original oil, sayyyy thats really stretchin it .....

 

not bad on the tires either.....

 

I ment only service was
oil
tires
brakes
tune up
I forgot a rear center light bulb

 

glad to hear the bulletproof tales.

since i was i kid i judge cars by how many i saw broken down on the highways of the usa.

for all the e and f 150s out there u rarely see them stranded. u dont see the on the wreckers, unless u park in the wrong spot.....don't get me started. lol

i bought my 87 cause it was the same body stlye as my 76 and figured they tweaked the model pretty good on al that time. also the others had a small front hood and i dont like being right on the bumper.

ok so fords exhast manifolds were crap on these years as well as the fuel selector switch, but overall you cant beat ford for design. strong drivetrain.

and the new "others" just gave up and swiped fords look.

btw im going to get at the front plug thru the wheel well this week. how hard could that be. lol

keep on fording. i got a buddy with ford and hes got sum cool tales of near future fords. sounds like they'll be ahead of the comp on the newer technology. hope so.

if they put that hemi in a van i'd test drive it for sure lol. be tempting. lol

 

Here are my observations after driving my son's 85 Dodge Van RAM 250 Custom, off and on.

He bought it as a "backup", three months ago, when his present 78 Corolla needed some work (being this is his "work car") He would have preferred a Ford but none were available at the time. I will occasionally drive it to keep the battery up or give my own Ford 81 E100 "a spell".

I am 5'6" and have long arms and legs for a woman but still feel awkward while sitting in the drivers seat. My legs are bent up more and the brake is set too close to the accelerator. My son's first comment after driving it the first time about this and found his right foot slipping onto the brake sometimes, a problem he never had with mine the few times he drove it. He is 6'2 and has big feet. Also the "brights" button is nearly Under the brake pedal, where it is in a more conventional spot in the Ford. Other than that, it's the lack of head space compared to mine. The Ford has more head and leg room for him.

The cab's lack of leg space is taken up by where the seat is placed, I guess because of sitting over the front wheels. But we both feel the seat is "too far away" from the dash....and that is still having to adjust it. My arms are in a more comfortable position with the Ford's steering wheel. In the Dodge, they are more stretched out.

The Dodge's dash is higher and arched compared to the Ford's. While driving his van, I use a stiff small pillow to sit abit higher to see over the "stubby nose" as well. The windshield is narrower or perhaps it is sloped inward more to get a clearer view compared to the Ford's. Maybe this is more aerodynamically better but I prefer the broader expanse the Ford gives. Especially at the sides of the windshield.

The steering wheel is ok but I like my larger Ford one. My son is used to a small wheel himself from driving the Corolla. Having windows all around, it has a rearview mirror but I dont use it having gotten used to using the side ones driving the Ford. These are taller than my mine (a nice bit) they are not as easily moved or tilted into postion.

And the dang thing has power windows! ARGH. Out here, those are the bane of any desert driver, as the electric motors go out from the grit and sand eventually. Glad my van's windows are handcranked.

My van's previous owners took out the worn out, ripped up Ford seat (as a former work van, it only had one) to install a pair of captain's chairs. These were from a 93 Dodge van that nearly matches the Ford's dash color (light blue). So I really cannot make a comparison with the seats (standard Ford vs Dodge). So all I can say mine do not have the sinking "easy chair" feeling of his. Apparently by the 90s, Dodge learned to make firmer, better fitting seats. But that's fine with me and the armrests placement is better.

It has a 318 V 8 and I have a 300 Inline Six so I cant compare engine performance there. Will leave that to the more knowledgeable here. His is quieter but the Dodge is insulated and carpetted being a travel van and mine is "stock" without interior carpeting (except floor). I do get better gas mileage though (he gets about 16mpg) But I do like the smaller adjustable "travel odometer" inset in his dash below the standard one. Very useful considering his van gas gauge does not work below half way and so goes by mileage when driving it. At 240 miles, his 23 gal gas tank has about 7 gals left. Another thing I like about the Ford....it has dual tanks.

Overall "ride"? That is subjective. The Dodge drives smooth but feels "heavier" and "squatter" like I am driving a "tank". While mine feels "taller" and "lighter"...but it's empty and so is lighter. Mine does have higher clearance to get under...and I like that. In high winds or unexpected gusts, or buffeting from a truck convoy, the Ford still feels stable.

 

...but I'm a new member, so I'll throw in my 2 cents. I've had full size vans around since 1986 or so (for family use, camping, light hauling). Prior to that I had a '78 Ford pickup that I bought new with a 4.9 six and 4-speed O/D trans. Sure wish they were still making that motor.

