cowboy 4x4 ford van

[cowboy4x4]

The rain shut me down for work, so I worked on the van I installed 3/4 rigid insulation on the roof and the upper half of the walls. I glued it on with adheisive and then sealed all the joints/seams with foil tape. What a huge difference in the noise level, no more echos and metal sounds at all. And it will be cooler/warmer for the seasons.
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[1sweetvan]

Hey, it's really looking good. What is that Fortiflash product? Is it the stuff meant to be used around windows and flashing under the siding of a house? I've looked at it and wondered if it works for sound dampening. Does it?

[cowboy4x4]

yes its the stuff to go around windows and doors. If you can find the brand "Bituthane" it is twice as thick. I covered all the open areas first and drove it around before I put on the insulation and it def. helps dampen the the noise. Ford and other auto makers already put the same type of material inside the doors, they just dont put very much. Stainless steel sink makers also put stuff like this on their sinks to deaden the sound.

[cowboy4x4]

To everyone out there with a Ford van...... when I bought my van the back door lock was busted, it was pushed in towards the inside of the door. I thought the plastic had just broke from use as this was a previous work van. I was trying to figure out how to repair it without having to buy a whole new lic. plate,door handle assembly. I was looking at some delivery vans and noticed they (ford) and I noticed they had some type of cover over the back door lock cylnder. I took a closer look at my van and realized that it was broke on purpose, prior to me owning it. It is a poor design on fords part, all one has to do is push the lock cylnder in and the plastic will break there is a thin piece of metal on the back side which will fold away and now the lock release is totally accessable to lift up with your finger. Hence the security plate on the delivery trucks. So I made my own security plate and it repaired my broken cover as well.

Its just made from a piece of aluminum with a 1/2 hole drilled over where the lock opening is so only the key portion is visible and 4 holes to pop rivet it in place. I painted it to match so it doesnt stand out.
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this is the back side of the lock, you can see it's just a thin piece of metal. From the factory the metal is not secured in any way, there are two little plastic nub's in the bottom holes for locating purposes but nothing stopping it from being pushed inward. my metal plate now sandwiches the two together requiring major break in damage/noise to get in. The orange tab is the locking mech. so you can see once the lock is pushed in you can unlock the door with your finger.
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[TroySmith80]

hmmm, good to know!

So seriously, to break into a ford van all you have to do is give a good push on the rear key-hole? That's ridiculous! Has it been that way from '92 to current? lol. I'll have to go take a look at mine.

[cowboy4x4]

So when I'm driving I keep hearing a squeak when I go over any kind of bump. I finally pinpoint the sound, its coming from the left rear leaf spring. It seems there are some type of plastic spacers in between the leafs and mine are coming out hence the squeak. So a trip to IKEA nets me a bread board made of thin polyethylene. Cut it into strips and now waiting to take the leafs apart and install in between.
you can see here the piece that is falling out.
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[the boogie van]

sorry, but those probably won't stay in there for long. the factory sliders have plastic nubs that fit into holes on the springs.

nice work on the insulation, its such a ***** but worth it the first time you drive a non-tin can

[cowboy4x4]

Started on some upholstery work. I have to use the van for work and play, the slide out box is strictly for off road stuff. So I figured out a color scheme for the interior, the factory front is gray and I like that. I like the fact that it is more or less a neutral color and is easy to keep clean, so gray and black will be the colors. I repainted the front of the slide out box texture black and glued down some gray indoor/outdoor carpet. I'm not going to be using carpet on the floors anywhere as it is just a pain to keep clean and doing double duty just wouldn't work for me. It already has 3/4" plywood on the floor so for now I think I will just paint it with a dark gray oil based paint. At a later date once the floor plan is done I'm going to look for a type of rubber flooring that was in my fifth wheel, it was gray and had round flat top circle/bumps on it and was very durable, you could drive on it. I decided to make my own back door panels as well and will cover them with the same gray carpet.
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[cowboy4x4]

So my van is an E350 which is 1 ton and I saw another E350 1 ton and the rear axles are different. This other guys van axle sticks out throught the rim just like my Ford Dually did, where as my 1 ton van it does not its flush with the rim. Now I'm also hearing things about a "sterling" rear end. I'm wondering if I should keep my rear end (which would be cost effective in the 4x4 swap) or should I get a different rear end.

[nely]

A non-floating 1 ton rearend? Never heard of it. Any pics?

So my van is an E350 which is 1 ton and I saw another E350 1 ton and the rear axles are different. This other guys van axle sticks out throught the rim just like my Ford Dually did, where as my 1 ton van it does not its flush with the rim. Now I'm also hearing things about a "sterling" rear end. I'm wondering if I should keep my rear end (which would be cost effective in the 4x4 swap) or should I get a different rear end.

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