Ford van info resources and sweet van fantasies

[Deleted member 1276]

I'm probably going to be purchasing a Ford E250/350 in the near future. I have some fantasies about some of the 450s out there, but I dunno about that.

Is there a good resource for these vans?? For example, knowing which power plants/trannies are solid, common problems, expected mileage (both mpg and useful life of vehicle odometer readings), etc? This is probably common knowledge for many folks and I'd imagine the power plants are probably the same between the vans and trucks, but any help is appreciated. I realize this is just scratch the surface, naive kind of questioning, but I have to start somewhere...

I'm torn right now between getting a slightly more expensive van and doing a proper project/build or getting a van with 200K or so on the odometer and making do for a year or two before deciding if this is really the route I want to go down.

FWIW, I'd love to get the following vehicle and build it out sweet and eventually do a 4WD conversion on it, but 220K, I know nothing of the history on it, or even a price. Just that it is awesome and has the 7.3L... just a fantasy

But for grins (sorry about the size):

 

[dsw4x4]

Something like that could be made into a very cool camper.
As far age and milage goes my last van had 420k on a 351 when the tranny puked. These vans usually see light duty use considering how they are built so I am never scared of high miles but I also do my own repairs. My new van is 7.3 it is the only diesel I would they are super reliable with regular maintaince. For heavy usage I would replace the tranny just so you know what you have my guess is about 200k on a automatic and after that you are on borrowed time and you know it will go at the worst possible time/place.
351 and 460s your milage will probably never get better than ten. I do not know anything about the newer gas motors in vans.
Hope it helps.
Derek

 

[UHAULER]

A local real estate co. used to have a nearly identical van like that sitting in the parking lot collecting dust. Every time I drove by it with my wife I would tell her it would make the perfect camper/dirtbike hauler. Eventually it disappeared and I started building my project.

 

[ujoint]

There are a lot of good options out there. If you know you'll be doing a 4x4 conversion, plan accordingly. I prefer diesel. The 7.3 is awesome, but don't be scared of the 6.0. There were some isues with the 03 & 04 models, so do a check & see what repair work has been done. My van is an 06 with the 6.0, and I've only had one issue. A leaky fuel regulator. I'm at 49K right now. A great resource on the 6.0 is www.powerstrokehelp.com.

The V10 is a good engine, almost the same power figures as the diesel. The only engine I would say to stay away from is the 5.4. It's a good, relible engine, but there isn't enough power for a loaded 4x4 van. Also, the trannies that are behind them are more $$ to convert to 4wd.

And I think what you're suffering from has a name.......... vantasies!!!!!!!!

 

[Deleted member 1276]

There are a lot of good options out there. If you know you'll be doing a 4x4 conversion, plan accordingly. I prefer diesel. The 7.3 is awesome, but don't be scared of the 6.0. There were some isues with the 03 & 04 models, so do a check & see what repair work has been done. My van is an 06 with the 6.0, and I've only had one issue. A leaky fuel regulator. I'm at 49K right now. A great resource on the 6.0 is www.powerstrokehelp.com.

The V10 is a good engine, almost the same power figures as the diesel. The only engine I would say to stay away from is the 5.4. It's a good, relible engine, but there isn't enough power for a loaded 4x4 van. Also, the trannies that are behind them are more $$ to convert to 4wd.

And I think what you're suffering from has a name.......... vantasies!!!!!!!!

Vantasies... haha - perfect. That's exactly it.

Thanks for the info everyone. The more the better.

U-Joint - I want the diesel soo badly, but I'm looking at gas engines for the time being. Probably a 5.4L... which is not ideal, but I'm also at the beginning stages of seeing if this is what I want. That other thread about a van vs truck w/camper is exactly what I went through.

Check this out for vantasies BTW. Stolen photo from boulderoffroad.com website:

This is almost exactly what I was thinking with the van I posted above... I called and they are looking for 9K for the van at the top of the thread. No idea as to how fairly or not that is priced.

Anyway, rock on guys. U-Joint, expect email soon. I'll have some questions for you once I gather all my thoughts.

 

[ujoint]

When you start looking at these used vans, you'll see A LOT of 5.4's. Very common, and priced well. I just don't want to see you put time into the build, start using the van, and then realize you need/want more power. There are two things us men always want:

more power!

bigger tires!

 

[deminimis]

If you can find a newer ambulance, that can be a good place to start. One trick, is to make it so it doesn't look like an ambulance. Locally, we have a new Chevy diesel 4x4 ambulance that I'm in love with. Its seriously hardcore. Its damn impressive (I think its a 2-ton). Although this isn't it, it looks mighty similar. Just imagine using something like this, with 4x4, as your build's starting point.

Ha! I found it on the net. This thing rocks:

I mean, if we're talking "vantasies"...

 

[Stumpalump]

I looked long and hard at ambulance. They are unbelivable quality but are an electrical nightmare. Best bet would be to plan on a complete gutting of electrical systems and start from scratch recycling what you can.

 

[toyotatruckjunkie]

I may have some useful info to add to this thread.

