I am threatening to get back to working on my 2002 E350 7.3L PSD Extended Body van. The work which I hope to be completing will be limited to replacing all 8 injectors.

So, for any of you who care to know, getting the HEUI injectors out of an E-Series engine which is totally enclosed by the body tunnel is not as easy as removing them from an F-Series where the top of the engine is exposed under the massive pickup truck hood.

And quess what? Removing the driver's side injectors is cake compared to the passenger side injectors. Some people recommend using a sledge hammer to punch out the tunnel!!! Which I am not going to do.

So with the idea of increasing working room before I do the injector install work -- hopefully it will be limited to only an injector install because I don't know how you could replace injector cups in a van with the 7.3L PSD in place -- I thought I would use some pucks commonly used to raise the floor to accommodate a wheel chair lift. They come in 1", 2" and 3" heights and because I believe in moderation in all things (except politics) I purchased the 2".


And adding 2" from the body to the frame would give me a little more room for the tops of the frame rail house and starting batteries on the passenger side.

I know I have to disconnect the steering linkage and install a steel linkage extender but that is available since they use them on wheel chair vans.

There are stories here at ford-trucks.com where people say they are not "fans" of body lifts because the body can be thrown off the frame in an accident with resulting fatalities.

But weren't the guys who gave body lifts their Bad reputation going for bigger lifts than me? Aren't those guys going for a lifted "look" (I don't want a lifted look. My van is already a 4x4" with the minimum converter installed 4" suspension lift.)

Also, Chris at UJoint a respected 4x4 converter already warned me that he is not a fan of body lifts especially since the Ford van frame (which is supposedly the strongest of all van frames) is a relatively weak C-channel subject to flexing. But I don't do offroad with a 20' van!!! I have a Bronco if I ever wanted to do that.

So, should I add more attachment points to compensate. Or will that just stress the frame, etc.

I would like to hear what you guys and gals have to say.
___________________

 

How many times do you plan on removing/installing injectors? This seems like an infrequent service item so permanently modifying the van seems a bit extreme. Could you lift the body temporarily, finish the job, and call it a day?

With a body lift, you have to mess with a lot of linkages, fuel and brake lines, wiring, radiator shroud/fan alignment. Seems like the only reason people lift bodies is to fit larger tires and give a more lifted look.

I think of Del Griffith who has a bunch of fleet vans over a million miles; they are gas engines, but they simply don't need major service or repairs that often.

Good luck in any case,
George

 

Tim, I know this is an old thread, but I was wondering if you completed the lift. I also have a 7.3, and I think a 1" lift is a great idea. I have a little while before injectors are needed, but this would also leave me just enough extra room for air intake modification and I don't think a-little extra airflow around engine would hurt either! I know that has been done before and doesn't require any modification to the fan shroud, etc. Unfortunately, there isn't one fully detailed thread on this. If you see this, please post an update on whether you would do it again, and a source for the billet lift pucks. Thanks!

 

I'd like to lower mine 2"

 

Vettex, Not sure how you do that since the factory body bushings are 1 1/4" new! I wouldn't consider doing this if I had a little gas engine in there, but the towing/hauling/reliability/longevity of the 7.3 is obvious. If you want the whole van lower, you could easily do that. Before any rollover comments start up, I should mention that the whole steering and suspension is now built better than stock. This van will run 90 mph perfectly straight. I've got a 5" wider full float D70 rear axle going in to increase stability. The rear track width will be @ same as the front or slightly wider. The 1" added body height won't really effect mpg's on a 444 cu. in. International. I'm replacing the OE bushings with either medium urethane or kevlar in the process. Hoping the OP or one of the guys that have done this might chime in with his input! Cheers!

 

VOODOO7.3: I haven't done it because my time and money has been consumed by other aspects of life. (And to do anything on the van would require a serious focus of time and money which I have not been able to accumulate/dedicate. I had a delamination of the gas tank which caused additional problems which likely require replacement of injectors (and maybe more engine work), which led me to the passenger side injectors, which are extremely if not nearly impossible to get out without a little more vertical clearance in the tunnel. Hence the concept of doing the body lift.)