First van was a '73 Ford flatnose that I bought on a whim from a guy at work in 1986--Turtletop conversion. It was pretty quick with the stock 302, but long in the tooth and ugly when I sold it in 1988--oh, and the steering box had broken off the frame. And the Turtletop was leaking and the headliner was moldy...

Got an '86 GMC to replace it in 1988--another Turtle Top conversion. I kind of liked that van (after putting a pair of Recaros in it that I had left over from a Toyota Land Crusher, and an Auburn posi). One major problem was that in 1990, with 42k miles on it, the timing chain in the 305 let go and took the engine with it on the freeway--must have starved the upper end. A killer GMC dealer in Middletown, Ohio that did fleet work put in a new Targetmaster 305 and took on GMC to pay half the cost. Ran fine up to about 100k when I sold it--it was starting to rust, the Turtle Top was beginning to leak, and I had a friend who wanted it at the time. And I found a GREAT deal on a Savana...

My late dad was a GM retiree, so I got a killer deal on a '96 Savana conversion, which was the van from HELL. Loved the passenger legroom (only left amputees are really comfy in the older GM vans, Dodges, and even current Fords). I bought a 5/60 warranty on it and in that time, it went through three transmissions, seven valve bodies, two fuel pumps, an alternator, windows fell out, starter stuck ON, and the last straw, after the warranty was up, was the intake manifold gaskets dissolving (fortunately no hydraulicing of cylinders). The GM orange antifreeze is good to 100k, but it eats manifold gaskets at 60k. Oxy sensors were going like popcorn, and I simply no longer trusted the van. I figure my $1000 warranty got me well over $10k in service work. Little annoyances like a warping glove box door (which turned on the glove box light, killing the battery a bunch of times)....replaced the flimsly plastic door under warranty THREE times. Door handles were falling off, and the welded door hinges were beginning to creak. Loved the 350 and transmission when the van was new, but...

This was the only vehicle that I traded in, because there was no way I could sell it to someone and look them in the eye. Got a 2002 Ford E150 conversion in early 2003. It's been the best of the vans so far, not perfect. The conversion seats sucked, but I got a pair of gray Ford OEM captain's chairs on Ebay and love them--better than the seats in my '98 Acura TL even. Came without a posi, but I had an Eaton posi installed.

4.6 gets GREAT mileage for such a big box (17-18.5 on trips, 16 mixed) although I miss the torque of the Savana's 350. The van looks nice--Fords just look "right" altho the oval grille is a bit dorky, it eats brakes (fronts were gone at about 35k--not as bad as the Savana). One concern is the issue with Romeo 4.6's in this time period having a problem with rear cylinder exhaust valves per a Ford TSB--and my van has a very light tick on one side that sounds suspicious. I have a warranty to 60k so I'll see if it gets any worse.

In short, I'll never touch a GMC van again. Looked at Dodges (and Sprinters) when I was buying the Ford, but went with a white Ford van because I've concluded that civilization is based largely on guys with white Ford vans who use them daily to do their job.

George

 

I have a 1979 E-150 with a 300 CID 6 cyl that I bought used in 1980 with about 5K miles on it. Immediately, I had a Sportsmobile Penthouse (pop-top) modification made to it. We have used the van as a Boy Scout hauler, covered pickup truck, camper, and daily commuter for the past quarter century.

Currently, the van has 292K miles, the C-6 transmission has been replaced twice, and the Sportsmobile top does not leak. I never thought that I would keep the vehicle for 26 years when I bought it, but the van's reliablity and relentless usefulness have resulted in a very long and unexpectedly pleasant experience.

My wife bought a used 1998 Chevy Express van for her business and it has been nothing but trouble (also uncomfortable to drive -- not enough leg room). It needed two transmissions and the intake gaskets failed before 100K miles. The plastic interior bits keep falling off and the headliner delaminated and fell down.

 

I just got rid of my 1999 Chevy Express 1500 Quality coach Conversion van and replaced it with a 2005 Ford E250 Eclipse Signature Series Conversion van.

