God help me, I'm looking at a Ford

[Dewey Cox]

I'm looking at a new work van, and giving serious consideration to a long, tall, Ford transit 1 ton dually.
Anyone have any comments or considerations about a 3.5L v6 (not the eco boost), and 10 speed tranny?
I haven't really paid any attention to what Ford has been doing, because I thought it didn't apply to me.
Well, chevy doesn't make high roof cargo van, so here we are...

[bagwan]

For a second I thought you meant that chubby Premier of Ontario.
Talk to your fellow plumbers at Action Plumbing in Stettler as they have about three of them.

[amosfella]

Have a look at the Mercedes Sprinter ones. You can get a diesel in them too. Keep the oil changed, and they're pretty good. They have a high top option, and I think they have the longest wheelbase available as well.

No comment on the ford.

[RandyBoBandy]

Talk to cabertosser, I believe he has a Sprinter as mentioned in the above post :)

[Trochu]

Well, I don't own one, but I think they sell more Transits than Sprinters, NV, Promasters, and Expresses combined, or close to it, so presumably, they are doing something right.

Think that PDFi engine is pretty new, haven't heard anything bad about it yet. The V6 Duratec it replaced was getting old, but was reasonably reliable from what I understand. If you're into that kind of thing, at one time it was on Ward's 10 Best list as well.

We've got the 10 spd in a truck at work, no issues yet.

[Dewey Cox]

The Mercedes are nice, but kind of pricey.
And I'm too far away from any dealerships for warranty work.

[CaberTosser]

I've driven the Transit and have a Sprinter. I got a Transit rental while my van was in the body shop following a deer collision. The Transit was OK and easier for ingress & egress as the seating position is significantly lower, but I've grown to like the high seating position in my 4x4 Sprinter in terms of visibility and seeing over other traffic. I'm usually slightly higher than those seated in 3500 4x4 Super Doodies and higher so far as eyeball level goes than many 4" lifted trucks on 35"s. Its 9'4" tall from the factory and I have slightly larger tires so add another 1/2", there's lots of drive-thru's I can't use, for instance its to tall to reach down at a drive-thru bank machine so that's all walk-in now, the Ford should be an easy reach though. Both have the gas door right behind the drivers door, so you have to pull a bit forward from the pump to allow people to use the pump behind you, I've always been conscious of this as some dork in once blocked me from the only available pump by not pulling forward as I mentioned (at the time I was driving a GMC, so the gas door required me to be 'regular'

The Transits are very comparable in terms of cargo space and headroom, though I'm not a fan of their longer rear overhang on the longer models, that's definitely going to drag on some steep driveways. The cargo area in mine has 6'3" of headroom, I'm 5'10" and change and with work boots on I can just put my fist between my head & the roof.

I understand the Fords are now available in AWD but don't know if the dually has it yet, Merc has had the 4x4 for around 10 years.

I have a 2018 Sprinter, they changed the front end and interior for 2019 and I'd sure prefer the current 7 speed transmission in the 3.0 to the 5 speed that I have, the dashboards are more North American now as well, far better cupholders for large drinks and such. The 2.1 L is not available in the 4x4, only the 3.0, I've heard good things about the 2.1 being really frugal on fuel, and this was from another plumber who had his quite laden. Not sure if the 2.1 comes in a dually though...hmm.

https://i.imgur.com/VoiXqOi.jpg

[amosfella]

I have a 2018 Sprinter, they changed the front end and interior for 2019 and I'd sure prefer the current 7 speed transmission in the 3.0 to the 5 speed that I have, the dashboards are more North American now as well, far better cupholders for large drinks and such. The 2.1 L is not available in the 4x4, only the 3.0, I've heard good things about the 2.1 being really frugal on fuel, and this was from another plumber who had his quite laden. Not sure if the 2.1 comes in a dually though...hmm.

https://i.imgur.com/VoiXqOi.jpg

Commenting on the transmission. I believe the 5 speed you're referring to is the 722.6 or NAG-1. And the 7 speed is the 7-gtronic or 722.9. I'd personally go with the 5 speed, as it's more user friendly. You can service it yourself without special equipment (Oil changes and filters), and the 5 speed holds a lot more power stock than the 7 speed. The 7 speed can only hold 3/4 the power and load of the 5 speed. However, the 7 speed has a 2 speed reverse.

If you need repair, the 5 speed is a lot easier both mechanically and electronically. You can also swap out the transmission on the 5 speed with no real problems other than checking that the valve body has the correct settings/springs for the HP you're using it for. Good used transmissions can be had for under $1000. Rebuild kits are cheap. It is a very very widely used transmission.

The 7 speed is vin locked. They're very painful to change over to a different VIN. This is in the electronic conductor plate. This conductor plate is also the most common problem with the 7 speed. That's a very expensive part to get a new one, or to somehow vin swap it so it can be used in a different vehicle than it was set for. Generally guys send the old and the new conductor plates out, and get a guy (usually eastern european) to unsolder and resolder the vin chip on the board. Some places when swapping those parts to a different vehicle will swap the ignition, gear shifter, ecu and tcu to make the repair work. If you don't swap out all those parts, and maybe a few more vehicle specific other parts, the anti theft will lock the vehicle's engine down and it won't start. There's more complications, but that's just a brief overview of the problems with the 7 gtronic transmission.

[Redneck 7]

I'm looking at a new work van, and giving serious consideration to a long, tall, Ford transit 1 ton dually.
Anyone have any comments or considerations about a 3.5L v6 (not the eco boost), and 10 speed tranny?
I haven't really paid any attention to what Ford has been doing, because I thought it didn't apply to me.
Well, chevy doesn't make high roof cargo van, so here we are...

My F150 is a 3.5L with no turbos, and I have just under 177k km on it from when I bought it new in 2017. I haven’t had a single issue with the truck mechanical or engine wise. Except that time my throttle body froze shut from condensation when it was -45 last winter. I don’t have any experience with the 10 speed transmission. My truck truthfully feels a little gutless compared to the wife eco boost f150 but it is great on fuel and has been very reliable. I think in your platform as a van, it would work great and paired up with the 10 speed it would perform better with heavy loads. I tow with my truck and it does pretty good for hauling my camper, quads, and the stock trailer.

[eagleflyfisher]

I’m looking for a new van as well, I see transit has an AWD.
I’d love a 4x4 sprinter but the price ...
A pro master looks good but that rear axle clearance concerns me ?

[Dewey Cox]

The front wheel drive is definitely keeping me away from the dodge pro master.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Have they addressed the rust issues with the Sprinter? IIRC the earlier models were bad for that...

[CaberTosser]

Amosfella, are you a Mercedes mechanic? That’s some in-depth detail, that 7-speed trans sound awful. I was just thinking that lower rpm from 2 extra gears would save me some fuel at highway speeds. The 5 speed in mine did have to be replaced on warranty, it got into a mode where it wouldn’t shift into 3rd gear or higher. Prior to that it would very intermittently suffer from some really hard shifts, which would then disappear for weeks and you’d not bother to bring it in as the issue went away. I did mention it when dropping it off for routine service though.

I did an online build of an AWD Transit last night after reading this and it did wind up a good $16k less than the sticker price on mine, you could get one of those with a complete professional shelving package for what a bare Sprinter costs. My shelving package and extras I put in ran that much (aluminum shelving and deep stacked drawer system, spray foam, tool chests, Line-X)

The Dodge Promasters to me are just plain ugly, and I’m also not a fan of the idea of FWD on such a vehicle.

[beerhunter]

I have some experience up fitting the Transit Vans. They seem to be a very good fit for most and are probably the most practical cost wise.

One issue we have had and Ford knows about and will not warranty.

When you start the vehicle up and move it, if you do not let it run long enough to get the engine up to operating temp (approx. 15 min), if you shut it off then try to start it up it will not start as it floods the spark plugs. In the process of trying to start the van it will turn over and over but not fire. If this happens you need to change the spark plugs as this fouls all the plugs.

This wouldn't be a typical issue for most people but just a warning if you are on a site and working and then you just start up and go across a parking lot and then shut off this is what may happen. Takes our non Ford mechanic, but journeyman, about 6 hours to change.

[amosfella]

Amosfella, are you a Mercedes mechanic? That’s some in-depth detail, that 7-speed trans sound awful. I was just thinking that lower rpm from 2 extra gears would save me some fuel at highway speeds. The 5 speed in mine did have to be replaced on warranty, it got into a mode where it wouldn’t shift into 3rd gear or higher. Prior to that it would very intermittently suffer from some really hard shifts, which would then disappear for weeks and you’d not bother to bring it in as the issue went away. I did mention it when dropping it off for routine service though.

I did an online build of an AWD Transit last night after reading this and it did wind up a good $16k less than the sticker price on mine, you could get one of those with a complete professional shelving package for what a bare Sprinter costs. My shelving package and extras I put in ran that much (aluminum shelving and deep stacked drawer system, spray foam, tool chests, Line-X)

The Dodge Promasters to me are just plain ugly, and I’m also not a fan of the idea of FWD on such a vehicle.

I'm not a Mercedes mechanic. I'm just friends with a guy in the US that does a lot of work with these cars. He rebuilds a lot of the electronics and transmissions. I use a few of the Mercedes older cars, so when I was last looking for another car, I had a talk with this guy. A lot of the mid 2000s mercedes are cheap, easy to work on, pretty solid, lots of parts available, and a lot of fun to drive. So, I play with them.

The 7 speed is quite nice when it works. It's just not DIY friendly when it doesn't. Changing the oil requires about $250US of special tools, but isn't overly complicated. It's probably simpler than the 5 speed. However when you have a problem, and the vehicle is out of warranty, and you depend on said vehicle for you livelihood, you don't have 3-5 weeks to send plates off to have vins swapped, etc., on the 7 speed. You need it going yesterday. That's how I look at it.

