CrabbyMcNab's Adventure with Blunderbuss

[CrabbyMcNab]

After finding about this cool idea of a 4WD van I found and joined Expo 2 years ago

Introducing Blunderbuss...2005 E350 XLT; 6.0L with 74,000 mileage, Grey cloth interior and sliding door, Maroon (Burgundy?)

I had scoured the internet rigorously and after many close calls (or near misses), this van popped up and hadn’t even been available at the dealership for pictures. The van came from Illinois being owned by an agricultural seed company that used the van to transport their guys to the fields during the growing season. It didn’t see winter roads, and I believe that if it did, wasn’t very many. The fleet was traded/sold and the van wound up at the Ford dealer in Wisconsin. Was a super smooth transaction, purchased sight unseen, but the salesman went out of his way to take pictures, video and answer all my questions during the process.
I used Montway to ship the van from Wisconsin to Maryland. Originally I was going to go get it, but life happens. Montway (the broker) puts the “job” out and shipping companies agree to the transport job and the delivery happens. 4 different shipping companies accepted the delivery...then immediately cancelled. Too far out of the way and too far off their route. I guess Plattesville, WI is off the beaten path. The last finally agreed for an extra $200. Was it worth it? The van is here and I guess that’s all that matters!
First impressions, the van is great. Typical imperfections such as small dents or small scratches. Runs like a champ. Cruises great down the highway, hovering below 2K RPMs, smooth acceleration and stopping. I already enjoy driving the van over the 08 Titan. The kids want to take the van everywhere. Passed Maryland’s strict inspection, no emissions required for diesels! It’s tagged and titled already, we are legal.

Took the van for a shakedown trip, semi local. Headed up to Thurmont, Maryland to drive around Catoctin Mountain Park (www.nps.gov/cato) and the surrounding area. The van handled the highways and byways as we took in the scenery of the mountains of Frederick County Maryland. The wife, who hasn’t gotten used to the diesel sounds, thinks it’s loud. The kids and I have no issues. Drove 100 miles or so and used hardly any fuel. Around town I averaged 15mpg or so.

Took the van on a road trip to Emerald Isle, North Carolina. It’s a shame that Ujoint isn’t on the way, I would have loved to have stopped in. First time to the "Crystal Coast" area, and we loved it. The Waters were much calmer, cleaner, clearer and more peaceful then Maryland beaches could ever be. Took a drive through the 160,000 acre Croatan National Forest, really cool driving around the only coastal forest in the East. Visited Beaufort (third oldest town in NC and previous home to Blackbeard), will definitely go back. A 35 gallon tank is a beast, I was at 350 miles and still had a 1/4 or more to go. Impressions from the trip:
• The van is the ultimate long distance hauler,
• Tons of storage capacity, even with just the rear most seat out,
• Love being up high to check out what’s up ahead in traffic,
• Surprised at the upwards of almost 18mpg on the highway
• Sounds of the van grow on you and the passengers, you tune them out and conversations can be had by all
• The van is in dire need of running boards, nerf bars or steps of some kind. My short legged family is having difficulties getting in,
• Sliding door handle will no longer open the door from the outside, I need to remove the inner panel to figure out why it stopped working

Dealer pictures attached.

 

[CrabbyMcNab]

Already thinking about making the vehicle as sound as possible. I'm pretty decent when it comes to vehicle maintenance and working on my trucks, jeep, cars. I'm confident I can accomplish the tasks, just given enough time. I have preliminarily put together the "customary" list of typical 6.0 upgrades:
-Canister style/external coolant filter from Sinister, Would like to flush the coolant and do the below mods all at the same time
-Some type of engine monitoring equipment, either Scangauge II with an additional pyrometer and Fuel Pressure Gauge (the problem being the XLT package has the driver side hand bar on the pillar); Or possible an Edge CTS - Thoughts on either?
-EGR Delete (sinister an ok unit?)
-Oil Cooler Upgrade while I am in their doing the EGR

-I would love to get some more insulation/sound deadening in this thing. Granted it's not bad, but could be better
-Possible upgrade the exhaust, down-pipe back
-Sienna seats in the front and for my children! PM inbound MG
-Trying to trade a local guy my canoe to make some steps/boards/nerf bars...we'll see how that works out

Thoughts or things I may be missing right off the bat?

 

[dcguillory]

Both batteries on the frame rail. Is that normal for the 6.0s?

 

[CrabbyMcNab]

Both batteries on the frame rail. Is that normal for the 6.0s?

You got me, I'm a 6.0 newbie. There isn't much room under the hood.

 

[djbonsu]

Both batteries on the frame rail. Is that normal for the 6.0s?

Yes 6.0s vans have both batteries on the frame. I believe there is also a "jump start" post somewhere local to the batteries boxes as well. Congrats on the van purchase OP! The van is young at heart but you are doing the necessary maintenance/upgrades to keep it on the road for a long time. I would also considering upgrading the FICM which I hear can take a dump at any given time. Some do and some dont....definitely do the scangauge II and pyrometer and maybe a tuner. Other than that, I think you have got it covered.

 

[CrabbyMcNab]

Yup, there is a positive terminal "jump start" post next to the rear-most battery on the rail.
Can't wait for the first time I need it, the other vehicle owner will probably have a ****** moment when I run the cables to the frame rail

 

[bknudtsen]

Congrats on finally finding your van! Looks like a good unit. Seems like you are on the right track. Couple of suggestions.
-Buy the Scangauge right away so you can see how your systems are doing right now.
-Dieselsite coolant filter is the way to go. Check my build for how I plumbed mine using the rear heat lines. (Assume you have rear A/C & heat.)
-No need to upgrade the oil cooler. Just make sure you replace it with an OEM Ford unit.
-Upgraded exhaust helps with EGT's, but will increase in cabin drone.
-Sinister Diesel EGR delete is fine.
-Get your van on a battery tender right away. Your FICM's health depends on good batteries. I plug mine in everyday.

