DIY 4x4 Conversion & Introduction

[Pucry]

Thanks Everyone.

The fuel tank is a tight fit. Like so tight it that when I went to install I had a moment of panic that it wasn't actually going to fit. It does hang down a bit below the bottom of the frame so perhaps this is why I had more volume then the competitors tanks.

Took this rig for its first drive today, few times around the neighborhood going max 30 km/h. I'm still waiting on longer rear shocks to arrive to didn't want to go too fast but I drove GREAT! Everything seemed stable and tight but I suppose almost anything would feel that way going that slow. lol.

Only I have an ABS light on. I used the wheel sensors that came in my new front hubs/bearings. I've spent minimal time diagnosing this but when searching I see many posts that reference using 00-04 wheel sensors to make the ABS happy. Not sure if this is relevant to all vans or just when newer SD front axles are used on older conversions. I also had to solder on different ends to attached the ABS sensors. It was a male connection on the wheel sensor and a male connection on the van so I replaced one with a female. Perhaps I've cross some wires or perhaps that isn't even relevant and the wires will work in any orientation.

If anyone can make my life easy and set me straight I'd really appreciate it......if not I'll use the old search function.

[Chinook]

Do you plan on making this bracket kit available for others to purchase if it functions as expected? If so let me know... Also let me know how those radius arms work out when you get it aligned if you dont mind.

I cant help on the ABS issue beyond saying i had read the same thing about using the 2004 sensors. I tried asking these types of specific questions on this forum prior to committing to a conversion myself.

It was quite comical in that it was nothing short of a mob verbal beat down and how i shouldnt expect to get answers to those types of questions because every van is different. Of course i wasnt asking about every van, i was asking specifically about my 2004 E-350 superduty.

[Pucry]

Originally Posted by Chinook

Do you plan on making this bracket kit available for others to purchase if it functions as expected? If so let me know... Also let me know how those radius arms work out when you get it aligned if you dont mind.

I cant help on the ABS issue beyond saying i had read the same thing about using the 2004 sensors. I tried asking these types of specific questions on this forum prior to committing to a conversion myself.

It was quite comical in that it was nothing short of a mob verbal beat down and how i shouldnt expect to get answers to those types of questions because every van is different. Of course i wasnt asking about every van, i was asking specifically about my 2004 E-350 superduty.

I have toyed with the idea of making these brackets available to others if there is interest. I feel that I've done most of the hard work and to produce additional sets from this point on isn't too difficult for me. The one potential draw back of my final set up is it's very specific to this build configuration and uses a few aftermarket components that increase the cost. For example the use of Superlift arms. Although I haven't tried but I'm confident my brackets would not work with stock radius arms. There just wouldn't be ample clearance and this may deter some people. I also don't think the ride height could be set much lower and the ride height we ended up at might not be for everyone. It was an exciting change when we decided to go bigger on 37's but parts of me wished we would have stayed on 35's and kept more stock truck or van parts as part of our build. IMO that would be a more marketable kit.

I do like how from the side there is minimal radius arm visible with this build. I'm considering doing another van for myself and keeping it a bit more conservative. I would plan to keep the frame mounts the same with the mounting location tight to the frame and build my own tube radius arms with a different angle to them. I'm confident I could do this very affordably. However I'm not sure I'm up for buying another vehicle at this point in my journey. hahaha. Local to me there is a nice low KM's diesel E350 that I've had my eye on for a few weeks but I don't know.

I sorted the ABS last night. Spent some time on Google searching how to diagnose ABS systems and got completely caught up on Passive vs Active and found lots of general information but very little vehicle specific. In my case I took the two ABS connectors apart and reversed the pigtails inside and that fixed my issue. Hooked up my code reader and cleared the two codes and life seems to be good.

