Today I was able to get E350 on the road and bring it home to test fit in my garages. The van drove great! Did probably 90 miles total. The attached garage to my home,the van just did not fit - and it was close. The garage I have in back - it fits by 1 inch or so, so that was good.

When I was on the ladder watching the fit as the wife eased the van in, I noticed the drip rail on the drivers side had a line of rust - pretty much the whole length. Is that common? Also when further looking upon the truck, we noticed some decent rust on the small side door - around and under the door seal. One last thing, were all 06 vans equipped with a roof rack? This van was not but it looks like someone tried to put in some type of plugs, which are pictured as well.

The pics of these issues are posted here: E350 - a set on Flickr

I included 1 pic of the van in total as well.

Any information you guys can share will be much appreciated.

Thanks!!!!!!

 

Rust in the gutters is not uncommon. You need to stop it ASAP. It turns into a pervasive cancer that is VERY difficult to control. I strip the sealant out of the gutters, sand away the rust, prime, put in new sealant, and take it to my local bodyshop who will paint a whole roof for around 400 bucks. I typically get mine painted white or silver to help reflect heat.

Rust on the door sill is NOT common. You need to stop that before it grows.

As for the roof rack, ford never shipped one. But they are VERY common on vans, and can be found for about 150 bucks. The proper ones clamp or bolt to the gutter, which is incredibly strong on E-series vans. Those 'plugs' are caulk. Someone removed a rack, and caulked the holes. They wiped it even with the surface, but heat has expanded them out of the holes some.

Finding that much rust on the door sill, i would take a look under the van and knock on the rocker panels to make sure they are solid. if they are, it MIGHT be worth getting that van undercoated professionally. They take to it very well and its not a bad idea in Indiana, home of the salt bath.

 

Michigan van owner here, Door pic shows some nasty seam rot for an 06, it could be from past damage if all the other doors are fine, if not every underbody seam you can't see looks like that too. Once the Salt Belt (seam rot) sets in there's no turning back!

 

Well I went from a van which I thought was very clean and dumb me - not looking at the rain gutters earlier and all the door seals. That will teach me!

I am still interested in this van, but what worries me is having to spend probably over $500 or more to get sealant removed, sanding, priming, painting, etc.

I read on one site that it took 1 gentleman over 10 hours to get the sealant out.

I consider myself handy but I try to be careful if I work on anything moderately priced.

The part about the roof rack plugs really makes me nervous as well!

So seeing the pics I presented, do you guys consider this a major issue or just another part of van ownership that rears its ugly head on most van buyers and I need to crap or get off the pot already?

 

It might be easier to replace the door though good luck finding one in that color.

How about buying an hour or so of inspection time at a reputable body shop then taking the findings/estimate to the seller for further negotiation?

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 185K miles

 

Unless you are willing to travel south to buy a van you aren't likely to find one in your area without rust, unless you happen to find one that was off the road for each winter.

I was not willing to deal with rust issues, so I flew to Birmingham from Wisconsin to buy my Excursion. Despite some issues with the truck when I got there, it was completely worth the trip to have a truly rust-free truck. You can have clean rain gutters and doors, but if it's been up north it's whole life there WILL be corrosion underneath. With that being said with proper management of the rust you shouldn't have any real issues for years.

If you don't buy this one because of the rust be prepared to go south, because anything driven on salty roads will have rust problems after a few years.

 

Run away! There are better 06 vans out there for a project............

 

Oh yuk. I have an '02 E150 that I bought new and now it's been through 11 Michigan winters.

Mine is a mild conversion (factory glass) in white. I had it "rustproofed" cheep by the dealer's chosen rustproofing place. I found out a couple years ago when my small side door started bubbling that the jerks at the rustproofing place did a sweep with their wand along the door about 8" off the bottom--behind a piece of fiberglass insulation that the converter put in--and ALL OF THE RUSTPROOFING STAYED BEHIND THE FIBERGLASS INSULATION. So I flooded the bottom of my door with aluminized wax (home rustproofing kit I've had around for a million years). I also did the driver's door because that was starting to show a little bubbling.

After this last winter, there is a brown tinge on the outside of the bottom of the small side door and in the next few years, it's gonna look like hell...

I have also noted that almost all of the white paint has fallen off inside my rain gutters as of about 5 years ago, but it does not have any rust creeping up onto the rounded roof skin even tho the gutters look like hell. (Again, my van has been sitting outside for 11 winters and I drive it a bunch during winter.) It's like the gutters had some kind of sealant in them that the paint did not stick to. (I also have some black caked dirt in the gutters and in the grooves on the roof--every year I get up there with some polishing compound and clean this stuff off--I'm guessing the acid rain etches the paint.)

If you have to be painting panels or touching up visible areas, silver is gonna be a hard color to match and virtually impossible to blend, whereas white is more forgiving. (I remember fixing a door really quick on my wife's old '92 Grand Prix before we sold the car--the dealer had smashed the door while it was in for service years prior, reskinned it, and the door rotted before the rest of the car.) The white was stellar to fog in on the bottom of the door.

I would probably not buy an '06 with the problems you are seeing in yours...the rust creeping up into the roof makes me nervous and you're gonna be into blending the paint. Roof is not the most visible spot though... If the half door is bubbling, though, some of the other doors may be ready to start bubbling too. (My driver's door is bubbling a tiny bit.) My wife's '98 Sable had two doors, I think right front and left rear, start bubbling before the rest of the car. I'm guessing the galvanizing/factory rustproofing is more random than we'd like it to be. And the half doors seem to be fragile for some reason...a bud has a GMC van that is mint but his half door is rotted badly at the bottom...weird.