I raised the issue on the Sportmobileforum.com as well:

2" Body Lift - Good, Bad, or just Ugly? - Sportsmobile Forum

And this is a summary of what I found here and there:

1. Never, ever do a body lift because the frame is only a C-Frame and is quite flexible. UJoint 4x4 whom I respect immensely says the frame is too flexible already and not to do it. But he builds his 4x4 conversions for off-road where flexing is more of an issue than on the road where I drive my van. Also, in the event of an accident the body may separate from the frame if raised. (I have no doubt that some increased risk is involved, but I have a fiberglass roof, so in the event of an accident especially one involving a rollover, frame separation will only be one of my concerns.)

2. Body lifts up to 2" are common on these vans to accommodate wheel chair lifts and there are thousands of them on the road without any problem.

3. Forget about poly or plastic pucks (I bought some but will resell them or use them for something else). Use aluminum or some other type of metal puck. Makes sense to me.

4. I would like to possibly buy my steering shaft coupler/extension and my pucks from a wheel chair van converter so that I could ask them common questions during the lift process.

5. IMHO, a 2" body lift, plus the later model 6" longer nose (I wish I new the year of the van with the great looking "basket weave" grill which I really like the look of) to gain more room to work under the hood - remember when you raise the body, your radiator which sits on the frame will be correspondingly lower than where it is stock.

It is not fair of me to ask, but if you do this mod, would you mind posting a build thread with pictures? I would have done so if I had done the project, but it won't be for at least another year or two. (I have a great mother-in-law with alzheimers and my wife and I have house to raise and rebuild...)

Take care, carry on, and have a Blessed Day!

 

Also see my pictures in this thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ront-axle.html

 

Maybe shorter tires and/or a different length spring? Maybe a shorter puck ( of course I would not want to make the engine fit tighter though) say 1/2" ?
This wouldn't be worth the hassle to me.
I wouldn't just cut springs (coils) either because that just makes them stiffer and would mess the alignment up, meaning more specialty work to get it right.
It all just snowballs.

The rear would be easy though.

I guess driving a crop duster will have to be lived with.

 

I have no experience with body lifts/lowering, so I wouldn't even consider that, but I would love to lower my van a few inches. Maybe 2, maybe 4". Not for the low rider look- just something to look a little better. Rear shackles and/or lowering blocks should work. And for the front I've been wondering if some F series lowering spindles would work.

With that said, I realize this post is completely contrary to the thread. Sorry.

 

Tim, Thank you for your update and I am sorry to hear about both family and van troubles. I may be able to help you sort out van troubles though! I too had tank delamination issues that were the worst to diagnose since no one expects that to happen. The Silver Flake Club is not one that I wanted to join! I build and remodel custom homes, so that keeps me busy enough. Then I became frustrated with 2 consecutive mechanics in the beginning (parts changing phase) of diagnosis. I began testing and researching first. Stumbled upon the tank issues and lost plenty of sleep thinking about it! Then I decided I would just do all the work myself so that I was certain it was done right. The good news is I kept installing new Ford fuel filters each time I had problems early on and didn't lose any injectors. I installed a Spectre Premium F41B tank from Amazon, did Hutch and pre-filter mods (no harpoon mod is needed on the Spectre tanks), removed/cleaned/rebuilt fuel bowl with all viton and fluorosilicone o-rings, and blew out fuel lines. After having done it, I could now do all of that alone in a driveway in 9-10 hours taking the time to do it right. After that, she was back on the road and I learned to trust her again!
I saw that you might have glow plug problems. Install this first, http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=C...ed=0CEMQpyswAA in place of your factory relay. It's the same size, but has 100% duty cycle. I bet they work fine after that.
A guy on another really great diesel forum did a 1" PSD van body lift using wide billet aluminum pucks and also posted some of the details. I'll post a link if I can find it. I saved his list and details because the guy was intelligent and methodical. Why 1"? Because he figured out that the 1" would actually align the fan in the shroud better than new, give him just enough room to pull valve covers, and to squeak out the injectors when needed! No modifications to tank filler/fan shroud needed.
I also messaged Chris about body lifts. I really like his conversion work and respect his knowledge of vans. He said 2 things. 1)He just doesn't like body lifts. 2) Nobody makes a good kit for the vans, so people piece them together. He's right on both accounts, but notice he never said that it couldn't be done! It's done a-lot on wheelchair lift vans and I know paralyzed veterans that drive them like they stole them, even light off roading to hunting and fishing spots. The other fact is that it wouldn't make financial sense for a 4wd van conversion company to offer the look of a 4wd for $9000 less than the real thing. The other problem is that if you made them for E-250 and up vans people would use them for the weaker framed E-150's.
I'll check out the SMB link and replies , I'm on there too. I've built several off road vehicles over the years with suspension lifts and I know that the off road community just doesn't like body lifts. Usually it is due to the plastic blocks, poor installation/materials, etc. One of my best friends owns a plumbing company. He built up a 1989 E-350 that was loaded at 10,500 lbs. every day for 20 years. It looked immaculate the day he finally sold it. The trick is planning the point loads where they can distribute the force.
What I'm putting together is an all metal set-up. There will be more bushings than right now, and I'll be adding both channel and frame reinforcement for my build anyway. Probably another transmission cross-member from a donor van to go below the fuel tank. Good mounting solution for removable skid plates as well! I have a build thread started over on the portal and I'm updating it as I progress. Let me know if you need any help with tank issues. All my best!

