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Found me a 92 e350 with right under 100,000 miles and the 5.8 for $3500. Is it worth it? What to look out for? Reliable? Going to be used as a camper/moto van for race weekends. Maybe put 3000 miles a year on it?
High prices for everything these days so the price isn't out of line. Check for signs of Stop leak in the radiator.
How old are the tires? Take a long test drive. No frontend shimmy, smooth braking, no CEL, no RABS light, leaking gas filler hose,etc.
High prices for everything these days so the price isn't out of line. Check for signs of Stop leak in the radiator.
How old are the tires? Take a long test drive. No frontend shimmy, smooth braking, no CEL, leaking gas filler hose,etc.
Have a mechanic look the van over for your possible purchase
Buy a spare processor now
The van should last about forever
The transmission is the weak link, plan on replacing it someday, smell the fluid
If I were buying that year E-Series I'd asssume or "fear" many important parts like fuel system components would soon need replace due age alone. I'd also assume good quality parts like OEM would be in short supply as well.
It would be a gamble and if OP isn't a compentent DIY mechanic it would most likely be a money pit and source of frustration.
Not conclusive since you can't be sure it would add another digit for another 320 miles
Any 33yo vehicle will be a crapshoot. My '93 with 162k on it has served me well and the engine still runs fine but I've had to replace a fair number of things. I've done most of the work myself so it hasn't cost a ton to keep it going but if I had needed to pay shops, it would have been $1000's. The trans is starting to act up and it's about $4k to have it replaced so that's not going to happen.
Well, I'm a bit biased, but for your use, I say "why not?".
My '95 E-150 5.8L E4OD has 140K original miles, and the original transmission. I've serviced several items due to age, but nothing unusual. While I miss the higher horsepower and torque increase of the 5.4L modular motors, I don't miss the idea of changing timing chains, guides and adjusters. The 5.8L is not going to get you there in a hurry, but if you are patient, and that van has indeed been well maintained and rust-free, I certainly would consider it. Watch for leaky rear side windows, (the big ones). Being a wagon, the seals may have let go. Sometimes you can seal them with flowable silicone, but the best fix is to remove, clean, re-seal and replace. Time consuming but not terrible. My body and frame are in great condition. When a tree crushed my roof and windshield, I jumped off the cliff and repaired it vs. searching for another van, so there's that. The '95 does benefit from the hydraulic roller lifter engine, where the '92 is traditional flat tappet. Tougher to get long life out of those, especially with today's aftermarket replacement cams/lifters.
The E4OD has a love/hate relationship with owners. Mine has been trouble free with good maintenance but I'm prepared to have it rebuilt and keep going when the time comes. There is the grand canyon of space between 1-2nd gear, and the one overdrive is a leap from D-OD. For a moto van, check to see what your factory gear ratio is, maybe 3.55?
From what I can see the body looks original and pretty straight, plus there's around $7-800 worth of tires on there already, so your purchase price is below $ 3K. Any vehicle in that price range risks motor or transmission rebuild. What kind of truck could you get for that price? Not much I would think. Worst case, you have a good body and frame, add the future cost of fresh motor or transmission rebuild and you are still below current market for any one-ton vehicle than can haul a bike and put a roof over your head on race weekend.
Pay a local ASE certified mechanic to do a pre purchase inspection (as wisely mentioned above), just so you know what you are getting into. Don't sweat the mileage, if the history and use is accurate, it's not hard to believe the mileage is either. I'd say age, suspension ball joints, seals, (especially rear main and transmission input) are suspect. 5.8L has a history of rear main drips and transmission input shaft seals due to age alone. Otherwise the ol 5.8L is quite reliable.
I see no 1
Means it "has 99 on the odometer" is all
Could have been changed, replaced or reset, no big deal if you like the truck
You should be looking at a few other things as well anyway
Like the pedals and for any wreck or body / frame damage
Check the date codes. Many sellers post 'new tires' and the tread looks great but if they are older than 7-8 years and you'll be hauling heavy loads at highway speeds in the summer time then beware.
Just know many mechanics will refuse to work on OBD1 vehicles as they are labor intensive requiring testing each device as they do not come up in a test at the port for the ECM, no codes and no check engine light doesn't mean all is well and functioning, not many shops here will accept one, had better luck with my 73, everyone would work on it, they all deny my 89.
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