1st off, let me say Hi and thank you for a great forum.

I'll start right off and say that I've never owned a Ford. Always been GM. I currently own a 95 GMC suburban and a 2004 avalanche. Both gas.

I'm looking for an older diesel, no computer crap, that could run on alternative fuels is so decided. I did have a GM 6.5 NA for about 10 years. Don't care to do it again.

My intended purpose keeps bringing me to an ambulance body. I want the truck to be my toy hauler, trailer pulling, long range vehicle. I make a trip to NH once a month. Usually 600 miles round trip. I'm in NJ. I pull a tandem trailer with a Suzuki Samurai rock crawler on it. I'm also loaded with camping gear.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm thinking right. I'm going Sunday to look at a truck. 90 7.3 NA dual wheel ambulance body E350. Looks great in the pictures.

Here's the vin: 1FDKE30M0LHB78216

I'm wondering if the ford ambulance will work for me.

What kind of mileage should I expect?
Does the vin tell what gearing the rear is?
How about uphill pulling power. My suburban struggles. I also get about 6 or 7 MPG with the trailer.

I guess I'm asking if anyone has any experience with the ford IDI Ambulance. Any thoughts or info would be appreciated.

Thanks, Jer

 

Be very careful with the "alternative fuel" craze. I tried it in my truck. Diesel/WVO blends, used motor oil/diesel blends both highly filtered with cetane additives. Plus, I was assured by numerous "alternative fuel authorities" that this was perfectly safe to run through diesels, especially the IDIs. The results were two new injection pumps and two new sets of injectors and return line kits. I also had to replace the fuel tank sending units and the tank switch valve. I had to do this after only a couple of months of "alternative fuel" experimentation.

 

just about any google search vin will help. In the door jamb on the sticker there will be an axle code. Post that and we can help. here is the VIN report in found doing a search......

<TABLE width=400 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=right width=175>VIN</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>1FDKE30M0LHB78216</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>DECODED</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>1990 Ford Econoline</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Country</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>UNITED STATES</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Make</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Ford</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Vehicle Type</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Bus</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>GVWR Class</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Class 3: 10,001-14,000 lb</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Model</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Econoline</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Engine Type</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>V8, 7.3L; OHV 16V</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Check Digit</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>0</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Model Year</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>1990</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Assy. Plant</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Lorain, OH</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Production Seq. Number</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>B78216</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Brake System</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Hydraulic</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Trim Level</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Base</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Drive Line Type</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>RWD</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Series</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>E350</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Body Type</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>RV Cutaway</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Vehicle Class</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Mini Bus</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Fuel Type</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Diesel</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Manufacturer</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>Ford Motor Company</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width=175>Engine Code</TD><TD width=30></TD><TD align=left width=*>M</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

As far as the other questions. These trucks can vary as far as MPG. Most guys get 14-18 unloaded depending on what kind of mods have been done (straight pipe, air induction, etc). I get around 15-16 but i have a heavy foot. With a trailer you can expect 8-12 again depending on mods, load. So long as you are not doing crazy hauling like a 25k trailer loaded up going up huge grades then the 7.3 will be able to handle it pretty easily. A few motorcycles on a trailer will hardly be noticeable.

 

Absolutely, i can tow my 3000lb empty horse trailer and i dont feel a thing. Loaded is a different story as i have to make sure i remember its there!! haha. I would guess your load will be somewhere around 8-10k+? If so it will be working but should be just fine. You wont win a race somewhere but youll get there. When i haul hay i load in at around, 20K and i can definitely feel that one haha. i think the pic is in my garage.

 

Make sure it's currently registered and you run a check with DMV. One of the trucks I saw on my search owed $1,780 to the DMV before it could be registered. He was only asking $2,200 for the truck, it was only worth $2,200 and it would have been a major mistake to buy it.

 

Thanks for the replies.

My load, including the trailer, shouldn't be more than 5,000 lbs.

I'm a little disappointed to hear about alternative fuels causing problems. I sure would like to know what others experiences have been.

The truck is on ebay and happens to be fairly local to me. His buy it now price is $1000 too high at $3800. Truck has around 100,000 on it.

He also has the experian report on it.

Here's the listing, hope the link works: Ford : E-Series Van: eBay Motors (item 120638509213 end time Oct-31-10 15:39:54 PDT)


Anyway, I'll go check it out Sunday morning. I'll get the door tag info for the axle.

Does ford tag their axles with gearing info? I will be under there anyway.

Thanks again for any info.

 

The door tag AND the rear end tag will tell you what kinda gearing it's got. Most likely either 3.55's or 4.10's.

 

just check the door jamb tag, its a lot easier.

 

Not sure if they would put 4.10's in an ambulance, it would limit your top end a bit much I would think. Will be interesting to find out though. Where's the fellow up here from Huntsville that just bought an ambulance now?

 

7.3 idis laugh at 5k trailers.

Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble on the alternative fuels. I worked in a restaurant for a while when the economy went into the crapper. I had an unending source of free WVO so I decided to give it a try. I did not want to do the whole greese car mod so I read a few articles about blending and got on some forums that talked about blending. I took a lot of precautions doing this; filtration setups, cetane blending, diesel blending, the whole nine yards. One of the problems (amongst many others) with the WVO is the gelling that occurs in cold temps so I started doing this in the middle of summer in AL. It never gets below 80 in AL in the summer even at night. Well, long story short; it doesn't work. Your truck will run fine for a few weeks, exhaust smelling like french fries and then after a few weeks anything on your truck that came into contact with the WVO will have to be removed and cleaned or replaced. It just isn't worth it.

To put it into perspective: I have a buddy in AL who drives diesels. After he found out I was doing this he told me I was stupid and then he said "if you could actually run a diesel rig on old frier fat, risk-free, then don't you think every redneck in the south east would be doing just that?"

Well, turns out there are no rednecks in the southeast running WVO and for good reason.