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Old 06-15-2015, 06:57 PM   #21
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Re: My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars

One thing worth mentioning is that I don't believe those are E-Rated tires (I may be wrong). I used to run All-Terrain TAs also and when I upgraded to E-Rated Wrangler Dura-Tracs I literally wondered how I ever managed to stay out of a wreck without them.

The improvement in ride and steering quality was amazing. Not that you want to run out and buy a whole new round of tires, but when its time I would strongly recommend going with some E rated kicks.

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Old 06-15-2015, 09:34 PM   #22
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Re: My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars

Quote:
Originally Posted by DUKCSUN
One thing worth mentioning is that I don't believe those are E-Rated tires (I may be wrong).
I don't think you're wrong. IIRC the E rated ones are called "Rugged Terrain TA".
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Old 06-18-2015, 10:16 PM   #23
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Re: My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars

I checked they are E rated. I still haven't got it jacked up to inspect the front end yet.
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Old 06-20-2015, 09:26 AM   #24
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Re: My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars

I have had my van five years now. All OEM. The feel of the ride is okay, not a Cadillac for comfort though. It is especially difficult to control at 75 mph and up. Rough roads and high winds make me real uncomfortable. I have to drop back and follow the slow trucks at times. Can't take tight curves at 55 mph either. I suspect the shocks have the most input same as Jage's opinion.

That said, it is a heavy vehicle with a high cg. We shouldn't expect too much from that and we could stand to follow speed caution signs now and then.
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Old 06-20-2015, 10:02 AM   #25
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Re: My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars

You gotta remember, I roll around with hardly any weight. Its probably less than what a full passenger weighs with all the seats etc... It has brand new Pro Comp shocks with less than 10k miles on them. And a lot of the time I don't even have my bike. And I am surrounded by tons of friends with Moto vans too. And they all are fine. So its gotta be something in the front end from normal wear and tear. I should be able to get it looked at this week. I haven't had the time to get in it yet.
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Old 06-20-2015, 01:36 PM   #26
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Re: My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars

Our 2003 E350 v10 15 Pass Quadvan TTB 4WD w/71k miles handles great at any speed. Responsive, tight, comfortable - joy to drive in the mountains, highway, etc. Loaded (over a ton) or unloaded.

Our our 2002 E350 7.3 EB Cargo Agile TTB 4WD handles great at any speed. Responsive, tight, comfortable - joy to drive in the mountains. I have not had a super heavy load in this one yet.

I had a 1989 F350 Crew Cab 4x4 for a few years - that also handled well but was very uncomfortable on a long drive. Too firm, too bouncy unless it was carrying 500 lbs.

For many, many years we had a 1976 G30 LWB Cargo Pathfinder 4WD, solid front axle - That was uncomfortable to drive and did not handle very well, especially when loaded.

My expectation is my van (any van, imho) should handle/ride very well at any speed, I should have no issue driving for 8 or more hours on the highway/roads at the end of which I am relaxed and have enjoyed the time behind the wheel. I will also add I that I expect to have no concerns about my wife driving the van while I catch some rest/sleep.
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Old 06-20-2015, 03:10 PM   #27
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Re: My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars

Your issue sounds like shocks to me. Maybe add another dampener to the front? My own ride is all sorts of squirrely when I'm fully loaded and driving at high speeds... when I need new shocks. Do you have a steering stabilizer (shock) on the front axle? If you have airbag lifts on the back, lowering them a bit while you're highway cruising can help a bit too.
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Old 07-10-2015, 10:33 PM   #28
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My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars???

Ok drove the van today for the first time since posting this thread. I aired tires up to 72 lbs. drove the best yet. Was not all over the road. I am going to try 75-80 psi cold pressure(which the tires say 80 max) sunday on the way home to see if it continues to improve.

Once I got to my location I jacked up the front end. I didn't have any wheel play from ball joints or any slop at all respectively. But a friend was saying the black boot covering the joint in the photo attached was torn and could be the issue maybe that it wouldn't hold grease if clapped out. He said it looked like I had an older gear box for the steering on the van by the looks of the rust on it. But I don't know if that holds true. What do you guys think? IMG link if the embed doesn't work. http://m.imgur.com/QH3HWgb

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Old 08-22-2015, 09:06 AM   #29
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Re: My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars

My E350 is a 2014 SMB Austin. My wife is petrified after 62 MPH. We added springs in back and it helped some. It seems to still wander and slightly jerk right or left. Replaced shocks in front with Bilstiens and replaced the stock stabilizer. I was wondering if you ever resolved the problem.
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Old 08-22-2015, 05:18 PM   #30
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Re: My Ford E350 is all over the road over 70mph - sway bars

I took it to the dealer and the guy immediately said when he drove off that the ball joints were sticking. The steering wheel is supposed to return back towards center when you turn left or right and it wouldn't. So they swapped em out and it was a huge difference. I aired up my pressure to 75-80 and it drove great. If you are on harsh roads with potholes the high pressure encourages deflection with an empty load. But overall improved a ton! My ball joints never made any noise, and I couldn't feel any slack with the steering on or off the ground. But soon as he mentioned the issue I was like Ahhh.
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