I'm looking at and possibly buying a 96' E150 conversion van with 131,000 miles. It has the 351W motor. This is the 2nd owner that purchased it with 50,000 in 1999.

Assuming nothing has been done except for routine oil changes, what kind of maintinence should I expect to do when I buy it?

I'm thinking tranny and cooling system flush? Plugs and wires? How hard is it to do plugs and wires on a van? Or change radiator/heater hoses?

This would be my first full size van and I try to do most maintinece myself. Are these difficult to work in?

Also, I read something about an OASIS report in the superduty forum. Can this be done on this van and where would I go to get it?

Thanks for the help,
Jeff

 

No one does maintinence on thier own van?

 

yep, plenty of us do . Just takes us awhile sometimes to respond to posts .
First thing I'd do is check all of the belts and hoses. That will save you an extra trip for when you go and get new plugs, wires, air filter, etc.
If the tranny fluid smells burnt, then go ahead and change it.
If the coolant looks right, the hydrometer shows it's good, and it's not overheating, then I would wait on the cooling system flush.
For filters, stay away from fram . I use Wix.
And don't use penz or quaker (same co) . I use Valvoline.

A friend of mine owns a lube shop, and unless you bring those other two oils in yourself, they're not going in, and he'll try to talk you out of it first. He also refuses to use fram filters. He's had the shop for 13 years that I've known him, and he bought it from his dad.


Patrick

 

Well, counterpoint to Patrick, I would do all of those you mentioned. Motor stuff; plugs, wires, cap+rotor, PCV, serpentine belt, (hoses will probably be fine). I do all of the maintenance on mine myself. Its not too difficult although not as easy as a regular truck.

Since the cooling system is proabably an unknown, I would flush it. Same for the transmission. Transmissions are typically neglected and changing the fluid is always a good think unless it is burnt and then its too late.

Also; grease the front end steering gear joints (they have grease nipples), check the front brakes for wear and the condition of the radius arm bushings. It wouldn't be a bad idea to change the rear end gear oil either.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

hello, the 351w is a great engine and not to tough to work on. the plugs are not easy to get to, a flex head wrench will be needed on the pass. side. but motorcraft plugs last a long time, if you pull a couple of them and they look good i'd wait till it is ness. wires are tricky but once again motorcraft last pretty long but need to be checked due to the heat in the compartment.

removing the pass. captian chair makes it easier to get at that side. also if you have running boards you'll need jack stands to get at some of fuel and exhaust stuff.

their are some tricks to flushing the tranny you can search this site for. i would work on the price as much as poss. in case something major goes.

i just picked up a 87 302 e150 hi-top con. on the cheap. i had to do a tune up, replace the rad and exhaust manifold. doing most of the work myself was easy enough and pretty inexpensive with help from this site. you'll love the extra vision the van provides and people seem to get out of the way of my big grey beast.(knock on wood)

also i had a 351w with a leaking seal. i would check the rear bumper for oil build up.
good luck

 

Clubwagon is right about the tranny fluid.
I went back and reread your post, that's about 14.5k a year in mileage. And you don't know if it was easy or hard driving, or if it was used for towing, so definately do the tranny and cooling.

I put a lot of miles on mine (about 18k year), and I also tow a 21'boat, so I change my tranny fluid once a year.

 

The front two sparkplugs on the passenger-side are not easy to change. I've heard that MotorCraft plugs are suggested. These two difficult plugs gave me fits! (1st time attempt at E150). I ended up removing right front wheel to access them over the suspension mount. I had a hard time getting the new wires strung also. All the plastic plugwire separators were brittle from heat and disentegrated. I removed the air intake box and snaked my hand/arm around/under the alternator just to get the new sparkplug wire boots on the plugs securely. My hands looked like I had been playing patty-cake with razorblades when I got done! I suppose removal of the serpentine belt and alternator would have solved all the aggrevation upon reflection............