Looking at a 4wd van, need some advice
- Thread starter ert01
- Start date
I'm replacing my stock springs with a set this coming week (I'm 2wd, stock everything)...
I gained a hair more than an inch of lift with the new coils. My van is an E350 with the 7.3 though so it's heavier up front than most of the gasser vans. They might get more lift from these coils than I did.
The ride doesn't feel dramatically stiffer... Just a bit stiffer. The biggest bonus is that I don't bottom out on the bump stops like I used to.
The added clearance helps, but the progressive rate also helps because it gets stiffer as you compress it more.
It doesn't make the van feel like a caddy and it's not some mind blowing revelation, it just feels like it's the way it should have come from the factory.
With my rebuilt front axle and steering and shocks and coils, it drives just like my brothers stock 06 F350. Which is exactly what I want. I don't need a desert pre-runner or a huge mud bogger. I just need a 4x4 van to get me around. And the Quigley stuff was just tired and worn. Replacing it all with better stuff makes the van drive the way it should have driven right from the factory.
The ride doesn't feel dramatically stiffer... Just a bit stiffer. The biggest bonus is that I don't bottom out on the bump stops like I used to.
The added clearance helps, but the progressive rate also helps because it gets stiffer as you compress it more.
It doesn't make the van feel like a caddy and it's not some mind blowing revelation, it just feels like it's the way it should have come from the factory.
With my rebuilt front axle and steering and shocks and coils, it drives just like my brothers stock 06 F350. Which is exactly what I want. I don't need a desert pre-runner or a huge mud bogger. I just need a 4x4 van to get me around. And the Quigley stuff was just tired and worn. Replacing it all with better stuff makes the van drive the way it should have driven right from the factory.
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I had these installed in my 2002 e250 Traverse (like a gtrv) I gained 2,25 inches up front . Alignment was redone no problems. Drives very nice and firm .
I have 5.4L with these springs , I have seen the cc880 recommended for 5.4's and the cc880s for 7.3psd and and V10's mine is a bit stiff due to higher spring rate and not as much weight up front. I did however get max lift that the stock radius arms can handle. I think with IF i had gone with cc880 springs it would lifted maybe 1.5 inches. Right now I have a whopping 2 5/8 to the bumpstop. Not bad for just adding springs.
I added a few more things to the van over the last week:
First is a pin for the aluminess bumper swing arms.
I couldn't find a pin that was the right diameter, but that wasn't excessively large or long. So I bought a smaller pin and used some heat shrink to build it up to the right diameter. It's actually a very snug fit and doesn't rattle at all which is nice. It seriously adds a lot of strength to the swing arms.
I also ditched the aluminess tray in favor of a pelican 1690 case that I scored off amazon. I got it for $200 with free shipping! The retailer had it listed as used but in new condition and with a small (less than 1") mark on it... Well it was brand new when it arrived! Only the cardboard box was dinged and beat but the pelican looks brand new! I stripped off the retracting handle and the wheels and pulled all the foam out from inside it. I'll list those things on kijiji to cover some of my costs of the case.
To mount it, I used some scrap aluminum plate I had at work. We use it to mount instruments to and we always have piles of it laying around.
1/4" thick. Dimensions are 25.25" wide and 29.5" high (from very bottom to very top of the tabs). I have the full drawing with all the dimensions if anyone is interested.
Case mounts up like a dream. Nice and solid. I'll likely mount my fiskars axe and a shovel to the backside of this plate using some quickfists.
This case is the perfect size for my bbq and stove and can still fit a TON of stuff inside. I'll probably build some shelves inside it.
First is a pin for the aluminess bumper swing arms.
I couldn't find a pin that was the right diameter, but that wasn't excessively large or long. So I bought a smaller pin and used some heat shrink to build it up to the right diameter. It's actually a very snug fit and doesn't rattle at all which is nice. It seriously adds a lot of strength to the swing arms.
I also ditched the aluminess tray in favor of a pelican 1690 case that I scored off amazon. I got it for $200 with free shipping! The retailer had it listed as used but in new condition and with a small (less than 1") mark on it... Well it was brand new when it arrived! Only the cardboard box was dinged and beat but the pelican looks brand new! I stripped off the retracting handle and the wheels and pulled all the foam out from inside it. I'll list those things on kijiji to cover some of my costs of the case.
To mount it, I used some scrap aluminum plate I had at work. We use it to mount instruments to and we always have piles of it laying around.
1/4" thick. Dimensions are 25.25" wide and 29.5" high (from very bottom to very top of the tabs). I have the full drawing with all the dimensions if anyone is interested.
