I have looked at countless vans and have it narrowed down to the following:

1992 e250 166k miles rebuilt transmission 20k miles ago 351 v8 $3000

2001 e250 202k miles 6 cyl 4.2l? no information available on engine or transmission replacement but was checked by AAA inspection service when present owner purchased about 1 month ago and checked out fine $2400

I know there are many other variables and without seeing the actual vans in question it may be nothing more than an educated guess. But based on the information above any comments will be greatly appreciated.

 

Avoid the V-6, they blow up or blow head gaskets as they reach 100,000 miles, they are not suited for such a heavy vehicle.

 

+1 on Maples post. the older 4.9l6 was a solid engine with long life, decent economy, and great low-speed torque. i haven't heard a positive thing about the v6

what are you planning to use your van for?

 

X3, go for the '92 van! Only thing is, those 351's gabble gas for no reason.

 

When evaluating 10 & 20 YO Econolines the main thing I'm concerned w/is RUST. When an Econoline starts turning into Graham Crackers it's time to stop pouring cash into it. Conversely a nice rust free body deserves the TLC & may be worth repowering.

Despite its bad rep, the V6 was still the most common/popular Econoline motor in its era.

But if I genuinely needed the full capacity of an "e250" don't think I'd even consider looking at either 6 cylinder.

 

If it was a 4.9L straight 6, that's bullet proof one! Hell, alot of older company E350's were powered by those straight 6's!

 

Wow, has the 4.2L been that bad? Last experience I had with one of those was in '05 when I traded my '03 4.2L F150. It didn't have many miles on it, and I never had any trouble, but at that point in time I thought the later V6es were pretty good. IIRC the '97-'99 V6es had head gasket problems...

I'm a big fan of the modular V8s. There's a guy with over a MILLION MILES on his '97 E-250 with a 5.4L engine and 4R70 that have never been rebuilt. Either 4.6L or 5.4L engine will go a LONG ways with minimal problems.

But what do I know...I'm one of those "F-series guys"!

 

Intended use? Payload? Rust?

Those are dissimilar vans...

 

Awww we're all about equality here---even you F'ers are welcome! Besides you're our Super Moderator----we gonna bash you?

I can't be sure and certainly don't care where this notion Econoline's with 10+ years are automatically rust buckets but its largely a huge misrepresentation of the series beginning model year 1992. Its not born out with my experience or observations of Econoline's in my area, one of the supposed salt covered rust belt areas. Quite to the contrary any well maintained and washed vehicle here locally seems to be holding up just fine. Owner neglect affects formation and rust growth far far longer than locale or age.

I will agree the '91 and older models seemed to have a few rust prone areas but again I've observed this mostly on poorly maintained vehicles.

My own '00 E250 carries a salvage title and has had body repair to the lower left rear-most body area and so far not a bit of rust has developed. The added raised roof further presents potential rust issues since a lot of raw steel is left untreated by many converters yet mine is doing fine even now.

Anyone knowledgeable in body repair instantly knows a repair that breaks the envelope of rust inhibiting coating applied to vehicle bodies after final welding assembly is prone to rust. This is only for repairs not done in accordance with suggested best practices recommended by nearly every automotive supplier in the USA and most of Europe too.

That being said if you're not able to determine if any visible rust is surface only or is of deeper origin you're best advised to step back from a rusty vehicle. Unless the price is so low and your expected service length is short enough its not an issue AND nothing is falling off the van it'd be an okay deal.

Body/chassis wise I'd always opt for an E250 w/V-8, preferably at least '97 and later model year, side barn doors, A/C a must and overall no other huge issues with any part or component not bolted on. As Henry10s wisely asks what's your intended use and how long do you hope it lasts?

IMHO a compression check on the 2001 E250 would give you a general idea of the engine's fitness----its not a bullet-proof indicator but at least its something. My own 5.4 gasser is tuning 260K+ miles and its still one of the most reliable motors I've had----that coming from a lifelong (mostly) GM performance fan mind you!

Welcome to Vanning and the forums too!

 

I kept seeing the V6's with new heads and gaskets, I pretty much took that as bad engines, was far too common, the commercial use is tough on any engine, they proved they couldn't take it.