Any Ford RV/ Motorhome experts on here?

I don't recall ever having problems with EFI on the 94 F250 with the 460 I used to own.

The E4OD in that truck was another story. I've often said the "torquers" are hard on them. But after talking and reading I'm starting to think it's hit or miss. Or I had a lemon.

The E4OD in my Bronco has been trouble free and I have over 188,000 on it and I don't think it has ever had any major work on it.

old55pete wrote

You have a flair side with a warmed up 302, that should be plenty to safely pull one of these and they pull a lot better then a bumper pull trailer. Plus the added advantages already mentioned above about trailers.

I don't know how well my '84 would pull anything. With the 5spd and the 3.08 diff, she has pretty long legs. They did come from the factory like that after 1987, but I'd say they were pretty light duty.

There are several reasons for the RV, but the main reason is so we can have our dogs with us...and they weigh 70 lbs each. We can't all fit in the cab of my truck.

If I had a proper pickup for a daily driver, then I'd buy a trailer pretty quickly...it would make more sense.

Gary Lewis wrote

The MPC shows the 460's getting EFI in '88, with the exception of the F53 Stripped Chassis, which apparently stayed carb'd in '89 so much have been EFI'd in '90.

But I don't know that I'd worry too much about the first gen EFI.  It was EEC-IV, which means speed density and bank-fire.  The 460 didn't get EEC-V with MAF and sequential until '96, and then only in CA.  But if you are staying stock then the EEC-IV shouldn't be a problem.

And the 460 had the C6 until '89 when it got the E4OD.  The early E4's had some problems, but if you are going to drive very many miles the OD would be really nice to have.

So we went to look at two RV's today, and going to go see another on Tuesday. They are all 460 EFI with the E4OD trans. Mostly 1990-1992 stuff. There is another one a fair distance away that is really cheap, but the seller tells me that it has a cracked manifold...and another guy told me today to watch for cracked manifolds on the 460. Is this a known issue with the 460's?

Everybody says they have lots of power, and one guy pulls an enclosed trailer with a drag car in it with his and says it works fine.

My issue with the early EFI systems is when they stop working right. I know when they're working properly they do work well, but I see a lot of people online struggling with them when they have a problem with them. I also see a lot of early EFI trucks converted to carb...I guess that is the default thing to do when you can't make them work right (or you mod them).

Rembrant wrote

I also see a lot of early EFI trucks converted to carb...I guess that is the default thing to do when you can't make them work right (or you mod them).

Or you don't know how to or want to fix it, and go to what you know.

I can't imagine those EFI systems being something you couldn't fix!

grumpin wrote

Or you don't know how to or want to fix it, and go to what you know.

I can't imagine those EFI systems being something you couldn't fix!

True. I guess it depends on the condition I find one in. If I see wiring harness all hacked up and looking like spaghetti, then I'll probably be avoiding it. I actually don't mind automotive electrical...but I don't care for it much once somebody else has been in there.

Yes, cracked manifolds are an issue with 460's in motorhomes.
Running a 460 for hours and hours under load (weight and wind resistance) pours a LOT of heat not the exhaust.

Slotting the end bolt holes allows for expansion and contraction but leaves the gaskets prone to failure.

Doing it as Ford intended (milled flat, NO gasket, just graphite paste) in addition to slotting seems to cure this.

The V-10 in a van is a nightmare to work on.
I have experience with Larry's E-350 race transporter.

It was pretty reliable for a long time, but when it did go bad even simple things were 'challenging' to deal with.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Yes, cracked manifolds are an issue with 460's in motorhomes.
Running a 460 for hours and hours under load (weight and wind resistance) pours a LOT of heat not the exhaust.

Slotting the end bolt holes allows for expansion and contraction but leaves the gaskets prone to failure.

Doing it as Ford intended (milled flat, NO gasket, just graphite paste) in addition to slotting seems to cure this.

So does the manifold shear the bolts off in the head too, or does it just crack? We had a Jeep years ago with this exhaust manifold issue, and the expansion/contraction of it would shear the end manifold bolts off in the cylinder head.

Ok, good info in any case. I've been told to listen for the tick tick tick exhaust noise.

I haven't seen any bolts sheared off but it's not uncommon to find the rearmost bolts loose.

Been 23 years since any 460 rolled off the line.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Been 23 years since any 460 rolled off the line.

