First let me say that I am a 61 year old woman who is about as dumb as a box of doorknobs about cars. But I do have a huge problem and I was hoping that some of you smart people on here could steer me in the right direction.

We have a 2002 E350 Van that has been converted with a Goshen body. It was a public transporation bus before we bought it. My DH is in a wheelchair and it has the lift in it. OK, enough about that.

My problem is that when driving this van (and it is a high profile and was a 15 passenger van), when there is any wind or a semi passes me on the right side, this van takes off and believe me, it is very scary. We have bought new tires, had the shocks replaced, and I check the air pressure everytime we go out in it, but it still wants to take off. And sometimes it does this on a bad road. I have to hold on to the steering wheel so hard, that I am exhausted when we get where we are going. I can tell you that you get several surprises while you are getting there.

The van now has 134K miles on it and when we first got it at 128K miles, we had the radius arm bushings on the left replaced and the left side camber bushing adjusted and aligned but that didn't help it any. So we have since bought all new tires (6 as noted about) and new shocks, but that hasn't helped a bit. Seems like it is getting worse. And there is a small shimmy (for lack of a better word) in the steering wheel just driving it down the road. We are going to take it to the shop and see what they say, but I would appreciate any and all suggestions of what we might change on this van. This is my DH's only way of transporation and I don't want to kill us getting there.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

Whatever else you do, take it to a good, private alignment shop (not a Brakes Plus sort of place) and have them check it over. It could just be severely out of alignment, but it could also need a lot of front end parts replaced due to age/miles/use. It's possible that the first alignment shop didn't get it right. If you have a heavy truck service place (of some sort) in your town, you might plead your case there and see if they can take a test drive and tell you if it's behaving normally or is way out of whack. Check tire inflation pressures (per the door post label) carefully, and the shimmy could be due to tire balance, if it happens at greater than 45 mph or so. A high-profile vehicle like that will be a bit flighty in a high wind, but it shouldn't scare you to death! Good luck!

 

Welcome to FTE retiredbanker!

Sorry to hear of your issues with your E-350. I've moved your thread to the Full Size Van forum. These folks are familiar with this vehicle and can give you sound advice.

Best of luck with it.

 

Are your tires E load range?
what kind of shocks?
does your van have a steering stabilizer? Andrew added one and his results have me thinking about adding one... and I don't even need it!

 

Thanks Steve and John for your replies. I did have the tires aligned when the new tires were put on about 1500 miles ago. So unless it has done something drastic, I really don't think that it is the alignment, but you never know. The guy that did the first work on it was at an independent alignment shop, but maybe not so good.

Bbasso - The tires are E load and I had both the shocks and tires put on at our local ford store. So I would hope that they put the right ones on. Andrew does seem to have something that I will look into. I am taking the bus to the shop tomorrow, and I am writing all of this down. That way I can maybe give the mechanic a clue of what to look for. Thanks for your reply also. As this is the only way my DH can go anywhere other than ambulance, it is paramount that I get it fixed. On one forum someone called this drifting the "Death Wallow" and I can certainly relate to that.

 

Several thought as I know this chassis well from it's use on Class C motorhomes. You are likely running heavy as most manufacturers went up to the 450 in about 2003/2004, however, even then it was not scary, but would wallow some.

I would focus first on the front end, which is what everyone here is doing. You have a load of miles on this rig and it should be gone over with a fine tooth comb to make sure everything is within spec, before you start adding parts.

You should have a steering stabilizer on this chassis and most likely the one you have should be replaced. I have had very good results with Safe-T-:Plus on this this chassis in terms of control in the wind as it is spring loaded so it centers itself rather simply damping movement. Our Steering Control Product Line | Safe-T-Plus

The one thing I would note is you should not be having problems to this degree, so something is definitely wrong. Although there is also a Trac bar available for the rear of this rig, I have not found it to be of much value on this chassis. If I were guessing blindly, which I am, I would be betting on worn components.

I absolutely agree with the suggestion to take your rig to a good alignment/front end center. From your decription so far, I can not tell if someone is attempting to diagnose the problem or simply throwing parts at it.

Good luck,

Steve

 

My Hightops had this problem too. I think when these vans are overloaded and increased in height this creates cross-wind wallowing.

Steering stabilizer or alignment do not solve the "sail".

This is what I think will improve it: helper springs in the rear, wider tires up-front, maybe airbags.

If your walls are shaking, especially the top, a cross brace up-top will quiet them down.

 

What the OP is describing is a very common condition in Class A and C motor homes, all of whioh are high tops, with fixes focused on reducing transients fed into steering components by the wind. By systematically stiffening components, it is possible to create almost sports car like handling in very large chassis, but ride qualtiy does suffer. The most impressive development rides I have had were with chassis using electronics to control suspension, but it was too costly to make it into production. The real problem is chassis in these applications were initially designed with ride comfort rather than control in mind and the fixes do not go far enough. For example, shock absorbers with spring overs that controlled contraction and extension were terrific, but never found a market. Heavier front sway bars also help a great deal, but again ride quality is not so great.

Again just based on my experience and testing with manufacturers.

Steve

 

Very true. I meant to include sway-bars in my list. Another member here (65F100) has installed double-sway bars, which If I recall correctly also proved helpful to his E250 converted to Mobile Mechanic Shop.

When converted, usually these vans are loaded to their limits. Suspension components wear out faster. With time, it gets worse.

 

My thoughts. The 350 was built as a 15 passenger capacity van with a wheel chair lift. The van is now carrying two people. Should not be anywhere near max weight or overloaded especially since I read that it has DRW, (six new tires). No mention of additional modifications or loads.
If the first alignment shop was any good at all they would not align with worn parts. Go back to them for verification that parts are tight. Depending on how hard and type roads, the front end should not be worn. A second opinion is a good idea. Some shops will throw parts at it even if not required.
What quality shocks were installed? All shocks are not equal.
What quality and tread are the tires? Certain aggressive tread is not conducive to good handling.
Sway bars help.
My experience with centering steering devices did not impress me.
I personally had to install front air bags inside the coil springs to get a heavily loaded E450 stiff enough in the front to handle.
These vehicles were never designed as handling well but they can be made drivable.
Good luck

 

Duplicate?????

 

Not sure how it is loaded, wheelbase to overall lengh, etc. The only centering stabilizer I have found helpful is Safe-T-Plus, but there are so darn many variables in this situation, I favor sway bars, but more folks complain about ride quality with them if seems. I think we all agree the basic problem is the emphasis on comfort over handling in the design.

My two cents worth,

Steve

 

Tune up front end if you have death wobble. Next: Helwig rear sway bar!!!!! Do a little research for diameter vs. ride quality that suits you. Wasting $ till you replace the rear sway bar IMHO. good Luck