I'm looking at the recenty-acquired specification/order sheet for my 2005 E350 2WD, printed for me by a Ford dealer last month. I bought the van used (3rd owner) last fall; it started its life as a fleet passenger van.
Buried in the list of specs it says:
AXLE - FINAL DRIVE RATIO - SINGLE SPEED
EGAJB . . . . 3.73 FINAL DRIVE RATIO
AXLE DIFFERENTIAL - REAR
EGJAB . . . . NON-LIMITED SLIP REAR AXLE
Is a non-limited slip rear axle the same as an "open" axle? This would be a bummer since the second owner told me it had a limited slip rear axle.
Does this mean that going off-pavement (NFS roads, logging roads, even loose gravel roads) would be a bad idea in this van, even with quite a bit of weight on the rear axle? (And what is "quite a bit of weight" -- a few sandbags?) I'd like to be able to take it anywhere my 2WD Ford Explorer could go.
It did pretty well on the rough dirt roads on the Navajo reservations in October, as well as some NFS dirt roads, but those were pretty well packed. I'd hate to think that this van is limited to pavement!