I don't see in this link of a truck going more than 800k.

 

jetjockey99 - "My cousin had an '04 that he used in hotshot service for over 750K with no head gasket issues, sold it to another guy that put another 150K on it before he used the back end of a semi to stop himself, he walked away, the SD not so much."

On this coast that adds up to 900, then it was crunched.

 

Now that's a truck! What's hotshot service? Is it the trucking company?

 

It's a term for folks that do paid-for hauling on a small scale: could be moving someone's trailer or boat or using your own trailer with customer load(s) on it, point to point. Often done with our size trucks...

 

Thanks. Maybe I can start using my van as a hauler to recoup the thousands of dollars spent on my project van.

I owe Jack some beer after listening to me whine over the chirping of my 6.0. It was hard sleeping at night not knowing where the chirping was coming from.

 

Hey, for years I kept hearing a tick, I complained about a tick, I tested for a tick, I videoed for a tick, you would not want to have been around me for 6 years.

In some ways I enabled your concern. No beer necessary. But you might want to stop by Sean’s house.

 

Beer or any alcohol does not do it for me either. I like the taste...just makes me sick. I am a coffee connoisseur and roast my own beans. Coffee is my beverage of choice followed by Kombucha (fermented sparkling tea).

 

For the record, I believe it was Yakiko who told me to search threads for the chirping sound. I am glad that he mentioned it because I would have removed the tensioner and started yanking pulleys, crankshaft and other stupid stuff until I found the chirp.

 

I'm still drifting off April Fool's mode, on several forums.


Although some might say ......

 

I know this is a diesel forum...but I need to ask something real personal. My wife has found out that I spend more quality time with my 6.0 van than with her. Not that she's real jealous as she gets a lot of use from the van. Now she has an eye on another girl friend for me to spend time with-a gas E350 Club wagon with only 100k miles.

She likes the new gas E350 that I found and put an offer on. Now that I believe the chirping noise from the engine is only a leaking exhaust manifold that will gradually get louder, I want to keep "her".

I need to be honest with all of you about the money that I have thrown into this van. My trust RoadTrip App says about $12000 in 4 years. That includes tires, brakes, shocks, rotors, bearings, oil changes, fuel filter changes, new batteries, etc. Diesel related maintenance is easily over $4k. Whether or not I keep this van or go to the gas van, regular scheduled maintenance for a truck costs more than what little if any maintenance that I do on my Honda and Subaru. I have never flushed the brake system on the Subaru or Honda!!!

The gas E350 Club that I found with 100k is $3500. It's almost tempting to buy it as my daily driver and retire either the Honda or Subaru. The owner purchased a Transit Van for hauling his motorcycles and needs this van out of his driveway.

 

Are you asking for our opinion on buying the gasser at all, or buying it and selling the diesel, or keeping both? Can you have too many vans?? I'll just comment on the "new" van since we have a 5.4 in our Expy: Find out if they've ever changed sparkplugs or had any blow out - if they had them changed, did whomever do the work know what they were doing? That is the achilles heel of the 2V 5.4: not a lot of threads for the sparkplug to grab, but if you change them early and torque them properly, these engines are darn near bulletproof. In the early Expy Forum here there is a "how many miles..." thread and the 2V motors are just going and going. Next is if they've maintained the trans (assume 4R100?). If it checks out, sounds like it'll be a great DD...

Sure hope you keep the 6.0 -- really want to see you hit a million miles on it!

Scott

 

My question is 2 fold. Do I keep the 6.0 and buy the 5.4 2 V gas van?

The owner said he had the transmission drained and changed. I have never been to a shop that does a real flush. 2 shops told me they don't flush because it could ruin the transmission!!!

It was a fleet transportation vehicle for the first 60k miles. I just texted him about the plugs. More than likely plugs were changed only once. What if the plugs are original? What is the Expy?

 

I took a photo of where both myself and the mechanic think the sound is coming from. I will go out to the van later and put my poor man's stethoscope on the manifold and listen. My eardrums are ringing from the first exploration into the doghouse! I can see black carbon build-up on the seam where the manifold meets the other surface.

 

Expy = Expedition (see sig.). Since the manual calls for the plugs to be changed at 100K or so, it is possible they weren't - problems are plugs seizing and screw up threads removing, but I think that really was a 3V issue, the 2V was plug blow-out. In both cases anti-seize on the threads of the new plugs (lots of controversy here, but the high mile guys do it...). The 4R100 is a stout trans and you can drain the torque converter, so not much need for a flush. Switch it over to Mercon V if you get it (Maxlife is my choice).

Since your 6.0 is a known to you and you have the leak down (squeal), why do you need a second van? Don't trust number one anymore? Too much cost to run? Then switch... But you gotta' do all the camping mods still...

 

The diesel has been great for 45k miles. And costly. Every time I turn a corner, something else pops up. I don't know if the cost of ownership for a family van is worth it other than "it's a diesel". The power is amazing. 10,000-foot mountain passes are child's play. All the camping mods are easily removed. The beds are retractable mating slats that pull out in minutes. The 2 batteries and solar system are connected with Anderson plugs. The hardest camping mod was finding the Ford OEM trailer charging circuit and tapping into it.

Long story short, this "Free" van has been costly. If I can sell it while it's running great, I will.

Here's a video on the chirping with the doghouse removed: