I know this place may be slightly biased but also its my best resource. I'm looking at an ex to replace my 99' suburban. To start-my wife will be the main driver for this if I get one. Currently she drives a 1999 2500 suburban(90's body style) with a 454. I rebuilt the engine last june and did a bunch of maintenance items at the same time. It runs really well. I put a nice RV cam in it and upped the compression to 9:1(premium gas) put a full roller valve train in it and tuned the computer. It does 10-11 MPG with her schedule. Its been as low as 7.5 due to 30 days of -35 temps and never shutting off to keep the heat going and as high as 14, tailwind on the highway. The issues are mainly the braking system inadequacy. The rear drum setup is a joke. The 4x4 system is blowing a fuse and the drivers seat is getting pretty warn. I'm also worried about the transmission long term if i keep it.
I've started thinking about an ex because they are bigger and the available diesel. We have 6 children and the youngest is 1 so they will be around awhile. The 4 older ones do traveling competitive soccer so she puts some serious mileage down in a year. We live in Montana so the distances are vast here and the weather lives in extremes so whatever vehicle we have gets a lot of idle time. My wife is constantly having a full load of kids in the suburban and when we go anywhere we fill every seat with just our family let alone any luggage or chairs.
I'm slightly worried that driving an excursion around literally everywhere-doctors appointments, grocery store, 3 different schools, ect. would be to much. But people do drive them daily right? I would think it would do better in the long run fuel wise.

Second thing I have learned quickly is dang are these things spendy! I'm going to have to shell out 20k to get later model 6.0 thats in decent shape. I could buy a 2012 suburban for that! But I'm not sure a suburban will continue to fit our needs as our children mature. It puts quite a stress on a 5.3L engine to haul a loaded suburban around 100% of the time.

I know some of you on here have owned both and I'm curious what your thoughts are. I sure like the creature comforts of a late model GM but I would also like to get a TT someday and that will never happen with a 1500 suburban. Most for sale seam to be in the 150,000 range for mileage. Is that engine still tight enough after that many miles? I know with age any engines rings will start to loosen up and lose compression.

 

personally i would never allow my wife to DD a 6.0, they are just to unreliable. while i love the Ex i am realistic about what they are and are not.

maybe the v10 or the 7.3 if you know diesels snd enjoy doing all the maintenance yourself. if I had my own soccer team i would buy a Van. the new fords look decent.

 

My experience with the 6.0 was very good. Just sold a 2003 Escalade EXT with 175k on the clock and it was a great motor. Wouldn't have gotten rid of it for the V10 Excursion except for the fact that I needed more towing capacity. Don't get me wrong, I like the X, just not as a daily driver. That said you had a 2500 so are going from a 3/4 to a 3/4. I just couldn't get used to how much harsher the ride of the X was compared to the EXT.....

 

Though retired, and not doing the daily work driving, My 04 v10 is my daily driver and tow vehicle. The v10 is reliable and easy to maintain, just like a car. The diesel is going to get you more pulling power, but has a bit more maintenance. I do not know the exact weight of my trailer, maybe around 7k lbs. It tows nice here in Florida, but a little more power in the mountains would be nice.

 

My wife is a stay at home mom so no work commutes and if we go somewhere alone we drive my car. A big van is completely out of the question. I would think that a 6.0 diesel would be pretty reliable after some mods.

 

I have a 6.0 in my F250 and have had it for 9 years. I actually really like it and have had virtually no issues with it. I deleted the EGR cooler and have a Bulletproof Diesel FICM, but have not had to deal with head gaskets or studs, despite having a race tune for the last 60k miles.

With that being said we don't know your background when it comes to mechanical knowledge and skills. The 6.0 is not for the faint of heart so I would strongly advise you do plenty of research on the well known issues and prepare yourself for what you will in all likelihood have to deal with if you decide to buy one.

If it's not for you the v10 is a great engine with very few problems. The 7.3 is good too but they're really expensive if you find a good one.

