Looking for advice
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,842
Likes: 189
From: NoVA
Looking for advice
Hello all
I am usually on the Excursion and 6.0 sub-forums. This my first foray into the OBS world.
I am searching for an ambulance (E350/450 cutaway with ambulance body) to rebuild as a camper. I landed upon a 1994 E350 with very low miles, a very attractive price(under 4K), and in very very good shape. The VIN number is 1FDKE30M5RHB12849.
Can you all please advice me on whether this would be a good buy? Pros/Cons of the non-turbo IDIs?
Appreciate your advice.
I am usually on the Excursion and 6.0 sub-forums. This my first foray into the OBS world.
I am searching for an ambulance (E350/450 cutaway with ambulance body) to rebuild as a camper. I landed upon a 1994 E350 with very low miles, a very attractive price(under 4K), and in very very good shape. The VIN number is 1FDKE30M5RHB12849.
Can you all please advice me on whether this would be a good buy? Pros/Cons of the non-turbo IDIs?
Appreciate your advice.
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 65,579
Likes: 5,611
From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
pros are they will run forever if taken care of, and being an ambulance, it was most likely very well taken care of.
cons are they are slow.... which is a pro, because being slow there is way less chance of breaking something.
another con is being 30 years old now good parts sources are drying up. almost everything for them is now made out of cheap chinesium.
injectors and injector pump are good for around 150,000 miles, although you can push that to 160-170k miles.
transmission should be serviced every 30-35k miles. i do fuel filter once a year. coolant change every other year.
my 88 IDI pickup has a little over 496,000 miles on it and has never been opened up, still runs like the day i bought it new.. only has had exterior parts replaced. glow plugs (twice), injectors and injector pump( twice), starter(three times), and alternator (once).
cons are they are slow.... which is a pro, because being slow there is way less chance of breaking something.
another con is being 30 years old now good parts sources are drying up. almost everything for them is now made out of cheap chinesium.
injectors and injector pump are good for around 150,000 miles, although you can push that to 160-170k miles.
transmission should be serviced every 30-35k miles. i do fuel filter once a year. coolant change every other year.
my 88 IDI pickup has a little over 496,000 miles on it and has never been opened up, still runs like the day i bought it new.. only has had exterior parts replaced. glow plugs (twice), injectors and injector pump( twice), starter(three times), and alternator (once).
Tuned
Joined: Sep 2024
Posts: 488
Likes: 122
From: Ougadougou
It can be hard to find a competent mechanic who is familiar with a 7.3 IDI--if you don't do your own work. If you plan to spend a lot of time driving in the hills or higher elevations you are going to want a turbo.
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 65,579
Likes: 5,611
From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
these engine are stupid simple.
but as said, it is getting harder trying to find someone that wants to work on them because there is no computer to plug into to tell them what part to change.
but as said, it is getting harder trying to find someone that wants to work on them because there is no computer to plug into to tell them what part to change.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,739
Likes: 179
From: Western Mass
The electrical system being a cutaway, and an ambulance, may be hacked into and quite different than factory wiring diagrams. That isn't necessarily a con, just a warning it may be harder to troubleshoot some things. It most likely has a heavy duty alternator which is a plus, especially for a camper conversion where you may want extra batteries, and an isolated system to charge them, plus it may have 120 Volt outlets built in.
Being an ambulance, while it has low miles, its quite possible there was a lot more 'miles' on the engine just idling while at calls. Just saying there may be more wear on the engine than the rest of the drivetrain. However it was likely a garage queen, and kept clean and well serviced so that is a plus!
As Tom noted, if you aren't afraid of doing your own work, these are great vehicles to have. It is a bit harder to get a turbo into a van than a truck, but totally doable with some work. Price seems good, but check under the hood, and as mentioned you want a COLD start for a test.
Being an ambulance, while it has low miles, its quite possible there was a lot more 'miles' on the engine just idling while at calls. Just saying there may be more wear on the engine than the rest of the drivetrain. However it was likely a garage queen, and kept clean and well serviced so that is a plus!
As Tom noted, if you aren't afraid of doing your own work, these are great vehicles to have. It is a bit harder to get a turbo into a van than a truck, but totally doable with some work. Price seems good, but check under the hood, and as mentioned you want a COLD start for a test.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 164
Likes: 36
From: Tennessee
I didn't think they were still doing the IDI in 94....I will chime in that I got a 92 Ambulance with 26,600 miles on it and service records. Some things just wear out with age. Hoses, belts, all the fluids. The wiring schematic usually can be obtained by contacting the company that did the conversion. Mine was a Horton and they sent me the schematics. Having said that, it is difficult to get some of the things out of the system without a lot of time. Oh, and brakes. That is the #1 things that is bad on mine.
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Tuned
Joined: Sep 2024
Posts: 488
Likes: 122
From: Ougadougou
I could be wrong here but I think 1993.5 was when the IDI-T was introduced, '93 VIN had a "C" instead of an "M" in the 8th digit and '94 had a "K" in the 8th digit. 1992.5 was the switch to serpentine belts.
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