Bob the Campulance. E350 Crestline with Roof Raise. V3 in Progress.

iggi

Ian
Yeah, as you know I've flip-flopped many times between whether to do the 4x4 conversion or not.
I have an FJ Cruiser so it's not like I need a 4x4 but there's been enough times in the last couple years that I really wanted 4x4 on the ambo. Not for running trails but even just the ability to drive steep fire roads and get into random off-road campsites.

I’ll keep it in mind if I decide I need another 4x. $2k doesn’t seem unreasonable for what you get. I’ve heard someone local paid $6k for a solid front axle swap in a smaller 4x4… and that’s just one axle and the front suspension.

I don’t need one since, even “stock”, my 40 series can run circles around almost any full size rig. There’s a huge advantage to 33s on a 13’ rig vs a 21’ rig.
 

Bikersmurf

Expedition Leader
Yeah, as you know I've flip-flopped many times between whether to do the 4x4 conversion or not.
I have an FJ Cruiser so it's not like I need a 4x4 but there's been enough times in the last couple years that I really wanted 4x4 on the ambo. Not for running trails but even just the ability to drive steep fire roads and get into random off-road campsites.
I’ve not done any camping off the beaten path in many years… so I’m not there yet. Maybe the future will bring more of it, but I’ve been trying to get to that stage for about 15 years and I’m not there yet.
 

Abitibi

Explorer
You won't regret it the 1st time you need it ;)

And your tranny is already 4x4 ready, bonus!

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk
 

iggi

Ian
Yep, purely through good luck (not via planning) I ended up with one of the easier drivetrains to convert. At least in terms of E series vans. :)
Every truck I've owned for the last 15 years has been 4x4 so it's been weird to not have that option on the ambo.
 

PlethoraOfGuns

Adventurer
I'm assuming your rear axle is open differential? You would be amazed what good tires and a differential locker will do for you!
 

Abitibi

Explorer
His rear differential has a LSD which is pretty agressive when working properly...

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk
 

PlethoraOfGuns

Adventurer
Nice, halfway there. It's better then nothing! But I do understand wanting to deeper off trail with these rigs. Go places nobody else goes.
 

iggi

Ian
Whooheee... Been a long time since I posted. Was a crazy ass miserable summer and there wasn't much visible progress.

Getting set for winter so it was time for new tires as the originals were getting to that "when are they going to blow" stage.
I was hoping to get my 4x4 conversion done before I needed new tires but nope.

So.. went with a compromise tire. Something that would fit now and not look completely stupid once I have the lift installed.

Went from the stock 225/75R16 to a 235/85R16 Falken WILDPEAK A/T3W.

The 235/85R16 is 31.7 inches tall and 9.3 inches wide where the 225/75R16 is 29.3 inches tall and 8.9 wide.
Sure fills up the wheelwells a bunch more. I might have to trim the rear flares a bit.

Initial impressions. Ride is definitely smoother. The 225's always felt like hockey pucks to me.
Plowed through a bit of snow and icy crud. Traction seems good.

The drop in RPM is more noticeable than I expected. It's only a drop of about 200 RPM but I definitely notice it. Hopefully I'll see a little better MPG. It ss a little slower on acceleration, which I expected but I'd trade a smoother ride and lower engine rpm over off the line acceleration.
FALKENS REAR.jpgFALKENS FRONT.jpg
 

Bikersmurf

Expedition Leader
Mine came with 245/75R16 P tires on the back (a big no-no). The tires were almost kissing at the bottom. They’d rubbed so much together that the sides had a flattened ring around them. I hadn’t given their weight rating much thought till one of the inner tires went flat, and then I realized the remaining was carrying 50% more than it was rated for. I limped to a shop and had it fixed, and quickly replaced them with new E tires… much safer (and legal).

Lesson learned… don’t do it. E rated is the only way.
 

iggi

Ian
Well, it's been a long time since I posted an update. Life has been kinda crazy and I've had little time or energy for working on the camper. But... I seem to have finally solved a long running issue with my engine and figured I'd share.
It's not often that a repair on a Ford 6.0 is "cheap" so if you're chasing engine codes around then you might find all this helpful.
Starting a couple years ago I was occasionally getting a check engine light with a P0299 error code (low turbo boost). Sometimes if I was hitting a particularly steep hill in hot weather or making a high speed pass the darn thing would go into limp mode and I'd have to pull over and do a restart. Once in a great while I'd also get a P0478 code.

