I've come across a 87 b350 that i'm going to try to get going again. It's been sitting for over 9 years so i already plan to pull the plugs to oil fog the cylinders and try to hand crank it - hopefully its good!



The radiator is bone dry and has signs of tap water usage (rust). I put a whole gallon of coolant in to top it off and i still haven't filled the system, no leaks so far.

I need to also siphon the old gas out and put some fresh in. My plan was to just put the fuel line going to the engine bay filter into a clear bottle and running the pump with the new fuel a couple of times to see what comes out. The carb is most likely gummed up as well, but i want to start on the right foot here before i even attempt to turn her over.


 

If it's been sitting that long, you are probably going to have to pull the carb, and clean it out.....

 

FYI, any gas in the van's tank, fuel lines, or carb is expired. The fuel system will have to be drained and new fuel put in.

 

I'm going to see if the quadrajet will fire up just enough to move it from the spot so we can really work on it.

I had trouble trying to get a hose into the tank to siphon the old gas out. I suspect it may have the float ball preventing the hose from entering the tank. I ended up just adding new fuel to the tank in hopes to have the pump run the lines into a bucket when we test fire it today.

Thats where im now stuck. The engine turns over and the starter works, but the hose going from the tank to the bucket remains dry. I don't hear any relays engaging when i turn the key to the run position, and i'm having a hell of time locating the shut down relay as well as the pump relay on the firewall.

 

I should have emptied the radiator to verify, but im 99% this system was bone dry:


Dry radiator, dry cap

New cap and topped rad just under the overflow so we can burp it

The shiniest penny in the pond

Found a cool Pac Bell credit card solar calc

For calculating the horrible MPH i'll have

Dog house

Air Intake Off / Cabin

Air Intake Off

Our first look at the Carb - Quadrajet

Plugs pulled for inspection and so we can fog the cylinders before test fire

Definitely used but i bet they work

Nevermind

Oil change, its impossible not to hit the exhaust it seems

Fresh gallon of gas, i was unable to siphon out anything (Dry tank?)

Old fuel filter off, i'm going to have to re-use the return hose here

Clear tube on line coming from fuel tank

After test cranking the engine, we still get no fuel through the line

The Fuel Relay should be just under the firewall termination, or just under the brake booster - I cannot find it.

Some questionable unplugged connections behind the battery 1/2

Some questionable unplugged connections behind the battery 2/2

 

No electric fuel pump on that one. It's a mechanical pump. You have a pic of it. Need to put your clear hose on the output of that pump.

If the tank was truly empty, one gallon simply may not be enough to submerge the pickup... thus, no gas at the pump.

Plugs look ok. The 3rd one though, looks like it has something stuck under the side electrode????

 

Did you try using starting fluid to see if the engine will fire up? If it does, you'll at least know the ignition system is working so you can then focus on fuel delivery. I'm also quite sure it will need a new fuel pump. I'm sure the diaphragm is dry rotted in the existing one.

 

Hey, don't confuse the guy! The clear hose is attached to the output of the pump in his picture (5th from last.)

 

I wasn't wearing my glasses........

Wonder if the pump diaphragm is toast due to age and gasohol......

 

I still had the plugs out while we used the starter to see if it turns over. I thought this would also be a great time to start flushing out the lines during this test. Plugs are going back in now that we know we have no stuck rings. I'm purposely going slow here, i honestly don't know what im doing. I was going to try a couple squirts of gas to get the carb to burp itself alive (i can dream), no starting fluid on hand but it's starting to look like something i may want inside the van for troubleshooting.

Can't confuse the confused! Ha!

Very likely. My goal is to get this van to move from the spot so we can get some actual work done. The cooling and fuel system need immediate addressing.

I'm assuming the fuel pump on the block requires a gasket, so i wont pull it to peek inside just yet. I just need her to move!