I sold my 04 6.0 and now have an 05 V10. I made an Excel spreadsheet to help me think through the change to gas. Typically speaking, the diesel is still cheaper (~$700/yr depending on fuel prices), however, one dealer visit for the 6.0 and your behind and that's if they fix it correctly. My 6.0 was good but I was unsure about it at 100k+. The gas warms up much faster, has better heat and best of all, I can just fill it up again when it needs it. I never worry about the gasser leaving my stranded or any of the quirks my 6.0 had. 6.0 guys, I hope yours last forever, this isn't a 6.0 flame! I tow the same trailer with trucks (~8500 enclosed car trailer). The diesel had more power but the gas is adequate. Hope that helps.

 

One thing to consider, is how long you'de like to own this Ex. I plan on driving mine for many years to come, so I went with an '02 7.3l diesel. It has 138k miles, I modded the hell out of it, and I hope to get hundreds of thousands of miles out of it.

I doubt any of the gassers would inspire confidence with over 200k miles on them. If you barely drive it, an '05 V10 should work fine. By the way, I'm getting over 20mpg around town. And the 7.3l hold their value better than any gasser.

C

 

Thank you all, I was not expecting to get so much and so positive feedback and opinions. Actually 2005 model is not my fixed idea, I just want to buy reliable and lond-run Excursion. I thought that the newest model the better suv. But now thanks to your feedback I have educate my self little bit more. The truth is, that I am living in Estonia, and I have got lot of good advice from here (ford trucks forum) with my F-150. I bough it from states 5 years ago. But now my familiy are bigger and F-150 doese not have space for family enough. In my country we have only one Excursion for sale, it has 6.0 powerstroke engine, but I have read not so good stories about it. So I wanted to ask here your opinions of Excursion reliable, which model has less problems with reliable. We have 5 months snow and ice on the road in a year. I drive about 12000 miles per year. How strong is body? My F-150 had some problems with rust. So my tale summary is, I want to find the best Excursion model. I understand that some of us has good experience with one model , the other one has good experience with the other on, but there has to be the golden mean
I would like to apologize allthough my spelling mistakes.
Thank you again all of you.
Mike

 

I would get a 2002/3 7.3l diesel with lowest miles you can find. Is diesel fuel common/cheaper over there?
C

 

NO need to apologize !

Heck u do better than some of us that were reared unner dis langauge (sic)

good luck in your search !

 

ya if i could only choose between a 6.0 diesel and a v10 i would get the v10 but between the 7.3 and v10 the diesel 7.3 wins hands down.

 

What you are hearing about the 6.0L may be true.. I am one of those crazy nuts who really want the torque and fuel economy of the 6.0L. I did manage to take my 03 6.0L to 150K without serious incident. I also know now what needs to be done to make these units as reliable as possible.

Is the 6.0L in Estonia a 4x4? You will find that these trucks are very good in snow with the right tires. They are HEAVY (8000 lb = 3635 kg) before you load up with passengers and cargo.

How good are the diesel mechanics in your area? If you have a good resource for checkout of this truck, you probably would want to hire them to check out the 6.0L for you.

 

Thanks,

To Forest, yea this 6.0 diesel was 4x4 wheel drive, I work as ship engineer, so I contact with diesel engines allmost everyday. I read from
Ford Power Stroke engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
that theese 6.0 litre engines are not so reliable. What are your comments? How durable is the Excursion body against the rust?

To Cldomson, In Estonia common diesel price is higher than gasoline. Gasoline price is 5.7 US dollars per 1 gallon and diesel in 6.1 US dollars per 1 gallon.
How much is the fuel price in US?

 

In the U.S. right now, diesel prices are about $3.10 to $3.50 per gallon.

The 6.0L engine has pollution controls (EGR-Exhaust Gas Recirculation) that are the primary cause of most of the problems. It is a complex engine that fills up the engine compartment--it is hard to work on with very little clearance below the windshield area of the truck. Most of the problems can be corrected by replacing the oil cooler and EGR cooler from Bullet Proof Diesel (here in the U.S.).

In other words, you cannot expect these engines to be reliable as delivered from the factory. You have to modify them to get the reliability and long-life that most diesel engines are noted for.

The Excursion bodies are fairly rust resistant. Most of the earliest Excursions (now 10 years old) are still on the road--even in parts of the U.S. that use salt on the roads. Ford did a good job with the primers and rust-preventive measures. You really just need to keep it clean and repair any small nicks that penetrate the paint.

 

expect 8-10mpg city and 10-14mpg highway if you get a 4x4 V10. i've owned 3 V10 excursions i love them all. after getting hit headon in my '00 and me haveing only minor injurys i'll pay more for gas to be safe in my excursion as my daily driver. i drive about 12-15k miles a year so my monthly gas bill for the excursion is about $350. but i also have a '98 expedition that is being driven about the same amount of miles so i'm spending over $500 a month in gas.

the excursion in 4x4 form is great on snow/ice. i have a set of cooper discoverer M&S studded tires on for winter and it handles wonderfuly. only thing i wish my current excursion had is a limited slip rearend but oh well.

she loves the snow!

 

Ditto

Ditto x2

That's because you V10 guys will never wake up and smell the roses, Joe!

All kidding aside, srad, I'm not sure how available diesel parts and upgrades are over there in Estonia, but I'd seriously only consider the V10.

The 6.8 really is tried and true, has a minimum of inherent problems, you don't have to worry about the fuel gelling in freezing temps like you do with diesel, and if for some reason you do have a problem, it will probably be easier to fix and cheaper too.

Do you do your own wrenching? Do you wrench on your F150 right now?

The learning curve is much different for diesels when a person is used to gas powered engines.

Stewart

 

You can't do any better than my 6.0l PSD Excursion. It's better than every other Excursion there is.

 

Yes to get spareparts for US cars in Estonia, is little bit difficult, it takse to much time to order them. I have ordered everithing from RockAuto Auto Parts web site. It takes 4 weeks delivery time.
What you think about LPG system to V10? At least here LPG price is half of gasoline.

 

LPG for sure would be a big plus and it's feasible .
There's all ready ,at least ,one member here with it (LPG)installed from Finland IIRC.
I wouldn't take chances with 6.0L in Europe from lack of ford diesel technicians.
I agree with post's #24 author and even on this side of Atlantic it's hard to find good ford's certified diesel tech.
Thanks to FTE most of us fix our trucks our selfs and that's the way you'll be forced to
do it over there.
That said, you really want to go with latest version 04-05 Ex, V10.

 

I have the 5.4 V8. It's been good to me, and I tow a 6000# toy hauler with it, but dang if it doesn't dog it pulling that much weight. The last time I was in at the Ford dealer in Warsaw talking to the service guys about something and mentioned towing a camper with it and how bad it was, they remarked about how it was completely under-rated to tow (5.4) anything serious, but WAS a very decent motor. He then added, "Don't forget, you've got a 7000# + truck there."