I just purchased my third Excursion and I believe that this one is a keeper. It is a 2001 4x4 Limited that is super clean and has 205,000 miles on it. I plan on pulling a 5500# TT with the truck and will retire a 2000 Expy EB with a 5.4. BTW, the Excursion forum rocks as compared to others.... I plan on performing several Maintenance/mods and would love to hear opinions/advice.
1. I plan on replacing front bumper and grille with a 2007 style upgrade. The idea will be to purchase as many OE Ford parts from a junkyard and purchasing the rest new from aftermarket ebay sellers.
-I am concerned about the front bumper and it's fitment which I understand is a bit wider than the 2001. I see that some have made brackets to keep the bumper from sticking out. Any ideas? Aftermarket brackets that will work with the newer bumper?
- Has anyone seen an aftermarket vendor with a say 2010 style grille for a 2007 frontend?
- The rear step pad and bumper pads look a bit weathered. Is it better to paint or purchase new ones?
2. I do not have tow mirrors, so I plan on purchasing the 2008 style from 1A. Any drawbacks? I like the square style vs the earlier models.
3. Since the truck has 200K miles, I plan on replacing the timing chains, oilers and guides along with the oil pump and water pump. Does that seem like a good idea? Should I plan on replacing the crank gear? Is 200K a dealbreaker? It does not burn oil and there are no codes.
4. Although the truck is in nice shape, the former owner was oblivious to the broken exhaust studs. You can hear the leaks when mashing the gas pedal, but they are not loud. How much is too much before I need to stop driving the truck? It appears that 2-3 of the studs are broken.
-I plan on replacing the manifolds with OBX headers and summit locking bolts. The main reason for the OBX is price.
5. Since I will be towing, I plan on adding a swaybar and Rancho 9000XL shocks. Should I be thinking about adding airbags?
6. I plan on adding a K&N or Airaid kit. Coupling that with the headers, should I purchase a chip? Any suggestions. The V10 seems a little sick as compared to the 5.4 in my much lighter Expy, so just the air filter change does not seem like enough. Does this seem advisable on a 200K vehicle?

 

>You can get those pads on Ebay

>I thing those mirrors are expensive but there are many aftermarket ones.

>I wouldn't replace any of that stuff until it starts making noise. Often the crank gear, chains, and sprockets are still good and they just do the guides.

>Drive it until you are ready for the headers.

>Hold off on the bags until you really think you need them.

>Changing the filter setup won't do anything positive and according to many a chip won't either on a gasser. Personally I don't either are worth having.

 

Ive got an 01 V10, 2wd, 3.73 gear with 170K and drag around a 6000 lbs TT with no problems. I do want to get a rear sway bar but dont feel the need for any other mods to comfortably tow our TT.

 

ive been doing a old soldier make over myself the last month here.2000 v10 ex.166k runs like a top and is very clean.ive done the grill/headlight upgrade (kept stock bumper) did autometer ultralite gauges,obx headers diamond eye 4'' exhaust,4.56 gears,35/12.5/18s,5star tunes,5'' roughcountry lift.as of rite now the best gains are from my tunes its fun to drive and gained around 1.2 mpg that's huge on these pigs!g I wouldnt open the engine up till you have to also.maintained these run for a long time I say do all the fluids/filters and mod to your liking!

 

#4 Fourth broken stud was the deal breaker for me. I tried to ignore it as long as I could but when that one went it started to affect my mileage and performance. When you are ready to tackle this one....
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...r-dummies.html

#5 yes on shocks and swaybar if you are going to tow. Especially sway bar. Make sure you properly inflate tires if you tow heavy, makes a huge difference. Anything under 70lbs in my rear tires if I am towing more than 8k and it feels "mushy".

#6 Dont get the K&N filter, they do nothing for the V10, are noisy and add gunk into your intake from the oil. Left mine on for 2 weeks after I did the manifolds and exhaust, hated the whistle sound and removing it made zero difference in performance.

 

Thanks to all for the much appreciated advice. I think that I will stick with changing out all of the fluids and swap front ends first before I pull the front cover off of the engine and fight those manifold studs. I also did a bit more reading and it appears that my concern about the 2005 bumper being a bit wider is a non-issue.

 

Fixing the manifold studs would bolts MUCH easier with the fenders and wheel well tubs removed.. during your upgrade

Sent from my Sprint PC36100 using IB AutoGroup

 

OBX headers are junk. Save your money for real headers... I'd rather drive with a couple broken studs than with headers full of cracked welds tbh.