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Bionic_Man's avatar
Bionic_Man
Explorer
Jul 23, 2018

1993 Ford E350 7.5 Problem

So, trying to help my sister a little bit from a far. She bought a new-to-her motorhome, a small, 23ish foot Class C. 1993, E350 chasis, vin shows it should have the 7.5. 1993, it has low miles (less than 50,000).

Coming home from the mountains a few weeks back, she lost all power and the engine died, forcing her to coast through the Eisenhower tunnel. She pulled to the side, and after an hour of sitting on the side of the road, the engine cooled down, and it started and got her home.

This last weekend, she was driving up I25, much flatter than I70, when the engine did the same thing. It cooled down, she got started again, drove less than 20 miles, and it did it again.

The symptoms she is describing sound to me like a vapor lock issues. But a 1993 7.5l should be EFI, and I am under the impression that vapor lock is unusual with EFI.

The motorhome will be going to a shop once she can find one that is affordable (she doesn't have money to burn) and one that can work on a motorhome and isn't booked out for a month in summer.

So, in the mean time, does this sound like it would be vapor lock? If so, I assume adding an electric fuel pump would be a good solution? Any other thoughts/suggestions?
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  • parker_rowe's avatar
    parker_rowe
    Explorer
    Jul 23, 2018
    Ignition module (TFI Module) in the distributor would be a good thing to check.

    Obviously hard to diag these things over the internet, but I have seen that symptom before for EEC-IV EFI (late 80's early 90's) Fords.

    Dies, restarts after it cools off.
  • Wadcutter's avatar
    Wadcutter
    Nomad
    Jul 25, 2018
    parker.rowe wrote:
    Ignition module (TFI Module) in the distributor would be a good thing to check.
    Obviously hard to diag these things over the internet, but I have seen that symptom before for EEC-IV EFI (late 80's early 90's) Fords.
    Dies, restarts after it cools off.

    Agree.
    That was a fairly common problem with them. Fords would die but then restart after a bit, die again, repeat. GM vehicles had the same problem but when they died they wouldn't restart.
  • Mike_LeClair's avatar
    Mike_LeClair
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2018
    X3 for the TFI module. Fairly common on Fords of that period. We had one as well that acted in a similar fashion. Picked up a new one and problem solved. We also kept a "spare" on hand that was a "known to be good" unit. I hate being stranded on the side of any road or highway.

    Cheers!

    Mike
  • Krusty's avatar
    Krusty
    Nomad II
    Jul 25, 2018
    If I remember correctly, a 93 Econoline should have the TFI module mounted in a heat sink on the LH inner fender. If so,these were never an issue. I would definitely focus on the fuel pump failing. This was quite common. Also make sure the filter isn't restricted.
  • steve-n-vicki's avatar
    steve-n-vicki
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2018
    if I remember right there was a kit that relocated the TFI module from distributor to a heat sink mounted on the fender well, that was the symptom run a while and die cool off and go again
  • LIKE2BUILD's avatar
    LIKE2BUILD
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2018
    I had a '93 F150 that was EFI and it there was a recall on it for a fuel selector switch that could create a vapor lock condition. Those trucks had dual fuel tanks so I don't know if that applies to your sisters van but it's worth looking into that as a possible issue.

    A quick search also pulled up a lot of info where others have had similar issues and the cause was a fuel pump. They will work fine when the tank has plenty of fuel to cool it, but as the fuel level goes down the pump runs hotter and quits.

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