Vehicle Advice Wanted: Ford 350 Van (Engine Related)

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have a 1989 Ford 350 Van (extended top/15 passenger) that I used to tour in for years. It currently has 135,000 - almost all of which we put on it. It was well maintained for the entire time we as a group owned it, but it then sat at my sister’s property for about 18 months. Her boyfriend would turn it over about once a month but that was it.

Over the past summer, I went back to Maryland to pick it up and drive it back to Wisconsin. Before I left, I had the following maintenance done:

New tranny cooler.
Full transmission flush
Radiator test, found minor leakage, used sealant, restested, it was fine.
New master cylinder, rotors, pads.
New plugs, wires, alternator.
Oil change, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter
On the drive back, it started to lose power pretty significantly, and I stopped in Cumberland, MD for another check - dying fuel pump.

Replaced it, vehicle ran fine.

Made it to Indianapolis, where I started to notice the engine didn’t like to turn over within 10 minutes of being turned off - it sounded like it was really straining.

About 50 miles outside of Indy, oil pressure drops, but doesn’t bottom out.

I keep an eye on things, nurse it along and get to Champaign-Urbana, IL where I lose my oil pressure entirely.

I manage to nurse it back to Madison by purchasing a case of oil and being very careful, and not pushing the engine at all. I am burning quite a bit of oil, especially in the first five minutes or so after I start it up.

Once I get home to Madison, I let the van sit overnight. I go out and start it - it starts right up, and doesn’t burn oil.

I take it in to my mechanic, and he does a complete diagnostic on the engine and the vehicle overall, and tells me that nothing in particular is wrong, but the engine is basically worn out. I also need the steering linkage rebuilt. Evidently, 125,000 miles is about the limit for these big Ford engines. WTF?

So my options are:

  1. rebuild the engine - rebore, new rings, seals, head gasket, the works. Estimated cost: $1700-2000

  2. install a junkyard engine - about $500-1000 for the engine, plus about $1000 to install.

  3. install a remanufactured engine - probably a Jasper - about $2000 for the engine and another $1000 for installation.

The vehicle runs now, it just burns a hell of a lot of oil. I’ve used it to run around to local shows, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving more than 30 or 40 miles at a stretch on it - it seems to get logy around that point.

**In your opinion - how dangerous is this? ** There isn’t any single point of failure with the engine, just a lot of oil leaks, particularly around the piston rings. It burns oil pretty severely for abou five minutes, as mentioned, but then stops, and the oil pressure stabilizes about 3 mm above the bottom indicator line.

Also, **what would you recommend as the best course of action for repair of the van? **I’d like to continue to tour with it in the future, and I’ve put quite a bit of money into it already. Also, the body is immaculate, and it can carry 5 people very comfortable, and 6 of 7 with only minor cramping, plus all our equipment and a PA system without a trailer.

Third, **is it feasible to put a 350 diesel or a 450 gas engine in this vehicle, and could the transmission and suspension handle a 4x6 or 4x8 trailer? what additional expense would I expect to see? **

Thanks!

mods, I feel that this is more IMHO territory than GQ, but please move if you feel otherwise.

2

If I were you, I would rebuild it myself. If you are somewhat mechanically inclined, it shouldn’t be THAT difficult. Plus, you’d save a lot of money, have fun and maybe learn something in the process!

3

I had an 87 Ford van, mine was only a 1/2 ton though. You don’t say what size engine you have in it but I would guess it’s a 351. 125,000 miles sounds about right for one of these engines, especially pulling around the almost 3 tons one of those vans weighs. I pulled the engine out of mine and it was a real PITA, especially in my garage. The engine drops down between the frame rails to be removed and this proved to be a problem in the garage, I couldn’t jack the van high enough to pull the engine out from under the van. I had to roll the van and engine outside, jack up van, pull out engine, chase van as it rolled down slightly sloped driveway into road, push van back in driveway.

Each of your options should take into effect how long you plan to keep the van. And you will have other considerations to think of, the longer you keep the van, the more money it’s going to take to keep it on the road. The transmission and rear end may need service replacement soon. Maintainance items such as steering and suspension parts, the cooling and electrical systems, etc will cost more the longer you keep it. Basically, the longer you plan on keeping the van, the more you should spend on the engine.

The only reason I did anything to my van was because I had just spent over $400 rebuilding the front end. And this van only had 97,000 miles on it. I put in a 60,000 mile junk yard motor and sold the van a few months later. The swap cost me $650 and all my spare time for a few weeks.

4

If you hauling loads of stuff all the time, that is hard on the engine. So is just sitting there.

Can you go down an engine size? Will a 250 work for you?

5

My 1985 E150 turned 390K miles last week-that’s not a typo. I replaced the original 302 with a Jasper longblock at 254K. The 4 speed AOD trans was done the first time at 170K, and again at 300K. Failure of the rear outer bearings and seals caused me to rebuild the rear this summer at 380K. Granted-I change the oil every 3~5K and am detailed regarding maintenance. Figure the benefit of a regular chassis lube-the front end is original, except for tie rod ends.

When I bought it, I figured to be in for the long haul, so every part that was replaced was a lifetime warranty part. 2 alternators, 2 fuel pumps, 2 water pumps, 5 mufflers, a dozen sets of brake pads and shoes-I paid for 1. Manny, Moe, and Jack run for the back room when I walk in with a receipt. :smiley:

6

If the truck really is immaculate and the running gear is in good shape, my vote would be to install (or have a reputable shop install) a Factory Authorized Rebuild engine of the same displacement. It will likely have a 50K warranty and not be all that much more expensive to install than a non-warranted rebuild of your current mill. I had a shop I trusted install a FAR four-cylinder in the '91 Ranger I had a few years ago and didn’t regret it one bit.

Plan B would be to self-install a junkyard engine.

Not sure of the specifics for your van, but attempting to put in a more powerful gas or diesel engine may cause problems as the suspension and drive train may not be up to the higher stresses imposed by a larger, heavier and more torquey motor.

7

I don’t think you can (legally) put in a diesel engine unless you completely change over the exhaust system as well, as a catalytic converter designed for a gas engine will not work with a diesel engine.

8

There’s more to it than that. If your state performs emission inspections, it will key from the VIN as to what power plant should be there. Unless you’re possessing what my state calls an ‘R’ title for reconstructed, it has to be as manufactured to pass emissions inspection.

9

Jasper Engines are pretty good. However, I’d do a couple things.

  1. Make sure Jasper understands that this is a VAN engine and not a race engine, and there’s no need for a monster setup here.

  2. Get lots of displacement. It’s cheap, it doesn’t cost any more in fuel as a bigger engine isn’t as strained, and there’s something to be said for the need to feather the throttle accelerating onto a dry on ramp while towing a trailer.

390 cubic inches (6500cc) is OK for this application.
460 (7550) is better.
I believe there is a longer-stroke crank that’ll give 485 cubic inches. That would be best.

As for the diesel option, I’d say it would be better if you were driving more than about 5000 miles per year. Above and beyond anything else, it gets twice to three times the mileage of a big-inch gas engine in this application. The one to go for is the 444 cubic inch “Power Stroke” engine. An older, reconditioned one shouldn’t cost more than $3500 installed.

10

Nope. All aftermarket engine swaps are legal as long as they pass the emissions testing. A good PowerStroke diesel in this van certainly will.

11

ChapparalV8 has a good point for situations like the OP where the van in question has a heavy chassis/long wheelbase and/or is used for hauling.

IMHO, if the van is only used for transporting people and light cargo the 300 straight six is the motor of choice.

12

I’d prefer the 302 V8 to the 300 I6. It’s just a better engine.

13

I have a 1997 E-350 with a Triton V-8 in it; it’ll tow an 8,000 pound trailer (think construction site job shack…). Does yours have the towing package? If not, that’ll limit how much you can tow, particularly with an iffy engine.

14

I’m not sure how difficult it is, or even exactly what it entails, but ever thought about trying to get on one of those Pimp My Ride or Overhaulin’ type shows? I mean how cool would monitors in all the head rests be? Long road trip? No problem just throw in a DVD. A custom interior, 22 inch rims, painted in some really hot neon color? I’m only half-kidding of course.