So i decided to sell my '88 F-250 460EFI recently and now am in the process of finding a new truck/suv. I believe I have found a good deal on a 7.3 Excursion and wanted to see what the experts think. It's a 2000 Limited 4x4 with 204k miles, black with tan/wood interior which is in pretty good shape, and the following mods:

-X code F550 springs in the front with small add a leaf.
-Bilstein shocks
-2 inch wheel spacers front and rear
-4" block lift in the rear
-new brakes front and rear all new rotors and pads
-Pro Comp dual steering stabilizers
-4" turbo back straight pipe
-TS performance chip 5 settings
-New XL front chrome bumper
-New 2010 rear bumper

He has the third row seat (which i've found to be fairly uncommon around here), says the previous owner had the transmission rebuilt but doesn't have papers on it (he says it shifts great), and runs and drives great with no issues. My question is, what is it really worth?? The highest NADA value (excellent condition) is about $10,250 and he was asking $14,800. I know these excursions with the 7.3s go for over book value but I don't know how much!

I have worked a trade deal with him and wanted to see what everyone thinks of it. I recently bought a 1999 Subaru Forester L AWD with only 91k miles on it that was previously owned by an older couple in their 80s who took care of the car by the book. They had the water pump and timing belt replaced by a dealership in the last 5k miles or so and is in pretty darn good shape. Interior cleans up nice, rides and handles great, and is just an all around nice vehicle for being almost 10 years old. I got very lucky and was able to pick the car up for right around $1k so I don't have much money in it at all. The trade we've worked out is I'm giving him $10.5k plus the subaru....so about $11.5k total from my end.....am I doing alright on this deal?!?

Also, if anyone has any help on what i need to look for before i buy it that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

 

 

I'll chime in...

I'd say 11.5 isn't a bad deal IF:

1. Rust is minimal or non existent. Rocker panels and door bottoms are something to look for as well as rust underneath
2. Check those wheels for proper spacing. The hub centric spacers is what you want, and I'd want steel. Just make sure you know what's there.
3. Drive the crap out of it before you buy it with some method of watching parameters.

Those are probably my top 3 just looking at the pictures. I'd also read up on anything 7.3 related in the following:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...excursion.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/4...ml#post2951785

Only other thing from reading your post I'd wonder about is why would they do X codes up front and just a block in the back? Could be for the way it looks, but these rigs are lacking in springs from the get go, so most folks that change, do so for a reason (and therefore, why only change the fronts??) Other than that, hopefully we'll be welcoming you to the club!!

Good luck!

 

Thanks EXSwap!

1) He has not mentioned any rust (i know, doesn't mean there won't be) so i will definitely look for that.
2) I've never been much for spacers so i plan on pulling those off, probably the first thing i will do.
3) Thats what i want to do. The guy lives about 3.5 hours away from me so we're meeting halfway. I'm going to drive it as much as he lets me before! I do plan to bring my BAFX bluetooth OBDII reader and have been searching into common parameters to watch. I remember back when i had my 6.0, you couldn't monitor enough on it! What are some important parameters i should look for? And any max/min values you can provide would be great! I'm going to look into those articles later after work.

Yeah I'm curious about the F550 springs in the front too, my thinking was the same as yours: just to level it for looks. Definitely going to ask him, and look into what the Xcodes are haha I'm assuming the lacking springs dont make a big impact unless pulling heavier loads and i don't plan on pulling anything heavy for a while so i'll have time to look more into it.....unless my assumption is wrong......

I've always wanted a 7.3 Excursion and am really hoping it turns out to be as good as it sounds. I'll find out tomorrow morning!

 

My guess is that he just blocked the rear to save cost/effort as opposed to doing the whole spring pack.

As stated, check for rust, rockers are the first to go. I don't have any specific input on ensuring the engine and transmission are in good shape, but if they check out, it seems like quite a reasonable deal. Verify 4x4 functionality during the test drive as well. Check the power locks to see if they are all functioning, the actuators go bad (not too hard to replace). Check rear washer functionality, the rear washer hose often times becomes disconnected in the passenger footwell firewall area, leading to an inop. condition of your rear washer (once again, not a hard fix). Those are just a couple issues that you can check and use as talking points of the vehicles generic condition.

Clean examples of 7.3 Excursions are going to continue to command a premium in the future, so if it checks out during your inspection and drive, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger if I were you.

Good luck!

 

X-codes were put on the snow plow package for the F250/350 trucks. They are not specific to the F550 truck.

I have a ton of spring info listed in the tech folder. When you have a few minutes you can peruse the info there.

If the inside and the engine and trans check out, I'd jump all over that deal.

Stewart

 

Thanks RPhil! I will definitely check those! Everything is set up for tomorrow morning so I'm pulling it!

 

Okay that's what the X-code is, awesome! I was wondering about that, my first impression was "man, these F550 spring are probably gonna ride like *****!!" hahaha Yes i definitely plan on going through that tech folder, really wanna get some good research in tonight! Does the tech folder specifiy parameter values that i can monitor?

And that's what i was thinking! Seems like a great deal that i can at least get my money back out of if ***** hits the fan and i need to sell it!

 

Forgot to answer this, sorry.

The 6.0's need to be monitored for their delta's and FICM voltage, but there really isn't anything you need to actively monitor on a 7.3L PSD like ya should do with the 6.0L.

That being said, most guys will add an exhaust, intake, and some custom tunes and when you do that, it's always a good idea to have gauges for the EGT's, trans, and turbo boost.

Stewart

 

Well that's good! It was a headache trying to keep up with the 6.0 parameters haha I had 4 gauge piller full AND my SCT X4 reading data.

I'm using the Torque Pro app on my tablet and I was hoping i could find a PID that could pull EGT readings but I don't know if there is a factory sensor that would provide that data....any info regarding that? I'm betting im going to have to install a pyrometer in the manifold again lol which luckily i have a spare laying around

 

Nope, ya gotta add a probe.

Head over to the 7.3L forum and find a post by Tugly and look at his sig. He has links in his sig for PID's and tuning and other essentials.

Stewart

 

Yeah that's what i figured, oh well at least i have one laying around! Thanks Stewart!

 

Well i picked the truck yesterday and man I like it! The truck runs good, shifts good, all accessories work as they should, and there was hardly any rust on the truck! Nothing in the door bottoms at all! I am really excited about the purchase!

But what did happen......so its been really nasty out lately and the guy told me it was gonna be pretty dirty since he hasn't had nice enough weather to do anything....doesn't bother me, I detailed cars all through high school and college so one more ain't gonna kill me. It was covered in pollen (no surprise) so i decided to take it up to the car wash to give it a quick powerwashing. Sprayed it down, looked a lot better, and i proceeded home. Everything was fine, nothing had changed as far as driving or anything, but when i got home, i had a problem. I pulled in the driveway, cut the truck off and got out and the radio was still on and the door chime was dinging.....but the key was in my pocket......great.

So i've done some research and from what i'm gathering, it seems i may have some sort of water leak that is getting on the GEM. Most of the forums (if not all of them) that i have been able to find relating to this are all back from 2010-2014 and i haven't been able to quite figure it out. When i looked up under the dash to see if i could see any water intrusion, everything seemed to look dry. I swapped out relays for the aux. delay and the issue was still there. I decided to crank the truck up and drove it around town for about 15 minutes with the heat on floor and when i got home, the issue was gone.....can anyone enlighten me on this situation?

Other than this issue, it seems to be an awesome truck! It's only got one code and thats for the EBPV being unplugged so no issue there. I just want to get this issue resolved so i can quit worrying! These stories of people coming out to there truck in the morning after a hard rain and their truck batteries are dead because of this are making me nervous!

 

Take a look around the forum here for water intrusion in the windshield (common problem) in addition to the GEM module repairs/troubleshooting. That might be where it's coming from. I think there's probably a sticky in the tech folder on the repair.

In any case, welcome!! Glad you were able to make the deal and are happy with the X so far!

 

Here you go...check this out:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...st-decade.html