I drive a '98 E350 w/ the 5.4 and the E40D for my business. It is (way over) loaded with the BG chemicals I sell, and has been since the day it was new. I'd love to drive it over the scales to see just how much I carry in it, but I'm afraid to. It now has 285k on both the orig engine and trans. All things considered, I've been pretty impressed with the power/performance it provides. I wouldn't hesitate to make a 4x4 camper van with this drivetrain. In fact, if I found one w/ this drivetrain, I'd be estatic. Gas mileage isn't great @12-14 but then again, it is truly hauling a LOT of weight. (Most of the lifts in my customers shops won't lift it loaded.)

The '89 E250 w/ the FI 351 and C6 camper van (see my other thread) that I'm hoping to convert to 4wd is a dog comparitively. I'm really concerned that it won't have the power to do what I want it to after 4wd conversion. I'd really like to tow my 4runner on a car trailer, ~5000 lbs.

I agree the towing/power advantages of a diesel cannot be overlooked. The 7.3 diesel is very appealing to me, but I wouldn't own a 6.0. Especially in the E series. The added heat retention accelerates a lot of the issues. I call on Ford dealers almost everyday for my business. The problems that they have been experiencing with them has been mind boggling. Injectors issues (both on the fuel and oil sides), blown EGR coolers, etc. Ford and International have gotten a divorce over the warranty claims. To replace 8 injectors is a $3000 job. Pretty stiff when it's customer pay. The 6.4 was supposed to be the savior, but they tell me the 6.4 won't physically fit in the E-series. It has been pretty problematic as well. Again warranty claims are killing them. To gain access to do any maint/repairs, the suggested method is to 1st remove the cab. Ok on a F-Series if you have access to a lift. Obviously you can't do that as easily w/ an E-Series.

Several of my ambulance company customers are moving away from Fords because of the issues. They went to great lengths to lower underhood temps, but still have issues. They are going to F-Series and eventually to GM's.

Sportsmobile TX admitted to seeing several of these issues. He also told me last week that Ford told him they are not going to offer a diesel in a E-Series when Ford builds their own diesel (rumored to be 2010). One of the pre-owned units he sold last week was bought specifically because it had the 7.3. Fortunately, they offered the 7.3 up until 2002. That makes pre-03 much more desireable to me.

I'm really not trying to advertise, but fortunately for me, the BG services I sell help with many of these issues. These Ford dealerships have been very good customers for me. FWIW, that's what I have to add. Hope it was useful to some extent.

 

[dzzz]

Maybe ford will bring the big transit van to the U.S. 4wd is an option. Several diesel choices. Many sizes, and the GVWR goes up to about 13K.
In the U.K. I don't believe that a gas engine is even an option on ford vans.

 

[dzzz]

Ford is saying publicly that the new diesel arrives Jan 1. The day the international contract expires. The new engine is made in the U.K. Anyone know the reputation of ford diesels in the U.K. and Europe?

 

[Deleted member 1276]

Hey - Not sure it is worth another thread, but if it doesn't get good discussion, I might post it up. School me on how the high-roof fiberglass parts are connected to the van bodies.

Are they bolted on and then weather stripped? Weather stripped, then bolted? Clamped like truck toppers then hidden? No idea here...

Here's why I'm interested - any idea what is going on in these pictures? Should I be concerned about this? Looking at a used van...

three quarter view showing corner above passenger side and rotting stripping of some sort.

close up with wide-angle. driver side top of windshield and bottom of high roof...

Here's which roof it is if you're curious:

Looks like weirdness like rotting weatherstripping and the latex/urethane<sp?> used to bind the windshield is also rotting or one or the other interfered with the other.... Thoughts??

 

[ujoint]

Almost looks as though it's been repaired, or an attempt has been made to repair! I'm not too familiar with how they secure the tops on those rigs.

 

[spencyg]

Mine is bolted to the turn in the roof around the perimeter. Your damage looks very ugly. I'd be tempted to remove the whole top to repair as anything other than that will just seal in the cancer and lead to worse problems in the near future.

Spence

 

[robert]

All I can say is to try to keep your center of gravity as low as possible. We had one 4wd vanbulance that was an eighties Quigley conversion that ran well other than the fact is was a gas engine and had overheating problems in the hot weather if you left all the accessories on (we use idle kickups to keep the voltage up so when they are sitting the strobes keep working). The larger gas engines really need more cooling than the van seems to have.

While I'm glad U-joint has had good luck with his 6.0, I wouldn't own one or the newer 6.4L. We've had tons of problems with them on our ambulances (F450s) even though they receive Ford's recommended heavy use PM maintenance- everything from injectors to the computers to cracked manifolds to overheating, radiators failing, steering pump failures, untold voltage regulators and several alternators (these failures of course cooked the Optima batteries). Several of them have had transmission problems with the sensors for the tow packages dying and not allowing them to shift. Service on the engines is a nightmare requiring a lift to remove the cabs.

True these are ambulances and see harder use than many commercial vehicles, but everyone of our trucks with the 6.0 or 6.4L engines has had major problems. The older 7.3s and 7.3 turbos seem to run forever (we had transmission problems before engine problems).