Hi there,

I finally got my hands on a 7.3 the flag ship of Diesel motors! And I was able to get it in the vehicle that fit my business needs.. It's an E350 with a cut out BOX with shelves galore for my low voltage contracting business. On my ride home picking her up from Arizona, she flew up the tahachapees like it was nothing @ 80 mph. Not bad for 7200 pounds..

I've searched this web site for E350 info and forum posts. I have found some mentions, but no forum dedicated to Econolines.. Is there any plans on having an E350 forum in the future or is this site primarily focussed on Trucks?

If not, does anybody know of any good sites that are comparible to this one for the E350 models?

Thanks in advance

Duck

 

Welcome to FTE! You are in the right place to find out a ton of helpful info for your 7.3 PSD. There are many owners who freaquent this forum that have an E-series, they can answer your model specific questions, but as far as the engine goes, its the same as ours (trucks), with a better turbo.

Tim

 

Welcome to FTE Duck.

You will not find a better fourm on the net for the 7.3. There is a great group of guys here that can answer all you questions.

You will grow to love this place.

 

Howdy Duckbutter!

I have a 2000 E350 extended with a 7.3 that I ordered new. The only complaint I have is that it's a real bugger to change the fuel filter. I can change the one in my 7.3 Excursion in about 2 minutes but the E350 van takes about an hour. If you've had a van with a gas engine, you're going to like the difference in the fuel economy. I'm a computer network tech and I put mine on the scales equipped with tools and stock and it weighed #8200.

Since they can't put an intercooler on the van, the power output of the E series isn't as high as the F series. This just means that your motor will last that much longer. When I ordered mine, I talked to several fleet operators and they were getting an average of 750,000 to 1,000,000 miles out of the engines and an average of about 180,000 out of the R4100 transmission. Bear in mind that these were mostly commercial courier trucks running local deliveries so you won't be punishing yours as much.

While the F series have the reputation for being great tow vehicles (and they are!), you'll be surprised just how capable that van will be as a tow vehicle. I used mine for 7 year pulling my #8500 24' car trailer and it did great. However, I found that I oftentimes needed more than two seats so I got the Excursion.

Whatever you do, don't ever put ceramic brake pads on it. I did that and took them off after 6 days. They wouldn't stop the vehicle!

Congratulations on your purchase!

BJ Lexington, KY

 

hello Duck , Welcome to the forum
good luck with you stay here and your new purchase...

 

Thanks much for the welcome - and I'm VERY APPRECIATIVE for the advice.

Look forward to using this site as resource and as I've found so far there are a lot of very capable mechanics around here.

 

whjco is right about the fuel filter. The first time I did it, I was ready to sell the truck. Having said that, I would reccommend you change the filters and oil now unless you know when it was done last. Also, pull off the dog house and check the up pipes. They are known to leak on all 7.3s, but with the van, they are simple to inspect and change. You will see soot on the connections if they are leaking. Like others said, there is no intercooler, the turbo is different, there is no hydro boost for the brakes, and the air filter is obvisously different. Other than that, and a few other small differences, the van and the truck 7.3 are the same. Spend some time here and you will learn all you could ever want to know about your engine.

 

NS:

I know what you are talking about with the Fuel filter.. I have a new one in the box, and have yet to change it. I friend told me to park over dirt and not my driveway

I changed the transmission fluid including the torque converter and filter immediately. The transmission fluid was the most rank out of all the fluids.
I replaced it with Mercon Synthetic, 17 quarts actually.. Is this the best tranny fluid choice?

As for the Up pipes, I just took them off yesterday and changed one of the donuts. At $17 Bucks my chin was on the floor.

I text messaged my buddy about the 17 dollar donut and this was his reply:

"Ha Ha u joints $180 welcome 2 the ford club!"

Great.

 

Welcome to the FTE like every one else has are ready told you you're going to like it around here.. The best place on the net to get info for your 7.3.