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Jan 2018:
It has now been 13 months of joyful ownership of my first 2000 Excursion 4wd 7.3L PSTD Limited. I have been wanting to put the various threads of work done on the EX together for a while to consolidate a build thread. Things were done in a different order than planned, mostly due to the functional need at that time.
August 2018 - Airavat-2 - 2003 Ford Excursion 7.3L PSTD Limited.
8/9/18 - Replaced the Jelly bean outboard mirrors with Trail Ridge mirrors from 1A Auto - https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...l#post18132461
8/14/18 - Replaced the header panel with an 05-07 style along with newer style headlights from an 07 superduty https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...l#post18140233
8/17/18 - Replaced both front hub bearings with Timken
9/3/18 - PCM & Other Sensors replaces after a PATS related issue - https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...lp-needed.html
11/8/18 - EX is back from the shop after almost 2 months
11/16/18 - Viper Security & Remote Start install.
11/16/18 - All 4 ball joints up front, and Centerlink replaced.
12/24/18 - Swapped out front shocks to KYB Monomax
12/24/18 - Swapped out to 20" Superduty Lariat Wheels and 275/75/20 General Grabber HTS Tires
1/1/19 - Hellwig Rear Sway bar and front Bilstein steering stabilizer installed
1/10/19 - Replaced Steering Gear
2/3/19 - Gave it a facelift
2/22/19 - Swapped out the running boards for a set off a '15 Platinum SD CC and took off the cross bars from the roof.
8/4/19: Upgraded to the T444E IH HD water pump - https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...d-upgrade.html
8/4/19: Installed new MC CPS, ICP and IPR.
8/8/19: Replaced the IDM with a rebuilt HV-IDM unit from DTC after the original IDM failed due to water intrusion - https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...situation.html
12/14/19: 225K - Oil Changed; Oil Cooler O-Rings replaced; Refilled Shella Rotella ELC Coolant.
2/25/20: 230K - Oil changed, Coolant filter checked, fuel filter checked, belts checked, air filter checked
5/5/21: 233K - Excursion SOLD!
2/16/24: Bought 2005 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 6.0 XLT (Premium)
2/24/24: 183400 miles.
Got a few things done today.
Got a few things done today.
2wd struts for the barn door. Old struts were tired and the door kept falling on my head.
Cleaned out the water separator housing. There was lot of gunk. The warning light keeps coming up intermittently. So, I iam going to change it out completely.
Added some Archoil 9100 to the engine. PO had changed oil recently, and it won't be due for another few thousand miles for my 5k interval. I'll add it again for each oil change.
Installed new tow mirrors. These are the Boost auto mirrors. I got the 17+ style and added the defroster on both top & bottom mirrors along with the switchback lights. Splurged a bit more than the Trail Ridge mirrors I had on the previous Ex.
New Grille installed. Will paint match it when I get the rockers & roof issues fixed. Waiting on the center emblem.
Nitto Dura Grappler 305/70/18 on Harley Davidson wheels installed. Waiting on 16 more lug nuts for the front tires and will swap those out to put the HD center caps on them. Tires rub pretty good on the fender liner and the springs. Will rermedy these soon.
Oil Changed to Rotella T6 15-40 along with filter. Previous oil change done with unknown oil and Napa Gold filter.
Charge air cooler Cold side plastic pipe was replaced with metal pipe along with Riffraff boots and clamps
Air filter changed.
Installed a hood blanket
Blue spring upgrade
Boost mirror head replaced. Old mirror head was distorted.
4/7/2024
Mounted the 35" spare on an external Wilco swingout mount. Haven't driven it yet after mounting. I bought the wilco unit used on Marketplace. PO had modified the arm to be a bit shorter, but it definitely opens enough for the barn doors to open up to 90*.
And performed a oil cooler back flush to reduce the deltas. But didn't achieve what I wanted to. Next will be the oil cooler replacement. Was hoping to put this task away for a couple more months.
Got an email that the white truck was going to deliver my Red ELC from Rockauto. This was the last of the pieces that I needed to have in hand before doing a cooler back flush. I have a new cooler to install, but figured I'd give this a try first.
Removed the hot side CAC tube easily and installed the FixUr6 adapter. The O-ring on the original was pretty messed up. Taking out the T27's wasn't much of an issue. But putting them back on was a PITA, specifically the rear one. If the turbo comes out, then its easy-peazy. Reinstalled the CAC tube after attaching the water hose. *
Opened the petcock and drained out about 4.5 gallons of coolant. Unfortunately, I used a dirty tub to collect the coolant and couldn't check to see if there were any sediments.
Ran tap water through the oil cooler for about 15 min. I don't have a good shop air compressor. I tried using my ViAir 400P compressor, but that wasn't any help.
Removed the 8mm Allen on the Driver side block and continued to run tap water for another 15-20 mins.
Continued the same now with engine running for about 20 mins.
Shut engine, and water. Allowed all the tap water to drain.
Put the block plug back. Closed the cooler outlet and removed the hose. Tightened the petcock, but guess I was just too strong for the 19 year old plastic* Went over to Advance Auto and got a replacement Dorman petcock (Part#61127) and installed it.
Poured 2 qts of VC-9 into the degas and filled it up with tap water to the min line. Took the Ex out for ~30 min and drove at various speeds. The delta was still ~24 deg. Came home and allowed it to cool down for about 45 mins.
Drained the radiator as well as driver side engine block once more.
Went through 3 more rounds of flushing with distilled water.
* See pics
After all these shenanigans, the white truck was nowhere to be seen Checked my messages again only to find out that the package was damaged in transit and they were sending it back Started searching online for Red coolant at Napa, AA, AZ, TSC etc. and nobody carries them in the store. It has to be ordered and might take a few days to be delivered. Reluctanly, I pulled out the Zerex G05 (Yellow) coolant concentrate that I had bought some time back. I was only able to fill 2.5 gallons of concentrate and 2 gallons of distilled water. Assumed that there was still more coolant / distilled/tap water that was not drained after the last drain that I did. Took the Ex out again and drove for ~1 hour. But, now, my deltas are even more higher. See pics.
Guess, my oil cooler needs to be replaced on priority. I was hoping that the back flush would help keep me running until the summer before the travel season begins.
Questions - The thermostat is a new Motorcraft unit that was installed a couple of weeks back. What is the max ECT that I am supposed to see? As you can see in the picture below, the max number that I saw was 194*. EOT went as high as 231.7
PS: Please ignore the clock and compass. The headunit is not synced.
2/21/25 - Sold the Excursion as plans evolved. Will start a new build thread in a different subsection of the FTE Forum!!!
Last edited by unleashd; Aug 8, 2019 at 09:36 PM.
Reason: Updates to the Maintenance & Builds
◦ Replace Oil cooler
◦ Replace coolant reservoir
◦ Replace Coolant, back flush
◦ Replace O-Rings, Studs, Head gaskets, intake/exhaust manifold gaskets
◦ Replace Valve cover gaskets
◦ Replace Water pump
◦ Replace STC in HPOP
◦ Replace Sensors - ICP, IPR, IAT, EBP,
◦ Replace transmission pan (6.4) & filters, Flush and refill
◦ Replace EGR Valve
◦ Replace turbo wheel
◦ Replace fan clutch
◦ Replace Belt tensioner
◦ Replace Starter (6.7), Alternator & Serpentine belt
The tear down started this week. No wonder my deltas were 30-35*
Passenger side Head gasket went pooof.....
And now the Driver side gasket almost there as well....
4/27/2024: I stopped by the shop this evening. Heads have been sent to the machine shop to checked, resurfaced. That led to an inspection of the valves which confirmed that there are cracks on the seating face of some the valves. So, replacing them all. PFA/R.
Over the past few weeks (4/20/24 - 5/25/24), the truck went through major surgery at the local shop. It all started with noticing a large delta (EOT vs. ECT) of almost 30-40*. Some of it was to address issues that could have led to potentially catastrophic damage. Since the engine was coming out of the truck to be worked upon, I had some additional work performed as preventive maintenance to alleviate potential issues from creeping up. Here's the list of parts, in no specific order, that were installed/replaced/repaired etc.. Unless otherwise mentioned, replacement parts were all OEM.
Dieselsite Oil cooler
Dorman Coolant reservoir
FixUr6 Oil Cooler flush adapter
Head Gaskets
Glow plugs & harnesses
Heads removed, resurfaced, rebuilt etc.
Intake & Exhaust valves
Valve cover gaskets
Dieselsite billet water pump
HPOP discharge tube
ICP, IPR, IAT, EBP Sensors
EGR Valve
6.4 transmission pan with larger filter
turbo wheel
fan clutch
belt tensioner, new belt
starter
injectors cleaned and reinstalled with new O-rings
New head bolts
stand pipes, dummy plugs
rear main seal
crankshaft seal
oil pan gasket
push rod clips
240A Alternator from FICMRepair
Big 3 cables from Performance Custom Cables
KYB Rear shocks
SCT X4 tuner from Blessed Performance, running the street tune (I needed the tuner to get rid of the CEL for EGR delete done by the 1st owner)
. Took me all of 30 mins to replace the seals on all 4 doors. The rubber channels were long enough and I just trimmed out the excess. Visually, they are almost identical to the 2005, they fit right, and I now need to SLAM the doors shut. I'll post an update on how much improvement I feel after an upcoming long drive on the interstates this weekend.
7/11/25: Picked up my new-to-me 2003 Excursion Limited. This is my first v10.
Truck already has a 4" Rough country lift installed with ProComp 18" wheels and 35" BFG A/T KO2 tires. Speedometer has been corrected
Has a couple of rust spots on the doors & bumpers; I need to R&R the gas tank skid plate at some point in the future
PO replaced both the front seat bottoms, so they are not ripped like many of them are.
Rocker panels have already been replaced and paint matched
I do have to replace the running boards with something that will put the step ~8" lower or risk knee injury As it stands, my wife has a hard time getting in and out. Trying to decide between the OEM running board like on my previous 2 excursions or save up for the AMP powersteps
I had bought many accessories last year for the blue EX that never got installed. So, now they will go into this one
Atoto Head Unit
Randy Ellis light bar with Auxbeam fog & running lights
Rhino-Rack Platform roof rack
Reverse camera
Dashcam
Somethings that I need to fix soon
Cruise control switches do not work.
Parking sensor is always OFF.
Needs proper side view mirrors instead of the dog ears.
Driver side quarter glass opens, but doesn't close easily.
Headlight bulbs need to be replaced as they are not bright enough to see well at night
The head unit "sometimes" does not turn on. Eventually, after some time (~5 minutes later), it comes on itself. When this happens, the lights on the door switches are also not on. Has happened twice in the past week.
Rear hatch does not lock
Truck does not auto-lock when you start driving
PS: I am yet to clean it up and take new pictures. Some of these pictures were taken from the ad.
Added some much needed rear view mirrors. These are Trail Ridge mirrors from 1A Auto. Other than having to use either the black(paintable) or Chrome covers, they are great as always. I would have preferred a full textured body, which seems to not be an available option.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
Started searching online for Red coolant at Napa, AA, AZ, TSC etc. and nobody carries them in the store. It has to be ordered and might take a few days to be delivered. Reluctanly, I pulled out the Zerex G05 (Yellow) coolant concentrate that I had bought some time back. I was only able to fill 2.5 gallons of concentrate and 2 gallons of distilled water. Assumed that there was still more coolant / distilled/tap water that was not drained after the last drain that I did. Took the Ex out again and drove for ~1 hour. But, now, my deltas are even more higher. See pics.
As it stands, my wife has a hard time getting in and out. Trying to decide between the OEM running board like on my previous 2 excursions or save up for the AMP powersteps 
