Introduction and future (hopefully) build thread - E350SD Ext Cargo
- Thread starter hobovan
- Start date
hobovan
'00 E350SD PSD
I think you're in the wrong thread...we haven't done the dynamat yet. O'Billy is the one with the supersweet dynamat install, although they didn't post how much of each product they went through. We're planning on doing the same thing, albeit with products from RAAM and KnuKoncepts, but it may be a bit. Once we do, I'll post it up.
hobovan
'00 E350SD PSD
So I took my G/F to the junkyard for the first time today, and she had a blast. They had 7 econolines out in the yard, but unfortunately we really didn't make out that well. We couldn't find any of the major pieces we were scouting for but, on the other hand, we did get about 20 maxi fuses, the fuse box cover, hood prop rod clip, the mirror panel clips, a couple fusible links, some screws for the hood cowl, trim retainers, ~ 30 mini fuses and a full set of relays for a whopping $7.37. Keep making out like a bandit on this thing.
Except...air intake #2 arrived today broken, albeit not nearly as bad as the first. I can weld this one back into usable condition, but not until I call the yard tomorrow and see what they want to do. The more I look at the van, the more I'm looking at just moving the battery to the frame and fabbing a custom intake for it. To that end, I returned the K&N drop-ins that I had ordered for the van and used the money to pick up everything for the forthcoming oil and coolant changes.
Lastly, the radio came in today. I have to say...it's CLEAN looking...of all the installs I've done, it's high up on the list of nice looking. Pics below...she went at the wiring while I modded the dash...we got away with just trimming the dash trim and the bottom of the a/c control panel mount...we didn't have to cut or bend the metal dash supports for this kit. The radio doesn't come with screws, but I had a spare set off an old set of bicycle disc brakes (m6x8 IIRC.) If you buy the radio, just know you'll need them. 6 is enough, 8 is better. Once it was in, I talked her into a trick around the block and we rocked out to GNR's Welcome to the Jungle. The mic is currently located up on the top of the A pillar. No word yet on how it picks up as we wrapped up late and I didn't want to run it around while calling people, but I'll post back in a day or two with the verdict. We're just rocking two stock speakers up front for now, but it's in and we're stoked. Also, and most importantly, the volume knob lets us actually adjust the volume on demand, which is better than our stock unit! Color is whatever the radio was set at after I turned off demo mode, but it will do whatever color you want. The only thing I have seen that I'm not so sure about is that there was no dimming wire for night time use, so I don't know if it's going to be too bright yet or not. [edit: read the manual...the dimmer is on a timer and controlled by a user defined setting. Default is 6a/6p]
Except...air intake #2 arrived today broken, albeit not nearly as bad as the first. I can weld this one back into usable condition, but not until I call the yard tomorrow and see what they want to do. The more I look at the van, the more I'm looking at just moving the battery to the frame and fabbing a custom intake for it. To that end, I returned the K&N drop-ins that I had ordered for the van and used the money to pick up everything for the forthcoming oil and coolant changes.
Lastly, the radio came in today. I have to say...it's CLEAN looking...of all the installs I've done, it's high up on the list of nice looking. Pics below...she went at the wiring while I modded the dash...we got away with just trimming the dash trim and the bottom of the a/c control panel mount...we didn't have to cut or bend the metal dash supports for this kit. The radio doesn't come with screws, but I had a spare set off an old set of bicycle disc brakes (m6x8 IIRC.) If you buy the radio, just know you'll need them. 6 is enough, 8 is better. Once it was in, I talked her into a trick around the block and we rocked out to GNR's Welcome to the Jungle. The mic is currently located up on the top of the A pillar. No word yet on how it picks up as we wrapped up late and I didn't want to run it around while calling people, but I'll post back in a day or two with the verdict. We're just rocking two stock speakers up front for now, but it's in and we're stoked. Also, and most importantly, the volume knob lets us actually adjust the volume on demand, which is better than our stock unit! Color is whatever the radio was set at after I turned off demo mode, but it will do whatever color you want. The only thing I have seen that I'm not so sure about is that there was no dimming wire for night time use, so I don't know if it's going to be too bright yet or not. [edit: read the manual...the dimmer is on a timer and controlled by a user defined setting. Default is 6a/6p]
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hobovan
'00 E350SD PSD
And this is the higher end Excelon version, which adds HD radio and who knows what else. I may upgrade later, but I'd have to research the rest of the differences.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-N7INMDlwEYN/p_113DPX792B/Kenwood-Excelon-DPX792BH.html
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-N7INMDlwEYN/p_113DPX792B/Kenwood-Excelon-DPX792BH.html
hobovan
'00 E350SD PSD
mike.marcacci
Adventurer
Wish I had thought about that... I put a Kenwood BT315U in mine (I really wanted single-DIN so I could fit a little phone shelf), and while I really like it for music, Siri has yet to understand me over the diesel... humans on the other side don't seem to have much of a problem, but active noise canceling would be awesome.