I'll share what I learned but take this with a grain of salt as I am no expert and only re-sharing what I took from Youtube. My van (2009) from what I understand has active wheel sensors. I've determined this based on the fact that the vehicle is sending 12v to the wheels sensors. But I found a video of someone working on a 2005 Econoline and in the video he states it has passive wheel sensors because it doesn't not send 12v. So somewhere between 2005 and 2009 Econolines switch the type of ABS system they are using from passive to active. In my case I'm using stock replacement 2005-2010 F-250 wheel speed sensors and they appear to be working, this tells me that 2005 F-series have active wheel speed sensors. My hypothesis is that if a particular van has passive sensors (does not send 12v to the wheel) you can use 99-04 F250 sensors and if your van has active sensors (sends 12v to the wheel) 2005+ should work. Now obviously I haven't tried to prove this so no one should take it as anything more then a hypothesis. I'm sure there are enough people here we could work at proving it.

[Chinook]

Sweet, i sent you a PM, i included me email as well.

[ctb]

PUCRY, OMG I can't even comprehend the skill set you have to make:
1. Parts from sheets of steel
2. Pretty parts, meaning perfect metal cuts, perfect robot programmed looking welds
3. "I welded a bigger gas tank "looking" at others, I decided to...FOR REAL!?!
4. Do it all on in the tinniest garage for a 4x4 van ever.
5. Pictures man PICTURES!!!! We all went along on the journey!
6. "been toying with this bumper design" and THEN it WAS ON THE VAN!?!? OMG I could go on and on....

THANK YOU FOR THE AWESOME ENTERTAINMENT/EDUCATION/SADNESS...
Sadness only b/c now I am not sure I even do a good job trimming my toenails! With prices of 4x4 vans what they are, you should DEFINITELY quit your day job and start building rigs for the folks that can't wait for a build or have the MONEY to get it done! Thanks again PUCRY! Pure fun on this post!

[Pucry]

Hahaha Thanks ctb.

This is a super fun project for sure and I must admit I'm for the most part please with how things came out. Talking with the owner of the van today and he's decided to put this project on hold which is a touch disappointing. I'm certain the project is not dead as he's purchased a giant roof top tent that needs to find it's way onto this van and then the appropriate racks & ladders fabricated to facilitate. Plus we still have plans to build out the inside into his dream adventure vehicle. The build went slower then planned and I think his hope was he could use it for this summer, which up here in Canada is short and some say nearly over. Now that we are Mid-August already the feeling is summer is over and he'll put this to bed for a few months and revive it in the spring to have it ready for summer 2021 adventure season. I'll continue to share the build as it progresses.

I'll go through my phone and share some final pictures of version 1.0.

As I've said this build has really got me interested in having one of my own. If I can find a clean one I think I may just have to pull the trigger. Problem is these vans aren't exactly new anymore, most of them in my local area anyway are work vans that have many years abuse on them. Add to this the winters and salt most are starting to rust pretty good. It could take some time.

[Twoxentrix]

Pucry Have enjoyed following the project so far, and it'll be a little disappointing not seeing it come to fruition soon...kind of like watching a great "TV series", and having to endure that long pause between seasons.
Quite frankly hope you find one for yourself - you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor!

[Pucry]

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

Pucry Have enjoyed following the project so far, and it'll be a little disappointing not seeing it come to fruition soon...kind of like watching a great "TV series", and having to endure that long pause between seasons.
Quite frankly hope you find one for yourself - you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor!

It's exactly like the end of season break.

I'm still hoping to move forward on the bumper and get that finished up at least.

In the mean time I'd like to get everyone's opinions on a few van options for myself. I have 3 in my head now but may choose to wait and see if something better comes along. There is no need to rush.

Option #1. 2006 E350 Diesel. Short body. 89kms/55miles. Currently a wheel chair van, obviously nice low mileage and looks in great shape. Little worried about all the 6.0 problems. I know the vans were detuned compared to the trucks by 85hp, not sure if this makes them stand up better or not. Currently listed at $15K.

Option #2. 2003 E350 Diesel. 700kms/430miles. Extended body, I'd prefer short body but could probably get used to the extra room. Add says it was a church van that was used to drive back and forth from Canada to Mexico so all the mileage is highway. currently listed at $5k. Very cheap and leaves lots of room for maintenance and to replace and wear items.

Option #3. Keep looking. I'm not set on a diesel but would like the additional power for lugging around a lifted van and maybe pulling a trailer one day when the family is a little bigger. This current conversion is a v10 with 4.10 gears which I thought was a great set-up for the conversion. Not sure how the smaller 5.4 does when the extra strain of lift, times, increased wind drag etc.

I guess I'll add an option #4. There is a 2010 E350 that has been in an accident listed for only $2k. Body damage loos minimal, mileage is average to low for the year. Doesn't give a lot of details on drive train but I have a 94 12v cummins and 47RH that I pulled from a Dodge ram a few years back for a project that never happened. Wondering if I can somehow tackle a 4x4 swap and 12v swap in my tiny garage.

In all seriousness I'd mostly like peoples opinions on option #1 or #2.

[RememberTheFallen]

Originally Posted by Pucry

It's exactly like the end of season break.



I'm still hoping to move forward on the bumper and get that finished up at least.



In the mean time I'd like to get everyone's opinions on a few van options for myself. I have 3 in my head now but may choose to wait and see if something better comes along. There is no need to rush.



Option #1. 2006 E350 Diesel. Short body. 89kms/55miles. Currently a wheel chair van, obviously nice low mileage and looks in great shape. Little worried about all the 6.0 problems. I know the vans were detuned compared to the trucks by 85hp, not sure if this makes them stand up better or not. Currently listed at $15K.



Option #2. 2003 E350 Diesel. 700kms/430miles. Extended body, I'd prefer short body but could probably get used to the extra room. Add says it was a church van that was used to drive back and forth from Canada to Mexico so all the mileage is highway. currently listed at $5k. Very cheap and leaves lots of room for maintenance and to replace and wear items.



Option #3. Keep looking. I'm not set on a diesel but would like the additional power for lugging around a lifted van and maybe pulling a trailer one day when the family is a little bigger. This current conversion is a v10 with 4.10 gears which I thought was a great set-up for the conversion. Not sure how the smaller 5.4 does when the extra strain of lift, times, increased wind drag etc.



I guess I'll add an option #4. There is a 2010 E350 that has been in an accident listed for only $2k. Body damage loos minimal, mileage is average to low for the year. Doesn't give a lot of details on drive train but I have a 94 12v cummins and 47RH that I pulled from a Dodge ram a few years back for a project that never happened. Wondering if I can somehow tackle a 4x4 swap and 12v swap in my tiny garage.



In all seriousness I'd mostly like peoples opinions on option #1 or #2.

I have a 5.4 van and decided to try out the 6.0 diesel because I thought I wanted to tow a big camper. Figured out that I am scared of towing and don't have time to build out another van so going to sell the 6.0 and keep the 5.4.

From what I researched the 6.0 can be made reliable IF you address the big issues AND you stay on top of a strict maintenance schedule. The issues seem to be sources at the EGR and oil cooler. My plans were a coolant flush to get rid of ford coolant that causes blockages, EGR delete, replace oil cooler (flush would probably destroy old one), remote coolant filter, and blue spring mod for fuel pressure. Also add hood vents to help with heat. You are right in that the the van was detuned from the truck. With that in mind I don't think the head bolts need to be replaced with studs if you don't bump up the power much. It is a very polarizing engine though. Some love it while others detest it.

The 2nd option is a 7.3, ya? I almost bought a super high mile one years ago because everyone said "they are a million miles engine". That may be true but every other part on the van had half a million miles on it too. The bushings, bearings, etc were not "million mile".

Good luck in your search!

[schluchtenflitzer]

i would go with option 2. Yeah lots of miles, but lots of things you will change anyway (axle front, maybe rear, tranny overhaul while changing the shaft, ratio in the rear .......) So the main reason for a go or nogo for me would be rust. If it is "free" of rust than go with the 7.3.
It is an amacing engine, very reliable and it can handle bad fuel (very good if you like traveling)
we drove all aroznd africa and now we are in Saudi Arabia. Since we left we made now more than 150000 km in that 5 years without any single problem with the engine. Most of that was on very bad "roads" Many of them could be also in an offroad park -lol-
www.dieda-unterwegs.net