So i figured its about time i start a thread about my x. First time ever thread so bare with me
Back in march i picked up a 2004 6.0 4x4 limited with 190000 km.(120000 miles) Guy wanted to get rid of it cause it had some serious health issues and he was selling it for cheap so that got me really interested He said it was leaking oil badly and he didn't know what was going on. It was not running. The body and interior looked pretty good considering its been a Alberta vehicle for all its life. I bought it knowing i would most likely end up buying a donor truck for it.





Sorry for the crappy pics, it was almost dark.


After getting home i tried putting in some coolant because there was none in the degas bottle, but that came pouring out just as fast as i was able to put it in. After crawling under it i noticed most of the frost plugs were out or almost out.
I wanted to go ahead and try start it up anyways just to see what else was all going on. After a bit of dinking around with it, it finaly fired up. Crawled underneath it again and noticed oil pouring out of the frostplugs.
Got my buddy to come out who is a hd mechanic and he said that most likely the engine froze and because of that it damaged a bunch of things inside. or he lost all coolant and fried it Eitherway he told me it was prob best to find a donor and do a swap.

After looking for one for a while i came acros this 2007 F350 crewcab 4x4. It was a write off because of a cab fire and not running because it didn't have a key. I knew i wanted an 05-07 so i could put a 05 front on the ex. Got it for $2500 on an insurance auction. When i got it home i reconnected the battery cables cause somebody had cut them, hammered a 3/8 flat drill bit in the ignition for a key and it fired up almost right away. It did have a bit of a long crank but ones it was running everything seemed great. I put the scanner on just to make sure but other than a whack of codes for shorts in pretty much every circuit in the cab everything else was good.






So i will be starting with pulling the cab off the F350. I have some experience from when i put arp studs in my 06 F350 SC dually last winter. Than i will take the cab off the X, swap engines, put X back together and drink beer, right?
Still not quite sure what i all want to do to the engine when cab is off anyways. Will do dummy plugs and standpipes because it had a bit of a long crank. If u guys know of anything else that could be related to that?? The egr delete is already done so wont have to worry about that. Thinking of doing most small mods like blue spring, 6.4 banjo bolts etc etc.
If u guys have sugestions id like to hear about them

Also after reading a lot here on fte about the wonderful suspension of our exes i thought i could maybe use the suspension and axles from the F350 also. I searched the forums but didnt come up with anybody that had done a full swap I did see one that put the coils in the front instead of the leafs without to much trouble. Again any help would be appreciated.
And if that would all fit would the truck be lifted right away too? And if yes how much? And what would it look like? The x is a bit heavier in the back cause of the full cab so it should be very close to level right?

Anyways, time for me to get back to work. Seeya
John

 

Welcome!

That is going to be one nice conversion when it`s done! sounds like other than time, you won`t have much money invested, and you have lots of usable exterior parts and a bed that are worth some $$$$

I always liked that style chrome front end with the chrome tow hooks.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

Cool project and I think the ex would be sweet with the 07 suspension and factory 20s.

 

Sounds like a cool and rewarding project when you complete it.

For the suspension swap, you will have it easy since you will be taking the cab and engine out. If you look behind the crossmember (underneath the engine,) you will notice the 05+ frame is boxed. I would box that area since you will have the engine out. I would reinforce the frame where the radius arm bracket bolts to also.

I don't think there is a write up here on 05+ suspension swap, but if you search there is a write up on another forum. I have pictures there too.

I can't help much on engine swap. But if you have questions with suspension swap, pm me.

Once again, you have an excellent project.

 

Thanks for sharing your adventure. Can't wait to hear more! There is a lot on the internet about long cranks and 6.0s. One culprit can be the FICM. The tests are pretty easy but based on the condition of the F350, I don't think you'll get any kind of accurate readings until you have the electrical system sorted out in the X. The long crank could actually just be caused by the condition of the electrical system in general (wiring and batteries) and and you might get lucky once you have a good harness on it with good batteries. The initial voltage key on before you start the engine is critical. If its low, you'll get no start or a long crank.

Good luck!

 

Yeah it should look good when it is all done. Im thinking i can get this beast up and running for less than prob 9K. its gonna take a few hours to get there though

 

Yes, I am pretty exited that i wont have to do it all from underneath. Thanks for the heads up about the reinforced frame. I will definitely look in to that once i have the cab off and engines out. Could you pm me with the link to the forum with your pictures? I cant pm you yet because i have less than 5 post.

 

You are probably right about that the cause could be in the burnt wiring everywhere. Hopefully it will be better once the engine is in the excursion.
Do you know what the voltage should be before start?

 

Ok so a quick update on the work that got done in the last 2 days.

Got the cab of the F350. I somewhat surprised myself that it went so fast. It took less than 4 hours to take it off. It did help that the cab wont be used again



All ready to take the cab off.




Redneck lift




Today i got the X ready to take the cab off. Other than racing around town trying to find a #55 torque to get the seats out to get to the cab bolts it went pretty smooth. I also found out why the engine fried






Looks like there must have been coolant all over the engine bay.












Anyways gotta get some sleep. Will try to get the cab of the X tomorrow.
seeya, John

 

Awesome first post, awesome first thread!

Adding this thread to the Excursion Build sticky thread.

Stewart

 

Here's a pretty good thread on the FICM subject:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...procedure.html

 

Here is an update about what got done so far. Its been crazy busy for a while so there is still tons left to do.
After cabs from both vehicle's were of i gave them a much needed wash




somewhere under all that **** is the fuel tank







Both engines off



Next was switching the rear axles. Was pretty easy. Took out the 4 bolts from the leafs, the top bolts from the shocks, unplug abs sensor, brake line and ebrake cable and everything comes out in one piece. Put the F350 axle back on the X. Not sure yet how i am going to hook up the ebrake cable as the X uses a different bracket where the cable splits and the X cables cant be used on the F350 axel.

Then on to the front. I removed the F350 front axel in one piece only leaving the coil buckets and radius arm brackets on the frame. Spent a couple hours drilling out rivets to get them of. Sorry no pics on that part.
Had to drill a few more holes in the frame from the X to put everything back on. I used grade 10.9 M14 to put everything back on. The fuel pump also needed to be pulled to put the drivers side radius arm bracket on.
The brake lines on both sides need to be rerouted so i simply cut the lines from both the F350 and X at the same spot and than piecing it together with a union coupling



I wanted to use the F350 gearbox but had to get 3 grade 10.9 M14 x 140 bolts because the X frame is about an half inch wider where it attaches.
If you look at the picture you can see there is hardly anything for the bolts to hold on too.




Couple more pictures from the new front axle










Engine back on, 2006 on the valve cover





Got a question for u guys though. I forgot to measure the height before i switched out the rear axles need to order some new shocks but have no idea how much i raised the back. I guess what i am asking is, do i get the same length shocks or longer ones?

thanks for reading.
John

 

Did you swap the F350 rear axle and springs or just the axle? If you swap the rear axle and not the F350 springs, then stock rear excursion shocks will work.

How did you install radius arm bracket to the frame? Did you fill the holes in the frame and re-drill to match bracket or you use 1/4" spacer?

 

I used springs and axle. The F350 shocks are mounted different on the top. The excursion shocks have a little bracket going through the top hole that bolts to the frame on both sides of the shock. I tried to get them out so I could put them in f350 shocks but they wont come out.

For the radius arm bracket I was able to line them up, than clamped them to the frame and drill the frame using the existing holes on the radius arm brackets. Some holes worked and some didn't. For the coil bucket I could use all existing holes in the frame plus drill 2 extra

 

Making anymore progress on this?