hobovan
'00 E350SD PSD
I have the diesel center console with 4 cup holders, an ashtray (we don't use) and another, bigger pocket up front under the radio, so I just rest my phone in there, or in the cupholder when I don't have a water bottle or cup of coffee. Used the BT again today, and I really have to say it was worth the $130 for the stereo. If you're looking for a solid, budget radio with BT, I definitely recommend the unit. Still waiting to see about the FLAC support...I got excited and plugged in a 32gb thumbdrive loaded, but that seems to be too much for it to handle. More word on that later, once I figure out the max size. I can't see spending the extra $ for this point on the exceleron, but maybe if I REALLY wanted HD radio...Still need to compare the rest of the features between the two.
In other news, we FINALLY burned through the tank of diesel. Well....Sort of. I was beginning to worry the gauge wasn't working because I was at like 470 miles on a tank, so I broke and filler her up. She took 26 gallons, so gauge appears to work. With the 1/4 tank of skunky year old diesel AND the old *** oil AND our daily idling of the engine AND me driving it harder than I normally would in an attempt to stretch her out a bit, we STILL managed a decent 17.5mpg, so I'm pretty stoked. We just got in from doing the oil this evening, and we're on a fresh run of Rotella T with the Motorcraft filter.
Tomorrow morning, we have an appointment with the Ford tech to give the whole truck a once over and if she gets a clean bill of health, we're taking her on our maiden voyage this coming weekend. In the meantime, we are busily plugging away at lists of things to do...I spent the last weekend enjoying the beautiful mountains of West Virginia on foot whilst the Misses tore out the old rubber floor liner and nasty padding in prep for some proper deadening/insulation. Parts are still rolling in as well. This week, we are hoping to get the coolant system flushed out and changed over to the delo. We have everything necessary, just looking for time at this point. We also opted for the 203 thermostat, and will be swapping that as well in the pursuit of some more mpgs. We will hopefully get some deadening done as well. We will be rocking the air mattress, as we haven't yet figured out what size mattress to order for the van.
Upon our return in a week, we have the following waiting to be installed:
Diamond Eye turbo-back exhaust (downpipe will be headed for the shop for a pyro bung)
Wicked Wheel Compressor Wheel
Energy Suspensions E350SD Master kit
After that, our next priorities are going to be the following:
Still need gauges (pyro/trans temp)
Shocks look and feel laughably original
Unclear on condition of tie rods/ball joints (will be clarified tomorrow, may or mat not need attention)
Change transmission fluid and replace cooler hoses
Change diff oil as it is most likely original (may hold off ever so slightly so as to secure an LSD)
Low priority but nagging in the back of head
intake/tune
Any way, if you've made it this far, thanks for reading. Here's a pic from this past weekend as a reward.
hobovan
'00 E350SD PSD
So everything came back A-okay from the Ford mechanic, so we're off to the mountains this weekend for a cob building workshop. This is to be the maiden trip for the van. We're going pretty spartan and rocking the air mattress. In preparation, we got into the back of the van with some steel wool and started the final cleanup. Pics below...we also did a little bit of fairing and shot some paint on the outside...this was just to prevent the spread of rust, so we didn't pull out the body or anything. The stbd quarter is the worst and will require a panel, but I need to pick a welder up. Anywho...
Before steel wool:
Side by Side Comparison:
After:
Starboard quarter before:
In primer:
And finished paintwork:
Before steel wool:
Side by Side Comparison:
After:
Starboard quarter before:
In primer:
And finished paintwork:
hobovan
'00 E350SD PSD
So I'm looking to pick up the diff for cyber Monday and was looking for some help to make sure that I have the right one. Diff tag says 3.55 then an upside down triangle followed by XC25 ACE. Line two says 606232-1, which says in the dana decoder Dana 60. I'm thinking that the one I need is the eaton truetrac 915A385. Can somebody confirm? Also I'm thinking that the truetrac is more streetable than the locker...any major differences to go with the Detroit locker over truetrac? Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to all.