Well, thanks to clubwagon... i cleaned my injectors... i just tried extra strength fuel additive.. i put 3 bottles of those injectors cleaners... and it really did make a big difference. the 5.0 doesnt vibrate like it used to at idel... fuel consumption wise.. im not certain because no long trips have been made..

Shocks.
I looked into Rancho but hey only make up to 91 E150... KYB gas adjust and Monomax.. they both are priced much better than Bilsteins... Compairing Momomax to Bilsteins. Bilsteins were only 16 more a piece.. so i just bought the bilsteins... i hope it will make the van into better mannered van... Ill post here my findings. i paid 306 shipped.. im not sure if im allowed to post here where i got them from so if u need to know just email me. I found momomax cheapest was 200 shipped but it was backordered.. only placed that had them in stock now came out to 244 or so with shipping.. big difference... oh well. i want them NOW

Yohei
PS. Cluwagaon, my friends and I have set a goal date of 2007 to enter the One Lap of American... in 90-91 Mitsubishi Eclipse AWD.... Hope we can build a track car that is gonna be reliable and push out 400+HP and weigh in 2700lb or so.. hopefully less...

 

I've put bilsteins on a number of vehicles, but my fathers 95 E150 was the best outcome so far. He feels they're perfect, I'm sure you'll like them. Much better than the top line gabriels and monroes that have been on it.

Remember, they may feel a tad stiff at first, they need time to break-in(not a problem w/ extra weight). I haven't heard of anyone disappointed with this application.

 

Cool! A friend of mine owns Stranoparts.com and sells the Bilstiens. He loves them. I haven't had any on a tow vehicle. As I noted, I did the KYBs a while back and liked them. The biggest improvement in my van came from the Helwig front swaybar and the rear add-a-leaf helper springs.

Another note: I have done a lot of work to the Club Wagon this spring. I replaced the front radius arm bushings and checked out every thing else in the front end. In 230,000+ miles everything is still in pretty good shape. The radius arm bushing were worn but the ball joints and tie rods are still fine. I also installed new front brake rotors, a set of the trick new ceramic pads and a new set of BFG Commercial T/A tires.

This week I also broke down and rebuilt the transmission (4R70W) as I had noticed the intermediate sprag was occasionally turning loose and the 1-2 accumulator spring had broken. The band was a little burnt but all of the clutches were perfect. The only other sign of wear was the reverse drum and sungear shell had their lugs pretty beat up (typical on a high mileage 4R70W). Not bad for 200,000 miles of heavy towing! I drove it home from the shop today and it runs and drives pretty much like new! Sweet!

Yohie, good luck on the 1 lap. If you check this years results you will see my buddies Danny Popp and Jerry Onks finished 4th in Jerry's Corvette Z06. You guys will have a lot of fun. Now that they have shortened the distances its not the same event any more but is much more dependant on your lap times at the track. It used to be just finishing was a challenge, let alone staying on schedule and scoring points. The cars some of these guys are running are crazy. The Z06 that won last year had a 600 HP motor in it!

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

well, we will not be competing against Z06, we are in small displacement class, not sure of its actual name... but my friend looked into it and seems quite doable...we can strip and gut a 90 eclipse cause they are dirt cheap already.. and weld in full roll cage, no dash, no insulation, nothing.. it will become a track only car... and we will see how well we can do.... seriously the money invested in this race is not gonna be similar.. we are thinking of about 20k budget... thats including the car and entry fee...

never done a trans rebuild. that must be some hard work. but glad your van is tip top shape again.. ill let u know about bilsteins when i get them on mon or tues...

cant wait

 

New Bilsteins are just amazing!

my clubwagon has 100k, 92 with 5.0 AOD... just installed the new shocks.. took me a while cause each one was rusted and frozen. took me about 3 hours each on the front and also pretty long on the rear... the bottom nut and top nut was both so damn rusted and rounded...

but the pain was all worth it.. it drives like a new car!!! the difference is just incredible... i am amazed.... best 300 ive spent in a long time.

soo stable, so controled and i feel much much safer driving the van. love it! thanks to all the advice everyone!
yohei

 

I just put KYB Monomax on my '94 E150 Chateau Club Wagon. Much different, much better. More control, not harsh at all. I'm glad I did it and hope that the Bilsteins do as good for you. Ford van suspensions, suck. I had a Dodge van for years and it handled like a sports car compared to my Ford.

 

I have driven Dodges and never really thought they were any better or worse. Oh well, maybe its something about your van.

Now that you have the KYBs if you want it to handle a lot better, install a set of swaybars. The stock front bar is too small and overall a 150 clubwagon is sprung too soft.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

The Dodge was a short wheel base van. It had KYBs (gasadjusts) and a sway bar. Handled great on the road, but on washboard the sway bar effectively locked out the front shocks, and shook my teeth loose.

Over all the Ford is a much better vehicle. After my sway bar experience on the Dodge, I'm a bit nervous about adding one to the Ford.

How has yours handled washboard? Is yours a E150, 250, 350?. Whose sway bar did you go with? On the Dodge I used Addco.

Thanks,
-cadjak

 

Mine is an E150 Clubwagon. I did a Helwig front bar (from JC Whitney) and instead of a rear bar I did an add-a-leaf rear helper spring kit (Autozone, $26). I did the springs instead of a rear bar because I use my van almost exclusively for towing. I also did a set of KYB shocks. I thought the bar/spring/shock upgrade improved both ride and handling. I was much happier with the van after the upgrade. It had always felt too soft and wallowed too much before. Now with the upgrade it is much more stable. If anything it rides better now. I have put probably 150K miles on it since I did it.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT