E350 Chassis

Has anyone had suspension problems with 2010 Ford E350 Type II suspensions? The company I work for has a 2010 E350 converted by Medix and has problems with the springs/front suspension. We took it in for a road walking problem and found out the front ball joints were loose, springs were sagging, and rear brakes needed replaced. All this with just 93,000 on the odometer. This truck is a V10, not a Super Duty, basic Type II conversion.

This sounds strange to me because I have worked in several E350 Type II's that never had these problems with less than 150,000 on the clock. I'm wondering if this truck was drove hard before I came to the company, it wasn't properly speced, or just a problem child. The Ford dealer we took it to says it has too much weight on the suspension. I've never seen a Type II sag in the rear like this one, and it doesn't sit as high as a diesel chassis. Guess I need to get the build sheet to make sure it has the 49A package.

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Permalink Reply by ashfire on May 13, 2013 at 2:15pm

I would wonder how much the ambulance builder put into the unit and the amount of equipment your group put on it. Take it to a truck scales and have it weighed to see if it meets the weight requirement.

Our county ran into a problem back in the 70s when they bought Chevy Suburbans half tons and had a fiberglass top put on them. They were over weight. They had to switch to Type One units after that.

The unit being three years old and 93,000 miles has had somewhat of a workout.

I know the E Series will be discontinued very soon, so you may be looking for another way to go for ambulances.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Anderson on May 13, 2013 at 9:42pm

It has a light load of equipment. The usual BLS stuff in the cabinets and a Pelican case with the drugs. It's loaded lighter than any Type II I have worked in.I haven't looked in the ceiling to see how thick the fiberglass is or how much roll cage is up there.Top shouldn't be more than the usual 1/8" thick. Hate to say it, but I'm waiting for our Chevy Type III to come back from the shop.

Supposedly Ford is going to the Transit van. I'm waiting for someone to do a Nissan. About the same size.

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Permalink Reply by ashfire on May 15, 2013 at 8:17pm

I was checking the internet and found where Mexico has had ambulances built on the NV2500 van with the raised roofs. There are pictures of the units on there.

E350 Chassis

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