When you have such a heavy duty vehicle that weighs 8000 pounds and use it for what it is made for you are going to be replacing more parts than a 1/2 truck or passenger car.
I use to have 3/4 ton suburban and it had many of the same problems.

 

You are correct,,,it is replacing them BEFORE THEY FAIL that is called preventative maintenance.
The trans you don't know about, usually, ball joints, etc. you can see and or feel, so YES I do consider that preventative maintenance.

I am not sure where some of ya'll live, but I live in Realville, and all vehicles require SOME SORT of maintenance. Haven't had one yet that I drove for 4, 5, 6, or 10 years that I just put gas in and drove and never fixed anything.
If you are used to buying a new vehicle every 2 or so years, sure, just put gas in and drive it and pay the depreciation when you drive it off the lot, good for you, minimal to no fixes. I am OK with that, as it is your choice how you spend YOUR money. Thats the cool part about this place we live in called America!! You get to do what you want to do, and so do I!!!


From wrxin...But there's a proliferation of very expensive things that lots of people are replacing on X's that just doesn't happen on other vehicles. The number of ball joints, hubs, steering boxes, drive-line components, major engine components, and what not is ridiculous and just not common on all used cars.
Only replaced ball joints cause I wanted to, you are reading a FORUM, where people come to find fixes for their problems, so you really aren't going to find the huge outpouring of how awesome said vehicle is, it isn't the "How great is your Excursion forum", it is the "I got a problem" forum. I bought an 05 Lexus RX330 for the wife about 5 or 6 years ago, I joined a forum and saw everything wrong that could go wrong with them,,, I actually posted a thread asking how many were happy with their RX... got tons of replies saying they love them, do the same here, ask how many are happy with their Ex.
This is the place folks come to find fixes, information and sometimes just commiserate on the problems, it isn't a come tell everyone how awesome an Ex is forum. So when a guy says I am tired of fixing "X, Y and Z" on my Ex and I am selling it, those of us that are "happy" with ours are of course going to join in and say it is part of owning one. Her RX has 64k on it, at 64k on the Ex all I had done is pick which new set of tires to put on it. I really don't consider anything other than the BS of the flexplate and tranny failure, out of the ordinary to many of the other trucks/cars I have owned. A buddy of mine has a toyota camry, has 120k on it and tells me how awesome it is, course he has had the front-end worked on, CV boots replaced, rack and pinion leak fixed. Price is equal to the size of things being replaced sometimes.

from brunnesa...I pay cash for all of my vehicles also. Why does everyone assume that I will have a payment? When I buy my new truck it will be paid for when I drive it off of the lot. Like I said, the EX was a cool vehicle, just not for me.
Good for you sir!!!
Took us to go through Financial Peace U, before I really got my wife on board with this!! However, most folks you run into, have a much larger car than they can afford, the majority of the time.

 

I understand you're point. But I think you are applying 1/2 ton and small car logic to a 1 ton vehicle. These pigs weigh an easy 7,000 lbs and some venture well over 8,000 lbs.

no matter what engineering you throw at it, parts will wear out and break. Ford/Dodge/Chevy all are plagued with ball joint and steering component problems with their 3/4 and 1 ton rigs. It's just a fact of life.

As far as spending $1,000's of $$$ to fix...that is just ludicrous. I have <$500 in my suspension total. I didn't even have to lift it. I had the infamous frame slap that I fixed for free with a small AAL. Most of that $500 is because I wanted to lift my X. Had I wanted to fix the frame slap, I could have easily spent $50 and it'd be over. See Brent's excellent and cheap thread on a method to stop that problem.

It's all about how you approach the problem. I love my X and plan on keeping it for the long haul. But I've also been wrenching cars since I could hold a wrench with my dad and very little scares me in that respect.


I suggest you step back from FTE and the other forums where they use scare tactics to tell you how bad your horrible 6.0 motor is. Go and drive it and enjoy it. If she acts up, pop into the 6.0 section of FTE and the guys/gals in there will get you back on the road with minimum fuss/expense. I bet that if you hadn't joined the forum and read all the B.S. posted about the 6.0 that you'd be a happy camper and wouldn't be harboring any resentment towards the motor/X

 

I put a couple grand into mine (half of that in tires) when I bought it 3 years ago and have only spent 20 bucks since then in repairs. (more in upgrades, but that was choice rather than need) About 25 k miles and over half of that towing. I have ZERO complaints about reliability. Maybe I am just lucky, but I doubt it.

 

what is frame slap and where is the thread on it?

 

4x4 X's are notorious for the front axle slapping the frame at the bump stops when you go over any decent size bump. It's a shocking and hard hit. scary as heck

due to the weak factory springs and heavy weight of the X. over the years the leafs sag and you end up with about 1-2" of clearance on average. depends on which motor you have really. this was done because Ford was marketing the X to soccer moms and they hate rough riding vehicles...so the suspension was dumbed down...alot

there is a sticky at the top of the X forum page. in there Brent has a thread where he installed lift shackles to fix this issue. I followed his advice and installed 2" shackles on my X for $50 shipped. coupled with my custom AAL I have about 2.5 to 3" of front lift and will never experience frame slap ever again!

 

Love mine!! Would never give it up!

I also love my 7.3 and would never give it up!

 

love your what? you have a honda?

 

Yeah a few hondas, they are great!

 

That's what I did 2.5 years ago -- bought myself a 3 cyl 5 speed Geo Metro. I average 52 MPG during the summer months and 47 MPG during the winter (avg $25 of fuel every 2 weeks). The savings are incredible, its like getting a raise. I just don't see myself driving a bus to and from work. I bought the Ex because of its cool factor and very affordable. No major issues since I bought it 2.5 years ago, just regular maintenance work. The Ex is a family weekend vehicle or I drive it when there’s a significant amount of snowfall expected.<O</O

 

mehh my two cents. My own personal experience owning an X 2003 6.0.
bought in 2005 w/ 33k. Replaced alternator, batteries, rotors, pads, oil changes that's it. Now it has 105K. I was daily driving it for the past 2 years no problems. (just picked up an ecoboost, last week, towed on a trailer 400+ miles by the X)

No upgrades than ford factory 18" wheels from 2004 super duties. I do have the spring conversion but still haven't put it on. Same for the arp head studs.

 

..............

 

Here is my new truck. 2014 GMC 1500 Denali 4x4 with the 6.2 motor. I love it so far. Paid cash for it. I buy a new truck every year. Maybe next year I can try the new F150.

 

GMC?

 

I always thought that men who have to drive a big truck, or have the biggest, best, shiniest, newest trucks have a little *****- or are lacking in their life in some way, and are trying to make up for this void.