E250 or E350

[FIS53]

On the 2500 and 3500 gm units (8 bolt hubs) the only difference was spring rate for the 3500. Otherwise transmission, bearings etc were same (back when I bought my last one, so could be different now). I was informed by a Ford fan that similar for Fords but I'd check with a dealer or techie with regards to this as mfrs change things over the years. Personally I'd go heavier vehicle, longest body and inside I utilized as light of materials (weight wise) for insulation, bed etc as I could so as to maximize my load weight. Now I do travel light anyways so I tend to be able to maintain a decent load capacity.

For my next van I'm only going to insulate the front part where I'll be with all my goodies and leave the back with just additional tie downs and a light covering to protect the sides.
Rob

 

[guido4475]

There is a point that the modifications become a trade off. Exhaust for example becomes useless unless the cat is removed, the turbo changed out and the ecm reprogrammed. All three of those things matter, the cat is the biggest restriction in line but the the turbo is another.

I'm just going by what I was told by my Ford mechanic freind, as well as by Bruce Mallison of Pittsburgh Power, which specializes in building high performance diesels.There is no catalytic converter on my van, just the downpipe, going to the pipe that runs directly to the 24" long muffler, then the tailpipe.According to the maintenance records I have for that van from Ryder, the exhaust was never touched, and everything has the ford emblems stamped on it.On my straight truck,I had dual exchaust on it (4") and put straight-through mufflers on it, and what a difference it made.The dual exhaust was a factory setup.Everybody is telling me that the best thing for diesels is to let them breathe as much as possible. There is currently 3.5" exhaust on my van now.So I dont think 5" will be overkill.I may even put a little flapper on it. lol.

 

[greg334]

That's fine Guido.

I am listening too much to the people who work at Ford, got to stop doing that. What do they know?

On my 3500 dodge, I got the thing with a 5 inch and it was ok but when I hit something in the road and the muffler kind of gotten messed up, I ended up with a 4 inch system front to back with a 4 inch cat and it made a lot of difference to how it preformed. The mileage went up, the turbo spooled up faster and it pulled the trailer a lot better.

The thing is I thought Ford's had cats starting in '97, or was your's removed?

or do you have one of them 450 chassis' that was reclassified as a 350?

 

[highway star]

Guido, if it doesn't have a converter, then it's been touched. 5" seems like overkill to me as well. Your no where near running that engine truly hard, such as heavy towing. Those are the guys that get a benefit from that kind of modification.

 

[guido4475]

I'm not going to waste my time arguing over something like this.The reason I am saying my van is untouched is because every pipe including the muffler has a Ford emblem stamped on it.When I first bought the van, I thought it was modified as well. But I went under there and looked closely at everypipe and like I said,It was all original.And I highly doubt that Ryder would do something like that.Maybe I'm wrong.The past maintenance records do not indicate any exchaust work at all being done to it.Greg, it sounded like you needed a bigger turbo to get the extra performance to be in tune with the bigger exchaust pipe diameter.Ford powerstroke already has a large turbo to make up for that.And, yes, I will continue listening to my Ford mechanic freinds, they have never steered me wrong so far.And besides that, Ford does not make a 450 or 550 cargo van. You know that.

 

[greg334]

Guido,
I am not trying to argue with you, I am poking fun at the people who are my source. They test these engines and run them in different configuration but there is something they always miss.

There were a number of E450 chassis' that were produce one year that had van bodies put on them for some special order that was refused. These are beefy chassis' and were released as E350 vans (actually retagged). They were all 7.3 and lacked cats, just wondering if you got one. I bet Ryder or Penske got them at a great deal, a really great deal. By the way they do make E450 vans for the export market, they made an E550 van for the middle east market in 2003.

I also bought my van from Ryder a while ago and it also had GM original parts on it but they were the wrong parts. Ryder doesn't always do the repairs to their vehicles, they farm the work out a lot of the time but stand behind their product - which is good. The point is just because there are Ford stampings on the parts doesn't mean that it is all correct.

The dodge is a different case, the turbo was original but the restriction helped with everything. Remember that the turbo also is a restriction itself.

 

[guido4475]

I appreciatte that, Greg.Honestly.I would love to have a cargo van on a e-450 chassis.I was wondering after I got done typing my last post if the muffler is actually the cat also. My freind has a 1995 L-8000 ford with a cummins 5.9 and his is set up that way from the factory.What ever the case may be, it's coming off soon and a more freer-flowing muffler will be put on it.I do know that some times I have seen Ryder taking some of their trucks to a dealer also.I am thinking you have a Holset turbo on your Dodge, which is a very good turbo, alot of guys actually put them on Cat class 8 engines to improve performance on them.(a larger size version). So why not put a larger turbo on to get rid of some of that restriction?

 

[BillChaffey]

I own a 1999 F250 Super Duty Diesel & a 2002 E 350 ext Cargo Van. Also Diesel. Neither one has a catalytic converter. They have to be State inspected every two years and I have yet to have someone say "where's the Converter?". As far as "Lugs" they are both 8 lugs, but the 350 studs & lugs are larger. A 250 lug wrench is too small.

 

[Jack_Berry]

every part on my e250 is an e350 part. the diff being the e350 comes with the 5.4 engine and not the 4.6 which makes my truck an e250.

 

[greg334]

Bearcat,
That's interesting. I may be wrong so I'm wrong.

What's the emissions sticker say? Is it an exempt engine?

 

[guido4475]

Mine says NON-CATALYST on it.Might as well ask this question.What type of brake pads are best? Metallic or Ceramic? I had a set of metallic from Napa and I was told that ceramic was the best, so I exchanged them for ceramic.I also put new rotors from Napa on also.It's been so long since I did brakes on a vehicle, I truly cant remember which is best.

 

[PyleDriver]

Ceramic pads meet or exceed all original equipment standards for durability, stopping distance and noise. According to durability tests, ceramic compounds extend brake life compared to most other semi-metallic and organic materials and outlast other premium pad materials by a significant margin - with no sacrifice in noise control, pad life or braking performance.

 

[greg334]

Guido,
Thanks for the correction.

Ceramic I have a few sets on the shelf but not on the truck. As you are replacing the rotors, I won't recommend replacing them.