Ford E350 Question

[tlivingstone]

Hi Folks:

I'm looking for a little advice from those in the know about the Ford E-350 vans out there. I live on a ranch in Elko County, Nevada and its got a lot of perks to it, but is also makes running around to test drive vans difficult.

So, I'm looking at 15 passenger vans because we had one when I was a kid and with three benches and a small bed in the back and it really made road tripping fun. I've got four kids and three dogs and I'd like to upgrade in space from a Suburban. I have a lot of great memories in that old Econoline monster that had a 460 and a C-6.

I've had lots of experience with 7.3 Powerstrokes in trucks here on the ranch and I'm not too interested in those for a few reasons: the amount of the noise involved with those, the fact that I can't seem to get them to start below 30 degrees without being plugged in (not conducive to high altitude fall camping in my opinion), and at most, I will be towing a small trailer on it with a raft or two or perhaps a couple snowmobiles.

When I was in college I had a job as a flunkie at a drug rehab place and one of my jobs was to run around and pick up the teenagers who had to come for therapy and we used a 15 passenger van with the V10 and I remember it having good power.

So, I'm leaning towards the 6.8 V10 and here's the rub as most of you know. I don't see many. Most of the newer vans are coming with the 5.4. I would love to be able to test drive a van or two with the 5.4 and see how much umph they have, but like I said, I don't see myself finding one online and hustling down to Southern CA or Portland or Denver or wherever to get there before it is sold, just to find that they are, shall we say, less than able.

When I was in college I had a job as a flunkie at a drug rehab place and one of my jobs was to run around and pick up the teenagers who had to come for therapy and we used a 15 passenger van with the V10 and I remember it having good power.

That leads me to the big question of, those of you with a 5.4 in the van, what do you think? Or even better, if anyone has had both, what is your impression on the difference in power of both? Am I wrong on the 5.4? Is it peppier than I'm thinking it is? Is the 6.8 that much better? Is there another solution that I'm not seeing?

Please, I don't want a diesel verses gas pissing match.

Also--I've tried to search this and either I don't know the right key words or this topic hasn't been bandied about much. If this has been beat to death, can someone post a link to those discussions?

Thanks for the help and if you are ever passing through Ruby Valley, NV--stop in to say "hi." We have a strict open door policy around here.

 

[IdaSHO]

If you are used to 460's and 7.3's, you do not want to go the route of the 5.4

They simply don't have the power.

The V10 is a fine motor with loads of power, and loaded down in a E-series will net you similar fuel mileage to the 5.4.

 

[RememberTheFallen]

It seems that the general consensus is that the 5.4 is a turd but I have no issues in my regular body van. Is it a rocket ship? Heck no but I don't tow and therefore don't really need more power. If it helps I have always owned lower powered Tacoma's before this van.

I preferred a V10 as well but couldn't find one. When a nice 5.4 popped up in a cool color I decided I was tired of waiting and bought it. Works great for me! 20k miles since I have owned it and no issues.

 

[tgreening]

I've owned both, though neither in a van. The V10 is hands down the stronger of the two engines so if you plan on doing any towing of semi-serious weight it's the way to go. The 5.4 I had in a 1/2 pickup and it was fine as a daily driver, but couldn't haul near the load of the 6.8.

My V10 Excursion could manage 14-15 highway with little trouble. With an 8.5K load that would drop to an average of 8-8.5. Wouldn't have hooked that to the 5.4 under most any circumstance.

My choice if I were looking at a 15 passenger van that was expected to do any kind of work, would be the V10, no question.

 

[Corneilius]

The v10 has more power, but my 200k mile 5.4 with 4.10s and 35s pulls my trail rig setup (5,000lbs) up and over the mountains here in Western North Carolina just fine. I pulled the grades at 50 and could cruise at 75 no problem. Plus my unloaded gas mileage is significantly better than my buddys V10 on 35s...If you're not hooked to a load (over 2500lbs) most of the time I would not be scared of a 5.4

Edit: Another friend has a van with a 300 straight 6 on 33s with 4.88s in the diffs....its ungodly slow. Makes my 5.4 look like a space shuttle lol

 

[Buddha.]

I rented a 14' box truck with the 5.4. I moved the contents of a two bedroom house plus two big tool boxes, other shop gear and my '69 firebird on a heavy u haul trailer all in one go. The power felt adequate but it was a rental and I wasn't afraid to hold the pedal to the floor.

 

[DudeAbides]

Maybe it's that I don't expect a rocket ship, but I find the 5.4 in my 15 passenger more than adequate. With seven people, packed to the gills with camping and rafting gear, and towing a popup it didn't struggle in the slightest with the steep southwest PA hills last summer.

 

[Bbasso]

Another friend has a van with a 300 straight 6 on 33s with 4.88s in the diffs....its ungodly slow. Makes my 5.4 look like a space shuttle lol

Bwahahahaa!

 

[Deshet]

I have owned them all. (7.3, 5.4, V10) You have to think about the year of the van that you are talking about. The 5.4 went from about 250hp to 320 hp during it's life span. They are all capable of what you want and the 5.4 is cheaper and easier to find and they run 300,000 miles easy with good maintenace. If you think it's slow upgrade the rear end gears and get a tuner. I would not want to deal with a V10 in a Van you might as well hold out for a 7.3 diesel, synthetic oil will help with the cold starts my personal truck has never been plugged even in the snow.

Alot of aftermarket support is out there for all of these engines but the 5.4 is a proven design. I am a 7.3 guy myself but I have owned 3 vans with the 5.4. Not sure what you expected from a loaf of bread driving down the road but every modern ford engine can be produce good power if you have the money. Gears are your best back for the buck. Most of the vans were geared to get good highway fuel mileage.