And the ones I'm looking at are closer to 30 years old.

They're all relatively low mileage...most of the time well under 100k miles, but they're still old and they've been worked hard.

Rembrant wrote

.....but they're still old and they've been worked hard.

This is the 460's purpose.
I beat on mine almost every day.
It just keeps going.
No drama, no complaining.

I was doing some reading last night on some RV forums, and I found quite a few discussions where people went to pretty great lengths trying to get better MPG out of the 460, and every time the responses were the same: "No noticeable difference". Seems 6-8 MPG is the norm, and 9 maybe 10 if you're driving easy on flat ground with a tail wind. Getting more power is no problem obviously, but more MPG seems to be unattainable. We don't really intend to leave the Maritimes with it, so FE is not a huge concern. Gas is about $4.25/gallon for me right now, although it will likely be closer to $5 even by summer.

None of the sellers we spoke to could tell us the size of the fuel tanks, but I'm guessing from what they told me their fill up costs were, they must have approx 38-40 gallon tanks?

Sounds about right.
In pickups just breaking into double digits is the norm, whether empty or overloaded.
I'd expect a bigger barn door to net a bit less.

As I recall the vans had a big 40 gallon midship tank.
But again, that was many years ago and I never owned one.

 
"Ok, good info in any case. I've been told to listen for the tick tick tick exhaust noise."


The two 460's I have owned, this one and a 1994 both tick when they are cold, goes away when they warm up.

Gary Lewis wrote

The MPC shows the 460's getting EFI in '88, with the exception of the F53 Stripped Chassis, which apparently stayed carb'd in '89 so much have been EFI'd in '90.

But I don't know that I'd worry too much about the first gen EFI.  It was EEC-IV, which means speed density and bank-fire.  The 460 didn't get EEC-V with MAF and sequential until '96, and then only in CA.  But if you are staying stock then the EEC-IV shouldn't be a problem.

So the EFI 460 should be the same from 1988-1995 for the most part? We've made an offer on a 1993, and if we get it, I will have to start hunting for stock air intake parts (I'll explain later), and I'm curious what parts interchange from what other vehicles and years, etc? I found the picture below in a search.



I assume I'd have to find parts from another E350 cutaway with a 460, be it an RV or a Cube van. Would F-series with an EFI 460 share any of the same parts with the E350?

Heads changed in 1993 (F3 heads) have better ports and a slightly different chamber.
Everything interchanges.

California 7.5l engines got MAF SEFI in 1996.
Everything else was Speed Density and had to stick close to stock cam specs.

Doh!    😣

I must have not metabolized my third cup of coffee.
Because I surely HAVE had my third cup..

I can't say anything specific about the intake, but the basics should work just the same.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Doh!    😣

I must have not metabolized my third cup of coffee.
Because I surely HAVE had my third cup..

I can't say anything specific about the intake, but the basics should work just the same.

Just starting my 2nd cup, but my cups are large ones...lol. I've already been out to get my bagel and Timbits for the dogs.

Yes, so I was wondering what intake parts interchange either between E-series models, or will any parts from the F-series transfer over?

Any commonality in intake parts between a 351 EFI van and one with a 460 EFI? I was reading that the lower half of the air filter housings are all the same, but that the upper part and ducts between it and the throttle body vary between engines.

It doesn't matter all that much right now anyway...all we have at the moment is a handshake deal...this thing is not in my driveway yet.

But...seeing as how everything is being shut down around me, I might have some free time to go hunting around the junkyards coming up...

I don't have documentation, like the MPC, for anything after 1989 so can't give part numbers.  But from my limited experience I think your info is correct - the bottom of the air filter housings interchange between the engines, and probably from F to E-series.  But after, or above, that they are different.

Having said that, I do have some F-Series 460 EEC-IV intake air stuff.  That should be dual air tubes running from the top of the air filter housing to the throttle body, where the EEC-V has incorporated a MAF sensor so it is a single hose back to a wye where it goes to two hoses for the throttle body.

  My first cuppa hasn't kicked in yet either.  But it is starting to, slowly.  I do have info that may well help as the 460 was EFI'd before the end of my MPC, and little changed before the 460's demise.

I've purposefully made these pics as large, filewise, as possible to maintain as much detail as I can.  So tell me what part numbers you need from this.

Here's the E-Series:




And here's the F-Series: