It looks like the E-series isn't dead yet, but its days are certainly numbered. Ford plans to ease the transition from E-series to Transit by selling both simultaneously for an undisclosed period of time. They've also been testing the new Transit with some of their biggest fleet customers to get feedback on it.
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/08/how-ford-plans-to-phase-out-the-best-selling-e-series/
I just found a nice looking 03 E-150 Chateau passenger van with 5.4 Triton engine in NY that I want to look at. Can anyone tell me if it will be a better vehicle than my current 01 Dodge Ramvan 2500 w/318? The asking price is a bit higher than I would want, but the miles are low at 55k on a 8 year old van. This would be a part time use vehicle,and tow bitch for our camper, and maybe a car trailer soon.
In reply to Mazdax605:
The 5.4 Triton is probably going to be a little short on low end grunt compared to the 318. The 5.4 has the grunt, but it's higher in the rpm range. As far as towing, mine did a pretty good job all in all, but pulling the camper is going to require locking out the overdrive. It's also going to get in the 11mpg range towing. I loved mine for the 10 years we had it and just sold it 2 weeks ago. 
Moving on to bigger and better things. 
I really wanted to get away from the van, and get a crew cab pickup, but the more I think about it the more I like a van, but mine is falling to pieces. I am surprised to hear the 318 being better at something than the 5.4. I would have thought the 5.4 would be better in almost every way. The camper we have is only 3500 lbs so not much of a load, and I bet a car trailer and car that I would be towing wouldn't be much heavier than that because my cars are all around 2500 lbs or so.
you can't be serious. the 5.4 short on low end grunt? all a 5.4 HAS is low end grunt. And furthermore, compared to a 318?!?
thread ninja!
My E-150 didn't start pulling good until close to 3k rpms. It's a great engine, but off idle torque could be better. A SBC does better. It's also geared to turn 1900 rpms at 55 which doesn't help.
It isn't the weight that's the problem with the camper, it's the surface area unless you have a pop up. Pulling a wall down the road doesn't help the aerodynamics much. With an open car trailer, you can run OD all the time with no problem. Towing a wall makes it want to shift constantly. I had considered putting 4.11 gears in mine after getting the enclosed trailer, but always had better things to spend the money on.
Pop-up camper,and I usually tow with OD off in my current van unless I am traveling on truly flat land which isn't often in New England.
belteshazzar wrote: you can't be serious. the 5.4 short on low end grunt? all a 5.4 HAS is low end grunt. And furthermore, compared to a 318?!?
I'm with you. Peak torque @ 2500rpm and ~255+hp.. (30 more than the 318)What more do you want?! I think what Toyman's feeling is that the 5.4 doesn't fall on it's face after 3500rpm, not the fact that doesn't have low end torque. I can't say that I've driven a 318, but compared to the stock SBC's that I have driven, the difference isn't so much down below, but the fact that the torque doesn't taper off after 3500, it just keeps pulling up to near redline.
the 318's i've ever driven were gutless all the time, but the harder you revved them the more you got.
it's certainly not true of all sbc's, but i overlaid the dyno curve of my 5.4 with that of an mid-90's LT1. The triton made way more low-end power, and even though the chevy power kept climbing through the rpm range while the ford had started dropping off, at no point did it ever end up making more.
Mostly I just want it to come with a diesel and a manual.
I never saw the left leg move during that 'shift' but i thought i saw an intercooler at the front of the van.
but cheaped out on the construction, unreliable (especially the transmissions - yup, it's a stereotypical Dodge all right), AND expensive to repair.
You make it sound like Dodge had anything to do with it.. those are mercedes transmissions, and i highly doubt they ship a trans kit to south carolina and assemble it there. Im not aware that those trannies have any major problems other than the torque converter lockup clutch shuddering (and it is known what causes that), but i dont work on commercial vehicles very often.
It's the same basic trans used in a lot of other more-powerful vehicles (like 450hp hemis) without having a bad reputation. If anything could be said about it i would say it might be over-loaded weight wise in a sprinter.
Can anyone tell me if it will be a better vehicle than my current 01 Dodge Ramvan 2500 w/318?
better trans, worse engine..
I am surprised to hear the 318 being better at something than the 5.4. I would have thought the 5.4 would be better in almost every way.
Until you have to work on it.
I'm with you. Peak torque @ 2500rpm and ~255+hp.. (30 more than the 318)
Get rid of the death tune on the 318.
but i overlaid the dyno curve of my 5.4 with that of an mid-90's LT1. The triton made way more low-end power, and even though the chevy power kept climbing through the rpm range while the ford had started dropping off, at no point did it ever end up making more.
Now if only we could convince the butt-dyno of what you say... 
I've driven a pre-death-tune 318 in a long-wheelbase cargo van and it was a frickin hoot. I slid that thing all over the place and it hauled butt up to about 60 (full size vans lose on aero). Now granted, put a conversion van interior in it and it's going to slow down some. But the majority of what makes 318s feel crappy in the later years is the tune. Programmers dont cost that much. They cost less than what i'd charge you to do any number of repair tasks on a 5.4. The 318 is really easy to work on.
What's a death tune? How do I know if I have one? How do you rectify it?
can't help you with the butt thing
what things did you have a hard time with on the triton?
I went to look at this 03 E-150 on Friday. I really like it, but the price may be a little high. It only has 55k mile son it, and is well equipped. It has the 5.4 litre, tow package, factory super duty sliding tow mirrors, Chateau package, factory tv screens with wired in VHS player(also has capability to feed a DVD into the screens), factory running boards, and sliding side door among other options. It rode way nicer than my Dodge does, but I am not sure if that is due to my van being older with way more miles, or that the Ford is a better van with a full frame rather than the unibody Dodge.
Pics I took are here:
http://web.me.com/cdirado/Diradosite/74-RX-4.html
Tell me what you think.
Chris
Chris, I loved my 94 E150 Chateau, ran forever, towed many cars including many trips to Florida for GRM events, killed it with a combo of rust and rear ending a semi...oops
That one had a 351, the replacement Expedition has the 5.4 and tows just as well.
Is $10k too much to pay for a really low mile (55k) 03 E-150 Chateau? This thing is pretty clean,and well maintained with great equipment factory installed as well as 4 new Bilstein shocks.
The GRM tow rig is now an E-250. It seems to be doing well.
I think that '03 with the factory middle captains chairs is pretty rare or what may be rare about it is that people who order them this way tend to keep them so finding a low mile used one is rare.
The factory seats are more comfortable and better built than any of the aftermarket/conversion stuff.
Worth the money? I don't know.
Easy to find another at any price/mileage? I think not.
I tossed a never used factory middle row captains chair in the dump about 4 years ago. I had it for 6 or 7 years, but it was never used in the van. it was too heavy to move (again) and I had no luck on craigslist.
You know those transits won't have a diesel or manual or 4x4 or any other option the Europeans get.
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