Try and find a ford econoline chateau this has the interior that you want.

 

[another_mike]

. I would not want to deal with a V10 in a Van .

why not?

 

[Timjim]

Yeah, that's a confusing to me as well.

The V10 is basically the 5.4 with two extra cylinders, more HP, more torque, and a much better transmission, especially if you get the later years with torqueshift. Nothing wrong with the 5.4l setup, but you simply get more with the 6.8l. Just about every commercial cutaway is a V-10 and they are rode hard and put away wet and do it day in and day out. If you load down your van, you won't see much of an MPG difference either but will certainly appreciate the extra kick when towing or over mountain passes. the V10's are coveted, not as much as a 2003 7.3l, but they are not common. They don't require any "bulletproofing" like the 6.0l and the only performance mod may be a nice tune. That being said, the 5.4l benefits from a nice tune as well and many describe it as "waking up the motor".

When I did my research and began hunting for my base van, it was V10 with torqueshift with tow/haul on it. Zero regrets on this decision and I love it, it absolutely hammers.

My $0.02, which is probably worth $0.01

 

[Jsweezy]

I rented a 14' box truck with the 5.4. I moved the contents of a two bedroom house plus two big tool boxes, other shop gear and my '69 firebird on a heavy u haul trailer all in one go. The power felt adequate but it was a rental and I wasn't afraid to hold the pedal to the floor.

Keep in mind that probably had the 5 speed transmission (extra lower gear) vs the pass/cargo vans that only have the 4 speed.

 

[Jsweezy]

Just to throw my opinions in here.

I am going from a v10 to a v8 simply because I realized my van wasn't doing a lot of heavy pulling/hauling and my new van had everything I wanted so wether or not it was a v10 or a v8 didn't matter.

I am actually enjoying the v8 more than I thought I would and don't feel like its holding me back from anything. Obviously when I pull my 3500lb trailer I realize I'm driving a v8 but cruising around town is no different so for my 80% commuting 20% hauling driving it is working out great.

I wouldn't go for a diesel, damn things are too loud to enjoy with the engine in your lap. I loved my diesel truck but the engine was far enough away from me that I could enjoy the rumble.

 

[deserteagle56]

Hi Folks:

I'm looking for a little advice from those in the know about the Ford E-350 vans out there. I live on a ranch in Elko County, Nevada and its got a lot of perks to it, but is also makes running around to test drive vans difficult.

So, I'm looking at 15 passenger vans because we had one when I was a kid and with three benches and a small bed in the back and it really made road tripping fun. I've got four kids and three dogs and I'd like to upgrade in space from a Suburban. I have a lot of great memories in that old Econoline monster that had a 460 and a C-6.

I've had lots of experience with 7.3 Powerstrokes in trucks here on the ranch and I'm not too interested in those for a few reasons: the amount of the noise involved with those, the fact that I can't seem to get them to start below 30 degrees without being plugged in (not conducive to high altitude fall camping in my opinion), and at most, I will be towing a small trailer on it with a raft or two or perhaps a couple snowmobiles.

When I was in college I had a job as a flunkie at a drug rehab place and one of my jobs was to run around and pick up the teenagers who had to come for therapy and we used a 15 passenger van with the V10 and I remember it having good power.

So, I'm leaning towards the 6.8 V10 and here's the rub as most of you know. I don't see many. Most of the newer vans are coming with the 5.4. I would love to be able to test drive a van or two with the 5.4 and see how much umph they have, but like I said, I don't see myself finding one online and hustling down to Southern CA or Portland or Denver or wherever to get there before it is sold, just to find that they are, shall we say, less than able.

When I was in college I had a job as a flunkie at a drug rehab place and one of my jobs was to run around and pick up the teenagers who had to come for therapy and we used a 15 passenger van with the V10 and I remember it having good power.

That leads me to the big question of, those of you with a 5.4 in the van, what do you think? Or even better, if anyone has had both, what is your impression on the difference in power of both? Am I wrong on the 5.4? Is it peppier than I'm thinking it is? Is the 6.8 that much better? Is there another solution that I'm not seeing?

Please, I don't want a diesel verses gas pissing match.

Also--I've tried to search this and either I don't know the right key words or this topic hasn't been bandied about much. If this has been beat to death, can someone post a link to those discussions?

Thanks for the help and if you are ever passing through Ruby Valley, NV--stop in to say "hi." We have a strict open door policy around here.

Coming from rigs equipped with 460s and diesels and all that low-rpm torque, my biggest adjustment was that these newer Ford engines THRIVE on rpm. Not much power at low rpms but once the tach gets up past 3000 rpm things start happening. And from everything I've read, the rpms don't hurt them so make sure on your test drives to wind them out because that's how they are meant to be run.

I lucked out and found one with the V10 and 3.73 gears and was so unhappy with the low end power that I had it regeared to 4.56. The van performs 100% better now and hard to believe but the fuel mileage didn't change at all - probably because now it stays in overdrive most of the time. I live on a ranch down south of Winnemucca a ways and pass through Elko on my way to the Jarbidge area so if you'd like to drive my rig or see how that engine looks in the engine bay, pm me.

This is Basecamp, in the Santa Rosa mountains north of Winnemucca:

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[another_mike]

Now both of my engines are 2v engines.. I have heard that the 3v engines are not as reliable, but I don't think, regardless of year, the econoline ever received the 3v v10...

Everything ive read indicates this to be true. Vans only saw 2 valve engines, and after 2004 (or 2004 and after, dont remember) theyll have the updated heads with more threads for the spark plugs.

When I was looking for a van I wanted a regular length body cargo, and really wanted diesel. Everything I found in diesel was either beat to hell or valued like a golden unicorn. Finally found a 2006 cargo fleet van in a V10. Had never seen one listed ever before.