Hey guys, I have been reading threads for the last couple of days and have not found any info on the E-Series vans with the 7.3 PSD. I realize this is not very popular vehicle compared to the pick up trucks. I have a 03 E-350 Super Cargo Van with 116,000 hard driven miles as my work truck. Overall it is a great truck, but a serious PITA to work on.
Fuel filter? Better have long, skinny arms and plenty of patience to change that!

Now to my question. I am looking for ways to increase longjevity, mpg, and maybe power, although I am not going to spend tons of cash on this truck. Do most of the mods for the pick up also apply to my van? (That big Napa filter won't fit, I know.)
Also, the only difference I know for sure is the van does not have an intercooler, are there any others I should know about?
I plan to keep this truck as long as I can after seeing what a brand new one costs. (35k for a tin can with a steering wheel.)
Thanks Guys, sorry for rambling.

 

You could do the Hutch and harpoon mod and perhaps an HX crossover.
Big exhaust and guages so you can monitor things.
Beef up the transmission with a better valve body and maybe get a stronger torque converter.
Most likely your up-pipes are leaking by now so you could fix that as well.
Don't forget to change out all the fluids everywhere. Rear axle, etc.

 

I saw an E-series van in a video a few months back on a different forum that ran the 1/4 mile in like 13 seconds! You better believe there are things you can do to pep your mules step. You already have a leg up with the van turbo, like Kwik said a turbo back exhaust is a good one. Most mods that can be performed on our trucks can be done on your van, with the exception of the 6637 air intake and intercooler upgrade. I'm sure that if your creative, it would be fun to come up with a custom do-it-yourself air intake. Your just going to have to be ALOT more patient than the rest of us due to your space constraints. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the quick response guys. What are up pipes and where do they leak? The engine does not seem to run as strong as it did 70,000 miles ago when I got it. Could this be the culprit? I do think I have a cps issue though. The engine would just kill at stop lights, fires back up and seems fine after that. It hasn't happened lately though. Is the cps the same as the one my 02 F250 uses?
Rampage, I could put the intercooler outside of the grill and the 6637 sticking out the hood. I guess it depends how bad I want more power. Ha Ha.
Oh yeah, gauges? This thing doesn't even have a tach!

 

The up-pipes run from your exhaust manifold to your turbo. The leak at the Y connector just before the turbo. There are do-nuts gaskets there and they generally do not last long. You should replace the entire up-pipe and not just the donut gasket since usally when they go out, it makes the up-pipe smaller and well not seal correctly and will not last. Those vans can be fast, my buddy got beat by one and on the back window of the van it said better luck next time. Yes the cps is the same at the 02 uses, its still a DT444E. I always wondered why ford did not put a tach on the vans. The newer ones with the 6oh's have them, why couldnt they put it in the 7.3's. Just things that make you wonder.

 

Hi john311t, where do I get the up pipe? Dealer, parts house, after market? You're right that these vans can be fast. When I first got this van all it had in the interior was two seats and without the weight of 4x4 drive line and everything else it seemed to be faster than my 02 F250 CC 4X4 PSD. It was a lot of fun to see the looks on peoples face when I blew by them in a big white van. Too bad I had to put all those ladders, tools, and parts in it. But it still is way faster than my old 1 ton chevy van with the 350 in it.

 

Can you still remove the doghouse like on older vans?
If so, the up-pipes should be an easy reach. They are the ones that feed exhaust gasses into the turbo exhaust housing. They tend to leak right at the inlet of the turbo because the gaskets fail.

 

Yes, the doghouse does come out and the turbo is right there. Before I take it apart I would like to have the parts to keep down time to a minimum. Where should I get the up pipes from? I hate to get screwed at the dealer if I don't have to. Are there better after market up pipes available?

Thanks again.

 

Diesel Innovations has some nice SS bellows, but they were way out of my price range.