 

VOODOO7.3: You are the man, please keep posting and I will keep reading and dreaming! There is a TSB on welding on your van (I too would add additional pucks and box the C channel frame). Unplug or remove the PCM. I can't wait to read what you do. BTW, I didn't mention that I also will have to rebuild the BW1356 TC. Since the BW1356 is wearing out the forks, I think it may be the frame twisting the linkage causing the wear, so I would like to go with the electronic shift NP272. Have a Blessed Day and Keep posting!

 

I hadn't even looked for drop spindles for my van since ones for my car were around 2 grand.
off to google !

EDIT:
I found numerous mentions of drop spindles from a truck being installed but you need to change the rim offset.
I could not find a part no. yet.
I do not want to have different offsets on my wheels.
I already have to deal with different size wheels on one of my vettes and I frigging HATE it.
You can't rotate your tires.
off to look some more....

 

Vettex and Im50fast, Occasionally thread hi-jacking happens, but once people reallize they are doing it, they usually start a new thread on that topic, unless they're just too lazy or don't care about others(now and future)! That way others with the same interest can provide input or find it using the site search functions. If you guys want to turn your vans into road graders or low riders, that's great, but THIS thread is obviously about a slight body lift for a PSD van. Muddy threads ruin the search function of a site for everyone, that's why Moderators usually discourage that. There's already less aftermarket support and internet coverage for vans, please don't make it worse for other van owners! If you start a new thread, I'll post some resources that might interest you. Thank You!

 

Tim, Thanks, I am aware of welding procedures on the van, but I'm trying to do this with some welded and fabricated sections that can be powdercoated and bolted in factory hole locations. The NP T-case is an excellent choice. There are 2 different piman arms that are used on factory E-series, so if I have to, I have a longer option. The frame on the E-250/350's has amazing weight capabilities when you think about configurations on some cut-aways, DRW moving vans, etc. The key to that stregth is keeping the middle 8", and rear 6" C-channel from forming a rhombus instead of a rectangle. The pickups have the center (load carrying weight capacity advantage with the narrower frame width. The vans however, with 39" frame centers, have a better frame width for weight carried mostly near the side walls like plumbing vans and galley style SMB's. There are compromises Ford made for cost/comfort on extended passenger vans as well, like the body mounts that don't even go through the frame and the missing ones ahead of the axle! I will be addressing those and relying on improved suspension to handle the load. I already have 10 leaf springs,7,000 capacity each (2 leafs per side removed right now, but getting it dialed in for the load). I will be disassembling the leaf packs, tapering the spring ends, and possibly adding 2" blocks later in build. I already have re-inforced the body floor internally before wall build out with ribs, like an upside down ship! I planned ahead though, and did not bury the body mount bolts. Keep me posted on your van as well and I'll help if I can! All my best!

 

Tim, read your link and sent you a PM over on smb. Check your inbox! All my best!