Hi, I am thinking of buying a 2001 Ford E350 van with a Triton V8. The van has a 131,000 miles on it and it is in great condition and priced at $3800.00. The van runs fine but, when going up a hill or with a load the engine sputters. The current owner said he replaced all the coils and spark plugs but, the truck still sputters when going up a hill or under load and he said he would rather sell it then to fix the problem. I would really like to buy this Van but, I am concerned about the sputtering problem. Does anyone have any ideas as to what could cause the sputtering or has anyone had a similar problem in the past? any advice is appreciated.

 

Take it to a independent good shop and have them diagnose the problem. Many do this for free, even if they don't it would be well worth the $100-$200 to know exactly what is wrong. Could be engine or transmission.

 

^^^ok....I'm trying to fix it myself to save money. I am looking for ideas as what could be wrong. Thanks for the response.

 

Is the check engine light showing? Attaching a scanner is a great way to know what's going on.

Initially it sounds like a bad COP or other ignition problem, assuming you don't notice any shifting problems. I've not only had this happen to my vans but others too I've test driven. FWIW my current work van (2000 E250) has 267K miles and still going quite strong, routine maintenance is all I've done.