I've been on FTE since May 2013 when I got my 2002 7.3 Excursion 4x4 Limited. Since that date, it's been work, work and more work. Each year we take a trip to Orlando for a week at Disney world in September.

In 2013 after getting the truck, I had to replace two batteries, a starter and found out I was using Oil while on my Disney trip. Not much oil, but it was noticeable on the dip stick.

Spent the year trying to find the problem, new injector o-rings, up-pipes, exhaust and a turbo rebuild with deleted EBPV. Truck ran better, but no change in oil usage.

Through 2014 I continued to chase down a IDM code and oil usage. I thought my recently rebuilt turbo seals had gone south so I added a 38r, that didn't change the oil usage so in July '14, I dropped in "NEW" stock sticks. Off to Disney we go and 2400 miles later, I've used 3.5 qrts of oil. I had blow-by and finally came to realization that the motor was sick.

April of 2015 I bought a salvage e99 motor and began the process of rebuilding it. Once installed in early June I had to work through a few issues. The solid motor took out my weak rear diff so a new TruTrac was installed along with new ring and pinion gears, seals and bearings along with a '08 rear diff cover.

Sept 2015 off we go for our next Disney trip. 2400 miles later, oil level hasn't changed. Fully loaded the Ex moved down the road 85mpg and averaged 15.5 mpg. Slow it down to 1900 rpm's ~70ish and the I got close to 17 mpg's.

After 2.5 years of wrenching endlessly on the truck and literally replacing everything, including a motor, I now have a truck that meets my expectations.

This has been one expensive trip and I've learned a lot on the journey. I have received so much help from many of your, White Buffalo (Rich), Tugly (Rich), Jason, etc... It's been a wild ride, and one I don't recommend for anyone else to take, but there is a great sense of accomplishment when you reach your destination and it's all you hoped it would be.

Thank you all!

Now it's time to upgrade something, maybe I'll redo the interior?

 

Congrats! Now you can cruise down the road and be proud of what you drive and what you accomplished over the years. I love my 7.3 despite it being nearly 16 years old now. It does not have the power or the luxury that a newer 6.7 does, but it is paid off and runs strong and gets the job done when it needs to.

 

Congratulations!!

I'm still chasing the gremlins a 300k truck has, but I lucked out on the blowby/oil usage thing... I'm clean there.

Take your two-year journey through Buck$Zooka craters and double it... that's my mile marker right now. I think I'm about a Friday away from being able to post my own Mission Accomplished thread, and I completely understand your relief of reaching the paper tape.

Once these rigs are dialed in, they sure are a pleasure to drive - even with the antiquated suspension. Very well worth the sweat and simoleons.

 

Good job! Not only your hard work but persistence and willingness to tackle it all yourself makes the fruit that much sweeter. You've done a ton of work in two years.
How do you like the trutrac?

 

Well aside from the fact the rear end is super quiet, I haven't had a chance to use the truck off road. I'm exciting to go camping in a couple of weeks to get the truck off road. It is quiet and that's important!

 

Keep us posted. I'm very interested in how it does in snow and ice.

 

I can relate to the content of this thread. At times I find myself feeling angered and wronged in my buying of a vehicle that required so much time, money, and energy just to make it work "right."

Perhaps I'm somewhat of a perfectionist who tends to worry excessively, but as a result I feel that I've taken the mystery out of this vehicle. I now know how it works, what the various sounds and vibrations from it are, and how to fix it if it breaks.

It's no longer a scary money pit that doesn't seem to end, it feels familiar. Love hate relationship. Hate it because of all the resources it has required, but love it in a "my special needs child" type of way.

 

I am happy to hear that you have it all dialed in. Persistence certainly pays off believe me. My truck has become a metaphor for my life, and I refuse to let it beat me. Frustrating, yes, but when you check something off your list, totally worth it.

 

Nice work Jesse!!! I'm also hoping to have mine up and running by the end of the week!

 

I'm in the same boat but my journey is just starting. Thought I was buying a truck that would "work" for what I needed. Now instead of spending 25k+ up front I spent 8K and will spread money out over time fixing issues with this truck. Having never owned or really driven a diesel much (Army Hummers long time ago), I have no clue what a good running F250 crew cab 7.3 should feel like. I am hoping this oil leak I fix will give me a better feel for what this beast should be like.

Congrats Jesser on making that happen with your EX!

 

The main difference is you now have a truck that is quite capable and respectable up to 500k-1Million miles

 

Hang in there william mark brown.. There will be times when you feel like giving up. Use logic and realize that for the money and time you have taken to get you up until that point, you would not be smart to sell the truck at that point and start fresh again.

In other news I was surprised today when I tipped the scale today with a 5.6t payload. In a 2t+ trailer... which means I was towing 8 tons around.... 16,000lbs. Respectable. The ford handled it alright and I have two more loads to tug tomorrow, and three the next day.

Fixing/upgrading/maintaining these trucks is fiscally worthwhile if they are work vehicles that bring in income. From a business standpoint, these vehicles are ultimately a liability -- unless they are used for paying activities -- be those activities family fun, vacations with loved ones, or simply good old fashioned work. If all you intend to do is move around people, buy a prius. If you're hauling serious weight, man up, double down, pop the hood, do the research, and get your hands dirty. You won't be dissapointed.