Ford Excursion revisited

[handn]

Those of us who have them love them. Mine is a 2000 diesel 4x4 with 190,000 miles purchased new.
I have replaced ball joints twice, shocks twice, hubs once (expensive, next time I will go with Warn after markets), sway bars once and upgraded the brakes (slotted rotors and racing pads). Most of the things that are spun by the serpentine belt have been replaced. The engine and transmission are going strong and have received only fluid and filter changes. Ford did recall the cam sensors. For a while, my Ex gobbled them like popcorn.
Unless you need to tow or haul lots of things/ and or people with good fuel economy an Excursion is not for you because the ride is what you would expect with leaf springs and live axles on all four wheels. Granted a Suburban 1500 rides better but tows a lot worse. It is the "Soccer Mom Mobile". Have you priced a Suburban 2500? One years' depreciation on it would fund the total repairs on my Ex.
An Ex is not a big city car. Parking places are not big enough and some garages are not high enough. It will not fit in a standard garage.
Consumer Reports should stick to dishwashers.
No one has mentioned the seats. They look comfortable but are lamers. After market seats are reasonable and fit on the stock tracks.
I think the wandering and ride control problems are due to a worn out front end. Everything on mine is new along with Rancho shocks. Gone is that big knot between my shoulder blades after a three hour drive.

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by handn

No one has mentioned the seats. They look comfortable but are lamers. After market seats are reasonable and fit on the stock tracks.

Interesting you mentioned the seats. Lots of people replace the expensive rear captains seat with a bench because the captains are so uncomfortable.

You mention after market seats. Do you have any info on these as I would replace the drivers seat in a heart beat.

[87MH]

Originally Posted by HowieE

You mention after market seats. Do you have any info on these as I would replace the drivers seat in a heart beat.

It's my understanding that any "premium" bucket seat from a 2000 or so onward superduty is a bolt in. This would include the "Harley Davidson, the "King Ranch". You could possibly pick up a set out of a junk yard.

I find the front buckets quite comfortable for long hauls.

[ALANSD]

I have a back that gets sore and stiff in most seats. My stock Excursion limited seats have been very good for me, even on drives up to 10-12 hours.
I am a fan of this big old beast, and feel it's a great bargain in the used car market now. I have 13 years retail auto experience, and have test driven and appraised many suv's.

[handn]

After market seats are available at DiscountRVfurniture.com. They have a large selection, reasonable prices and good customer service.
We purchased a dinette for our 25 Safari from them. The price was good and the quality was more than I expected.
My beef with the Ex seats is that I get no support but maybe I have worn them out with 10+ years with my 220 pound hiney in the saddle.
My Ex gets 17-18 solo and 11-13 towing, honest. Mileage dropped about 1 mpg with ultra low sulphur fuel. Key to good fuel economy is keeping rpms under 2000. The advantage with the diesel is that the engine has so much torque it will tow easily in overdrive, keeping the rpms low.
CR should try towing my Safari with their "Best Buys" and check rated vehicles and see how well their pet vehicles do. Their testing criteria does not match my needs.

[slowmover]

CR also failed to note that the steering (sans the turning radius) actually is better for towing, I am not sure that I would want a steering system that was overly sensitive- great for a bimmer, not for a tow vehicle.

Dead wrong. Nothing worse for any kind of driving than poor/deadened steering. My truck has IFS with rack & pinion steering; one of the reasons I chose it was for it's greater sensitivity.

Excursions in South Texas are now relegated to tote-the-note lots. The sheer number of them down here is impressive, even for Texas. But their condition and their new (third or fourth) owners are not; they've been to the auction lot more than once as their trade-in value appears to be nominal at best.

[WineStream]

We enjoy our 2000 V10 when towing our 27' AS. When we were seeking out a TV for a camper we were looking for a truck or 3/4 ton SUV from the big three with either the biggest gas engine or a diesel. We bought ours in Jan 2009 when gas prices were falling but everyone was still very anti-big vehicle so I got it for $6500 in VA with 106k miles. I had to immediately drop $1000 into getting the front end vacuum hubs to work again (PO never used 4x4!) and I had a lovely spark plug blow-out issue last Feb which cost me another $1000. Sounds like a lot, but considering I do not have a monthly payment to a bank for it, to me it sounds very reasonable for what it does with regards to towing the AS all over the place.

I really wanted a diesel, but regardless of brand I was looking at min 150k miles and at least $10k. The Excursions ended up being even cheaper than pickup trucks (in the used market). Not that I could have afforded it then nor am I going to go through the hassle of selling and buying newer, but getting an Ex. with the 5 speed automatic (MY03.5 and later, I think) would be good. The spark plug issue was alleviated in MY05.5 with the introduction of the 3 valve engine but that's right when the Ex. was discontinued. I don't think any Ex's were ever built with the 3V gasser.

Howie's got about the best setup...6.0L diesel and 5 speed trans. If you've got the dough, shoot for that.

