Express vs E350 van

braxton357

braxton357

Robot
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Location
Morganton
It goes against everything I stand for but I think I'm going to break down and get a van. Looking for an ~06-13 either express or e350 van with a KUV utility bed.
Basically it comes down to 5.4l Ford vs 6.0 Chevy. I've worked on both in trucks, so I think they are both piece of shit motors but have never owned either.
The 4l80 I have plenty of experience with but none with the 5r110.

I already have a halfway reliable 7.3 f250 work truck but would like this one to require somewhat less maintenance. Any opinions?
 
Econoline is a workhorse my family Hs run them on a daily bases loaded to the max and they have always lasted well. Yes you might have to change a water pump or a alternator but never had major problems I can’t remember any tranny issues at all.
 
If you decide 5.4 I’d skip anything 04-08. Something 09 and newer so you’re not fighting broken plugs. Not that it can’t happen to others but in my experience 04-08 is a shit design. I’d go 6.0 if it were me.
 
The ls engine platform and the trans behind it are hard to beat. Damn fords gasser lost me with constant coil pak issues on the 5.4 I had.
 
Having DD'ed both, i like the 6.0 Chevy (was an '08 G2500) better. currently in a '13 Ford E250 5.4, its ok, but i liked the creature features of the Chevy, the power was a little better as well.

Keeping the front tires on the Ford is a constant battle, curse of the Twin Beam, eats inside edge of the tires. 84k on it currently, its been reliable, seat isn't as comfortable as the Chevy was.

168k on the Chevy, only concern at the end was oil pressure read low (15 psi idle, hot, 40ish at speed) never got to verify if it was actual or a sending unit issue, i suspect it was actual, seems the first operator when new never serviced the van...for the first 15k.... ( gotta love fleet vehicles)

the next van will likely be a Chevy, but with a 4.8L.... SMH

oh, the heat and AC work a hell of a lot better on the Chevy, takes the Ford 5 miles to make any heat, Chevy just a couple blocks, Ford AC is marginal when not moving, not AS cold as the Chevy when moving.
 
I'd go 6.0 all day long. We run them in our box trucks and have several on the road everyday with close to 300k on them with only normal maintenance.
 
Don't get one with the 6spd though. We have 2 with them and one is on its second trans and the other is on its third, and they are our two newest trucks. They're forever searching for gears.
 
Willc said:
6.0 chevy dam reliable
Click to expand...
I know a guy who family owns a millwright business and they have a side gig goin that requires them to haul some kind of hyd motor parts to Cincinnati.They get paid the the piece so I know they're loaded heavy.They run express vans w the 6.0's.The guy I know don't cut anything any slack and the only maint they do is add oil when they change the filter.Otherwise if its running they don't touch it.Use it up,throw it away and get another one.Two trips to Cin a day 6 days a week.Year old vans w 300K + on em and barely maintained says a lot to me.
 
6.0, i had a van for about 8 years, oil changes, 5k miles, on synthetic oil,
change transmission fluid to synthetic oil,
every year do a once over on it, to check for leaks etc....
That's it..... good for about 300k (or longer )
.
The low oil pressures you can fix that by dropping the oil pan, pick up tube and change the o-ring, a simple 5$ fix. Just time involved.
and yes, i know synthetic oil, is not true synthetic oil....
.
If it a van w/ 7.3, then.... well....
 
Chevy all day.
 
If you care about getting home, buy the Chevy.

If you're cool with walking and care about whether the dash cracks and the paint peels off the hood, buy the Ford.
 
I had an E350 service truck. Ran it for 300k miles, troublefree. The guys who worked for me called it 'the Queen Mary' because it was loaded to the top with tools and parts. Great Truck!!!
 
chalk another tally for the 6.0.

only issue with chevy is that the paint wont stick to the metal.
 
So what I've come to find out is that the 5.4 isn't my favorite motor, the one in the van chassis platform doesn't have any of the shitty head issues the truck has and the 5r110 is pretty bulletproof. I do like the 6.0 and have worked on/own plenty of the ls based engines... What it really came down to is the e350s have power locks and windows while the express chassis don't. I think I found a 2014 350 with decent miles I'm gonna pick up.
 
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Somebody photoshop me a trailready winch bumper and 32" bfgs on there, can't wait to junk this thing up.
 
Just take it over to U Joint and them guys will make it all cool and stuff. I have no idea why you would need that to be 4wd, but it'd be cool as hell anyway!
 
Express 2013 and up have standard power locks and windows. Manual locks/windows are an "Option" now. Id go the Chevy, we run 2500 vans not really loaded all that heave and ford would never get above 9-10mpg while same chevrolet van was averaging 13-14 this was a 4.8 vortec compared to 5.4 triton.
 
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