My head is telling me I need an E250 or E350. My price range would probably max out around $7K. I'd like to get one with around 125K miles. That means I'm looking somewhere in the early Aughts/90's. Any suggestions on what to look out for?
My head is telling me I need an E250 or E350. My price range would probably max out around $7K. I'd like to get one with around 125K miles. That means I'm looking somewhere in the early Aughts/90's. Any suggestions on what to look out for?
Was the E250/E350 available with the 5.4L engine? Not Ford's most loved engine. I have one in my F250 and I'm lucky to say it has been fine. They are common for bad cam phasers. Mine, like most 5.4s does however return the crappy mpg and generally feels not that powerful.
The Econoline never got the 3v 5.4, they were all 2v. No cam phasers, no problem.
I have a 1990 E250 campervan. It's been really good. The air shocks have helped the handling a lot.
Mine has the 5.8 / 351 which does OK. The campervan weighs 7300lbs so I'm down to 45 mph when towing up big grades with the Datsun. I would imagine a standard van would probably do 60 up the same hills.
Any of the above. I've had several. I had two 7.3L powerstroke versions that I absolutely loved, a 4.6L version, and a 460 version. Very briefly I had a 300 straight 6 van with the 4 speed but someone offered me insane money for it about a month after I bought it.
As can be expected, many of the OBD1 era versions will have very low hp/ci and suck fuel like crazy. The 4.6L is one of the longest-lived engines I've ever owned. I had a couple in F150s, one of which I sold to a buddy and it now has 350k or more on it with nothing replaced other than maintenance items. Not a very fast engine, but gets the job done.
Many people opt for the 4.2L V6, and truthfully, other than intake manifolds that like to leak coolant, they make almost the same power as the 4.6L and drink almost as much fuel, so I call it a wash. I doubt you'll find many E250s with the 4.2L, but if you do I wouldn't shy away from it unless you're towing.
302, 351, and 460 are all great, proven engines, and respond well to upgrades. The 460 is my second favorite old-school V8 ever.
Some people complain about Ford's twin I-beam front. I don't. I've never had tire wear issues, and it seems like brakes, bearings, tie rod ends, etc last forever. Somewhere in the 90s there is a changeover in steering boxes. Prior to that year, Ford used steering boxes that had a pinion made of marshmallow creme because they wore out quickly leaving lots of slop on center. If you test drive one with 125k and it doesn't have steering wheel play, you're likely good.
4r100 (or E4OD depending on the year, but basically the same) is a fine slushbox with great ratios. Towing in OD is ok, but they don't like shifting in and out of OD with a big load. Things get hot fast. I just knew that mine was ready to downshift at about 55 going up a hill, so I would back off the right foot a bit and manually downshift. You might have a TC shudder. Dump in a tube of a stuff called Shudder Fix the next time you do a pan/filter and it will go away for about 30k.
Rear axle will likely be the big 10.5AAM, so no worries there. You could tow a 747 with one of those.
Keep an eye on rear leaf springs. Not sure why, but they sometimes snap a leaf, even if not rusty or overloaded. Not common, but it can happen. It's pretty obvious when it happens. Loud clunk and suddenly one side of the rear is sagging. Of the 5 or 6 Ford trucks/vans I've owned, it only ever happened on one, it happened when the truck was empty, and it happened when I was stopped at a light. I thought someone rear-ended me. Easy fix with a junkyard set.
Post 94 should have R134. R12 works when it works, but if it leaks you're in for more costly repairs - either by updating it to R134, or finding R12 to refill it. Just a random thought.
Brakes are adequate as-is and respond well to common HD pads. You'll find they last an insanely long time. I owned my F250 for a total of about 70k miles and I told the buyer that it might need front brakes. Never touched them. Always passed inspection. I would suggest finding one with rear disk brakes or upgrading. The truck drums had a bum adjuster wheel that didn't work very well. You get about 10k and have to re-adjust manually. You'll notice it when the rear brakes get "grabby."
