hobovan
'00 E350SD PSD
Hello All. New members just dropping in to say hello, as the Girlfriend and I have been lurking here for info for a while. We've been on the hunt for a van for a bit for two reasons...first, mom has a 28' tow behind camper, but she sold her truck and can't move it anymore and two, we wanted something we could build out and use for the two of us plus pups and maybe the occasional guest to come and join us on adventures. We both travel for work, and when we're home, we like to get outdoors and enjoy ourselves. We're avid mtbers, hikers, campers, divers...trekkers in general. Right now, it's just the two of us and our two pups.
So the hunt...we narrowed it down pretty quickly to the diesel e-series vans. We both have backgrounds in diesel mechanics, and the possibility of towing the camper long distance made it an easy choice. The chevy offerings don't blow my skirt up for offroad, and the new sprinters are just too damned expensive for what we wanted to spend. We really wanted a 7.3, but eyed a couple 6 liters good and hard. We also were back and forth between the regular van (will it be enough space?,) a box truck (will we bury ourselves in a buildout?,) and a short bus (is it TOO big?)
Ultimately, fate made the choice for us, as we found a deal just too sweet to pass up. Posting went up for a '00 extended cargo van, not running, sitting for a year with a diesel. Guy was ready to send the thing to the junkyard, so we went down and took a look at it...turned out to be a relatively clean 7.3...he claimed it was running when it was parked, so we took the chance and ended up walking away with her for seven hundred bones. 245k on the clock.
Now...best guess is that the battery died, they didn't realize it had a second one under the frame, and gave up when it wouldn't start. I say this because they had tried putting a new battery under the hood at some point, but it was gone when we got there. So off to Firestone and away with two Megatron Plus', and the beautiful thing fired right up. About 5 mins in and there was smoke from under the hood. It turned out to be that the vacuum pump was gone (not sure if previously broken or if it was from sitting) and the pulley was crooked and not spinning. Ran out, grabbed some tools, a new pump and a new serp belt, and threw all of THAT in her. Fired the ole' girl back up, and she went all the way to temp without acting up, so I put away the AAA card and jumped in. G/f followed me home, and she made the 60 mile trip home under her own power and without issue.
Plan for right now:
Still waiting on title. Seller had to order a replacement, as he couldn't find the original. After that, reg her. She's already insured.
Dropped a set of paper filters in for the trip (the ones in her were pretty rough) but k&n's are in the mail.
Have to source a new airbox top, as there is a piece missing that means unfiltered air is making it to the turbo. She's parked until I can find.
She's got 1000 miles on a year old oil change. I just filled her up and added power service plus...plan is to toss some Marvel in the oil and run through the tank, then do oil/coolant/fuel filter change.
Strip off old decals
Inspect her
Body work
New locks/keys
New radio
Driver door hinge pins
Weather stripping/windshield wipers
A friend of mine is also the top diesel guy in Ford's network within like 500 miles, so the van is going to him when his schedule allows for a once over so I can add to the list.
Also figure out if the rear is locked and, if not, locker her up.
Up 4 inches.
That should get us to a solid starting point. Once that's done, we're going to start using the van in order to determine the best way to modify and fit her out for our purposes. We also have a little guy that would be used from time to time, especially when we're hoping to host guests. She'll get lifted, ujor conversion if we end up needing it. Rooftop for now, with a sportsmobile popout style possibly in the future, depending.
Any way, here's hoping that this is the beginning of a long adventure. Cheers!
Only one pic for now. More to come.
i64.tinypic.com/25henwx.jpg
So the hunt...we narrowed it down pretty quickly to the diesel e-series vans. We both have backgrounds in diesel mechanics, and the possibility of towing the camper long distance made it an easy choice. The chevy offerings don't blow my skirt up for offroad, and the new sprinters are just too damned expensive for what we wanted to spend. We really wanted a 7.3, but eyed a couple 6 liters good and hard. We also were back and forth between the regular van (will it be enough space?,) a box truck (will we bury ourselves in a buildout?,) and a short bus (is it TOO big?)
Ultimately, fate made the choice for us, as we found a deal just too sweet to pass up. Posting went up for a '00 extended cargo van, not running, sitting for a year with a diesel. Guy was ready to send the thing to the junkyard, so we went down and took a look at it...turned out to be a relatively clean 7.3...he claimed it was running when it was parked, so we took the chance and ended up walking away with her for seven hundred bones. 245k on the clock.
Now...best guess is that the battery died, they didn't realize it had a second one under the frame, and gave up when it wouldn't start. I say this because they had tried putting a new battery under the hood at some point, but it was gone when we got there. So off to Firestone and away with two Megatron Plus', and the beautiful thing fired right up. About 5 mins in and there was smoke from under the hood. It turned out to be that the vacuum pump was gone (not sure if previously broken or if it was from sitting) and the pulley was crooked and not spinning. Ran out, grabbed some tools, a new pump and a new serp belt, and threw all of THAT in her. Fired the ole' girl back up, and she went all the way to temp without acting up, so I put away the AAA card and jumped in. G/f followed me home, and she made the 60 mile trip home under her own power and without issue.
Plan for right now:
Still waiting on title. Seller had to order a replacement, as he couldn't find the original. After that, reg her. She's already insured.
Dropped a set of paper filters in for the trip (the ones in her were pretty rough) but k&n's are in the mail.
Have to source a new airbox top, as there is a piece missing that means unfiltered air is making it to the turbo. She's parked until I can find.
She's got 1000 miles on a year old oil change. I just filled her up and added power service plus...plan is to toss some Marvel in the oil and run through the tank, then do oil/coolant/fuel filter change.
Strip off old decals
Inspect her
Body work
New locks/keys
New radio
Driver door hinge pins
Weather stripping/windshield wipers
A friend of mine is also the top diesel guy in Ford's network within like 500 miles, so the van is going to him when his schedule allows for a once over so I can add to the list.
Also figure out if the rear is locked and, if not, locker her up.
Up 4 inches.
That should get us to a solid starting point. Once that's done, we're going to start using the van in order to determine the best way to modify and fit her out for our purposes. We also have a little guy that would be used from time to time, especially when we're hoping to host guests. She'll get lifted, ujor conversion if we end up needing it. Rooftop for now, with a sportsmobile popout style possibly in the future, depending.
Any way, here's hoping that this is the beginning of a long adventure. Cheers!
Only one pic for now. More to come.
i64.tinypic.com/25henwx.jpg
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At the current exchange rate it's a slightly better price Than I paid for my 97 AMBO. It also needed two batteries (covered by existing warranty), a brake line, and I soon discovered it needed an alternator. Mine was running before I bought it, and has been very good to us. I hope you have as good luck.