It sounds like you had a valve body issue in your 5 speed. Dealership techs don't tend to open those transmissions further than to take the pan off to change the oil filter. If there's anything repeatable that a quick reprogram cannot fix, the dealership swaps them.

As I recall, Mercedes has the idiotic idea that you change the oil at 60,000 km, then the trans is sealed for life. I'm of the opinion that if you want a long life out of these transmissions, changing the oil and filters every 40,000-60,000 km is necessary.

At one time, I talked with a service writer at Lone Star, and she was adamant that the transmission was sealed for life with the oil that came from the factory. They also wouldn't change the transfer case oil, even though they sold the oil at the parts department. The transfer case oil is a grade only made for mercedes as is the final drive oil. The transmission oil is common. I can order it in at UFA.

But I guess that depends on if you look at the life cycle of a vehicle. Many look at vehicles as only a 5 year life. So, likely those vehicles will last 5 years without changing those oils. If you decide to keep it longer, the owners may want to rethink that idea long before the 5 years are up.

A 2004 station wagon I have use of, when I changed all the oils in it, the final drives, the transfer case, and the transmission didn't look too bad. No shavings, not too discolored, no burned smell, but after I changed them, the car felt a whole lot better. The transmission, final drives, and transfer case all had the factory seals still on those parts on that car when I got use of it at 190,000 km. I think it's getting close to time for me to change the oils in it again.

[Brankon]

I have some experience up fitting the Transit Vans. They seem to be a very good fit for most and are probably the most practical cost wise.

One issue we have had and Ford knows about and will not warranty.

When you start the vehicle up and move it, if you do not let it run long enough to get the engine up to operating temp (approx. 15 min), if you shut it off then try to start it up it will not start as it floods the spark plugs. In the process of trying to start the van it will turn over and over but not fire. If this happens you need to change the spark plugs as this fouls all the plugs.

This wouldn't be a typical issue for most people but just a warning if you are on a site and working and then you just start up and go across a parking lot and then shut off this is what may happen. Takes our non Ford mechanic, but journeyman, about 6 hours to change.

Have you ever thought to try pinning the gas on the floor if it fouls the plugs? When you pin the gas and try to start it the computer cuts off the fuel pump and you could try to crank the engine over for a while vs spending 6 hours to replace plugs? I'm not certain if it would work or not but it definitely would be worth a shot to try. My old fuel injected skidoo owners manual said the same thing if it ever fouled plugs, hold throttle wide open and crank it over a bunch to clear everything out

[raab]

I have a 2015 Transit 350 with the 3.7L V6. Very nice to drive, with lots of room. Honestly handles very well for a vehicle that's so big. I'd buy another one if I had a need for it. If you're just in the city you can get an all electric transit van this year.

[beerhunter]

Have you ever thought to try pinning the gas on the floor if it fouls the plugs? When you pin the gas and try to start it the computer cuts off the fuel pump and you could try to crank the engine over for a while vs spending 6 hours to replace plugs? I'm not certain if it would work or not but it definitely would be worth a shot to try. My old fuel injected skidoo owners manual said the same thing if it ever fouled plugs, hold throttle wide open and crank it over a bunch to clear everything out

Yes they say that if you try this right away it may work and not foul the plugs. But if you don't know this is an issue and you just keep cranking from the beginning you foul the plugs and then this procedure doesn't work. The plugs are toast and you have to replace them.

[ChrisGrohms]

Isuzu NPR with a 14’ cube is what I had. I now have a 14’ trailer for the odd jobs I do and it’s a real PITA compared to a van.
Grumman vans are very good work vans as well and a heck of a lot cheaper than a sprinter.
I always thought the ultimate trades van would be a mitsubishi fuso fg. 4x4 cab over with a 7x14’ cube set up with shelving and the works. Super singles on the rear and a big bush bumper on the front lol.
Once you get used to driving a cab over you will never go back. They turn On a dime and for the most part are fairly reliable.

[Ken07AOVette]

from facebook

Gino Colangeli
Edmonton Buy/Sell/Trade (ORIGINAL)
1tS7rpSonsorehdhdc ·
2018 F250 Transit Van
Gasoline engine
We can help with financing
AMVIC license #S1003872
price does not include gst
STOCK # UFR1995A
$35,995

[Dewey Cox]

"Gino" just sounds like a used car salesman's name.

[CaberTosser]

"Gino" just sounds like a used car salesman's name.

Be sure to spray the entire interior and cargo area with Luminol and view with a black light during a pre-purchase inspection! Look for carpet fibers and duct tape residue as well.

[Ken07AOVette]

Be sure to spray the entire interior and cargo area with Luminol and view with a black light during a pre-purchase inspection! Look for carpet fibers and duct tape residue as well.

Hey! You said you would never talk about 'that'! :sign0176: