I don't have much to add here other than to reinforce the sway bar bushings. My 85 van had no sway bars and was a handful. My 98 has sway bars and is fine. I think. The 98 has 36x000 miles, I have driven it at 70mph with headwinds and sidewinds exceeding 60mph and I felt it was fine. My bushings are, however, in good shape. JWA has a great point about expectations, but if you have worn sway bar bushings new ones will make a considerable difference. I drove across Wyoming in the tail end of that recent windstorm and didn't feel uncomfortable. I also have bargain basement tires inflated to 80psi, my van weighs slightly less than 8k lbs at the dump. The e450 will probably have some differences and probably doesn't have the worn components.

 

Take note the E-450's have a similar frame except the rails are a bit taller and thicker. Since the same bodies were used on all E-Series frames had to be similar in dimensions in order to fit the Ford-built bodies.

IIRC the E-450 & E-550 have straight front axles which would very much contribute to a more solid feel on the highways.

 

An E-450 would feel more stable for the simple fact it has dual rear wheels. An E-450 of this era would still have the same front suspension as a 350. And most likely bigger sway bars front and back. An E-550 is a different animal completely, solid front axle, dual wheels, straight frame, 19.5" wheels..... And rare as a Unicorn. I would love to have one.😍

 

I assume that commercial Econolines has more wheelbase options?

138" WB in regular and extended vans is the stupidest thing I know.
In pickups,WB grows as the body.

 

I have your possible answer to your grief:
I drove a 24-foot Winnebago Chiefton class A motorhome for 27-years, like driving a big shoe-box, and sizeably bigger than our E-series Ford Vans.
The best item for improved handling was simply "Firestone Ride Right Airbags" solved my issues.
I could dive into corners like Andy Granetelli, and could drive down the straight interstate like King Tut !

Now, i've not researched air bags or air shocks for our E-series, but air-assist Works.
Simple Simon.
Ok, yes, my '78 E-250 Chateau Wagon 4x4 is currently running 35" BFG a/t's and 4.10 gearing.
I haven't put air bags on the front simply because I am used-to the herding sympton. hahaha
A few weeks back while feeling sassy, I punched it up to 100-mph, and it handled fine, as the steering gets better at high speed. I think at 100-mph, my 429 is only turning 3936 rpms or less.
By speed chart calculation, at 120-mph the 429 will be turning only 4725-rpms. piece of cake.
My speedo only goes to 90 or 100.

 

Thank you all. Having heard all your advice, I will start with the following (order subject to change):

0: Lower my expectations
1. Have the wheel bearings checked (I do notice that one occasionally sounds noisy in the rear around corners)
2. Replace sway bar bushings, and maybe add bigger sway bars front and rear when I have enough saved up. Does anyone have a sway bar upgrade they like?
3. Check all other bushings in front
4. Weigh the van. What is a proper weight for an ext E250? (thanks for link Shanester1)
5. Replace steering box
6. Replace shocks

Greaser007, I'm interested by the Firestone ride right airbags, but I'm concerned about cost. Would you be willing to share what the cost was?

 

Check the steering column rag joint for slop.

 

And if his van had that checking it would make sense---2006 does not have such a thing.

 

Thanks for saving me from a head-scratching moment underneath the van!

 

If you look at this link, you can see where the potential fail points are at in the steering shaft, so you should probably inspect it real good...Maybe get a helper to wiggle the steering wheel back and forth slowly while you look for play in the shaft or U-joint areas.

https://www.carid.com/2006-ford-e-se...ml?view=231331

 

Thanks Mike1!

 

Still need to pursue some of the other items in my list, but in the meantime, I'm curious, who has a reman'd box that they like?

Also, has anyone here tried the E350 dually steering box? It sounds like it has a different splint count, and maybe a bit more robust.

Also, what rear sway bar have you all used?

 

Hey CyberEric, I would be interested to find out what's happening with your van's steering issues these days, perhaps I can learn something.

Here's my situation: In November '21 I bought a 2003 E150 4.6L hightop conversion van with 75,000 miles and it wanders a lot on the highway (wind or no wind). Driving it over 65 mph is too often like a terrifying thrill ride at Cedar Point. Things I changed: new sway bar bushings, new KYB monotube shocks, new HD springs in rear (sagged badly), tires balanced, wheel alignment, & turned steering gearbox 1/4 turn (just last week). Balljoints and steering linkage assembly are fine. The steering gearbox adjustment gave the most noticeable improvement. I'm considering having the box rebuilt at Powersteering.com which I read is supposed to do a good job on E-series boxes (let me know if you have heard of this place). I have one barely loose wheel bearing which I will replace. I was going to put a Hellwig swaybar on the front but it was backordered for 6 months and every few months they would come up with a new shipping date, so I cancelled my order.

A challenging vehicle to drive on the highway but it's a little better than it was when I bought it. I've driven and owned countless cars, trucks, & vans in my lifetime and I know that a van isn't supposed to handle like a Ferrari, but it also isn't supposed to give you a near-death experience every day. Please let me know what you've done lately and if any of what you learned might help my van's wandering problem. Thanks!

 

I haven't changed a whole lot in the past few months due to budget, so I don't have much new to report. I did have the wheel bearings checked in the rear and they are fine. I also checked the box while my wife turned the steering wheel. There is definitely some slop in the box.

I pretty much want to do a lot of what you have already done (new dampers and rear springs), plus Blue Top steering box.

What's your alignment?

I can imagine fixing that wheel bearing is going to help.

I haven't heard of powersteering, but from research I have done here, on expedition portal and sportsmobile, people seem to be happiest with Blue Top reman'd steering boxes. There's a lot more info I can provide if you want, but that's the short version. You do have to send them your box for our vans though.

Have you looked at your steering underneath the van while someone turns the wheel?

The steering stabilizer helped a bit for me. I used the OE unit with the monroe shock. There's also a fancier version from roadmaster that a guy on here was pretty excited about.

A rear sway bar can also help according to some.

If I were you, I'd fix that wheel bearing, get a good alignment (lots of caster using moog caster sleeves), and check the box underneath while somebody jiggles the wheel back and forth. On mine, I could see the shaft moving but nothing happening on the other side of the box.