Life expectency of a 2001 diesel E450

[JohnBoy]

Hello All,

First time posting here.

The volunteer service that I am on is considering replacing its 2001 E450 with (same year) Road Rescue box. This service has had this rig its entire service life, and has had the normal routine maintenance done by a Ford certified diesel shop.

Currently this rig has 100,000 miles on it. The vast majority of those miles have been 'highway' miles to and from our local hospital. (Approximately 40 miles from its post location.) Since we are not a full time service this rig has virtually no idling hours on it.

My question is: How many miles would most services put on this before retiring it?

The dilemma we are in; is that we have other equipment wants/needs that would be put on hold by purchasing a new rig.


Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks.

(edit)

The main complaint with this rig is that it rides rough. We are unsure if a suspension overhaul will fix this problem, or if its just the nature of the beast.

 

[Akulahawk]

7.3L diesel? If the engine has been properly maintained and the driveline hasn't been horribly abused, they should go quite a while before needing to be retired. The key thing is preventative maintenance. I've never owned/driven an E-450 but I'm somewhat familiar with the platform. Those will have a pretty stiff suspension because of the higher GVWR rating and that can translate into a rougher ride. I figure that if an E350 can go quite a while (I've seen >300k miles), so can an E450. Just be careful with the E4OD transmission if it's what is on that vehicle. They don't like to be flogged on if they're stock. Apparently some aftermarket parts can make them quite rugged though.

 

[WWFDCorrie]

As long as its been maintiained and not abused, they can last for well over 300k miles.

It really more depends on how its being upkeeped though. One of our neighbor departments has the same truck -- and they all say it has Square wheels on it, it rides so rough.

 

[Frozennoodle]

Services in my area have been known to run trucks as many as 300k miles. Those trucks are complete garbage, breakdown constantly, with climate control issues or no climate control at all. A popular Acadian tactic is to repair and refinish the box and put it on a new F350 frame. They have, "brand new" units with wood paneling from the 70's in the back but everything works fine because they replace broken parts. My 911 municipal buys x units per year and tries to keep units with more than 120k off the road. Budgetary constraints have kinda prevented that this year because our revenue goes to the municipality then is redistributed back to us with a chunk taken out.

If you can afford to buy a new truck without compromising payroll, logistics, and education then by all means go for it but if you're like most services with budget woes then make cheap repairs. It all really depends on how much overhead you have and how much debt you're carrying.

 

[usalsfyre]

I've seen 500k on 350s before.

 

[shfd739]

That truck has another 11 years left in it. Look at what suspension option are available to improve the ride. That will be alot cheaper than a new unit.

I rode in a Wheeled Coach E450 for years and hated the ride. I have seen those chassis with air ride so that may help.

 

[Jon]

The 7.3 L Powerstroke was an awesome engine. There is nothing as good out there now.
Read this article, and contact the author before you ditch them: http://www.jems.com/article/vehicle-ops/how-keep-your-rig-overheating

PM is important. Perhaps a refurb of the box?

 

[Handsome Robb]

My unit with the 7.3l powerstroke has 320k miles and runs like a champion. We have some backup units with upwards of 350k but they are getting replaced, still run fine though.

 

[SixEightWhiskey]

I work for a private IFT/911 company that has a fleet of 40+ vehicles. All are Ford diesels, comprised of a variety of different brands of Type IIs and Type IIIs, and ranging in age from a couple of years old to nearly 10 year old trucks (our owner is, how you say, a cheap ). Several of our trucks are former 911 trucks that were retired from service due to mileage and have been put back on the road as transfer trucks.

Both my regular and back-up truck at my station are Type IIs have over 400k and are 2004-2005 models. This particular company is renowned for having poor maintenance policies; that is, trucks are not fixed until they are COMPLETELY broken and being towed back to our garage. But despite oil/fluid changes few and far between (again, management not wanting to spend money on PM), these diesels always start and drive well. Obviously at that mileage/age, things break and need to be replaced, but seeing how well they hold up under the worst conditions and poor maintenance, I'd never want to drive anything besides a diesel.