If I keep my van beyond another couple years and the rear half door starts looking like crap, I'll probably look for a newer door--fortunately my van is Oxford White and has factory glass. MILLIONS of white Ford vans out there... I have chased rust in the past and hate dealing with it. And it will look like crap on my white van or on a silver one.

I'd see if you could find another van. I forget how much you were talking about towing, but if the 5.4 engine is gonna be enough power, with fuel going up, I might consider that. You said this one has a limited slip, but I think I'd sooner pay to have a posi installed in a van than start dealing with cancer in the body. I had an Eaton posi installed in mine when it was new--bought it after year end out of dealer stock.

Good luck,
George

 

Where are those plugged holes located exactly? That can affect what to do if anything.

As for your door issue: inspect the others for the same sort of bubbling action, look closely at those flanged seams as they're the first to show signs of inner rust creeping outward. By far the easier and best route would be finding a good solid older door, something from the earlier '90's up to about 2000 as they seem to have been better sealed and protected for some reason. Having already tromped around a few salvage yards I've noticed many many from that era, spent their whole lives here in Ohio and show no signs of rust from seams. Without a break in the paint film bubbling seams is a definite sign the rust is forming inside.

IF the other doors are showing these same signs you're fighting an uphill battle chasing each and every spot. At this point you'd have to consider how much you're paying, how long you'll keep it and of course how much such appearance issues will be to you and the wife. Something you hope to keep more than a few years and this might be a deal to pass by.

George hits the issue of replacing body parts and refinishing them, especially metallic colors like this one seems to be. A general lack of natural body "breaks" makes panel painting nearly impossible, the process of blending color before clear coating much much more difficult. Add in factory windows and this becomes a lot more labor intensive, the end result typically less than amazing to the average customer who expects a perfect color match. (<< This from a former body shop owner, dealing with expectations of a flawless match! )

Buying a used vehicle has its risks so to speak. Sadly the later Econoline's rust faster than their earlier versions so by '06 I'm sure it didn't get better. You'll have to weigh your final cost, expectations as to its use and longevity along with knowing it will sooner or later have rust issues, albeit minor in some cases and needing frequent attention. Its not the worst thing to deal with but might very well affect your decision to buy or not.

This just doesn't get any easier does it?

 

Thank you for all the info on the paint issues I saw.

I have been contemplating what to do and most likely I will just let the van be and if it happens to be there for a couple weeks I may try and lowball them and then use the savings for paint work.

How many Chateau's did Ford actually do between 04 and 08 or so? I have been doing nationwide searches and with a V10 I have hardly found any. Finding one with Chateau, V10 and 4.10 gears seems to be virtually impossible.

 

Good luck in your search. From what I recall, E Series sales have been something between 100-150k per year compared to F series trucks at 2/3 of a million plus each year. I'm guessing that the majority of these have been commercial cargo vans, with some window vans for rental fleets and passenger transport.

Doubt there were many V-10's in the regular E Series vans ever. I think the V-10 would have ended up much more commonly in van cabs destined for motorhome, box truck, or ambulance conversions, which made it convenient for Ford to offer it in their regular Club Wagons. I'm guessing that these were ordered by customers who had towing needs.

For what it's worth, my local hi-vol Ford dealer (Detroit area) has a bunch of 2012 E350 XLT Club Wagons, coming out of fleets, in white and silver, for $20-21k, with mileage like 10-15k miles. But all of them are 5.4's and they would have the basic XLT interiors. Still seems like a great deal to me, but probably not the right gearing, and not Chateaus. Still, if you could swap gearing to 4.10 limited slip--or even a 4.30, you'd have a pretty fresh, new vehicle with a lot of warranty left. But you're gonna be right at the limits on towing weight from what I remember of the specs. I'm guessing these things sticker at $35k or more. $20k also buys a used 2012 Escape, for God's sake. This sure is the sweet spot to take advantage of big depreciation on an E van--$15k off a one year old vehicle.

For kicks, here is the website (put in Ford Econoline Wagon in the search boxes):
http://dorianford.net/Clinton-Townsh...For-Sale/Used/

Good luck,
George

 

I appreciate the info on the 2012s, but that pricing is just not viable at this time.

I have considered finding a used axle with 4.10s and with a limited slip and swapping in.

I really do want one with a V10 so I know my selection will always be limited.

 

No problem; I figured it was a long shot because of no V10 and because your towing needs are pretty huge. And I had no idea where you are on budget.

When you asked the question I just checked my local dealer on a whim to see if they had anything at all, and the sheer number of '12's for that price flipped me out. If I wanted another big van for long term, I would be all over one of these.

Just havin' a conversation, mostly. Have a great week,
George

 

I don't see any tech specs but the basics are there - Hengehold Trucks | For Sale - 2003 Ford E350 12 Passenger Club Wagon . A Palo Alto vehicle is highly unlikely to have any rust. Swap the second row for captain chairs and it's practically a Chateau. It shouldn't require drilling.

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 185K miles

 

For the time being, we are going to keep our search going. I told the dealer about my concerns with the rust and was told that I should pretty much expect those kinds of issues on a 7 year old van.

If they still have it in the next couple of weeks, I will make another offer to see what happens.

I am guessing to get that kind of rust fixed, it would be at least $600, so my offer would reflect that.

I am finding out that not many E350 vans with V10s are out there by doing nationwide searches on autotrader. I need to keep an open mind. Still have the feelers out there too for an Excursion.

Please keep sharing your ideas on the issues I showed you on the 06 I looked at, and it may help sway my decision either way.

Thanks!!!!