I'm on my 3rd and LAST Excursion! All 3 have been 2001 w/ 7.3 diesel. First was beautiful red, the second dark blue, and this one I purchased Dec 20, 2019, is Estate Green.
I bought this from a guy in Houston that if I could reach him from CA I'd strangle him for not being honest when I bought the truck. I thought I covered by bases before I flew there to buy the truck by having the Ford dealer thoroughly inspect everything. I specifically requested they check to see if the vehicle had ever been in an accident. Turns out the left rear quarter panel had been replaced and the left rear door. I will say the bodyshop that performed the work did a decent job. If that's not enough, it seems every time I turn around, I find something wrong. I will post all the things I have done and still need to do below. Unfortunately when you buy a used vehicle from a private party, you take a huge risk.
After doing countless repairs, I'm finding new things that it needs and believe me, this girl is getting a lot of love. Unfortunately the love she needs cost $$$$. I went to a detail shop and upon inspection, it looks like the body lines along the sides of the hood are uneven. There was glass damage on the barn doors, and fortunately I found a set in pretty good condition on Ebay ($450).
Getting past that, I replaced all the door weather stripping including the big one around the tail gate and barn doors. So, after replacing all the weather stripping, she is a lot quieter. My next task was to add sound deadening material in all the doors. So far I've done the barn doors and still have the four doors to go using Kilmat. Something I have noticed is the second row seat doesn't want to move along the track to access the third row. I'm trying to figure out who to take it to and have it fixed short of Ford themselves. Does anyone know if that is a job for an upholstery shop? I'm wondering if it would be worth replacing the bench seat for 2nd row captains chairs, providing I could find a pair. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

I really should have started a blog but I'm too far into it now. Here is the list of things I've done so far;Repairs

• “Combo switch” (New-headlights, turn signals, wipers)
• Head unit (repaired)
• 12V power port (repaired)
• Side window mechanics service (Replaced both regulators & motors)
• Remove outside window visors
• Rear window washer leak
• Tailgate shocks (New)
• Rear glass wiper (New)
• Rubber door jam plugs (New)
• Interior rear view mirror (New)
• Rear window defroster - checked ok
• Front door bumpers - YC3Z-2525076-AA (New)
• Window regulators (Front L&R sides)
• Seatbelt buckles-front seats (L&R)
• Seat arm rest- (Driver side adjust)
• Liftgate handle (restoration)
• Liftgate handle (install)
• Barn Doors install
• Right Barn Door panel not secure & align
• Window seal outside weather stripping- Front L&R
• Door weather stripping- Front L&R

OEM- Left & Right 3C3Z-2520708-AA

• Door weather stripping- Rear L&R
• Driver seat belt- cleaned
• Trailer Brake control install
• Headlight harness for HID’s
• Barn doors, the protective shield on door top replace w new vinyl.
• Lift gate weather stripping
• Front row courtesy light lens cleaned
• Headlights w HID
• New Tow Mirrors
• “EXCURSION” Badge touch up
• Fuel filter
• Sound proof barn doors

Here is what's next;

• Detail paint and engine
• Sound proof front doors
• Sound proof 2nd row doors
• Engine Appearance Cover & Bracket
• Clean passenger seatbelt
• Clean cargo area carpet
• Fuel door edge has red paint
• Steering wheel replace $239.00 CarID.com
• refinish wheels

She also needs;
Front bumper repair & Chrome
-Upper Valence replace and Line-X black
-Running boards Line-X black
-Rear bumper pad Line-X black
Body mouldings painted
Audio system installed
Roof rack removed, powder coated black and reinstalled

and I'm sure a few more items I haven't found yet. Here's a picture below. She shows much better in pictures.

