Hello-I'm really looking forward to reading and learning from this site. While I'm not a stranger to fords, I have a 1975 Bronco and my daily driver is a 2009 f250 Crew Diesel and love them both, I'm in need of a work rig so I chose an Excursion due to its awesome size, 4wd and I love how they look. I'm buying the Excursion this weekend....it's a 2000 Limited V-10 with 140,000 miles on it. I'm driving 7hrs on Sat. to buy it barring no major issues with it. I'm paying $6500- and it seems to be a fair price for what I've seen around. What do you think of the price?

Now for some pro advice - What should I look for? He said it makes the typical ford clunk inder the drivers side? Is this a big deal? He also said there is a heat sheild rattle...not a big deal. He said the front end seems to be tight and no accidents.

Thank you for any advice you can give me on this!

Mike

 

Clunk=seems typical of a lot of F250's and Excursions. A lot of people have killed the clunk, I greased my slip yoke and that ended a clunk on start/stops, but still a clunk from what I believe is the leaf springs, the plastic washer worn out between the leafs, again, can end that with some elbow grease and replacement washers.

Heat Shield Rattle-I've read on here a few trucks having this issue, some have resorted to removing the heat shield. The muffler shop I do business with always just spot welds mine back on, make sure that "rattle" isn't a catalytic converter though, many a folk have mistaken it for heat shield rattle when in fact it was a converter.

Not knowing where you're from, the typical stuff, frame rust, body rust spots, etc. Ask about previous maintenance, any parts replaced/gone bad. Give it a good look around, DRIVE IT!!!! Too many people buy a second hand vehicle and never drive the darn thing before handing over the cash, c'mon! You've got a 1975 Bronco, and most people I know that drive older vehicles know a bit about mechanical repairs and such, so ask any questions that come to mind. It's used, there will always be something pop up that'll make you think "well dangit!" But that comes with buying a used vehicle. Best of luck with her, hope it all goes well. And Welcome to FTE, you can totally learn a whole lot from this site.

 

Thanks for the info Mark! The slip yoke on the drive shaft?

 

Slip joint regreasing
That's the tech article I used, really straight forward approach. Maybe when I get some huevos I'll drill a grease fitting in to it so I won't have to drop it to grease it anymore, haha.

 

thats pretty much it. i'd ask about any major work done. if its still on the factory tranny or not, any spark plug issues. the clunk could be a few things none a deal breaker. the heatsheild rattle i had this on my '00 excursion i ended up just removing that heat sheild.

they are great trucks and you should enjoy it!

 

It sounds like the guy I'm buying from has not done much to it and doesn't drive it a whole lot...which is the reason he's selling it. He said its the original tranny and it shifts smooth. He said he just fixed someTranny cable that the mount had came loose and was tough to start in park...never heard of that one but I'm glad it's fixed! I hate to jump in an unfamiliar truck and take it on a 7 hour journey so thank you for the advice!
Mike

 

Suggest a ball joint check - not a good thing for a 7 hr drive.

 

Sounds like the transmission range sensor, or just loose bolts on the shift lever, but since it's fixed, alls well. If it's been sitting for a bit, make sure to check and top off all fluids before making that trip, and I'd look in to plugs, boots, fluids, filters soon too bud.

 

Thanks for the info! I'll post up on monday with how I made out!

 

Well, how'd we make out?

 

Hello, the price sounds good, I have the same Excursion, 2000 limited but with 136K. I paid 6K for mine but then it required 3k more of repairs... so just check out the truck real good. Post some pics of her when you get back. Good luck.

 

I won't get there til Sat am and I'll get home sometime on Sunday....I definitely post up the results!!! FINGERS CROSSED!!

 

Good luck on the new X. A 7 hr roadtrip home is a good way to really see what ya got, especially if you have a back-up vehicle following you! Keep us posted!

 

Well it looks like I'll be towing it home....my driver fell through and with a 3am departure, I don't feel right about asking anyone else. I guess it's good, but it also would've been a good trial run. I'm actually interested in how my f250 will do towing it. Again I'll post up pics when I get back.

 

Too bad you don't live near me, I'd definitely be able to help a fellow FTE'er out. Where are you located anyway?