Oh exactly! Maintenance is always cheaper then replacement. I think my dad bought it around 2004 with 25k miles for around $30k. Only has 50,209 on the clock. Mostly used for changing metal halide bulbs in parking lots, more then paid for itself in time saved.


One more exhaust related question. While the manifolds look way better then the ones in my F250, it has one broken stud at the back. Thinking about pulling them before it gets any worse. Any good write ups on how this is done in a van?

 

There's a few Vids on YouTube, but it looks like it's never easy..........

 

The driver's side manifold is easy to replace. The passenger side can be a problem accessing the front two cylinder port bolts.

 

Cant really seem to find anything van specific. To be clear I replaced the manifolds myself on my F250 with Gibson ceramic shorty headers. Had to drill out 2 studs. On the super duty once you pull out the huge plastic wheel well liners you can basically live in the wheel well.

Would love any links to pictures/ videos that are econoline/ modular ford specific.

 

The job is pretty simple in a van, just remove the engine cover inside the van, I'd also remove the front seats as well to give you more room to work with. This is what I did when I did a GT40 head swap on my 96 E150. With the seats and the cover off, there's worlds of room to work in.

 

The mod motors are a little more difficult to work on in a van then the old small blocks are. They take up a lot more room.

 

Yea, I finally noted his was a 99. Still though removing the cover an the seats will give him vastly more room to work than doing this on an F series truck would.

 

Wow just found this thread with a few helpful tips. Same van, same year, same motor, same broken stud. Good idea to just cut all of the nuts off and remove the manifold, probably removes a bunch of stress on the studs. Interesting how he disconnected the motor mounts and trans mount.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...lty-level.html

-Think I am going to wait a bit and do this when I do the plugs, boots and injector O rings. Come to think of it, new motor mounts and trans mount would not be a bad idea either.

Thanks

 

Agreed 100%!

I'm a very firm advocate of seat removal when/if doing most engine tasks that take longer than a few minutes to complete. Even changing plugs one of the seats are removed, the increase in working room--which translates into comfort---is fairly incredible.

If it weren't such a PITA I'd replace the fixed seat mounting studs with more bolts to give me a completely flat working area when the seats are removed.

 

Mine has seat bolts, not studs. I also took this opportunity to redrill the seat mounts to move both seats further back for more legroom. If you got studs to deal with, get some thick carpet remnants to put over the studs while you work. I did this to cover my middle seat bases when I take those seats out for vacation trips instead of trying to take the bases out (which is damned near impossible to do given the lack of access to the bolts under the van) Taking the seats out also removes the possibility of ruining the fabric of the seats, if that's something you want to avoid doing.