 

You guys are talking about two completely different 6.0 engines, Pirate is referring to the sometimes troublesome 6.0 Ford diesel and 90 is talking about the well regarded GM 6.0 gasser, worlds apart those two engines are.

 

We have two 2000 ex's with the 7.3 that have been our daily drivers for 16 and 15 years respectively. We have 10 kids and did the travel soccer thing for many years, as well as one or the other of them always being my work vehicle. Anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hour commute depending on where my current job site is. One has 390+k miles, the other 401k. Average around 14 mpg. Just did a 4000 mile round trip vaca to CO in June avg 16+ mpg. I don't know much about the 6.0 but I love my 7.3's, and a huge fan of ex's in general.

 

My 6.0 PSD Ex is my daily driver and I love it. Yes, it is huge but I do feel safe in it. I have done most of the upgrades and find it reliable. You do get used to parking it and love all the extra space. I used to daily drive a 3/4 1991 square body Suburban gasser and my Ex get a lot better mileage. After driving my Burb I drove a 1996 GMC Safari van and it felt like I was driving a subcompact.

Plan on keeping it for a long time.

Rob

 

I would run a LS powered Ex any day.....

just so happens there is one being built down in the race shop. but thats for another post

 

If you want an X. I would look for a v10 or if you want a diesel find a 7.3. Though some have found a reliable 6.0 psd which in my opinion is a unicorn. I’ve had two that have failed me and will not own another one. Both with around 120,000. I’ve got a 7.3 with almost 500,000
i won’t pretend to know your wife but mine would be best with a gas rig. And the v10 to me seems like a good option.

 

Hey Jorden486, I'm selling my Exc. It's the V10, but it's been thoroughly gone over and should provide years of reliability (ie: fixed exhaust manifold studs, new balanced driveshaft, new Michelin tires, Roadmaster suspension, Hellwig sway bar, K&N filter, 5-star tune, Mobil 1 oil changes, Rancho adjustable shocks, etc...) PM me if you're interested.

FWIW, I've had the 6.0 Exc, and two V10s (including this one). I used my 6.0 as a DD to the train station and back (about 3 miles) and the EGR cooler plugged up pretty badly. No surprise. Did this a few times. Finally caught me by surprise and left me stranded in MO where I left it at a Ford Dealership and drove away in a new F-Series. That was in 2007.

Both subsequent V10s have been essentially trouble free. One was a 2000, my current is a 2002.

 

Does your wife want to drive a 20 year old truck?

My situation is different from yours I'm sure. My wife is not a car person. She always gets the newest vehicle we have. I figure, if she's driving something old and she's stuck on the side of the road, I have to deal with her and the car. If I'm driving something old and it dies, I only have to deal with me.

The LS engines are all I like about GM based on previous experience with the company. A 6.0 swapped Excursion would be awesome.

 

There's always the 8.1L powered Suburban if that's an option.

 

Not sure why so many have such a "hard on" for the 6.0? Sure they have had some issues, but only when you mod them and beat the crap out of them. If taken care of. They are very reliable and won't let you down. I live in Columbus Ohio and see them everywhere in F250/350/450's as work trucks. I probably see on the average if 8 to 10 a day and that's not really looking for them, and not normally the same one as yesterday either.

If your looking for a good used 6.0 diesel just do your homework. Check all the stuff they are known to have issues with. 150k on them is nothing! They can go 400k + just like the 7.3. Just be picky when looking at one, when going to look at it make sure its cold and not warmed up too. Id recommend a 6.0 or 7.3. Yes, the V10 is great too, just the diesel gets better mileage.

Now, why don't you guys tell him all.he needs to know about looking at a 6.0 and help him out. I will go.first... When looking at one, check it when its cold. Check the de-gas bottle for white stuff on the tank. Will be dried up and a chalky looking on it, and remove the cap and check inside the top of the cap. You don't want the chalky substance, that's early signs of bad head gaskets. Second, once up to temp(driving it 20 ish minutes) make sure the temp between oil and water is less than 15°. If it's higher, that's signs of a clogged oil cooler, which is fixable typically with a reverse flush on the water system... Come on guys, help him out!