Questions about Ford vans
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Questions about Ford vans
I'm looking at purchasing a full size van and was wondering if you could help me out with a few questions.
I'm looking at a '95 E150 Club Wagon XLT it has about 75K miles on it and is equipped with the 5.8L engine and 4speed OD trans. I was originally looking for an E350 as I need to tow a car (VW Golf) but I've been told that the E150 will do just fine. Is this correct? I only tow about 5 times a year but I want to be safe. I currently tow with 2 wheel dolly w/ surge brakes, but will upgrade to a dual axle trailer w/ electric brakes.
I've read that the E350 has a towing capacity of 9000 lbs but I haven't been able to find the capacity of the E150. Does anyone know this or where I can find it?
What are the problem areas of these vans? How are the engines, transmissions, brakes? The vans seem to have less rust than the F Series puck ups of similar years but is it something that I need to worry about?
Anything else that you think would help?
Thanks,
Bob
I'm looking at a '95 E150 Club Wagon XLT it has about 75K miles on it and is equipped with the 5.8L engine and 4speed OD trans. I was originally looking for an E350 as I need to tow a car (VW Golf) but I've been told that the E150 will do just fine. Is this correct? I only tow about 5 times a year but I want to be safe. I currently tow with 2 wheel dolly w/ surge brakes, but will upgrade to a dual axle trailer w/ electric brakes.
I've read that the E350 has a towing capacity of 9000 lbs but I haven't been able to find the capacity of the E150. Does anyone know this or where I can find it?
What are the problem areas of these vans? How are the engines, transmissions, brakes? The vans seem to have less rust than the F Series puck ups of similar years but is it something that I need to worry about?
Anything else that you think would help?
Thanks,
Bob
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,525
Likes: 3
I don't have a 95 towing guide but the 94 E150 with 5.8 is rated for 6600lbs in a van or 6400lbs for a club wagon. The 96 E150 with 5.8 is rated for 7000lbs for a van and 6600lbs for club wagon. Hope that might give you a pretty good idea of Ford's recommendations.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 161,999
Likes: 75
From: 3rd Rock
Originally Posted by ryotko
I'm looking at purchasing a full size van and was wondering if you could help me out with a few questions.
I'm looking at a '95 E150 Club Wagon XLT it has about 75K miles on it and is equipped with the 5.8L engine and 4speed OD trans. I was originally looking for an E350 as I need to tow a car (VW Golf) but I've been told that the E150 will do just fine. Is this correct? I only tow about 5 times a year but I want to be safe. I currently tow with 2 wheel dolly w/ surge brakes, but will upgrade to a dual axle trailer w/ electric brakes.
I've read that the E350 has a towing capacity of 9000 lbs but I haven't been able to find the capacity of the E150. Does anyone know this or where I can find it?
What are the problem areas of these vans? How are the engines, transmissions, brakes? The vans seem to have less rust than the F Series puck ups of similar years but is it something that I need to worry about?
Anything else that you think would help?
Thanks,
Bob
I'm looking at a '95 E150 Club Wagon XLT it has about 75K miles on it and is equipped with the 5.8L engine and 4speed OD trans. I was originally looking for an E350 as I need to tow a car (VW Golf) but I've been told that the E150 will do just fine. Is this correct? I only tow about 5 times a year but I want to be safe. I currently tow with 2 wheel dolly w/ surge brakes, but will upgrade to a dual axle trailer w/ electric brakes.
I've read that the E350 has a towing capacity of 9000 lbs but I haven't been able to find the capacity of the E150. Does anyone know this or where I can find it?
What are the problem areas of these vans? How are the engines, transmissions, brakes? The vans seem to have less rust than the F Series puck ups of similar years but is it something that I need to worry about?
Anything else that you think would help?
Thanks,
Bob
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Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,182
Likes: 7
From: Saint Augustine, FL
I tow a 4800 lbs car/trailer combo with my '95 Clubwagon XLT. Mine is a 5.0 with a 4R70W transmission and it tows my trailer just fine. I bought the van in Jan of '97 with 18,000 miles on it. It now has 230,000+ miles, the vast majority towing that same trailer. It has been a rock giving very little trouble and performing beautifully the whole time. Originally I was looking for an E350 myself and when I couldn't find one by the time I needed to make the first race weekend I bought the E150 because it was available at a great deal. I intended to use it for a season while I continued to look for a 350. The 150 worked so well I never bothered to get a 350. The 5.8 clubwagon will have the larger E4OD transmission and that combo will tow your Golf on a double axle trailer just fine.
The engine and transmission will be fine, the only thing that would be an issue is brakes. The E150 brakes, while plenty capable of stopping the rig, tend to get hot and warp the rotors. I tow more than 25K miles a year and just replace the pads and rotors at the beginning of each race season. By the end of the season they are starting to get annoying again. To help the brakes live be sure you have good trailer brakes and use the best pads and rotors on the front of the van.
I upgraded my 150 with a Helwig front swaybar, a set of KYB shocks and a pair of ad-a-leaf rear helper springs. This really tightened up the handling and stability, especially while towing. I highly recommend it to anyone with a 150 Clubwagon. I also did a K&N filter and a high flow cat and exhaust. It boosted my towing mileage by about 10%. My van has been pretty much an ideal tow vehicle for my needs. It tows effortlessly on level ground, doesn't do too bad in the mountains (crossing the really big ranges out west was more of a challenge as the 5 liter strained at 8000 ft) and gets 12 mpg under most conditions. Its a comfortable long distance tow vehicle (which is what I mostly do with it) and doubles well as a general people/stuff hauler.
Check to make sure it has a transmission cooler (its in the upper, driver's side corner of the grill opening) and check the rear end gear ratio. 3.55 is the towing option gear and should be fine for your use.
I would buy another one tomorrow (this is my 3rd clubwagon).
Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT
The engine and transmission will be fine, the only thing that would be an issue is brakes. The E150 brakes, while plenty capable of stopping the rig, tend to get hot and warp the rotors. I tow more than 25K miles a year and just replace the pads and rotors at the beginning of each race season. By the end of the season they are starting to get annoying again. To help the brakes live be sure you have good trailer brakes and use the best pads and rotors on the front of the van.
I upgraded my 150 with a Helwig front swaybar, a set of KYB shocks and a pair of ad-a-leaf rear helper springs. This really tightened up the handling and stability, especially while towing. I highly recommend it to anyone with a 150 Clubwagon. I also did a K&N filter and a high flow cat and exhaust. It boosted my towing mileage by about 10%. My van has been pretty much an ideal tow vehicle for my needs. It tows effortlessly on level ground, doesn't do too bad in the mountains (crossing the really big ranges out west was more of a challenge as the 5 liter strained at 8000 ft) and gets 12 mpg under most conditions. Its a comfortable long distance tow vehicle (which is what I mostly do with it) and doubles well as a general people/stuff hauler.
Check to make sure it has a transmission cooler (its in the upper, driver's side corner of the grill opening) and check the rear end gear ratio. 3.55 is the towing option gear and should be fine for your use.
I would buy another one tomorrow (this is my 3rd clubwagon).
Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT
