04 E350 EB Build Thread

[kbeefy]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

@kbeefy, while you're pulling coils grab yourself a batch of boots. They are just a couple bucks apiece. Grease them liberally with dielectric grease. This has solved all of my misfire problems on several Triton engines. I quit replacing actual coils years ago because most of the time they weren't bad upon checking them.

As for plugs, change em often with quality parts IMO.

This van will be for sale soon so I'm not going to throw too much money at it. It has 116k and the plugs have been done previously. They put Autolite double platinuims in, and while not my favorite they are close enough to OE to drive down the road. Boots had no tracking on them and were not deteriorated from oil contamination.




Most of my trucks are diesel so no worries about plugs, but if I were to buy any they would be OE or equivalent. On a ford thats Motorcraft, and they are plentiful and affordable.


Ford actually has a TSB out on testing the coils as early on in the modular life cycle they were being replaced excessively under warranty. If plugs are done in a timely manner and with quality parts, COP coils can last quite a while. I typically only replace them on condition.


I would also caution against being too liberal with dielectric grease. Too much and it will cause a misfire. I use it as a seal between the boot and plug body, not the electrode. Some people get that wrong.

[kbeefy]

Time for some Visual Progress....


Measured twice, marked out some cut lines, and went to town. Used Electric shears for most of the work, cutoff wheel on a grinder for cutting the roof cross ribs and channels.





I used some bumper jacks and magnets to support the roof during the final cuts.





And just like that, giant sunroof!





I lost my helper at this point, so I had to get creative moving the top around.


First I had to get it off my utility trailer. My 2 post lift worked fine for that, but then was about 1' too short to get it onto the van.



I wanted to try and use my Gantry to lift it, but had to get it off the 2 post to do so.
A transmission jack, hydraulic lift table and some sketchy cribbing did it.





After about 25 adjustments, I was able to lift the top sorta level. It was still barely enough to clear the roof, I had to drop the rear van tires down to 7psi for a couple extra inches of clearance. My Gantry frame will still go 1' higher, I will make that adjustment if I need to remove the roof.








I tried using the bumper jacks again, but they didn't work very well. I have to lift on the frame, and it is outside of the roof cutout.





With all of the extensions on one set of arms, I was able to lift high enough to get some of the cribbing out, one end at a time.






Almost down...





Last thing I did last night was to build these corner lift points that should allow me to drop the top all the way to the roof to determine what else needs to be done.





I figure the top will probably be raised/lowered at least 10 times in the next few days to figure out how to make this 3rd gen top fit my 4th gen van.

[marret]

Well done. Thanks for taking us along.

[h.grenade]

Lookin good. Quite a bit of engineering just to get it close I guess - good job!

[kbeefy]

It would be much easier if I could lift by the fiberglass top. The side frames of this thing are metal with glass and it weighs quite a bit. Guessing in the 350# neighborhood.


My lifting points worked, though I didn't think their location thru to the end. Located in the corner, they are too close to the van roof for the jack handles to move. So I flipped them over. It's a bit cumbersome, but it works. They are also a tiny bit to long, so I have to take both ends of them off to get the roof all the way down.





Top goes up





Inside








It's obvious that I'll be needing to lift this roof multiple times while fitting it, I need a better technique.


I figured out last night that if I use all of my lift adapter extensions, I can lift one end of the roof, or two arms.





If I had another set of extensions I could lift the entire roof.


I go rummaging about and find a couple pieces of tubing that are about right. Hey, I get to use my new cold cut saw!





Man that things nice. Now to stick some stuff together.





Hey look, extra extensions!





While rummaging, cutting and welding I come up with another genius idea.





Saddles! Now the whole roof is on the lift, even better than half of it was before.





Thats it for today, no real progress but it should make future progress easier. And I got to play with my saw and welder.

[SteelheadJones]

A hard-sided pop top. Wow, never seen that before.

[marret]

Awesome. Like that hard sided pop top as well.

[kbeefy]

So, my half-a$$ bumper jack lift system is pretty cumbersome, especially working by myself as I usually am.


1) position jack upside down with base and top removed.
2) hold jack close to jacking position while also holding screw portion while turning crank with other hand to apply enough tension for jack to be self supporting... While on hands and knees.

3) repeat for other side.
4) try to screw both jacks evenly to lift top enough to get cross supports in/out.
5) relieve tension on each jack attempting to keep jack from falling without using own head to catch it.
6) repeat all steps for opposite end of top because you only have 2 screw jacks....



Since this roof was designed for a 3rd gen ford, the roof profile doesn't match. I can tell it's going to go on and off a half dozen times to get it fitting how I'd like it.


I decided I needed top lifting fixture 2.0.


I bought a pair of these for testing...


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZTK9MQX...t_details&th=1





Trial run, they worked pretty good.





I still had to fumble with some blocking etc, so I drilled a couple holes and fixed the blocking to the jacks.





Now with 2 drill I can raise or lower one end pretty quickly. Still a bit of setup and repositioning to re-setup, but what took 35 minutes before only takes about 10 minutes now.








About 3 times off and on (today) and I've got the roof supports trimmed to where I want them.


I gotta make a run to town tomorrow to get some poly-iso foam and sealant before I'm ready to set the roof the final time.

[kbeefy]

Did a couple things before final install of the top,


Installed and sealed a maxxair fan





replaced edge weatherstripping with new





After that I set the roof on top and started sealing it. I still need to screw it down.

[doublevan2]

Lookin' good -- Damn ! - wish I had your garage - if you ever decide you want to sell it ! ha ha ha !