Case mounts up like a dream. Nice and solid. I'll likely mount my fiskars axe and a shovel to the backside of this plate using some quickfists.
This case is the perfect size for my bbq and stove and can still fit a TON of stuff inside. I'll probably build some shelves inside it.
silvrzuki77
explorer
Great idea on the pelican case. Might have to steal that when I build my rear bumper.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Did a few more small things today...
I changed the CPS.
My old one was becoming intermittent over the last week or so. Was a pretty easy fix once I removed the air box and removed the belt. That gave me enough room to access it from underneath the van. My van previously had the light grey/blue CPS and that's the same one I put back in it. I will purchase and test the dark grey version and report back next week sometime.
I also added some quickfists inside my pelican case for my axe.
And I finally bought a fire extinguisher. It fits nicely in the door pocket.
I changed the CPS.
My old one was becoming intermittent over the last week or so. Was a pretty easy fix once I removed the air box and removed the belt. That gave me enough room to access it from underneath the van. My van previously had the light grey/blue CPS and that's the same one I put back in it. I will purchase and test the dark grey version and report back next week sometime.
I also added some quickfists inside my pelican case for my axe.
And I finally bought a fire extinguisher. It fits nicely in the door pocket.
I already have LED lighting inside the van, and while it's nice and bright, I didn't have a reading lamp. I also didn't have any lighting for the outside of the van...
BUT I got a Ticla Good Love lantern as a present! This solved both issues (interior reading lamp and exterior lighting) with one little device.
(Disclaimer: this is a stock image and it's not me modeling the light
)
http://www.mec.ca/product/5041-488/ticla-good-love-lantern/
There's a few things in particular I like about this lantern:
-the color of the light output is nice and warm
-it's dimmable (low light for reading inside, max power when playing cards outside)
-it can run off its internal battery pack
-it can run when plugged in via USB (I have many USB ports in my van so this was a nice addition)
-it can run off of 4-AA batteries
-it will CHARGE the internal battery AND the AA's when plugged into USB
It's a decent size and has a good range of light output. Time will tell about the durability but it feels quite well built so far.
BUT I got a Ticla Good Love lantern as a present! This solved both issues (interior reading lamp and exterior lighting) with one little device.
(Disclaimer: this is a stock image and it's not me modeling the light
)http://www.mec.ca/product/5041-488/ticla-good-love-lantern/
There's a few things in particular I like about this lantern:
-the color of the light output is nice and warm
-it's dimmable (low light for reading inside, max power when playing cards outside)
-it can run off its internal battery pack
-it can run when plugged in via USB (I have many USB ports in my van so this was a nice addition)
-it can run off of 4-AA batteries
-it will CHARGE the internal battery AND the AA's when plugged into USB
It's a decent size and has a good range of light output. Time will tell about the durability but it feels quite well built so far.
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Well today is 1 year to the day that I have owned my van.
Nov 9 last year I made an interesting trek to go buy it in the midst of a really bad snowstorm... This was my FB status that evening when I had some time to sit down and recap:
3pm: So today I hitched a ride out to Woking, AB (it a bit North of GP) to buy a vehicle up there. Roads are pretty bad and we have to go 80-90km/h the whole way there. I'm also carrying thousands of $ in cash in my backpack and I'm hitching a ride with total strangers... I'm excited and a bit nervous all at the same time. This van better be worth it.
9pm: Get to the sellers farm and inspect the van and take it for a test drive... and find that the rear ujoint on the driveshaft is totally shot and it's not going to last the whole drive back home... The seller seems like a pretty good guy and agrees to swap the ujoint tonight in his shop before I hit the road. He calls the Gregg's Distributors after hours service number and gets someone to go open up the shop (this is 9pm already) and sell him a ujoint.
10pm: We get back from Gregg's and pull the shaft and old ujoint out and find out the new one is the wrong one!
10:30pm: Seller calls Gregg's again and arranges to go open shop and get yet another ujoint...
11:00pm: On the way to Gregg's, the seller hits one deer with his truck and nearly hit another on the way back... he's a bit frustrated, but the truck took very minor damage to the big bullbar he has on the front.
11:30pm: On the way back we find a truck rolled in the ditch with driver still inside. Call police and help driver out... It's still a blizzard outside and it's -25C so we let him climb in our truck with us while we wait for the police to arrive. He seems fine but smells like he has been drinking...
12:30am: Finish talking with police and finally head back to the farm to swap the ujoint.
1:30am: FINALLY finish the ujoint swap and I hit the road headed for home...
2:30am: Ujoint spits it's retaining ring and destroys itself. It wasn't fully seated in it's groove I guess...