Stay tuned! lol

 

You failed to mention that broken grill..
Seriously, I feel your pain and have no negative sentiment towards you whatsoever.
It looks like 50% of your list is elective (maybe particular about looks), and 50% from 19 years of wear and tear. Me, I'm just ****.
When I bought my 2001 I was faced with all the same stuff, literally! I myself didn't do any homework, or take it to the dealer, and I had never owned a diesel. I looked it over, drove it, and the seller gave me the line (sellers pressure) that someone else was interested in it as well and planned to look at it in the next 1-2 days with cash. For me it was supposed to be a beater tow vehicle for my boat, the only research I did was towing capacity, and the Excursion was always at the front of the line. Here we are about 2 weeks shy of my 4 year purchase date, and I'm in about $50,000.00 including purchase price, $16,500.00. Let me tell you I clearly fell in love with the vehicle, for me it was mainly the exterior shape and lines, it all just seems to make sense and flow well. I have done 98% or more of every wear and tear item you have mentioned, and more when It comes to the elective stuff. I spent one weekend removing the entire interior, panels and all so I could hose off everything with cleaner, including the carpet, and seat-belts. What really got to me was having to re-do, remove, or replace all the things that the previous owner did like the lift, tires, Etc.That's been the biggest learning curve for me (lift and tire mods) since I didn't know anything about the parts he used for the lift, how a lift was done, or the large tires. No preventive maintenance was done engine wise either, I have been combing through replacing worn sensor pigtail plugs and such, and aged out parts that are prone to leak. Hell the transmission pump seal blew 3 months after I bought it while backing my boat into my driveway returning from the lake. So a tow to the dealer, (since it wouldn't hold one drop of fluid hot or cold, forward or reverse) and a new tranny install.
A couple years ago I added up all my receipts which were from new parts purchases, NOS parts, used parts purchases, junkyard spare parts purchases. That new rear view mirror you just bought, I bought one too because the chromatic liquid had internally bled, well, they are discontinued now. Part of my obsession has been from just that, parts are going extinct fast.
Clearly you and I and many others have a deep love for this vehicle, because if we didn't we wouldn't be posting here and venting a little. I say keep up the restoration it really looks good.
Keep going, keep adding to that list, and you'll get it to where you want it in no time.

 

can you post pictures of the evidence of the quarter panel being replaced ?

i recently removed a quarter and want to see what to avoid during install.

my main concern is the 3 layer roof seam.

 

The only evidence that is visible from my view was the spot welds along the upper hatch jam. If you look along the jam area you will dee indentation "dots". That is where the spot welds are. On mine, from half way down the left side between the upper hatch hinge and top of the barn door. From that point and lower you cannot see the spot welds. They must have used body putty prior to paint. Also inside the fuel filler tube had red (the color of the donor vehicle. Additionally, around the edge of the fuel door you can see some red that is barely noticeable.

 

Yes the grill was on my mental list. In a couple days I have an appointment to have the exterior detailed. The paint surface is pretty badly soiled and junk baked in. Yes I am concerned with cosmetics as this is my daily driver.
It appears we both got project vehicles and the process is a long one. Things you can't see in my pictures are three of the body moulding panels are badly scratched. I'm considering painting all of the moulding a gloss black, and having the front valence, running boards, and rear bumper pad & step coated with a product similar to Line-X called Bullet liner. I think the green / black color scheme will look nice. But before any of that, I discovered my second row seat doesn't operate correctly when you fold the top forward to access the third row. The seat should slide forward about a foot to allow easy access. Additionally the upholstery is tore up around the webbing used to lift the seat bottom. And the list is growing, and growing......

 

Check the spring/lever mechanism on the second row. I had a similar issue where I couldn't slide the row forward. I traced down the lever and found it pulls on a pin or something that got stuck. There's basically a lever that turns a gear and frees up a latch or something. Once I figured out how the mechanism works, I got a screwdriver in each hand (there was a lever on each side that needed to be pressed down at the same time) and was able to free the "lock" manually to get it to slide. I'm sure someone else can explain it much better than I just did...

 

Thank you however, the seat bottom will need to be recovered too. I discovered this while looking for all the noises every time I go over a bump. There is so much play in the track that the seat can actually "rock" fore-aft a bit and I'm sure this is the source of the loudest noise in the orchestra of rattles.
Is this something an upholstery shop could fix or must I take it to Ford?