 

[CrabbyMcNab]

Thanks BK.
Scangauge II should be here today. Will be hooking it up this weekend to begin monitoring the health of this beast.

I read about the issues a few had with the FICM. As my van is a daily driver, do I still need to hook up the tender? This is the battery tender I currently have and use to charge the batteries for my 5 year old's jeep, should work for the 12 volt van batteries. I'll be curious to know the voltage once the SCII gets here. I'll report back my findings.

From Powerstroke.org on monitoring the FICM Voltage: "*FICM Voltage: Critical for the prevention of injector failure, and troubleshooting hard start/no start conditions. Normal 47.5-48.5v (Those running high voltage FICMs will only see 50.0v displayed as that is all the PCM recognizes) At no time when operating or during cranking should this valve drop below 45v, that's the threshold for a rebuild or upgrade to the FICM." and;
"Another neglected aspect of the 6.0L that will lead to hard/no-start conditions and injector failure. Voltage on your FICM shouldn't ever be below 45v during start up of the truck, and should rest between 47.5-48.5v while at idle or driving. Those members with units with a 53v or 58v powerboard, be advised that only 50v will be noticed by the PCM, and relayed to your Monitor. For those who have low voltage: 1) Check the batteries, ensure you are seeing proper voltage and good cranking amps. Once you verify the batteries, you have a few options to solve the problem: 1) Get the kit to rebuild the FICM from Bullet Proof Diesel, maintaining your logic board, and current FICM tuning. 2) Send your FICM to a repair location (FICMrepair.com has some good reviews) 3) Get a new updated/upgraded unit from IDP or Swamps. 4)Get a new FICM from Ford (not the best answer out there)."

FICMrepair.com also has some good information I didn't know about.

 

[proper4wd]

I had an F350 that had the FICM fail. With no warning it just did not want to start one day. Ended up having to get a new (reman) unit fedexed to me at my hotel in Boulder, CO and changed it out in the parking lot. I would treat updating the FICM to a heavy duty unit as a critical upgrade if you will frequently be away from civilization - I'm lucky that mine failed where it did and not 2 days later in the middle of the Utah desert.

 

[bknudtsen]

That's the tender I use. I hooked up a quick disconnect to the battery lug on the power distribution panel under the hood and ran it through the grill. From what I understand, the alternators on these rigs are inadequate, and rarely bring the batteries to full charge. What I can say from experience is that my rig starts way easier on tended batteries than untended, even when driven regularly. The main issue I guess is that the alternator may not start charging for up to two minutes after startup. Watch your scangauge when you get it. The voltage drops substantially at startup. I monitor voltage, FICM main power, coolant temp, and oil temp.

 

[gggplaya]

Quigley 4X4 isn't too far from you, it's in my area near York PA. I see plenty of VAN's with their conversions around here because i work in New Holland/Intercourse which is the heart of amish country. Since the amish can't drive, they contract "the english" to taxi them everywhere, there are tons of illigitimate amish taxi drivers around here all with large ford E350 and chevy variants. Some with the 4x4 conversion to move them around in the snow and on farms.

 

[CrabbyMcNab]

So I've had three separate instances where people were expecting more than my two kids getting out of the van. One was actually worried when I pulled into the townhouse development, she was expecting 5or 6 kids were moving in.

 

[costal_cat]

After finding about this cool idea of a 4WD van I found and joined Expo 2 years ago



Took the van on a road trip to Emerald Isle, North Carolina. It’s a shame that Ujoint isn’t on the way, I would have loved to have stopped in. First time to the "Crystal Coast" area, and we loved it. The Waters were much calmer, cleaner, clearer and more peaceful then Maryland beaches could ever be. Took a drive through the 160,000 acre Croatan National Forest[/URL], really cool driving around the only coastal forest in the East. Visited Beaufort (third oldest town in NC and previous home to Blackbeard), will definitely go back. A 35 gallon tank is a beast, I was at 350 miles and still had a 1/4 or more to go.

Hey just joined up but noticed you came through EI. If you come back down let me know would love to check out the van.. assuming you can private message in this forum like others...

There are some cool trips further up the Outer Banks where you can air down and hit the beach with Blunderbuss!

I have an 87 VW Syncro Westy with a Jetta TDI conversion, so anything diesel I'm a big fan of!

I really like what you have to work with there....

 

[CrabbyMcNab]

Coastal...We loved Emerald Isle! It was a spectacular and peaceful place. Nothing like the hectic style of the beaches up here in MD.
One day I may be able to tackle the sand, right now essentially being a single wheel drive having no limited slip and no locker, I am in no position to beach it (I would literally beach this whale if I tried it)

We did "overland" the forest service roads in the Croatan. It was a really cool forest (I have a relationship with NF and will visit them any chance I can get). The main road running through the forest is the widest gravel road I have ever been on, it was as large as a four/six lane highway! I would love to check out your Westy the next time we head down, possibly next August. In the meantime, if you make it further up the coast, I'm about 30 minutes from DC.

 

[costal_cat]

right on I will keep that in mind! I used to be up in Germantown so we come up every so often. Good luck with the ride!