2006 E450 6.0L or 2002 E450 7.3L

[cadillackid]

Something seems off here, the guy supposedly put about 4K of parts into this motor and the service lights are still on??? Is there evidence things were ever apart like receipts for injectors , new valve cover gaskets etc?
Seems to me the guy can't fix the bus after googling and youtubing why his check engine light was on and is now dumping it..
abs light should cancel when the abs module is happy.. so it being lit means an abs fault is still there...
At 5500 there are a lot of nicely running units out there that everything works
Christopher

[milkmanchip]

I concur with the Cadillac kid there should be plenty of buses out there that run perfectly fine have good bodies and perfectly good working breaks ... On our 2002 Church bus ABS light would come on once in awhile if the ABS was dirty we would just wiggle the wire tap on it and blow some compressed air around the module usually took care of it but I do know when it is lit the ABS is not working.

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

[cadillackid]

MOST often it is a wheel speed sensor that turns on the ABS light... I dont know on fords how hard they are to troubleshoot or replace... on GM's they seem to be pretty straight forward..
-Christopher

[rw3iss]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

Something seems off here, the guy supposedly put about 4K of parts into this motor and the service lights are still on??? Is there evidence things were ever apart like receipts for injectors , new valve cover gaskets etc?
Seems to me the guy can't fix the bus after googling and youtubing why his check engine light was on and is now dumping it..
abs light should cancel when the abs module is happy.. so it being lit means an abs fault is still there...
At 5500 there are a lot of nicely running units out there that everything works
Christopher

Perhaps, yeah I had my doubts, but I was reaching in that respect. The thing was sitting a bit, batteries died out, check engine light might be on because of those, he was saying, but I'm not so sure only because someone once told me to get the check engine light off, you disconnect batteries a bit.. I dunno. I did notice a new oil pump or filter under the bus, so I think he did at least something there. He seemed decently honest, just stubborn as sh*t.
He said him and his dad bought it to turn into an RV, but don't have the time. Supposedly his father works north for the summer and isn't around, though I'd love to have a word with him.

Thanks guys.

[AndiW]

I have an opportunity to buy a nice-looking 2005 Ford 6.0 L diesel mini bus for under $3000 from a local transport company. Engine already is bad - they don't say doesn't run, but they say not recommended to drive or something like that. Is it possible to replace the engine with a better one? About how much would that cost?


Thanks.

[Johnny Mullet]

Originally Posted by AndiW

I have an opportunity to buy a nice-looking 2005 Ford 6.0 L diesel mini bus for under $3000 from a local transport company. Engine already is bad - they don't say doesn't run, but they say not recommended to drive or something like that. Is it possible to replace the engine with a better one? About how much would that cost?


Thanks.

NOPE. Walk away!

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

NOPE. Walk away!

No- RUN AWAY!

[AndiW]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

No- RUN AWAY!

Ah, can't seem to find anything suitable, and I've looked at everything from a 1982 Barth to used shuttle buses to new sprinter vans. Of course, I'm looking mainly in central Florida area. What about a 2009 Chevrolet G3500 high roof van (former handicapped?) with 6.0L Vortec engine with 201,000 miles for $7500? The guy did some sloppy conversion work on it and seems like the engine and suspension might need some work (runs stiffly), but could serve the purpose after we put more money into it. I don't want a big bus; I want something reasonably easy to drive which won't guzzle gas. I checked govdeals, public surplus, Craigslist and FBook Marketplace.

[Johnny Mullet]

The 6.0L GM gasoline engine is a great power plant. Price seems high.

[AndiW]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

The 6.0L GM gasoline engine is a great power plant. Price seems high.

Yeah, that's because he did so much "work" on it, although he's the only one in the world who can see the value of his work. Wish I could find one that hadn't been worked on. Says price is firm.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

I would stay away from any bus with the 6.0L or newer diesel engines for several reasons.

The first is they are impossible to work on in the bus and cost a small fortune to pull out to work on them. When they have to work on them in the pickups they take the cab off but you can't do that with a van/cut-away chassis bus.
.

I was talking to the fleet service manager for our local power company who maintained a bunch of E450 cutaway box trucks and he said that they pulled the cab and box off to work on them.

He also told me that the van engines (6.0) where derated compared to the pickup engines and that they had far more trouble with 6.0 pickups than they did with 6.0 vans.

I don't know either way. I'm just passing on what somebody smarter than me said.



If I had to choose between the two that you are looking at, I would definitely be looking at the 7.3.

An earlier poster mentioned that the 7.3 is one of the most reliable Ford engines. If Ford built the 7.3 I would agree. Navistar built the 7.3's and sold them to Ford for use in trucks and vans.

[AndiW]

Getting gas e450, 2000, 100,000 miles, $2500, most recently used as church bus. Spent most of its life in Delaware. Is that considered rust belt? Has a little rust but doesn't seem like much.



Someone stop me if this sounds like a bad choice. It's a V10, so I know gas mpg is not going to be great.

[cowlitzcoach]

Originally Posted by AndiW

Getting gas e450, 2000, 100,000 miles, $2500, most recently used as church bus. Spent most of its life in Delaware. Is that considered rust belt? Has a little rust but doesn't seem like much.



Someone stop me if this sounds like a bad choice. It's a V10, so I know gas mpg is not going to be great.

A V-10 can be a money pit. At 100,000 miles if it hasn't ever had a "tune-up" it is going to need one soon. The parts alone are going to cost close to $1,000.00.



Also, the transmissions used by Ford of that vintage are real weak sisters. Even behind a V-10 the life expectancy is only about 150,000 miles. Figure on at least $3,500.00.


As far as fuel mileage is concerned, it will get at least 1-3 MPG less than a GM with a 6.0L gas V-8 or a Ford with the 5.4L gas V-8.

[wrenchtech]

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

A V-10 can be a money pit. At 100,000 miles if it hasn't ever had a "tune-up" it is going to need one soon. The parts alone are going to cost close to $1,000.00.



Also, the transmissions used by Ford of that vintage are real weak sisters. Even behind a V-10 the life expectancy is only about 150,000 miles. Figure on at least $3,500.00.


As far as fuel mileage is concerned, it will get at least 1-3 MPG less than a GM with a 6.0L gas V-8 or a Ford with the 5.4L gas V-8.

On the other hand, there are people who swear by the 6.8 V-10. It is after all one of Ford’s Triton engines, which seem to make it to 300k miles in cars like the Crown Victoria and the Lincoln Towne Car. As to the cost of maintenance, you can replace all of the ten ignition coils for about $80 if you go with aftermarket parts and it only requires 5-1/2 quarts for an oil change as opposed to nearly 3 gallons in a 7.3 diesel.

I’m not an expert on Ford equipment but it seems like the Ford 4R100 transmission, while not the greatest behind it an upgraded engine, will serve well with stock horsepower and when it does fail it’s inexpensive to replace. That said, the 5R110 that Ford replaced it with in 2003 is much better.

Here is what an independent diesel mechanic who runs a Triton V-10 in his service truck says about it:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UTMtKv_k5uk