I've been lurking for a month or so. Here's my 1993 E350 Club Wagon XLT. This is an ex-DOE Sandia Labs ****** / Communications van. It has 254,000 miles, original engine, rebuilt E40D transmission. Being a New Mexico vehicle, the body is in excellent shape, no rust, there's still some shine to the pain. The fiberglass bubble top has faded gelcoat, but so do my boats. The interior is in very good shape except for the dash (got a carpet cover), and the drivers seat (corner is torn / chewed up a bit). I bought it to carry musical instruments, and because I've always wanted to mess around with a diesel. This is my first.
So far, I have adjusted the FIPL (harsh shifts). I have a new FIPL since my check with an analog meter showed some dead spots in resistance. Brake MC leaks a little out the back onto the booster. I have the new MC. I have a new filter. These are the two big ticket items left to make the van reliable. I had some voltage issues, or so I thought. I have a local mechanic who has workred on the 7.3's extensively. He told me to check, clean, and tighten every ground I could find. Good advice. I found 11 ground straps. I treated about 8 of the 22 connections. Most were OK. I thought I had a GP relay or controller problem or maybe a bad battery or alternator. They all checked OK. After cleaning up the ground connections and the battery clamps, things are much better. I have a factory block heater. The factory steel roof is still in place, I guess like all of the DOE vans. There are some disconnected Muffin fans on the sides and back of the top. There are several cable feed-throughs from the interior to the roof space for power and some left-over COAX cables. There are slots and plugged threaded holes in the interior, along with 3 or 4 plates in the overhead. I was told they were for the radio equipment and hidden antennas above the van steel roof. I guess this was confirmed, looking at the posts from cant-write, DOE-SST, and others. I think this is cool, since I'm a Ham Radio operator (KD5HVO). My rear HVAC blower still works, but I have to top off the freon to see if the AC core still functions. The heater hoses were clamped off for the rear heater core.
The biggest problem I've fixed was the thermostat. The van ran "cold". No matter what I did, the temp would not climb past the gauge mark near the "C". Heater wouldn't put out warm air. When I pulled the alternator for testing, I pulled the thermostat. When I pulled the tube, the thermstat self-destructed before my eyes. Luckily, no bits got down into the cooling jacket. The thermostat was definitely stuck fully open. I had asked the PO if he had pulled the thermostat, but he said no. He ran the van mostly in the warmer months and the cold temps didn't bother him. I replaced the radiator hoses. But, on my 2nd test ride, the upper hose pulled loose from the thermostat tube. I lost 2.5 gallons of coolant, all over the top of the engine. I was less than 1/4 mkile from home so I basically coasted home. Engine temp never got over half way. Thank the Lord that there's almost 9 gallons of coolant in this beast. Topped it off with what the PO had in it (Xerex G05 extended life coolant). It now runs cool, but warms up to about the O in Normal. Heat's OK now. I plan on a flush / replacement in the spring. Brakes and Fuel filter first.
In the photo, you can see my blue and white beast. The old Dodge B250 is what was replaced by the E350. I'm an electrical engineer at Los Alamos National Laboratory. I'm also a part-time musician for several local community music groups. I play orchestral percussion. The van carries my entire percussion section: 4 timpani (kettle drums), bass drum, cymbals, xylophone, bells, drumset, chimes, etc. I though the Dodge 3/4 ton had room (it was an ex Conversion VAn). The 1-ton E350 gives me even more room.
So, I bought the van to be a "musical groupie van". It has now done that for two Christmas Concerts here in town. But, the van is in such good shape otherwise, I'm having evil thoughts about making it an RV like some others have in this Forum. I would have to make removable frames for doing the double duty. We'll see.
Thanks for this group. I've learned so much already. Here are some pix of my E350 along with the retired Dodge B250 just after I got it. I have more questions, and I've gotten some good replies already.
Stu
Los Alamos, NM