Newbie needs advice on 1997 E-350.
#1
07-30-2004, 01:39 AM
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Newbie needs advice on 1997 E-350.
Greetings fellow Econoline owners.
I just purchased a 1997 E-350 XLT from a friend of mine, and I have some questions.
The car has 246k miles and 6.8 V10 engine. It used to be a passenger van, but all the seats have been removed to use it as a cargo van. I paid $3400 for the car (is that a good price?) I'm coming from a 1994 GMC Vandura 2500, and here is what I noticed.
1. Suspension is extremely stiff (aftermarket yellow struts, not Monroe). It's very bouncy, especially on the freeway. Are there any better options to improve ride quality? The tires are Firestone Steeltex A/T. Are All-Terrain required for this car, or is there is a better tire?
2. Steering wheel has lots of play and vibration in it, especially at higher speeds.
3. There is an occasional clunk from the rear end, when I accelerate.
4. The engine occasionally makes the car surge forward, as I'm slowing down.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Anton
I just purchased a 1997 E-350 XLT from a friend of mine, and I have some questions.
The car has 246k miles and 6.8 V10 engine. It used to be a passenger van, but all the seats have been removed to use it as a cargo van. I paid $3400 for the car (is that a good price?) I'm coming from a 1994 GMC Vandura 2500, and here is what I noticed.
1. Suspension is extremely stiff (aftermarket yellow struts, not Monroe). It's very bouncy, especially on the freeway. Are there any better options to improve ride quality? The tires are Firestone Steeltex A/T. Are All-Terrain required for this car, or is there is a better tire?
2. Steering wheel has lots of play and vibration in it, especially at higher speeds.
3. There is an occasional clunk from the rear end, when I accelerate.
4. The engine occasionally makes the car surge forward, as I'm slowing down.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Anton
#2
08-02-2004, 09:04 PM
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Location: Alaska
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Originally Posted by sweetsound2001
Greetings fellow Econoline owners.
I just purchased a 1997 E-350 XLT from a friend of mine, and I have some questions.
The car has 246k miles and 6.8 V10 engine. It used to be a passenger van, but all the seats have been removed to use it as a cargo van. I paid $3400 for the car (is that a good price?) I'm coming from a 1994 GMC Vandura 2500, and here is what I noticed.
1. Suspension is extremely stiff (aftermarket yellow struts, not Monroe). It's very bouncy, especially on the freeway. Are there any better options to improve ride quality? The tires are Firestone Steeltex A/T. Are All-Terrain required for this car, or is there is a better tire?
You should probably replace all the shocks. All terrrain tires are not required. When I bought my 1997 new it had Michelins 225 75 16 highway tires on it
2. Steering wheel has lots of play and vibration in it, especially at higher speeds.
Have a Mechanic check that out.
3. There is an occasional clunk from the rear end, when I accelerate.
Sounds like the U-joint needs replacing.
4. The engine occasionally makes the car surge forward, as I'm slowing down.
I don't know.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Anton
I just purchased a 1997 E-350 XLT from a friend of mine, and I have some questions.
The car has 246k miles and 6.8 V10 engine. It used to be a passenger van, but all the seats have been removed to use it as a cargo van. I paid $3400 for the car (is that a good price?) I'm coming from a 1994 GMC Vandura 2500, and here is what I noticed.
1. Suspension is extremely stiff (aftermarket yellow struts, not Monroe). It's very bouncy, especially on the freeway. Are there any better options to improve ride quality? The tires are Firestone Steeltex A/T. Are All-Terrain required for this car, or is there is a better tire?
You should probably replace all the shocks. All terrrain tires are not required. When I bought my 1997 new it had Michelins 225 75 16 highway tires on it2. Steering wheel has lots of play and vibration in it, especially at higher speeds.
Have a Mechanic check that out.3. There is an occasional clunk from the rear end, when I accelerate.
Sounds like the U-joint needs replacing.4. The engine occasionally makes the car surge forward, as I'm slowing down.
I don't know.Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Anton
#3
08-03-2004, 03:56 PM
Originally Posted by sweetsound2001
Greetings fellow Econoline owners.
I just purchased a 1997 E-350 XLT from a friend of mine, and I have some questions.
The car has 246k miles and 6.8 V10 engine. It used to be a passenger van, but all the seats have been removed to use it as a cargo van. I paid $3400 for the car (is that a good price?) I'm coming from a 1994 GMC Vandura 2500, and here is what I noticed.
1. Suspension is extremely stiff (aftermarket yellow struts, not Monroe). It's very bouncy, especially on the freeway. Are there any better options to improve ride quality? The tires are Firestone Steeltex A/T. Are All-Terrain required for this car, or is there is a better tire?
2. Steering wheel has lots of play and vibration in it, especially at higher speeds.
3. There is an occasional clunk from the rear end, when I accelerate.
4. The engine occasionally makes the car surge forward, as I'm slowing down.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Anton
I just purchased a 1997 E-350 XLT from a friend of mine, and I have some questions.
The car has 246k miles and 6.8 V10 engine. It used to be a passenger van, but all the seats have been removed to use it as a cargo van. I paid $3400 for the car (is that a good price?) I'm coming from a 1994 GMC Vandura 2500, and here is what I noticed.
1. Suspension is extremely stiff (aftermarket yellow struts, not Monroe). It's very bouncy, especially on the freeway. Are there any better options to improve ride quality? The tires are Firestone Steeltex A/T. Are All-Terrain required for this car, or is there is a better tire?
2. Steering wheel has lots of play and vibration in it, especially at higher speeds.
3. There is an occasional clunk from the rear end, when I accelerate.
4. The engine occasionally makes the car surge forward, as I'm slowing down.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Anton
Ford vans are notorious for sloppy steering, at 246K you for sure need some front end work done. If it's that stiff it may need to be lubed, if it's not too late.
The clunk may be u-joints, pinion gear, ring gear, spider gears are all the above.
The surge is probably the throttle position sensor, it needs to be adjusted.
The 246K is a great sign that the V-10 is a well built, well engineered engine. I expect 250K out of mine, it's good to see there are engines with that many miles on them.
Good luck, Ken