4x4 E350 7.3 Diesel - The Long Wool Adventure Van

obselesc

Member
Alright, I think I have solved the no cold start/low power issue we were having by shimming the injectors! I say I think, because the weather in Portland has been beautiful ever since I did the work, so I haven't had much of a cold day to test it on.

Shimming the injectors in place was nothing short of a nightmare. First time doing work on a Ford van engine, so I had expectations of it being awful, but it surpassed those expectations for sure. I'm a pretty thin dude and still ended up with scratches all over my arms. The real scary part was dealing with all the tiny bits/screws that are involved with the armature plate and the solenoid on the injector. I had one terrifying moment where a torx bit dropped down what I believe is an oil vent hole in the upper part of the case, but luckily found it with a magnet after praying to any and every god i could think of. I also ended up having to pull the last two injectors and shim them on the bench, which just made me think I should have done them all that way from the start. Anyways, if it extends the life of my injectors for another 100,000 miles then it will have been well worth the pain; and if it doesn't, at least I know how to change the injectors and it'll take me half as long next time.

In other updates we found side doors with windows! Let me know if anyone needs some 60/40 Ford cargo doors because the ones we took off are in great shape. We also got one side all buttoned up with insulation. From van skin to inside it looks like this: sound deadener + 2" XPS + Spray Foam + a layer of reflectix. I know that sounds pretty thick, but since we are reusing some of the framing/wall panels that were in the van when we got it, it works fine for us. I would say 1.5" XPS wouldve been the better choice, but the hardware store only had 2".

Hopefully I will have some videos in the next week that better document those updates, but tomorrow we drop the van off to get our high top installed!
 

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gtbensley

Explorer
Nice! I did injectors O-Rings on mine a couple years ago and it sucked.....looking back I wish I had just spent the coin on new injectors and be done with it.

Is yours starting well now? I need some new batteries (both of mine are under the hood and weird) but mine will start unplugged on 10F no problem.

Did you do the glow plugs and harness while you shimmed the armature plates?
 

obselesc

Member
Nice! I did injectors O-Rings on mine a couple years ago and it sucked.....looking back I wish I had just spent the coin on new injectors and be done with it.

Is yours starting well now? I need some new batteries (both of mine are under the hood and weird) but mine will start unplugged on 10F no problem.

Did you do the glow plugs and harness while you shimmed the armature plates?

It was definitely a PIA. But with that said, I do feel confident in doing the injectors in half the time next time, so that's nice at least. It is starting way better, but ironically the weather in Portland went up a few degrees as soon as I did the work, so I don't think the van has seen a night below freezing since the fix.

I did the harness, but not the glow plugs. I hoped to do them, but the shop space I was lent needed me out so I had to skip them to save time. Of course now I have a check engine light telling me glow plug #2 is out ? so I'll be in there before we hit the road to get that sorted.

In the mean time we now have two windows in the top!

511257
 

obselesc

Member
Wow. Ever take a 6 month trip and forget all about forum posting? Anyways here's the rig in Colorado at ~13,000ft on top of California Pass (I think). Did about 20k miles over the past 6 months and the rig was amazing. Other than typical maintenance the biggest issue was when the starter went out right after I took this picture...luckily I had a spare and made the swap right then and there. I was happy to see that it kept up with all the jeeps and yotas on the COBDR, and was definitely more comfortable to sleep in once the driving stopped.
 

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migx333

Member
Hello

Wanted to get your opinion

I'm looking at a 2004 Ford E350 V10 4x4 Extended with a high roof.

Do you have experience with these rigs and their capability offroading? I am coming from a 2005 Tundra, I know nothing compares to a Toyota in terms of reliability but I heard the E350 V10 is pretty reliable.

Also what are the downsides to the high roof?
Does it affect your gas mileage pretty bad?

Looking for a rig to take me to cross country trips.

Attached is the interior build I plan for the E350
 

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