The 4.6L will get a cracked passenger side exhaust manifold. Pretty easy fix through the wheel well and Dorman has replacements for $60 or so. You can live with the noise, but eventually you'll get a CEL for bank 2 lean threshhold as the air that gets sucked in floods the O2 sensor with too much air and makes a rich condition.
Later versions with coil-on-plug can be a bit troublesome. You will get a CEL for misfire on cyl 3, but you can't just replace the coil on #3 or the next weakest coil will misfire. Your best bet is to buy all 8 coils or pay Ford to put it on their special machine to identify which are the weakest coils... which ends up costing the same as buying all 8 coils. Earlier ones had a single coil pack that was much better. You'll hear horror stories about spark plugs that either eject themselves or weld themselves in the head, both of which were 5.4L problems from different generations, but honestly every shop can fix both of those in about 15 minutes and it's not hard or expensive.
When it comes to ignition parts, do one of two things: A) ask on a forum or google which part numbers work well with Ford stuff, or B) just go to a Ford parts counter. The parts at a Ford counter aren't really any more expensive, and those Sexy 8mm spiral core Taylor wires might work great on an HEI, but they can play all kinds of games with Ford electronics.
Pretty much a guarantee that an OBD1 Ford will give you all kinds of EGR problems that defy diagnosis. You can sometimes end up replacing every part and still have a CEL because there is a clog in the EGR tube, or the aftermarket solenoid you bought is junk. Fortunately there should be plenty of non-CA, non-EGR versions to choose from.
Not common on the trucks, but some of the 4.6L had a composite intake manifold that can crack. I think the truck design didn't crack, but if it does, Dorman has you covered again with an all aluminum intake that isn't very costly.
You might encounter some with the 6.8L V10. If you have a platinum card for the gas station and can tolerate the dopey-est exhaust noises you've ever heard, it is a fine choice. It's basically a 5.4L mod motor with two cylinders grafted on.
Here’s the link to the thread of ny ex-GRM E250. The first line has the link to GRM's project vehicle updates & Tom has lots of good info there.
I've had it a bit over 3-years & put about 30k on it - and I still love it.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Wow, that's an awesomeness amount of helpful information (pats Curtis73 on back)
I've had this E350 '08 since '09. 192,000 great miles. I change the oil regular (Mobil1), trany fluid, and tires (E Rated). I've had 3 coils go bad. I change the plugs every 90,000. It's a E350 so has the HD rear end,etc. At 180,000 I replaced the A/C compressor. It pulls a trailer almost every day. One of the best vehicles I've ever owned. Front brakes last like 90K, not sure I've ever had to change the rear pads.
We had a 7.3 Powerchoke E450 and I can't recommend it. Damn engine wanted about $1000 in parts for every trip we took it on. From eating alternators to eating injectors and a cam sensor thrown in for good measure. Managed 8mpg pulling 5000lbs though and great brakes.
Worked at a college that had a fleet of these. They were unkillable. All straight six models with I beams. Not for someone who likes driving dynamics but they carry stuff and don't break.
A fee steering boxes ripped out but all they did was low speed turning.
The newer ones was good too. We once had a few trucks come back from a geology trip all with blown shocks. Pretty sure they jumped the things. New shocks and they were good to go.
buzzboy said:We had a 7.3 Powerchoke E450 and I can't recommend it. Damn engine wanted about $1000 in parts for every trip we took it on. From eating alternators to eating injectors and a cam sensor thrown in for good measure. Managed 8mpg pulling 5000lbs though and great brakes.
You must have had a lemon. 7.3L are legendary workhorses. I've now had 4 and aside from GPRs and one cam sensor, they just work.
The best improvement I did when I had my vans was to install Hellwig anti roll bars.
Night and day difference.
GPz11 (Forum Supporter) said:The best improvement I did when I had my vans was to install Hellwig anti roll bars.
Night and day difference.
^^This. Then install the adjustable caster / camber bushing and dial in maximum caster. These two things drastically reduce / eliminate the 'wander' that many owners experience.
Oh, I also installed urethane bushings in the front suspension. That helped too.
Curtis, what does TC shudder mean? I've got a slight shudder/hesitation at low rpm and low load situations in my E250 with the 4.6. Edit: Sounds like torque converter. I'm thinking that might be what's going on for me.
GPz11, which urethane bushings did you use?
I've got an '06 4.6 E250 with 330k miles. It's on its second trans and engine, replaced by owner before last so not sure what happened.
I love it for the most part. Handles pretty well for what it is, the 4.6 is... adequate. It's mostly mid range power, so it doesn't make a ton of sense in a van. I test drove a 5.4 and it felt like an absolute rocket compared to the 4.6. But if you floor it and it will do what you want.
Curtis covered most of what you need to know. I will add that mine likes to warp front rotors, but it's built out for living and weighs about 7500lbs. The '08+ have bigger front rotors/calipers you can swap in, which I hope to do someday. There are a few other small changes to front suspension in the 08+ that are nice but are probably out of your price range (sway bar mounting, radius arm bushings).
Lots of people complain about the wandering steering. My rear leafs are shot, so that's part of it, but I want to get Hellwig sway bars too. Already have the caster sleeves (a must have to get decent caster, get moog as I hear they offer camber adjustment too) and a steering stabilizer off a E350 ambulance. Also, blue top and red head are companies that rebuild the steering boxes. Mine probably needs this.
Shifters are sloppy. I rebuilt mine and it still feels a bit floppy. Probably needs a new cable.
The rear diff in mine is whining on right hand turns, one shop said it needs to be replaced, but I'm just going to keep driving it until I can't.
I get occasional gray smoke when hot, not sure why. Occasional shudder as mentioned above. It needs a new left bank cat, but otherwise been trouble free in 25k miles.
MPGs are 15ish with the 4.10 rear end I have.
I recommend them.
One of the best ways to buy E350s is to watch sales from rental car companies.
Fleet vehicles are usually maintained to a much higher standard, too.
Roughly 100% of AT&T E250s were 4.2l. A 4.2 had the highest GVWR of any E250, which seems strange on gut instinct but makes sense when thinking about it. Same suspension and brakes but lighter engine.
I would love one for a tow/roadtrip pig. Most of them seem to have the 5.4 which feels like a dog in really large vehicles in my opinion. If I could get a v10 or 7.3 version.
Did they ever come with the 6.2?
And what about 4x4?
Lots of great info here:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/learn-me-vans-for-people-who-dont-pull-out/200168/page1/
PurpleFrog's van is my dream van. However, if you can find one under 125K miles for $7k, please buy 2. I will give you $1,000 finders fee, for the one you can sell me.
In reply to yupididit :
doubt the 6.2. The 5.4 and 6.8 tall deck engines are a shrinkwrap fit as it is, the 6.2 is a physically large engine in comparison.
Note that the Powerstroke vans are not intercooled.
I have a E36 M3ton of miles on the 2 work vans I used for decades, 88 e150 and 90 e350.
A bit older than you are thinking but they stayed the same from 75-91 basically which is usually a very good sign. Both vans have a c6 one with a 300 one with a 351. Butt Dyno says they are the same power and the 300 is overall very awesome and really smooth. Assume 10-12mpg without overdrive
I know one thing, a 7.3 in a work van with 3.55 gears will definitely keep up with traffic.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to yupididit :
Note that the Powerstroke vans are not intercooled.
however, if your front clip looks like purple frog's in the above pick, the truck intercooler will fit. If it doesn't look like his, swapping the newer fenders and hood over is a bolt-on deal.
Even though I hate how the ford has such a long overhang, that the Chevy doesn't, this is my ideal spec with sliding door.
Too bad about the $20K pricetag
$15k 6.0 L v8, 3500 179K miles
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