Maybe not for someone in the lower 48, but when i'm on a road trip in AK i bring everything i can think of that i might need including an extra coil just in case. when you can be places that there is no services for 200 miles it makes you think about the what if i'm on the side of the road and have not seen anyone in 2 hours with no cell service....just sayin!

The mention that Snow made did not make much sense. The V10 barring any major meltdown just doesn't break down....from my personal experience and talking with other owners. So when he lumped it in with the 6.0 I had to re-read and see if what he was saying was what he meant....they are in two totally different worlds when it comes to reliability and cost to repair. Not trying to knock it just stating the obvious.

 

I just meant that if you do have a breakdown with a v10 it probably isn't going to be something to simple. If you are 1000+ miles from home and blow a plug I am sure you are not going to unplug the injector and drive it home pulling a TT. I doubt your gonna change a fuel pump on the side of the road, a blown plug, head gasket, or a connecting rod.

(yes it happens)

But they are mostly reliable like I said and the OP would probably never have any of these problems with a V10. But the gas mileage will always suck.

 

So, none of that (except the plug) could happen to a diesel? I`m sure I can find a video of a diesel blowing up!


Fact is that can happen to both gas and diesel, and the results would be similar and you'd be stranded either way! V-10`s just don`t have the failures of a 6.0 and both a 7.3 and V-10 are just stone reliable!

 

Even on the 6.0L engines, the only thing that will put you out of commission for awhile would be internal engine failures. Which can still happen to other engines, albeit not as frequently. But yeah, if you have a lifter failure you can count on a week or more of downtime and possibly a $10K bill. Fortunately major failures aren't that common on the 7.3s.

 

Lots of things can strand you for a long time on a 6.0.

Oil cooler, egr/egr cooler, FMC, head gaskets, lifters, hpop, stc fitting, and so on. there is a whole list of parts on the 6.0 that are known to fail and hardly any of them are easy fast fixes.


Out of all the options why wouldn't a guy want reliability AND good mileage? We all know what motor does that.

 

All the repairs you listed except lifters, but added water pump, thermostat, head studs, and a ton of small crap took 2 and a half days to do at my ford dealer.

Now post some snow pics WITH you EX in them

 

Lol @ silly uninformed people talking about 6.0

 

From what I've learned, the 6.0 is actually a really solid, well-designed motors with a few exceptions. For $2500 or so, you can fix those issues and turn it into a very reliable engine.

The 7.3, on the other hand, comes from the factory already bullet-proofed. It also gets (from what I've read) slightly better gas mileage than the 6.0.

This is why I've decided to look at 2000-2003 Excursions with the 7.3. I'm actually going to check one out today and hopefully drive it home if it's a good one.

 

SCT fitting was a two day job eh?

What was your bill for that two days in the ford garage? I bet it was real nice and would make anyones trip a real treat.

 

Who is uniformed? The guy that rebuilt his 6.0?

 

Not only a ford garage, but one that has its own building for super duty. Lol
I don't care much about cost, I just wanted the best tech and I wanted it done yesterday... He did have the number 2 diesel tech help him out on the second day. I took some pics while the heads were out, but didn't have the stomach to hang out while my baby was in pieces.

 

Isn't that what i kinda said?

 

Why yes you did

 

That's right, the awesome 5.4 Baby!

Since I didn't see Apoc in here I thought I'd represent for him.

 

I pulled the trigger today. I bought a clean 2000 Excursion in San Antonio (I'm here for work) and I'm driving it back to California this weekend. They generally sell for about 3-4k less here in Texas to begin with and I feel like I got a good deal on a solid truck. I'm happy. It's got 142k on the clock, a 7.3 under the hood and the interior is pretty decent for a 15 year old, 140k truck. From what I can tell, it hasn't had any body work at all. It runs great, has a clean exhaust, shifts great and I'm just hoping this is a good, solid truck for a few years to come. It has a few VERY minor issues (busted front hub, rear view mirror fell off, needs struts on the rear window, and a few even more minor items). This is my first diesel and it's already growing on me. I love the rattle and I can barely hear it on the freeway. I have AAA, everything with me so I can work from the road in case I get stuck, and enough money in the bank to pay for any repairs on the way. It should be a fun trip.

When I get it back I'm going to put a tranny cooler on it, fix what needs fixing, and start shopping for an RV. The good news is I had budgeted a few thousand more to spend on the truck, so now I can buy an even nicer RV to live in.

So far... I love my diesel.

Here are the dealership pics... while they last! http://inventory.treyjacksonmotors.c...exas/16319869/

And thanks again to everyone who commented.