Not So Subtle E350 Shuttle - 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
- Thread starter sakurama
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Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
X2 you won't regret on board air. I have made plenty of use of it on my Fj40.
Before I had it I found myself stuck in a blizzard that had turned to freezing rain/hail/snow/ice... to make it the last few blocks to my destination in the deep snow which had developed an icy crust I had to deflate my 31s down to 12psi from 21psi. I'd have liked to have gone a bit lower, but had no way to re-inflate if I lost a bead. I made it to the safety of a friends driveway.
The next day, driving home, I had to drive more than an hour and a half before I could find a service station that wasn't shut down by the 3+ feet of snow. I don't regret having put on on board air shortly afterward. I have even used it to reset beads and do emergency field repairs with a pneumatic drill.
The Ambo got a 12v Titan / Smitibuilt compressor:
Rated output of 5.65 CFM (at O psi)
Maximum voltage is 13.8-volt, maximum amp draw is 45 AMP
Maximum restart pressure is 150 psi
Maximum operating temperature is 140 degree F, minimum temperature 67 degree F
AIRING up times: 32 in. tire - 10 psi to 32 psi = 1 minute 30 second 33 in. tire - 10 psi to 32 psi = 2 minute 35 in. tire - 10 psi to 32 psi = 2 minute 45 second 2.5 gal. air tank - 0 psi to 125 psi = 1 minute 20 second
Built-in circuit breaker and automatic thermal cutoff
It has a decent duty cycle... and only cost me a 24. It has saved me having to change an inner Dually at the side of the road a couple times... and allowed me to do a field repair of a ripped off valve stem in the middle of nowhere. Beer well spent.
I don't regret electric for a moment... and with a 215 amp alternator, I have to problem with having enough Juice (although I just run it off the house batteries).
onemanarmy
Explorer
^ min operating temp 67 F?
I have a similar compressor to what Bikersmurf has, probably built in the same Chinese factory but Aussie brand lol. We actually bought it to use at the drag strip in the staging lanes but I took it with us on our trip to Fraser Island recently. Used it a couple of times on the island but the payoff was airing up once we got back to the mainland. I had done my 4 tyres in the time it took my brother-in-law to do 1 
his was a lot smaller. I'm not sure that an air tank would be necessary unless you wanted to use the air for other things. I'm hearing you about the rear bumper though, I'm looking to do something with swing away arms for the spare and some jerry cans.
Tone
his was a lot smaller. I'm not sure that an air tank would be necessary unless you wanted to use the air for other things. I'm hearing you about the rear bumper though, I'm looking to do something with swing away arms for the spare and some jerry cans.Tone
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Given all the available real estate under the van, Id just mount a small tank under the van rather than building a pressurized bumper.
Thank you very much, it’s been a long journey making incremental improvements and attempting to carefully plan out the order of supporting modifications to reach our goals. I’ll try to cover some of the basics on what should be done, what I’ve done, and what you can do with yours. I imagine you won’t want to take yours as far as I’ve gone with mine, but you can certainly pick up a LOT of power compared to where you are now, while also getting better millage (when you don’t have your foot in it!) and addressing some reliability concerns. I’m going to try not to write a novel, but hopefully enough information to get you thinking or googling.
Okay, let’s start out with reliability.
There are definitely a couple of little things that can leave you stranded, but they aren’t too hard to address. Suspect number one is the Camshaft Position Sensor (CPS), these somehow have the ability to die at any given random time, and you’re hosed if it does. But they are relatively cheap and easy to replace with a 10mm wrench. I replaced mine with a new motorcraft part, keep the old one and a spare new one in the truck at all times. In our 8 years I’ve had to replace it twice, with no rhyme or reason as to why. In both cases, the truck was running fine, shut off at home and a gas station, and would then not start up again.
The ICP (Injector Control Pressure Sensor) can leak or fail and effect good operation, but won’t likely leave you stranded. The IPR (Injector Pressure Regulator) is also worth being aware of, though these are expensive and tougher to replace, and fortunately do not fail often. I replaced both of these and keep the working take-off’s in my truck as well.