3:00am: Currently waiting for the seller to come back and pick me up so we can deal with this and get something sorted out
In the end, he came and picked me up and we pulled the driveshaft out at the side of the road and left the van there for the night. We went back to the sellers farm and I crashed on his couch for the night around 4:30am... We got up around 8:00am and headed into town to get ANOTHER ujoint...
We finally got the van put back together around noon and I hit the road shortly after that.
Still in the middle of a blizzard, I had to drive 70km/hr the whole way home and I was VERY glad I had a 4wd van for that drive... the roads were slick ice in one lane and the other lane was a 16" snowdrift. I rolled into my driveway around 8pm that evening... It was a tiresome weekend, but SO worth it!
So to celebrate my 1 year ownership of the van, I installed a swivel seat base for the passenger side seat! No pics yet, but I'll get some later this evening.
Nov 9 last year I made an interesting trek to go buy it in the midst of a really bad snowstorm... This was my FB status that evening when I had some time to sit down and recap:
3pm: So today I hitched a ride out to Woking, AB (it a bit North of GP) to buy a vehicle up there. Roads are pretty bad and we have to go 80-90km/h the whole way there. I'm also carrying thousands of $ in cash in my backpack and I'm hitching a ride with total strangers... I'm excited and a bit nervous all at the same time. This van better be worth it.
9pm: Get to the sellers farm and inspect the van and take it for a test drive... and find that the rear ujoint on the driveshaft is totally shot and it's not going to last the whole drive back home... The seller seems like a pretty good guy and agrees to swap the ujoint tonight in his shop before I hit the road. He calls the Gregg's Distributors after hours service number and gets someone to go open up the shop (this is 9pm already) and sell him a ujoint.
10pm: We get back from Gregg's and pull the shaft and old ujoint out and find out the new one is the wrong one!
10:30pm: Seller calls Gregg's again and arranges to go open shop and get yet another ujoint...
11:00pm: On the way to Gregg's, the seller hits one deer with his truck and nearly hit another on the way back... he's a bit frustrated, but the truck took very minor damage to the big bullbar he has on the front.
11:30pm: On the way back we find a truck rolled in the ditch with driver still inside. Call police and help driver out... It's still a blizzard outside and it's -25C so we let him climb in our truck with us while we wait for the police to arrive. He seems fine but smells like he has been drinking...
12:30am: Finish talking with police and finally head back to the farm to swap the ujoint.
1:30am: FINALLY finish the ujoint swap and I hit the road headed for home...
2:30am: Ujoint spits it's retaining ring and destroys itself. It wasn't fully seated in it's groove I guess...
3:00am: Currently waiting for the seller to come back and pick me up so we can deal with this and get something sorted out
In the end, he came and picked me up and we pulled the driveshaft out at the side of the road and left the van there for the night. We went back to the sellers farm and I crashed on his couch for the night around 4:30am... We got up around 8:00am and headed into town to get ANOTHER ujoint...
We finally got the van put back together around noon and I hit the road shortly after that.
Still in the middle of a blizzard, I had to drive 70km/hr the whole way home and I was VERY glad I had a 4wd van for that drive... the roads were slick ice in one lane and the other lane was a 16" snowdrift. I rolled into my driveway around 8pm that evening... It was a tiresome weekend, but SO worth it!
So to celebrate my 1 year ownership of the van, I installed a swivel seat base for the passenger side seat! No pics yet, but I'll get some later this evening.
Poor pic but you get the idea. I'm sure you've all seen a swiveled seat before but this is a first for me so I'm posting it anyways
Install was pretty simple. I had to drill one hole in the base plate for the wiring to come up through and I had to enlarge an existing hole in the swivel for the seat connector to pass through.
Install was pretty simple. I had to drill one hole in the base plate for the wiring to come up through and I had to enlarge an existing hole in the swivel for the seat connector to pass through.
Today I got around to cutting off the old shifter knob for the transfer case... I just wanted to update it with something newer looking. Some guys on the sportsmobileforum said their quigley 4x4 knob was threaded onto the shaft... well I tried unthreading mine with no luck. So I cut it off to see what the deal was with it.
The shaft for the shifter is 0.625" barstock and it is necked down to 0.5875" where the knurled part is.
Now I just need to sand the shaft down, repaint it, and put a new knob on. Not sure if I will buy something for it or if I will make one. Might be a good chance to use my old Southbend lathe....
The shaft for the shifter is 0.625" barstock and it is necked down to 0.5875" where the knurled part is.
Now I just need to sand the shaft down, repaint it, and put a new knob on. Not sure if I will buy something for it or if I will make one. Might be a good chance to use my old Southbend lathe....
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