Hello everyone. I'm a new member that posted in the intro section and now starting here. I'm buying a 2001 E150 Club Wagon from a friend that I'll be converting into a daily driving camper. It has the 5.4, over drive transmission and has 230k miles on it. Lots of little details and things to fix and looking forward to learning and playing with things while making it feel like a home on wheels. I'm disabled so this will unfortunately be a sloooooooooowww project as I figure out how to do things and some things I'll just have to build via the purse.

Known issues that need dealt with soon:

Coil on plug. It feels like it's missing during low RPMs but smooths out in higher RPMs. It also seems to get better if the overdrive button is pushed off, then you can push it back on. This is something new to me so I'll need some learning on this type of engine.

Front end. I've been researching this the last week(and is how I found this board) and I'm baffled as I haven't seen this issue before. If you hit a bump just right the front end starts shaking pretty hard, but you have to hit the bump just so. Just driving over one won't always cause the shaking. It's not a little vibration, it's unsettling.

I've ruled out a warped rotor since it doesn't do it when braking, but if you brake when the shaking is occurring it makes it worse. My friend says it seems to be very dependent on proper tire pressure.

Little issues to be dealt with are getting the a/c checked out, cleaning it up, securing the headliner peeling away from the windshield, getting the sliding door lubed and scrubbing the carpet if I don't rip it out altogether.

Right now the van is in southern Utah so I'll need to find someone to diagnose the front end. That's it for now!

 

You might have a dead shock absorber. Is there something of a sawtooth pattern wear on one or both of the front tires? Check the inside shoulders too.

It likely needs ball joints if they haven't been changed recently or ever. The steering box can't be too healthy at this age either. A steering damper might help too. Our E150 was tired when we got it. New shocks and ball joints helped some but a "slightly new" steering box really made it easier to keep in a lane.

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 191K miles

 

I forgot to post about the shocks. They probably need replaced but I didn't think shocks would have anything to do with an intermittent front end shake. Interestingly the tires are wearing normally.

There's no issue with keeping it between the lines at 35-40ish but I don't want to tempt fate going faster. I'll try to get that looked at(trying to locate a shop or person to look at it before I come back down) but like the shocks, I assumed that if the steering box was going bad it would show it's ugly side more often than when hitting bumps just the "right" way.

Has anyone ever experienced a shake like I have described? Typical broke person so I don't have the cash free to experiment at this time. I need to get it 1100 miles home after nailing this issue so I can deal with the rest and have a place to sleep.

Thank you for responding.

 

How good a "friend" is this? Seems like if he is selling a van to a disabled bud who needs to drive it 1100 miles, he should be of some help in sorting out the problems. If he is clueless about cars, chances are that the van has not had good care and it might not be a good deal.

For COP issues, put an OBD II tester on it and it should identify a cylinder with a problem. I have had 2 COP's fail between 100k and 115k miles and both times my tester pinpointed the cylinder. Put a new COP on that cylinder and you are good. If the check engine light is not on, it may not be a COP...

Another possibility that feels like an engine miss is torque converter shudder which 4R70W's have been known to have. A full fluid change with the right Mercon V is the best solution to that. If you are low on funds, see if you can find 1 or 2 tubes of "shudder fixx" which is like limited slip diff additive and put it into the transmission. There are gonna be threads on transmission shudder on this forum and elsewhere on the Internet.

My van was doing the torque converter shudder and a tube of this stuff made a huge difference. My late FIL had a shudder in his Grand Marquis and I told him to do a fluid interchange, which corrected his problem. Mine had had a full fluid exchange 20k miles before the shudder issue happened so I tried the shudder fixx and was pleasantly surprised.

But with that many miles on the transmission and engine, there could be any of a number of other problems causing what seems like a miss. When were the plugs last changed?

As for the front end, I would first make sure the front tires are both balanced very well and both wheels are straight. And make sure the tires don't have shifted belts or something; I would also be suspicious of the shocks with the oscillation. Are either of them leaking?

Trying to sort out a vehicle on the cheap before embarking on an 1100 mile drive sounds like Russian Roulette to me. If I was doing the deal, I would take it to a front end shop and have the ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arms, etc. checked BEFORE I paid for the van. My van, which I bought new, got new ball joints, tie rod ends, and idler arm while it was still under the 60k mile extended warranty that I bought. These big boxes can eat front end parts.

I am assuming you are not spending more than a couple grand for the van. If you are, I would seek a van local to you that does not have these issues. If you die just once on the drive home, any money saved will not end up being a bargain.

Really, I am worried for you. We will try to help you if you provide more specifics, but the best starting point is a hands-on full front-end inspection by a good mechanic. Seek a shop that works on big trucks as they may have a better sense for parts like the twin I-beams. It may need a LOT of parts refreshed and it will not be cheap but your safety is worth everything.

Good luck and report back,
George

 

Thank you for responding YoGeorge and yes, he is a good friend that knows quite a bit about vehicles, much more than most. He has suffered a family tragedy and does not have the time so please don't be too critical as this is two friends helping each other. I have no trouble with the arrangement and would like to focus on mechanical things relative to the vehicle please.

Thank you for bringing up the check engine light, I did not see it on. I'll pick up a tester anyway to see if anything comes up. That's one tool I've never had as this is the newest vehicle I've ever purchased.

Torque converter, hmm. I'll have to look into that. I've avoided the e40dead but it wasn't much of an upgrade with the 4R100 in the last Ford van I had.

