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ambulance lots of idle time = bad?

9K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  AgTires4295 
#1 ·
Picking up a 2000 e350 ambulance, 7.3 PSD van today with 172k miles. Seems to run good but my buddy who is an EMT says they idle for hours / days on end and driven hard on trauma calls. I wonder how bad this is for the motor and if I should be concerned of future/premature problems? -Thanks in advance, AL from MA
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the site! High idle time is just like having high miles. And ya I bet the ambulance will have very high idle time. Its not like the can wait for them to warm up when they get a call or shut em off once they get their.
But Id also say being its a emergency vehicle that maintenance (oil changes etc,) was done correctly. And plus the 7.3 were/are hard workin bad azz motors.
If your getting a smoking deal,I might over look them.....maybe.
Does the rig have a hour meter on the motor?
 
#12 ·
I guarantee it has a high idler on it... all ambulances ive ever seen do simply because of the amp draw on everything.... even if it wasnt factory thats something most ambulance companies have as standard options on their chassis.
 
#13 ·
I've seen one out two older one with no high idle but your right, they are all speed to have high idlers. I used to work at a shop that had the contract for our counties emergency vehicles. You gotta remember that paramedics are just that, paramedics. They are not technicians and if the ambulance isn't high idling they don't recognize it as a problem
 
#14 · (Edited)
Id buy strictly for parts only. Having been in the fire service since 16, I've seen (and been guilty of) the abuse these units take. As soon as they crank, it's 100% foot to the floor without any warmup time. Engine loads are pegged all the way to the scene and either instantly turned off or set to idle (most common).

I know for a fact that even though folks think fleet units and departments maintain their equipment, they do not (at least not to the standards of a mechanically conscious, personal owner). If it does go in for its scheduled preventative maintenance, it recieves the bare minimum and bam, immediately back on the road and in service, getting beaten into the ground. Heck, look at what the DCFD is going through. Even our own nation's capital cant keep up.

Bottom line, decently priced, I would buy but don't depend on anything in the drive train for reliability.
 
#15 ·
Id buy strictly for parts only. Having been in the fire service since 16, I've seen (and been guilty of) the abuse these units take. As soon as they crank, it's 100% foot to the floor without any warmup time. Engine loads are pegged all the way to the scene and either instantly turned off or set to idle (most common).

I know for a fact that even though folks think fleet units and departments maintain their equipment, they do not (at least not to the standards of a mechanically conscious, personal owner). If it does go in for service, it the bare minimum and bam, immediately back in service. Heck, look at what the DCFD is going through. Even our own nation's capital cant keep up.

Bottom line, decently priced, I would buy but don't depend on anything in the drive train for reliability.


agreed... my dept is an anomoly i guess.... since im a wrench head(hobbiest not mechanic) im very strict on maintenance... to the point i found grants to cover our higher than usual maint bills...but all of our equipment is 100%...
 
#16 ·
I find your argument agreeable among smaller departments but larger agencies/departments, it's whatever goes. Equipment gets run into the ground and it's only when something breaks or a supervisor notices that the unit has missed its scheduled PM/gone way over on mileage that it only then recieves minimal attention. As soon as it goes in, it recieves whatever it immediately needs to get right back onto the street. It's a shame, really. For those reasons, I'd never buy a fleet/deparmental vehicle.

When I was a teenager, I was in love with my departments 7.3 idi (used as a brush truck). That thing was a beast and would go anywhere, do anything. I had buried it in mud, used it as a boat in a flood emergency (water up to the steering wheel), romped through the woods, etc etc and realized one day that even though this beast of a truck was capable of everything we threw at it, it was never properly serviced...ever. I was honestly surprised that it survived the punishment but began to pay attention from then on throughout my volunteer and paid career that public service equipment has and will always be severly abused.

Not wanting to scare the OP away from his purchase but maybe just take a look at where the unit came from.
 
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