If you asked me 3 months ago if I would ever own a Ford I would have said hell no....But got the Ford for a killer price with only 182 miles on the clock. The Vehicle is going to be a tow Vehicle for a RV and I must admit this vehicle interior wise beat the Chevy Hands down with fit and finish. The engine 5.4 does not seem to like to tow as much as the Chevy 5.7 when it sees a hill but the ford suspension handles the trailer alot better. Still have less then 5k on the clock of the ford so still breaking it in but Gas mileage averages about 12.7 MPG which is worse then the Chevy which I averaged 15.1 MPG and I used to cruise at 75 comfortably in the CHevy and anything over 70 in the Ford does not seem to safe unless I have a full load onboard. With all the negative comments on the Ford I still think overall the Ford is the better vehicle and I am hoping that after everything gets broken in my negatives will go away!!

 

MY first was a 86 e150 300 6 cyl c6 auto it hauled 2 kids and there friends all through high school it had 180,000 miles on it and never had to do anything but normal maintenance. Just replaced it this early his spring with a 2005 e150 5.4 liter. And that is a really nice Van it has very good power better seats and rides better than the old one. With the good luck I have had with Fords over the last 40 years why switch now.
I work on a lot of cars and trucks the thing I noticed is the GM proucts will nickel and dime you to death engines are ok and are a little more efficent then Fords but the rest of the stuff is crap. And when they make a mistake they just keep on making them until they have paid for there tooling. Remeber these are the folks that gave us Vegas and Chevetts. Ford will make engineering changes as problems show up. An Dodge always wanted to be on the leading edge and when it didn't work you where pretty much stuck with the problem. Besides that There cars always rattled to much for me.
A friend of mine had a saying that I always felt was true. It goes like this. If you want the fastest car on the road buy a Chrysler product. If you wanted the best looking car on the road buy a Chevy. If you wanted a car that would run forever you bought a FORD.

 

I have owned a chevy, pontiac, vw, american rambler and a ford. All were not overly abused and failed in one way or another. The last vehicle I owned was a ford aerostar. I was out of work for sometime and used it to deliver papers, drove while other folded in the back. I had minor wear problems like tie rod about 29.99 and such but nothing major and this aerostar had over 200,000 miles. I found a job 30 miles north and also bought a house 25 miles south so I drove every day north then returned home and drove another 25 south and delivered papers at night for one hour. This thing really put up with the abuse and I new the radiator was losing water and should of fixed it but just kept adding water. So when I finally fixed the waterpump after it failed for 19.95 it overheated and I blew the head gasket. Instead of crawling in that cramped bay and fearing some literature, said I had to remove the engine, I had the junk man come get it with 242,000 miles on it. Had it for three years, changed the oil every three months and of course filled the water(what a hint). Drove it over 100 miles a day and all them other, excuse the verbage, sorry excuse of powertrain engineering-rhetoric only cause who wouldn't want to own a mopar, always had a seal go out or a vacum leak or some other sorry excuse of dealership labor, not allowing me to continue without some sort of major engine seal or leak. Hey I will buy a Ford agian. Did that make sense or Hey did that make sense! Have a nice Day-Ford day-sic.

 

Available with a V-10.
Available with a turbodiesel.

I tow my enclosed race car trailer and I've owned both a diesel (some time ago) and a V10 (now). I would not be able to tow as well with a V-8, and having a van at the race track simply rocks. We travel with dogs and ain't nothing better than a van for that. My extended family also takes road trips for various reasons, and a van rocks.

If Dodge or Chevy offered a 1-ton passenger 15-passenger van with their diesel I would consider it. Until then: Ford all the way.

Now, about those 15-seat E-350 shuttle vans with the Powerstrokes that you can buy off-lease for such a bargain price...camper conversion, anyone...hmmm... - GA

 

I like what I'm reading on the Sprinter, saw one go off Ebay with 500,000 miles, transmission just started to slip between 1st and 2nd, pretty impressive. I'm not fond of the look, but they require less handicap conversion equipment and NO floor drop, more affordable when you buy less for it.
I love my Econoline, but after hearing about the AC issues in the newer ones, NO WAY, they have ruined them, I'd say sales are going to suffer further for that.

 

I like the turning radius of the sprinter.....

when its time for brakes the rotors and pads have to be replaced at the same time...other services /maintenance i dont know about

the seats suck

the interior is very cheap looking

they dont have ANY style at all.... total utility until it comes time to tow and they arent made to tow with.

I will say however that the mercedes drivetrain offers up great economy and outstanding durability.


Frank

 

Saw where a disabled guy is using his to tow an equipment trailer with a tractor on it, said he's had no issues with it, loves the MPG.

 

Sprinter interiors look pretty much like the standard interior on most german vehicles I drove while i was in Germany. Just look at how plain most volkswagen interiors are.