Well i finally bought myself my Excursion. Issues galore though...
1, Vehicle runs very rough at any time. It will surge, and then try and idle but misfires and backfires out the exhaust and sometimes up the intake. it must be a vacuum leak since the brake booster wont even build vacuum for booster pressure. i pull the line off and it doesnt even have a vacuum to my finger. the truck has 115k miles on the v10. i dont have much experience with these particular motors, but i pulled the throttle body off, cleaned it all up and check all the vacuum hoses large and small. i coudlnt find any leaks, or while it runs hear a leak either. the truck runs so poorly it wont trip any CEL codes either. The IAC motor looks suspect though when i took it off. i could see it in a failing situation cuasing excessive air.
2, the gear selector has so much slop, when it park on the dash, its actually reverse... its off by one gear selection.
3, well it misses a bunch of little levers and switches but hey i get what i pay for.

Pictures here... and the last one shows how small the fullsize Escalade ESV is next to our Ex's

 

Congrats. I bought a fixer too... Yours sound pretty simple. With 115k on the clock I can't imagine anything too serious being wrong. Check the coil packs as they are notorious for causing idle issues.

 

Congrats on the truck!

I'd start with a few simple things, namely Fluids, Filters, and Fuel:

Fluids- Change them all.
Transmission Fluid- Use only Mercon 5, not the DEX/MERC blend, just Mercon 5. Castrol makes what they call Transmax Mercon 5 that's available at Autozone for a reasonable price. Castrol/Mercon V automatic transmission fluid (06818) | Transmission Fluid | AutoZone.com

How to change the transmission fluid: Changing ATF Fluid in a E4OD and 4R100 transmission .: Articles

Transfer Case-http://www.guzzle7pt3.com/transfer.php

Front Diff- Welcome to guzzle's Front Differential Maintenance Web Page

Rear Diff- Welcome to guzzle's Rear Differential Maintenance Web Page

Oil-(self explanatory)


Filters

Air filter- make sure it's not dirty or some off-brand that comes apart easily

Fuel Filter- Real easy to do, but most people don't think to do them, before you do it, look at the "Fuel" portion.

Fuel

As part of cristening your new V10, two things are required:

Two bottles of this stuff in the fuel(before you change the fuel filter): Techron/20 oz. fuel system cleaner (65740A) | Fuel Additive and Cleaner | AutoZone.com

This stuff down the vaccum line:Sea Foam/Engine fuel and diesel treatment (SF16) | Engine Additive and Cleaner | AutoZone.com

Before you to this, MAKE SURE you have plenty of ventilation. How to use seafoam:

1. With the engine fully warmed up, the truck in park, and the parking break set, lift the hood, and pull the vaccum line off the Master Cylinder.

2. Gently pour some seafoam (usually half the can) down the tube then shut the engine off.

3. Let it soak for about 10 minutes, then start the engine. Rev the engine to 2000 to 2500 rpms, white smoke will billow out of the exhaust, keep reving until the smoke lessens, then go for a "drive it like you stole it" drive.

4. After you get back from your "drive it like you stole it" drive, change the oil and oil filter.

Clean your MAF: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...ml#post8490555
You will need this for the MAF: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...ier=36011_0_0_


Last, but certainly not least, change your spark plugs! You can either get the Autolite or Motorcraft plugs as they are one in the same. Don't bother with the performance plugs as the V10 doesn't like them. (Platinum or Double Platinum will do) While you're changing the plugs, be sure to get some dielectic grease as well as new COPs and boots.

 

No harm in doing a compression test while you're changing spark plugs. Note the condition of each spark plug... just to rule out anything major.

 

Hmmm never heard this before. Do you connect up the vaccum to the booster again while it sits for 10 minutes?

 

Yes, I also failed to mention what this does...

Doing this cleaned the innards of the intake system. (Manifold, valves, etc.)

 

Gas and Deisel alike?

 

115k is nothing for these engines if somewhat maintained.
I'd also flush the power steering, very easy to do.

 

It's definitely a no for diesels....atleast the 7.3 and 6.0. Great for gas engines though.

 

thanks for the suggestions guys. i will be pulling out the rig Friday and flushing the fluids, and swapping out the coils and plugs. after that, if there is still a problem, probably will look into the IAC motor. pictures added too.

 

Gratz, man! Nothing wrong with a fixer-upper, I say.

If you still want to check further for vacum leak, spray some WD/40 around the engine bay and see if the engine revs. Or, hook up a bit of extra tubing and blow cig/cigar smoke in and watch for a whisp 'o smoke to curl up.

 

Hey Murdomino,

I'm just down the freeway from you in the OC. Just wanted to say congratulations on the truck and welcome to the group.

Just curious.....what's the story on the hood? It looks like its got an extra scoop to it? The part up by the defrosters is sitting higher than the black plastic??

Good luck!
Karl

 

Karl-
The story on the hood is that i HATE it! It is some sort of venting double bubble hood. the first hump is the gap for the heat to escape the engine, but it isnt directly vented outside. it travels within the hood humps up to the rear outside vents. the crazy thing about the hood, is it isn't made from Fiberglass, its actually metal! previous owner knows nothing of the truck's history. the cowl height is somewhere around 2 over stock if i had to guess.

 

Be happy to trade you a stock hood for it

Not to go back off track here.. but I bought some sea foam... anyone want to walk me through (with pics hopefully) the vacuum line that you soak with it?

 

I have never done the vacuum line thing with Seafoam, I have run it through the gas tank though. You want to sloooooowly feed the Seafoam into the big vacuum line that goes to your master cylinder booster, just pull the hose off the booster and go sloooow, you don't want to hit it too hard and get into any hydraulic issues inside the motor. Once done slooowly pouring in the chemical put the hose back on the booster. Then proceed as Red outlined above. Did I mention that you want to go sloooow when adding the liquid to the vacuum hose? Good luck and you have to report on the post treatment smoke show, we like pics!


Hey Murdomino, nice fixxer upper EX! I like the color. Good luck with it, time, money, FTE guidance and elbow grease will lead to a great ride for you.