has me running like a new van was the cat replacement as they were plugged and caused a lot of back pressure to the engine. Knowing what I now know and the same type of stalling, letting the engine cool down etc. I would take it to a shop and hve the cats checked.

[Gort]

Mine did the same thing. I just replaced the fuel pumps and so far, so good. My exhaust was replaced first but I still had the stalling. One time i stalled right in an intersection, blocking traffic and waving people around...funny now but not then!

[505]

Elevation (in-tank) fuel pump was my problem that showed similar symptoms. Like yours, mine is low mileage which begs the question as to how long has it sat still in the past? In my case, the front fuel tank's gas had turned to that nasty varnish and clogged the fuel pump. Switched it out and good to go. Dropping the tanks in these are easy (well, my 91 was).