Triton Engines vs earlier models

[WVI]

I believe the issues were with the earlier 3V engines.
Vans only have the 2V engines, but can have issues if the plugs are not installed properly.

 

[Ecoboost_Traveller]

I believe the issues were with the earlier 3V engines.
Vans only have the 2V engines, but can have issues if the plugs are not installed properly.

Ah that makes sense. That makes me feel better. Seems like the 2V are more solid engines all the way around. I knew a guy with a 2V 5.4 F-150 with 350,000 miles and the only thing it ever needed was coil packs

 

[SDDiver5]

Ok so from what I’ve read here, I should have no issues looking for about a 2004-2007 Econoline with the 5.4? I think I heard expeditions and f-150s around those years had issues with spark plugs too?

The triton engines are great and I personally love the 6.8 V10. I had the 4.6 in my old F150, my brother had the 5.4 in his F150 and our old excursion had the 6.8. All of them went into the 200k miles range with general maintenance. They do have spark plug issues but IMO those are one of the things that should be replaced whenever you buy a used anything. My friend just bought a used E150, 2006 I think, from a local cable company with the 5.4. She got it for 6kish I think and she is currently building it out. Not 4x4 of course.

If you want to make things easy, buy one that is already built like others have said or pay someone to do it if you're not a DIY person.

There's thousands of van builds out there and some places make DIY kits. In this case, if you're not a DIY person you will get what you paid for.

Another option is to buy a small RV from the same year for about the same price.

 

[FDM2012]

I currently have 310k on my 1998. Runs great!

Ah that makes sense. That makes me feel better. Seems like the 2V are more solid engines all the way around. I knew a guy with a 2V 5.4 F-150 with 350,000 miles and the only thing it ever needed was coil packs

 

[Rebuilder]

For anyone reading that is concerned about the plugs breaking while being removed from a 3V 5.4 it's not a big deal. Yes it sucks but just get the $70 tool from Lisle and it only takes about 10 minutes per plug to extract them. At least this is my experience of having to extract 5 out of 8 a few weeks ago. Another tip that worked for me is after breaking four plugs I saw a YT vid of a guy recommending using an impact gun and sure enough I got the next 3 out in one piece.

 

[bumper crop]

I've come to the conclusion that I want a 2000-2005 E350 EB, gas powered. I had a 2002 E250 SMB with the 5.4 for a few years. It was my father in-law's, and he never used it. So we kept it at our place and used it and took care of it. We took that thing everywhere. Eventually he gave it to us, and we continued to use it. But the problem is that the bed was in there sideways, and I'm about 6" too tall for shenanigans like that. So, we sold it and bought a Tundra which we outfitted for our trip to Alaska in 2019, and that was great too. But now we are realizing that there are a lot of great things about a van, and we want another.

Because of my needs related to height, I think we will build our own van. I don't want the drivetrain itself to be a project, so I'm looking for nice low mileage or well maintained vans. And I'll do the camper buildout and high top conversion myself. That way I can have exactly what I need. And when the time comes to inevitably convert it to 4x4, I'll have little enough in it financially, that I won't feel too bad about paying someone else to convert it. Right now, Advanced 4x4 is probably at the top of that list for me.