I'm going to do a full tune up, oil change and lube so that's already on the list but safety wise my main focus at this time is the shaking as well as finding a reputable shop that isn't going to try to gouge me. I've pretty much had my fill of that but it's tough to find reputable from this distance.

 

The trans shudder is the lockup clutch shuddering in partial engagement and will be bad at 45-55 mph or so...shifting out of OD will change the dynamics. I remember reading about taxi fleets or police car fleets putting limited slip additive (as for posi rear ends) into all of their transmissions routinely to prevent the shudder. The Shudder Fix additive is like LS additive and is one of the few additives that actually has worked for me in 45 years of driving...in a few miles it literally cleared out my shudder and it probably won't hurt if you are grasping for straws and don't have a check engine light on. Do you have any history of trans fluid changes?

Here's the stuff--I got it at a NAPA store but they had to order it for me (it was only $6 or something): Dr. Tranny Instant Shudder Fixx

Good luck with the other problems. If your friend is seriously good with cars, seems he'd be on top of the front end thing as this does not sound like a problem that would come on suddenly but come on over a period of years. Unless it's a bad tire--but the oscillation sounds more like a blown out shock is not damping the oscillation. Does it give a side to side shimmy (that would be more like worn parts plus a bad shock) or an and down bounce (very bad shock and bad tire)?

Good luck,
George

 

Hi YoGeorge. Again I ask you to please not be judgmental regarding my friend or our mutual arrangement. There is no hidden agenda, no secrets and no conspiracy. I am a mature adult who has accepted full responsibility for a very used vehicle and a ton of other parts and things that I did not mention because it wasn't relevant to the discussion and neither is this. Please, lets focus on my van moving forward. Thank you.

I "think"(term used loosely) I might have enough information to not appear stupid and a sucker in a shop. I'll definitely ask to have the transmission looked at as this issue was just so weird I can't really describe it.

The shaking isn't just up and down or side to side. It felt more like a sharp earthquake but didn't push it in any certain direction or out of the lane.

It happens at about 35-40 mph but I want to make sure it doesn't happen at all at any speed.

I guess I'm not putting as much weight into shocks because any issues I've ever had with them would happen all the time(unless I broke one) not just hitting certain bumps, and also involved pattern tire wear. They hold the tires to the ground...and the tires are staying on the ground with no unusual wear. I'm not ignoring them.

I just talked to a spring shop in town where the van is at and he seemed to be quite familiar with the problem. He said it's common to happen about 30-45mph going over something like a cattle guard which made sense because the particular bump that triggers the issue is similar to a washboard, however he described it common to an alignment issue and the van isn't pulling anywhere. Can caster contribute to this?

He described it almost exactly but of course various reasons could cause it. Won't know for certain until it's looked at but at least I can talk a little "shop". I think.

 

Front end...?

My vote is bad idler arm, based only on my experience and interpretation of your description.

Had a car do that once, all other suspension parts were good, but hit a bridge connection or bump/dip in the road at 40 mph or so and it would setup a continuous shake that you could feel in the steering wheel, I mean it would rotate the steering wheel slightly left and right in you hands, until it settled back down. It drove fine otherwise, never lost control or lane, but unsettling for sure. New idler arm and presto, no more surprise shake.

Now don't go buy one on my rec, but have an expert take a look and demonstrate the worn part on your vehicle, vs. the new one. As others have advised, you may need a lot more than that, but if you are wanting to fix only the immediate issues, take a look there first.

Good Luck.

 

Thanks bunches. I'm definitely going to have it looked at.

Does anyone have a picture they can post up of the front end of this van preferably with parts identification? My GoogleFu skills seem to be failing me and I am only getting F series schematics and images. It's been so long since I looked at twin I beams I need a refresher. Thanks!

 

I did not mean to knock your friend, only thinking that if he is knowledgeable and sensitive about his vehicle he may have some useful insight. From here on in it's just you and an unknown van with symptoms as described, no problem.

I am thinking that if you find an F150 diagram which has ball joints rather than kingpins on the twin I-beams that the basic pieces like idler arm and tie rods will be similar to the E van in terms of location. No time now but if I find a diagram online I will link to it.

Interestingly, a good friend of mine worked at Ford engineering (now retired) and one of his projects was the current E-van front suspension. Although I think he would not be the best source regarding problems on an older van.

We are on your side and just trying to keep you safe. Best of luck,
George

 

If your in a Winter Salt area check the Steering Box part of the Frame for cracking or broken bolts before spending any money on repairs. With a good Frame anything else can be fixed...............!

 

I hope I'm not displaying too much ignorance but I don't see an idler arm in our 93 E150. Where is it?

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 191K miles

 

That would be a Drag Link that has the Joint for the Steering Arm.........

 

Thanks everyone and no winter salt area. Probably the main reason I'm buying the van; it's been in Arizona virtually it's entire life except for this last year in Utah. That's almost gold right there for me having lived everywhere salty and the Rust Belt too!

 

Sorry for the mis-direct all, I was eager to respond to the symptom, and was still fixing the old Dodge in my mind. Forgot to translate "idler arm" to our "upper left tie rod" on the drag link of our vans.

Thanks econolinemanor for the catch.

Here's a good write-up from our board on the subject, (this is for F-250 truck you'll see the differences in the pics)
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-problems.html