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Ford EconolineThere's more to the Econoline's staying power than Ford simply sticking with a product that has been the No. 1-selling full-size van since 1980. The Econoline has received only minor changes over the years. The result is a cargo van that looks different, but is still very much the same. For many E-Series customers, that is the best news of all.
My past experience is with the (bulletproof) 300 ci inline 6. Now I'm looking at used e-250s, and lots of them have the 4.2. Is that engine just a 351w with two cylinders chopped off? Or a newer design? Will it give me 200k miles? OR is it one of these modern things that needs rebuilding every 100k?
I believe the V6 is a 60 deg design, so it's not a V8 with two cylinders lopped off.
Good friend has an Exploder with the 4 liter V6, and he tows an 18 ft boat to Shasta every year; no problems, although he's a VERY meticulous maintainer, and it has over 100K miles on it.
Why do I call it an "Exploder"? Cottman's Transmission, in Anchorage, calls them that, because they provide them with a lot of business.
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Ed in San Jose. '06 E450 V10, 31 ft Jamboree GT class C motorhome.
I had an 03 e250 with the 4.2 and it was AWFUL. It should be against the law
to put such an underpowred engine in a van. It was a work van, but I didn't
have much wieght in it. The real kicker is it only got a gallon or 2 better gas
mileage than my newer van with the 5.4
There are a lot of 4.2 V6 E150's and E250's roaming the streets here. I purchase the weekly autotrader just to see what's out there and its amazing to see how many miles can go on those engines! The standard engine is the 4.6L which is also a fine engine. If ford makes anything good - its engines.
The 4.2L is a big brother to the 3.8L that was in some Canadian built F100/150s in the early to mid 80's and the 3.8L that was in the Taurus/Sable. That engine has had it's issues with head gaskets and timing cover gasket problems over the years. I made mistake of buying a 1998 F series with one, it developed a coolant leak into the oil via a bad headgasket at 41k, A buddy had the same problem at 54k. It's underpowered, and a poor substitute for the ever reliable 300 I6. I would no way ever own another. I should have known better when I bought mine, I had worked in Ford dealers for years and saw some real nightmares with that engine when they first came out, not to mention the problems it's cousin the 3.8L has always had.
My truck was garage kept and lightly used with good maintenance, I fixed it and sold it several years ago. I went back to an older style truck to avoid the newer engine. The 300 E350 I bought to replace it has over 350k on it and is still going strong. (I wish my 91 Conversion van had the 300 as well).
They may have made that engine better since its release in '97 or so, but it's no truck engine, go with at least a 4.6L V8 or keep your 300ci I6.
Last edited by reelfishin; 03-26-2008 at 11:30 PM.
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4.2 v6 any good? 
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