[NickaBritt]

I was able to score a E350 15 person club wagon with only 115,000 miles on it for $4900. The main purpose of this purchase is to travel the US for 2 months this summer, and then turn it into a 4x4.

Only problems are one of the rear leafspring shackle was broken (from rust), the right front wheel has a bunch of camber and has worn the inside of the tire a lot, AC doesn't blow cold, and the ABS light is on, and the cruise control isn't working.

Right now I am in the process of making a list of all of the maintenance that needs to be preform:
Oil, transfluid and filters, fuel filter, air filters, and rear diff fluid, coolant was recently flushed.

Anything else I should do?

My question is how do I know what rear diff I have, and what weight fluid do I need?


Later Upgrades:
Brakes
Wheels & tires- 265x75r16 or 275x70r18 (not sure if ill have to cut the fender)
oil cross over
fuel cross over
fuel banjo bolts
up pipe & and turbo back exhaust
Dp tuner
front end conversion
and hopefully fit an intercooler somewhere

How does that list sound?

 

[tcnofh1]

I run Mobil-1 75-140 synthetic in the differential.
It is a limited slip, so when it was new, I also put in the Ford additive.
The clutches are worn out now, so I don’t put in the additive any more.

Here is what the differential has on it, shows that it is a DANA 60, 3.55 gear.

 

[NickaBritt]

Thank you, I went and check and it is the same.

 

[rangervall]

NickaBritt,
I have a 97 E350 with a 7.3 that I too will be converting into a 4x4. If you haven't looked at Ujointoffroad. com
I plan on buying the 6 inch kit from Chris.

Your list looks good, I would replace some sensors (CPS IPR EBP mine were 20 years old and made a difference), belt, and replaced the original starter with a $97 gear reduction (High torque starter fits 94-03 7.3) starter off of eBay.
It was taking forever to start my 7.3 to the point that when I was taking the old starter out I thought the batteries were dead. 30 minutes later the van starts amazingly. I thought I had a fuel issue, I needed to replace the glow plugs, or both.

What year is your van?

 

[rangervall]

Here's a pic of my van... I'm about to hit 74,000 miles

 

[StockKnocker]

Welcome to the diesel van community! Love them but you have to be ready to be somewhat of a contortionist to work on a schoolbus engine in a shoe box! :grin2: Maybe I missed it, but what year is your van? Forget the fuel banjo bolts, they're not proven to add anything. Absolutely, do the Hutch mod/pre-filter to eliminate air and make underhood filter changes less frequent. Bellowed up pipes, high flow turbo outlet, AIH delete(won't need that in FL and blocks flow), EBPV delete pedestal, best HPX is from Riff Raff, fuel lines from CNC Fabrication with crossover, with the diesel (tuned) 3:55 will be OK on road trip with tires up to 285(33). With parts already rusting off, 4wd conversions are a big investment($10k minimum). That said, Ujoint's kits are sweet! I don't have any rust on my 2003, and since I'm not ever rock crawling or mud bogging in a van, I'm planning on going with a TrueTrac Limited Slip in a wider Dana 70-2U from a 2000 SRW cutaway (direct bolt in, disc brakes, and tracks in line with front) and WeldTec 6" Baja Suspension from Jeremy^^! Just called him the other day and he is extremely helpful. He also offers a buyback program if you go with his 2wd lift and later convert to 4wd. He will take the 2wd lift parts back and credit them towards bumpers, rock sliders, etc. Since 2wd will get me to most places I want to camp without breaking the bank, the extra suspension travel, larger tires, and removable winch will work for me. The intercooler has been done several times but is far from easy. You probably know that battery and fuel bowl have to be removed from underhood. If you're certain, just order CNC Fab fuel bowl delete kit now. Also requires the second(lower) alternator from an ambulance setup to eliminate the upper alternator. After that, it's all 2" pipe fabrication to get air routed to and from intercooler. The newer front end will give you more room for that, but I would install the 6.0 trans cooler first. Most bang for the buck is installing the Walker BTM muffler since the turbo outlet is the smallest point of the exhaust. Hope that helps, nice van, good luck!

 

[Steve83]

...a E350 15 person club wagon with only 115,000...

That's not enough info. At the very least, you left out the year, but more info is better. Click this & read the caption:

...AC doesn't blow cold...

If the refrigerant system has ~100psi, then the fault is probably outside the refrigerant system, and you could probably DIY. If the pressure is low, I recommend letting a pro find & repair the leak.

...ABS light is on, and the cruise control isn't working.

You can probably fix those yourself, but those systems changed substantially over the years, so you have to tell us which.

...transfluid and filters...

Are you saying it already has 2 filters? Read the TSB in this caption:



There's also a link in that caption to check for other TSBs that may need to be done.

 

[StockKnocker]

Is the A/C blowing out the defroster vents? When this happens, it feels like it is not cold but is a vacuum related problem.

 

[NickaBritt]

Sorry but the year is an 2002.

I found out both front ABS sensors are by a scan tool (after I cleaned them).

Unfortunately found a massive problem! Where the steering box mounts to the frame broke the frame and rusted it out completely. Only found this out after I got it aligned it wasn't driving straight, took it back in and they found it. So now I need a frame section to get welded on, but not sure whats years will work.

The rest of the frame integrity is fine, just where the steering box mounts is shot.

All mods are on the back burner now.

 

[Steve83]

Read these captions before you proceed:

.

The first link at the bottom of the first one may be particularly useful.

 

[gab16]

> "larger tires"

Larger tires can cause issues with tranny I have read. I'm sure that folks know how to handle this though.