Hello all, wow am I out of normal zone...

I've owned chevy cars all my life. By product of my parents working at chevy I guess. Currently own a 2002 duramax. Nice truck but needs some new injectors and is up to 260,000 miles. Not thrilled about spending 4K on a 260,000 truck. I don't drive it often so I've contemplated going back to gas burner, just need one big enough to pull my 7800# travel trailer. I was riding through town yesterday and waiting on my wife at hobby lobbby, happened to see a ford excursion so my daughter and I took a quick look to kill some time. I ended up back there later on to take it for a spin. 2004 Eddie Bauer addition with a 6.0L diesel. I told myself drive it anyway...wow what about that pep on the 6.0L.

I've heard the stories on the 6.0L but thus excursion is almost too good. It's huge but turns like my 4 dr sedan. Great power, quiet for a diesel. I know it has a coolant filter on it, so makes me wonder if most of the fixes have been done. But I am looking for 6.0 owners, are the stories that bad or can I get 300k miles out of this excursion? It's only sitting on 174,000 and she purs like my house cat. I floored the pedal and the kick back in my seat was almost immediate.

 

Welcome to the Ford side. I own a 6.0 Excursion and love everything about it because it is the largest SUV out there. I would take a scanner with you the next time to check the vitals and really stick your head under the hood to check the degas bottle and for leaks. In my opinion, yes you can easily get 300k and alot more, but learning the dos and don'ts with the 6.0, as with keeping up with the maintenance keep you on the road .

 

lots of parts $5000 in five years 2005 6.0 just up to 250 km/h and i made all the repairs my self. i am look for 79 f250 again and put a john deer under the hood .

 

I was a GM tech rep for the Buick motor division in the 80's. Said I'd never own a Ford, I have 4 in the driveway now. With that said, they all break and all have their issues but Ford is less.

 

Word of caution - stay clear of a 2003 6.0L motor. Having said that, Ford did carry over some 2003 motors into 2004 model year builds. Look on the passenger side valve cover, there will be a sticker/decal:
- Red indicating 2003 motor
- Blue indicating 2004 motor

The 2004 motor has many upgraded components to correct issues with the 2003 motors.

 

They're not so bad, it is what it is. Do the work and they run good. I think the 03 is a little more torquey on the bottom end.

 

Love my 2003.....hated my 06.......far more issues with my 06 then my 03 has ever had.....

Only thing that sucks is the ICP sensor on the back of the HPOP.......

 

Lol, always gives me a good chuckle when folks hand out words of caution about the early builds.
As far as the color of the stickers, there is no sure thing. Ours has a blue label, I know of two late builds with red labels.
Kids has noticeably more pep and power than any late build that I know of around here.

There are some weak spots on the later builds as well.
If any word of caution is warranted I would say try to not purchase a mid year 04, that has the old style HPOP and the DP's and SP's........double plus good.
I would still not hesitate to purchase any era 6.0 in good shape.

Yes, the ICP spot sucks bigtime, but I have long arms so it's all good

 

I'm cursed!

 

When I get some extra bucks I'm gonna play with the Excursion. High output HPOP some injectors for work and a nice turbo. It kicks *** now. I would love to see what it's like modded. Oh by the way, it's a 03 motor with 236,000 on the clock.

 

The last thing I need for my truck... High output HPOP!

 

They're not cheap,I've been looking.

 

Staying on the topic at hand.................



If your spending $4K on new injectors, then I imagine your having a mechanic install them. Do you turn wrenches?? Or do you take it to a shop for repairs??

I would be more than happy to spend money on my 6oh at 200K or 300K, but I wrench on mine.

I plan on keeping this truck until I am too old to work on it, I am 33 yrs old today, and I put 500 miles minimum per week on the truck. That said I PLAN on getting in he upper 600K to 700k, and more, out of my truck.

A coolant filter doesn't mean "the fixes" have been done. And "the fixes" is a loose term like the word "bulletproofing". It just means someone knew that a coolant filter is beneficial to the coolant.

My Father In Law is a hardcore GM only fan, and recently when he was in my 6oh he admitted that the 6oh truck seem to have more power then he was use to. So yes, it does have some good pep.

In my honest opinion, I would keep the '02 max. Your talking about a 86k mile difference, which is not much. Both vehicles will need repairs sooner or later. You haven't mentioned if yours is paid of, if you would have to finance any of the 6oh. But given the info you have provided, keeping and repairing the D'max is my answer.

- Preston

 

All good observations, that said he is going from a pickup to an SUV.
GM didn't offer anything with a diesel, unless you are (un)lucky enough to stumble across an older 6.5 turbo in a Sub, which is a pretty anemic platform to begin with.
Not to mention nothing beats a Ford when it comes to body fit and finish, this coming from someone who has owned several GM cars over the years and still owns an older Yukon. Very dependable, but a real rust bucket compared to any Expy or Ex on the road around here from that era.

 

How much are they look to get for the king of SUV's.I really like my Ex. Eddie Bauer edition. Ya it's a pig on fuel around town but nothing compares to it on a long trip. Look in your local FTE chapter and see if you can have one of them go with you to look it over or take detailed pictures and post them up here and we'll help point out things on the truck so you can get a better price or have them taken care of BEFORE you purchase it.....And welcome to FTE