I am a soon to be excursion owner and have some questions I hope yall can help me out with. I would like to do 35in tires, a chip and exhaust. Somewhat simple but I would like to get opinions on
-what lift
-what chip

And I know the 7.3 is bulletproof but what are the thoughts on the 6.0? And help is greatly appreciated. Also what are the diesel owners MPG?

 

Most responses will probably tell you to steer clear of the 6.0. I have one and love it and if choosing now would make the same decision. I knew of its issues prior to purchase and fixed them (budget $6K for a high performance diesel shop or $1-3K if you do it yourself). Then added a SCT, exhaust, 4.30 gears and a 6" lift. It is now rock solid and tows 10000lbs extremely well (in the mountains). From a $ standpoint you are probably better off with a V-10, but if money is the issue I doubt any of us would be driving one of these things. The 7.3 is almost bulletproof but I do have a friend at work that has been stranded by his. The transmission is also weaker than the 6.0 transmission. The 7.3 is a good choice but hard to find with low miles. We bought our 6.0 a few years ago with 40k miles on it.

Prior to the lift in stock configuration I was getting 18-20mpg on the highway (only drove a few thousand miles this way). After the lift I was getting 17-19mpg on 35's with 3.73 gears. With the 4.30 gears I have been getting 16-18mpg but the towing and town mpg improved slightly. I can rarely burn through a tank around town (600 miles in town takes a long time) but seem to get around 14mpg. Towing a 10000lb travel trailer I have been averaging between 8-11mpg (headwinds seem to have the most effect here - 8mpg was running 65mph into a 30mph headwind.). All the mpg #'s are hand calculated and adjusted for tire size.

For a lift I went with a V/mod B spring swap with a 4.5"ICON spring hanger package, 6" rear block, OUO traction bar, custom valved bilstein shocks (dual up front). It rides and handles extremely well both loaded (1300lb tongue weight) and unloaded. Not at all harsh like a lot of the lifts.

If you get a 6.0 the SCT is the best programmer. You can have different programs for different occassions. I run a 80hp towing program or a 140hp extreme. With the extreme program the rear tire dyno results are normally 420-430hp and 780-790tq (stock on the dyno is around 270hp I believe). The SCT reprograms the transmission to save the tranny. None of the other options for the 6.0 offer the same transmission protection.

For exhaust I like the 4"MBRP system. It has a 3.5" downpipe which is better for torque when under the 500hp mark. Sounds good and is not to loud in the Ex even while towing. It also has a cat delete pipe option.

Good luck.

 

I recently purchased an '05 with the 6.0 and had many of your same concerns. I spent probably a good month reading the 6.0 forums on this site and learned a lot. I came to the conclusion that most people who are really happy with the 6.0 won't go out of their way to post like those that have had problems. One of the biggest conditions I had on purchasing my truck was getting the Oasis report from the Ford dealer so I could see what work had been performed and if there was anything alarming.

The 7.3 was an awesome engine, but that 4R100 tranny has a history of it's own too. I know 3 Ex owners with 7.3 less than 150k miles that are on their second tranny. That's not acceptable in my book. But, as they say, your mileage may vary!

At 107k miles on her, I immediately flushed the coolant, changed fuel filters, sent off an oil sample to blackstone labs for analysis, changed to Schaeffer's synthetic, and installed the coolant filter. Total cost was about $400 doing everything myself. I talked to a few guys that make their living either servicing or writing tunes for this engine and the consensus seemed to be: always use Motorcraft filters, don't let it idle for long periods, for under 500 hp leave the intake alone, obey oil change intervals for your service usage, buy a Scangauge and monitor engine oil temp and engine coolant temp (the two should never be more than 17 degrees apart), boost the cetane to at least 45 with an additive, and don't push the tuning on this engine too hard or head-studs / gaskets / injectors will fail. Make sure you look for signs of "Stiction" as described here: http://www.alliantpower.com/pdf/APTB-0109-watermark.pdf

I ran my truck on a 500 mile trip last weekend and saw 18.5 mpg. It's completely stock, flat ground, cruise set on 72-75 mph, stock p265 tires, and 92 degrees outside with roughly 700 lbs of people / cargo.

 

What kind of mileage do yall get?

 

7.3 stock tires 2wd 15-17 mixed driving 17.5-19.5 highway

 

I've located this Excursion and I think this is gonna be the one I get. http://home.comcast.net/~daves_car/
Gonna go with a 4 inch lift (any suggestions which brand?)
Chip (SCT, TS or Edge) Im wanting help with choosing which one, I really want to have a display like the Edge one..
Front end conversion to the 05 front end
Exhaust

Can you get a TS chip and get a separate display like the edge display?

 

I've located this Excursion and I think this is gonna be the one I get. 2000 Ford Excursion
Gonna go with a 4 inch lift (any suggestions which brand?)
Chip (SCT, TS or Edge) Im wanting help with choosing which one, I really want to have a display like the Edge one..
Front end conversion to the 05 front end
Exhaust

Can you get a TS chip and get a separate display like the edge display?

 

Welcome to FTE. Start doing lots of research on this site, you'll find everything you need to know here.
Lifts come in either a full spring kit or a drop hanger kit. Mine is a hanger kit and was on the truck when I purchased it. A full spring kit will most likely cost you more. If I were to do it from stock, I'd go with a full spring kit. This will lift your truck AND take care of the mushy stock ride. I still have to upgrade my springs to take care of the latter. Some others will chime in on brands.

I know you mentioned Edge but DP Tuner is a 5 star custom chip with great people backing it. I absolutely LOVE mine. Incredible power and driveablity. Very popular company here with the 7.3 people. Just thought I'd lay out another option. Whatever you choose, make sure you install a set of gauges first though. You want to monitor certain vitals that will be affected by the tuner. The three most common are Exhaust temp, Boost, and Trans temp. At the very least get the exhaust temp gauge.

Congrats. Hope you get your new truck.


Oh yeah, FWIW. I get stopped everywhere by people telling me the height and tires on my truck are perfect. Not stock but not too big. So, you're making the right lift choice .

 

Thanks alot for the response, what kind of gas mileage did you see before/after the chip?

 

I'm right around 18 +/- hwy depending on my foot and if I see any Dodges or Chevys during my travels. Don't have a before (stock) because the truck came with a Superchip. Let me tell you, a custom chip blows the Superchip away. I saw it first hand.

 

Thanks, I didn't realize the gauges we so expensive. Do they sell a display like the edge chips have with them?

 

These seem pretty legit...
99-07 Ford Superduty Custom Diesel Gauges Package

 

For those of us who purchased 6.0's 3-5 years ago we didn't have consistent evidence from thousands of people that the 6.0 needs many improvements for guaranteed reliability. This motor has played out now with many miles and many owners with evidence that shows it has expensive weaknesses that need addressed to become reliable. People who buy a 6.0 these days now know that it takes money to keep one of these motors going long term especially if you use it for heavy towing at the weight limits! If you like working on engines or being stranded and you have $5K of extra money to throw away then buy a 6.0! If the truck has a 6.0 skip it! I personally will never own another 6.0 myself! If you buy a 6.0 you will replace an oil cooler, not a matter of if but when! Hopefully it's failure doesn't take out the EGR cooler too. Also injectors will fail and they are not cheap to replace. Head Gaskets seem to be the one issue that is hit or miss, ya never know with that? Peace of mind is a nice thing to have on vacation and I never did with my 6.0.

My truck broke down on 4 different vacation trips, and every time I went somewhere, the thought of breaking down again was always in the back of my head! Needless to say I got rid of it....went with a gasser.......very happy now! Gassers been on 2 trips and zero issues!

 

Yea, I'm strictly looking for a 7.3 and found a used 2000 with 215K miles

 

Very wise decision!