Hey everybody, I just bought a e250 5.4 with 33000 miles on it. The engine seems to run like a dream and everything sounds completely fine but when I put the pedal to the floor it doesn't seem to go that fast. I have no check engine lights and I was even driving it 80 mph on the highway. I figured I'd run the vehicle through all of its tests. I really don't want to have any issues when I go to tow a 4500+lb trailer. Are these engines pretty slow on acceleration or do I have an issue? When I took this vehicle it also weighed in as a class 1 vehicle which is the same as my Maxima.

 

Acceleration depends on a lot of things. Assuming it runs properly, how heavy is the van? An empty cargo van should accelerate at a comfortable rate. Conversion vans are notoriously heavy and slow. A 15 passenger van is also pretty heavy with all of those seats in it even before you put the people in it.

As an alternative, a stopped up catalytic converter can cut power significantly and make the van feel very slow, even as the engine seems to be working very hard.

Have you checked the gas mileage?

 

 

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The previous owner said that they put $80 worth of gas in it and I drove about 90 miles and wound up with a little less than 3/4 of a tank. It seems pretty good but I honestly don't know how big the tank is

I'm going to repaint the front fender soon

 

Im also trying to figure out its original purpose, it has a periscope a swivel mount and a desk with a locking cabinet.

 

What year is it? At 33,000 it seems like it has probably done a lot of sitting. Maybe a tune up is in order. At the least I'd run a couple of tanks of good gas with an additive to help clean it out some and then change the fuel filter. Depending on the set up and year the tanks usually are around 35.

 

Have you replaced the fuel filter? Typically, on injected motors, you'll be at full throttle and as you back off the throttle you actually speed up. That's a fuel filter and it's a cheap fix. Otherwise, I'd be looking at a partially open EGR or a plugged cat. Do you get a lot of whooshing noises on acceleration from the exhaust? First things first. Fuel filter, Air filter, EGR, Cat. In that order.

 

It's a 2002 and I thought about a fuel filter but the engine doesn't seem to be bogging down

 

Sounds like a plan

 

Change the filter anyway. You'd be surprised.

 

 

That's easy. It was a covert surveillance vehicle. Could have been used by one from a law enforcement, private security contractor to a private detective agency. These things are more common than you might think and can be pretty sophisticated. In a previous career I had a customer that built these things for law enforcement. They could be disguised as service vehicles, often with local power company livery.

Also accounts for the low miles as they sit in a lot until needed and then spend most of their time parked to observe their targets.

Some of these can be very sophisticated. Often equipped with video and audio recording equipment and even sophisticated Heat and A/C systems and independent power sources so they can sit for hours with their crew inside and go completely un-noticed.

 

That's a FBI surveilance van !