 

I would think an auto upholstery shop can look at it. They have to remove the benches and seats anyways so they should know how it works. I would double check all the bolts holding it to the body though, could be as simple as some loose bolts?

Edit: Also you may know, but the rear doors are notorious for rattling. That could heavily be contributing to what you are hearing.

 

I checked all the mounting points and they are firmly secured. I guess a trip to the local upholstery shop is in the plans this week...

 

Could your loose seats, or tracks be a result of a failed mechanism preventing you to move the seat forward, don't forget the 60/40 seat backs recline several degrees too.

 

I had no idea the second row seats reclined despite having my 3rd Excursion. I feel so dumb but I never sit back there either.... lol

This Wed I have an appointment to take it to the detailer. In addition they will do the engine compartment, and we're talking about them removing the roof rack rails, and having them power coated. Let's see what happens....

 

the spot welds are not s good indicator, there are several places on the vehicle that ford covered them with body putty and some places that were not covered but the typical weld spot was not not easily visible

have any pics of the red ?

 

I have already covered the red spot inside the fuel filler compartment with touch up paint. There is a little haze around the edge of the fuel door that I'm unsure if touch-up paint will cover without making a mess. I doubt it will show up in pictures.
Also I noticed the nozzle restrictor isn't there so I could fill up at a truck pump if I needed to.




The crappy area about 7-9 o"clock is where the red was.

Notice the spot weld holes all the way to the bottom

Notice the spot weld holes only half way down

 

Turning this thread into a project blog.....
Yesterday had the complete interior cleaned including the seatbelts getting all the funk out from the previous owner/jerk! It's amazing how clean the seatbelts came out. I searched high and low and everyone has different ideas on why their seatbelts don't retract very well. After the belts were cleaned by the same method as the carpets, they not only look brand new but they retract like they should.

Today I had the complete outside detailed and despite the tiny scratches, and other imperfections, the truck looks pretty darn good! Keep in mind it's about 5 pm with overcast sky's today. I plan to take a few tomorrow when it's sunny.

 

You're only $50k into it? When are you doing the rest of it?

Just kidding... that's maybe a little high for an ex with some issues, but not crazy. I bought mine in November 2014. I paid about $15k for it, although I don't remember the exact amount now. I had to do the first repair on it before I even got it home. Water pump started gushing about 90 miles from home. I drove it back to Northern CA where I lived at the time from San Antonio. It was my first diesel although not my first Ford. It was bone stock except for a K&N drop-in which was the first to go.

In the first few months, I did:
- head unit & speakers
- Water pump & coolant flush
- Oil cooler seals
- Hutch mod
- Hellwig sway bar
- V/mod B code springs
- Shocks
- MBRP 4" stainless exhaust
- S&B CAI
- 6.0 cooler
- headlights
- front & rear brakes

Then I pulled my RV around with it for a year or two.

I parked it in 2016 and started on phase 2:
- 160/80 injectors
- glow plugs
- 38R turbo
- front wheel bearings
- rebuilt front locking hubs
- fixed vacuum leaks
- rebuilt fuel bowl
- RiffRaff FRx
- CAC boots & clamps
- rebuilt HPOP (just the seals, did not break it open)
- up-pipes
- JW trans
- Stainless steel brake lines
- cryo rotors and hawk pads
- coolant filter
- replaced driveshaft u-joints
- serviced slip yoke
- '08 mirrors

I also repaired some stupidity-based damage I caused:
- bumper
- pass. side running board
- drivers side front fender (plus paint)
- headlight

I ran into some starting problems a year or two ago and replaced
- CPS
- IPR
- IPS
- starter
- IDM (twice now; the used replacement died on me)
- GPCM
- Battery cables

I also replaced the leather on the driver's side seat.

Not to mention filters, tires, batteries, oil changes, tranny fluid changes...

I don't even want to total it up. I bet it's close to $40k.

In retrospect, I should have bought a V10. The diesel is cool but I don't know that it's worth it.