[Mexray]

Jason, I believe the 3V heads were introduced in 2004, and the Exc's last year was the 2005 models...if memory serves...

When ours wears out (if ever), I'm going to look for a decked out 2005 V-10, 4x4 model and continue on down the road...!

Trade in value being nominal was mentioned above - hey, that's in our favor when looking for a great towing vehicle for our AS's...saving BIG bucks when buying a used Exc could save you enough money over a 'new' SUV to buy a great used AS as well!

Ray

[WineStream]

The real sad thing is that if you want a brand-new 3/4 ton SUV then you have only one choice and that's the Chevy Suburban and even there you can only get the 6.0L gas. Granted, it's got the chevy-made 6 speed automatic which makes a small gasser today perform like the old, big gassers of previous years. But, you'd think that with the Duramax / Allison combo rolling off the same production line that they'd do like Ford (did) and pump out some Duramax/Allison 3/4 ton suburbans. That might give me justification alone to take out a loan on a new TV.

Granted, the 1/2 ton offerings (Expedition, Suburban/Tahoe) are up to 10k lbs towing and the 6 speed autos. do just fine to tow. But, other things like suspension, tires, length suffer. The again there's people out there towing 30-footers with Xterras and SUVs from Mercedes, BMW, etc. It's all in what you're comfortable with and how good a hitch you have I guess. Given that I tow other trailers (flatbed, equipment trailers, etc), it's a must to have the wheelbase, ample power, and brakes of the Ex. The AS brakes are fine, but I can't say as much for my tandem flatbed which is where the Ex. really helps to bring things to a stop.

[r carl]

Originally Posted by WineStream

I had a lovely spark plug blow-out issue last Feb which cost me another $1000. Sounds like a lot, but considering I do not have a monthly payment to a bank for it, to me it sounds very reasonable for what it does with regards to towing the AS all over the place.

As far as im concerned ford owes you a thousand dollars, that was a hidden time bomb. Ford engineers are not that stupid!!!! But they are smart enough to inject a problem that will appear at 100k mi and be easy money for their stealerships.

[nilesrob]

We've owned two Ex's, drove/towed many thousands of miles, and loved them both. We would have bought a third but they stopped making them. Great TV, great family carrier, awesome machines IMHO.

[WineStream]

Originally Posted by r carl

As far as im concerned ford owes you a thousand dollars, that was a hidden time bomb. Ford engineers are not that stupid!!!! But they are smart enough to inject a problem that will appear at 100k mi and be easy money for their stealerships.

There's many other people out there who agree with you. I think that in CA there's a pending class action lawsuit against Ford for the spark plug issue. Bottom line is that yeah, it's a lousy design. BUT it's an OK design as long as whomever replaces the plugs knows how to handle these special applications. Most people do not know nor do they take the time to read-up on the proper procedure. Obviously someone in the past with my Ex before I bought it did their own work. I know there's some that claim their plugs shot out without ever being serviced...I cannot refute nor back up such claims.

I paid the $600 to have the one hole fixed and then paid the extra $400 to have them check all the other holes and replace all the plugs and install them correctly. Either way, I still have no payments on the vehicle, so $2000 total in non-maintenance type stuff is OK by me.

[Jammer]

Thank you all for your comments (keep 'em coming). The anecdotes and personal experiences are especially helpful.

[r carl]

Originally Posted by WineStream

I paid the $600 to have the one hole fixed and then paid the extra $400 to have them check all the other holes and replace all the plugs and install them correctly. Either way, I still have no payments on the vehicle, so $2000 total in non-maintenance type stuff is OK by me.

But you could of put new axles under your camper with that money.

Dont assume im a ford basher, gm installs time bombs too. All this is fuel for the rice burner lovers.

[WineStream]

Originally Posted by r carl

But you could of put new axles under your camper with that money.

Dont assume im a ford basher, gm installs time bombs too. All this is fuel for the rice burner lovers.

I had to smile reading that...I put new axles under my AS last winter. Spent about $500.

[handn]

Airstream 66 asked about a 5.4 engine with the Excursion. There are a few Ex's 2x4 with those motors. They are real slugs, about like F-250's with the same motor.

[Archersfin]

Originally Posted by WineStream

I had to smile reading that...I put new axles under my AS last winter. Spent about $500.

I also put new ones on my AS. Spent $3000 with shipping

[ALANSD]

Originally Posted by WineStream

I had to smile reading that...I put new axles under my AS last winter. Spent about $500.

Which axles did you go for? That sounds very reasonable.

[WineStream]

Originally Posted by ALANSD

Which axles did you go for? That sounds very reasonable.

I knew this would turn in to an axle discussion if I even mentioned it. Axles are viral on here.

I bought mine from Axis. They were drop-shipped to a local Estes freight terminal and I had to pick them up there. I bought them without brakes, too. I re-used my old ones as they were in good shape.

If you by the Henchens and have them fully decked-out (brakes, drums) and shipped to your doorstep then yeah, you're lookin' at $3000.

[ALANSD]

Thanks. sorry we co-opted the thread!