Alternators. Rebuilt alternators for these are of horrible quality. If you have an original, it may last for a long long long time, but if you have a parts store reman in there, they tend to last a couple of years max. I’ve been through four, and have receipts from three others by previous owner. Rather than warrantying another one to Napa, I now have the “Gold” from Autozone which is supposed to be a 100% new unit. It’s been two years now and appears to be working great. I then had the Napa unit rebuilt by a local shop that some buddies swear by and keep it as a spare. They are easy to swap.
Speaking of electrical, you MUST have great batteries if you want it to start in the cold. I swear by AGM’s in these and are currently running Duralast Platnium’s from Autozone (yeah… they are on my way home from work….), but these same batteries are available at many retailers.
Speaking of starting… you should not need to plug your truck in to start, even when very cold. It’s advisable to replace your glow plugs, but ONLY use Motorcraft glow plugs, cheap brands can result in some serious fun, like pulling off the heads. Glow plugs are cheap, and pretty easy to replace. The glow plug relay can also go out and cause a no-start. Worth having a spare, or better yet head down to the International truck shop and get a heavy duty glow plug relay and most likely never have another problem with it. In an emergency, you can jump the relay for 30 seconds to get started.
While you have the valve covers off to replace the glow plugs, this is a mandatory fix, and fortunately the cheapest mod to your motor. It’s called the $.50 mod, and costs exactly two quarters. The Under Valve Cover Harness (UVCH) hooks up your injectors and glow plugs to the outside world, and the harness can come randomly unplugged under the valve cover, causing you to loose half your injectors at any random time. Trust me, it’s not fun when that happens. Ford made a little add-on clip, but the $.50 mod works better. You take a quarter, trim a little off one edge and slip it into the harness connector, it is then impossible for the connector to come undone.
Okay, I could go on, but wanted to at least mention those things, now let’s talk about more fun performance stuff.
Our number one mission here is to try our best to get as much cool air into the motor as possible and exhaust it with minimal restriction. I don’t have any idea what intake options are available for the van, but you could also DIY something pretty easy. I know you have fab capabilities. I run an intake from AFE, it’s a good design with a plastic tube intake, a metal intake box and a huge cone filter. I’ve added heat reflective tape to the outside of the box and insulation to the inside of the box to reduce heat soaking and drilled some hole in the plastic to the right of the radiator to let cool outside air feed the box easier, this makes a BIG difference. I run a 4” downpipe to a 4” straight pipe exhaust to a 5” tip right in front of my passenger rear wheel. A free flowing exhaust is mandatory on these to free up some horsepower and reduce EGT’s. Considering the injector clack, loud tires ect, I don’t find the exhaust to be loud, no spousal objection whatsoever and the V8 and turbo are nice sounding stuff anyways. Again, you’ll have to research exhaust options for a van, but I’m sure there are options out there and your pretty handy so DIY or modding a truck system is an option.
Heat wrapping the exhaust is a pretty good idea while you’re at it.
Next up is the turbocharger… mentioned above, you have a lot of options, going with a full T4 kit is an option (they BEST, but expensive!), and KC Turbo’s makes some AWESOME aftermarket units as does Dieselsite, the Garret GTP38r ball bearing turbo used to be very popular, but not so much anymore as long term they’ve been shown not to be that much of an upgrade and are not user serviceable. I’m going to recommend you a pretty inexpensive DIY option. Pulling the turbo and rebuilding it yourself is actually pretty easy, and I think likely REALLY easy on a van. Get the turbo off and rebuild the center section using a rebuild kit with an upgraded 360 degree thrust bearing, kits are available for less than $50 on amazon. Replace the turbine wheel with a billet wheel from Dieselsite. The next step is to eliminate the EBPV (Exhaust Back Pressure Valve), this is a valve in the exhaust which restricts exhaust flow, it’s supposed to help warm up the engine when it’s cold, in reality all it does is increase EGTs and reduce exhaust flow, its actuated hydraulically off the turbo pedestal, and usually leak oil. You can purchase a non-ebpv pedestal and a turbo flange without the valve, or you can just remove the actuator and TIG up the hole and remove the valve and TIG up the hole, so basically free, or about $200 depending on what you want to do. Typically I’d recommend you eliminate the wastegate and go to a 1.0 a/r exhaust housing, but you have a van turbo so that’s already done! After doing this to your turbo, you’ll be SHOCKED about how much better it performs and EGT’s will be way way way down.
I’ve been piecing together a T4 kit, but oddly enough I’m REALLY happy with how this setup runs, it sees 38psi on a daily basis and when at the drag strip or the truck pulls I peg my 50psi gauge. Spool is pretty much instantaneous over 1500rpm. I know my BW S369SXE will perform better, but I’m honestly happy enough with this charger that I’m not really worrying about when I’ll get it on. And I can run in the stock turbo class where I can kick some butt.
While you have that turbo out, you should check up on your up-pipes and make sure they are not leaking. Exhaust leaks in the up-pipes are very common as the donut gaskets wear out. The leaks will have a very detrimental effect on performance and EGT’s. You can get aftermarket pipes or pipes from international, or what I did was TIG them to eliminate the gaskets. The other things to address at this time are the intercooler plumbing boots and clamps. Even If they looks good, the stock boots are horrible and can leak more boost than you think, they degrade from oil exposure. Check out your sizes and you can get really high quality HPS brand boots on amazon for quite cheap.
Tuners…. Again there is a lot out there on the market, but pretty much everybody who’s fairly intelligent about these things has moved on to the PHP Hydra as its very flexible with loading up different tunes and you can email files for upgrades ect. Again, lots of different tuners out there, but I and a whole lot of other people swear by Dave Armstrong at Swamps Diesel Performance. He is extraordinarily knowledgeable and also builds what are considered to be the best engines and fuel injector’s money can buy. He also has excellent customer service, is very responsive via email and is always happy to tweak a tune or provide insight and assistance. I use an Edge Insight (along with other gauges) to keep an eye on the motor and have used the datalogging features to send him datalog spreadsheets, using the logs from street driving, dyno and drag strip he’s happily customized all of my tunes at no additional cost. Otherwise, the stock tunes that come with the Hydra are VERY good, Swamps includes tunes with a Hydra purchase.
With the above intake, exhaust, turbo and tunes you’ll be EASILY making 100+ more horsepower than stock, totally streetable and towable and likely see a good increase in fuel economy as well.
After this… stuff starts getting a little more interesting as you’ll need a regulated return fuel system and some upgraded fuel injectors. Both are great upgrades in terms of both power and reliability, but you start cracking into more issues depending on what you want to do.
For reference, I’m running a full Dieselsite fuel system, Fass fuel pump, Adrenaline high pressure oil pump, Swamps 250/200 hybrid single shot injectors and have installed ARP headstuds and upgraded valve springs and push rods to handle all that boost along with some other little tweaks. Not sure if you’d have much interest in taking it that far, but this is a pretty standard recipe for a fast, streetable, towable setup. My personal best fuel millage was 27mpg, of course that’s downhill and eastbound from boulder CO on our way to Chicago, with the wind at our back and no load at 65mph. Our worst was 4mpg, basically rallying from Boulder to Carbondale and back in a single afternoon. I don’t really recommend driving that fast on i70 through the mountains, but it’s nice to know you can…..
Okay, well darn, I did write a novel. Have fun with the van! Ask anything if you need some more info!
sakurama
Adventurer
Wow, that's a lot of great info. Thanks for sharing it all here.
I have put a Hydra chip in and it's certainly boosted the performance. The heavy tow setting keeps the EGT down under 1100 generally. The next step up (daily driver?) really perks it up but I can't use it on the hills or the EGT climbs right up to 1200.
One thing that is difficult for my year van is that there's no intercooler. Supposedly it can be added if you go to the newer style front clip but I really like the older style fronts. Maybe that's a worthwhile trade off to get the cooler air. Would an exhaust and turbo upgrade make sense without an intercooler?
Gregor
I have put a Hydra chip in and it's certainly boosted the performance. The heavy tow setting keeps the EGT down under 1100 generally. The next step up (daily driver?) really perks it up but I can't use it on the hills or the EGT climbs right up to 1200.
One thing that is difficult for my year van is that there's no intercooler. Supposedly it can be added if you go to the newer style front clip but I really like the older style fronts. Maybe that's a worthwhile trade off to get the cooler air. Would an exhaust and turbo upgrade make sense without an intercooler?
Gregor
Oh.... Didn't realize that these don't have an intercooler, thats a bummer! Adding one would certainly make a big difference in power and EGT's. If you don't want to change the front clip, you could look into getting whatever size IC core might fit and customize some IC plumbing.
All of the upgrades mentioned would help out for sure, anything you can do to make the intake, exhaust and turbo systems more efficient will help out, more power, less EGT's. Just add an intercooler project into the list
FWIW, nothing wrong with running it up to 1200 for an extended time period, discussing this with Dave, most tow and street tunes are designed to try and hit a ceiling at about 1200-1250 and hopefully not get hotter unless really pushed. When you start getting some of these mods done you'll find that you can leave it in a hotter tune and have no trouble keeping it under 1200. My truck pretty much lives in its "Hot Street" tune. I don't own anything heavy enough right now to make me want to drop it down to a tow tune.
Furthermore on EGT's, feel free to punch it up way past, at least a couple of times just to give yourself a better feeling as to how it responds and make yourself more comfortable and not as inclined to feel like your instrument driving. Nothing wrong with getting it up to 1600ish, but only for a couple of seconds, like long enough to execute a pass. When i hit the drag strip i think i'm kissing 1800 when i fly through the traps, guys who are -really- drag racing (and not just playing with a street truck) don't even consider that warm.
All of the upgrades mentioned would help out for sure, anything you can do to make the intake, exhaust and turbo systems more efficient will help out, more power, less EGT's. Just add an intercooler project into the list
FWIW, nothing wrong with running it up to 1200 for an extended time period, discussing this with Dave, most tow and street tunes are designed to try and hit a ceiling at about 1200-1250 and hopefully not get hotter unless really pushed. When you start getting some of these mods done you'll find that you can leave it in a hotter tune and have no trouble keeping it under 1200. My truck pretty much lives in its "Hot Street" tune. I don't own anything heavy enough right now to make me want to drop it down to a tow tune.
Furthermore on EGT's, feel free to punch it up way past, at least a couple of times just to give yourself a better feeling as to how it responds and make yourself more comfortable and not as inclined to feel like your instrument driving. Nothing wrong with getting it up to 1600ish, but only for a couple of seconds, like long enough to execute a pass. When i hit the drag strip i think i'm kissing 1800 when i fly through the traps, guys who are -really- drag racing (and not just playing with a street truck) don't even consider that warm.
mgmetalworks
Explorer
Gregor, I bet you could stuff an intercooler in your 7.3L van. Look at the intercoolers they stuff into Subarus and those other little turbo rockets with no room up front. And also take a look at how the new Ram trucks handle their radiator/intercooler setup... Who says you need to use Ford parts or fit it in the van like the 6.0L? You've got a TIG welder, a credit card and this site: http://www.siliconeintakes.com Go for it!
sakurama
Adventurer
Gregor, I bet you could stuff an intercooler in your 7.3L van. Look at the intercoolers they stuff into Subarus and those other little turbo rockets with no room up front. And also take a look at how the new Ram trucks handle their radiator/intercooler setup... Who says you need to use Ford parts or fit it in the van like the 6.0L? You've got a TIG welder, a credit card and this site: http://www.siliconeintakes.com Go for it!
OMG, you're such an enabler!
Umm, okay, an intercooler is on the list...
Gregor
Petrolburner
Explorer
If it helps, you can offset your costs by building a second setup and I'll pay you a fair price for it. It's cheaper than me buying a TIG welder.
I really appreciate the info Euro Ford.
Jsweezy
Explorer
I second this.
sakurama
Adventurer
Wait! You have a gas engine. You just collecting hardware or encouraging more mission creep?
Gregor