Since my ambo is a 6.0 this was fairly terrifying as all the stories of them blowing up came rushing into my head. It didn't show any signs of the usual failures and ran fine as long as I didn't put my foot into it.
Recently though it's been getting a lot worse to the point I'd have to turn cruise control off on the hills to avoid it going into limp mode and it was definitely low on power.

I finally got around to programming the custom 6.0 gauges into my ScanGauge and began working my way through a real diagnosis. Despite all the weird things the only issue that showed up was the FICM (fuel injection control module) was showing low voltage.

Now, anything under 45 volts is considered a bad unit and mine was down to 38.5 volts when starting. Oddly though, I couldn't find any documentation that this would cause the error codes I was getting.
A rebuilt FICM is about $500 minimum plus a core charge. However, a friend put me onto the fact that it's usually only the power supply that fails, and those can be had for a bit over a $100 bucks.

This may be one of the few jobs that's easier on an Econoline than an F series. Instead of being mounted on the engine, the FICM for the vans is mounted on the driver side fender. Only had to move the coolant reservoir and the air cleaner out of the way. The entire job only took about an hour. This included getting the FICM open, replacing the power supply board and putting it all back together.

Started it up. Checked the FICM voltage. 49.5V. Way better! Went for a test drive. Flogged it hard. (which usually went put it into limp mode) Full throttle to 75mph. Hit 25lbs of boost and no codes and no limp mode. Definitely the best it's run in a couple years. I'd forgotten how quick it is despite weighing 9600 lbs.

Moral of the story? Modern diesels are complicated. There's a crap load of sensors and a long, long list of things that can go wrong. However, with some inexpensive tools, a lot of reading and a bunch of patience and there's a lot you can figure out. It's way better to invest the time diagnosing than to start replacing parts based on diagnostic guessing. I almost resorted to that myself... even my mechanic buddy that owns a 6.0 and has worked in a Ford dealership thought it was more likely the turbo vanes were sticking.
Here's the link to the ScanGauge 6.0 page: https://www.scangauge.com/xgauge_collection/ford-6-0l-diesel/IMG_2805.jpgIMG_2808.jpgIMG_2811.jpgIMG_2812.jpgIMG_2813.jpg
 

Abitibi

Explorer
Nice you got it sorted! I had a spare one available so on mine I could easily swap it to make sure it wasn't the issue. You should also post the part you used to fix and how you did it as it will come handy for a few other owners!

Cheers!
David
 

iggi

Ian
At long last I've got a little bit of time so I'm digging into my electrical makeover.
When I gutted the interior and did the roof raise I was planning to redo the electrical then but due to some family health issues I ended up just having to quickly get it all back together. So ffwd a couple years and after ordering a bunch of parts I started ripping into things today.

First order of business was to remove the Lithium battery pack, Pure Sine wave inverter and other stuff that I'd frankensteined into the original panel and return to essentially stock. I can still camp and run my fridge, fan, lights, etc but don't have much capacity as it's all running from a single AGM battery of about 40 amp hours.
I'm going to assemble as much of the new system on my work bench, and then install into the ambo, then move all the accessories from the old panel to the new one.

First two pics are of what’s coming out. Last pic is most of the components for the new system. I’m going to mount it all inside the bench and then once all the accessories are moved from the original panel to the new one I’ll be gutting everything on the driver side from the bed to behind the driver seat to make room for a new kitchen plus shower and toilet.

System specs will be:
280 amp hour lithium iron phosphate battery
60 amp DC to DC charger
2000 watt pure sine inverter (4000 watt peak)
400 watts solar.


This counts as a small system by today’s standards but it meets my needs. I am leaving room for another battery as I plan to eventually add a recirculating shower and expect that will need more power than I have.
I'm quite stoked as this was the electrical system (and the big cabinet it's in) were the log jam keeping me from making progress on the other interior upgrades.


e1.jpege2.jpege3.jpeg
 

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