So I have had my Excursion for a little over a year, which replaced a 2005 Expedition that ate a doe. I have found myself stealing the Excursion from my wife and leaving her stuck at home when the weather is really bad. I have been looking for something that was right, and I found it. I looked at a variety of options including a Land Rover Discovery, another Excursion, various pickups, but nothing really had the combination I thought was going to work.

I have liked the first gen Expeditions since I had the 2005. There were few options for the 2005 in the aftermarket, and the earlier ones are much more "truck like". Plus, I have a tag I can use from a car we got rid of recently on an SUV vs. a more expensive one on a truck.

So here it is on the way home. Let me just say, avoid the U-Haul in Lady Smith, Wi. That is unless you want to deal with rude hateful people. They left before their regular closing time so they could avoid me. Nice!




1998 Eddie Bauer, 215K miles, really good tires for snow, decent interior besides drivers seat bottom and steering wheel. Already have a steering wheel on the way. Planning on getting a new seat bottom soon and maybe upper later. I will also probably add heating pads in the seats while I have them apart to take the chill out while I am doing the replacements.

It needs a new exhaust. Multiple leaks due to rust. Speaking of rust, the only real bad spot is in the rocker panel under the driver's door. I will let that ride until the spring and see what it looks like then (probably worse). Overall, less rust than 90% of the other Expeditions I have looked at here in Wisconsin. It hauled the Nissan home with no problem at all on bad ice/snow covered roads. Can't complain too much.

He said the oil cooler had a leaking gasket too, that should be interesting. I haven't noticed anything on the ground yet.

So I will probably use this as a my catch all thread as I do repairs/upgrades. I have really enjoyed my time in the Excursion forum, and it will be fun to see some of the Excursion/Expedition owners in both forums.

I am sure I will need some advice in the future. Can't wait to see how this turns out...