Hi everyone!

I want to thank you all for sharing your expertise here. I am so grateful for your knowledge in getting to understand more about the EX, the 7.3 engines, mods, etc.

My husband and I are looking at 2 Exes for towing our 7600 pound (when empty) trailer, plus teenagers and dogs. We have the cash and are ready to go forward, but it's not obvious to us which one is the better bet for about the same asking price...just wondering if you see what we can't. Any thoughts would be so much appreciated...

Here's the quick rundown:

2003 EB 7.3: 195K, New leaf springs and Bilstein shocks, drives nicely, great maintenance & records, pretty clean inside, rust-free underneath; southern car; original owner; new engine 120K miles ago, 20-inch Nittos, good life left, pretty much stock, back up camera, stock stereo, electrical issue of windows/stereo going out sometimes-manual switch installed as a remedy for that-kind of like a reset, apparently? [How concerning is this issue?]

2002 Limited Ultimate 7.3: 250K; Hydra chip, ceramic brakes, with second owner who had it about a year, 4 inch turbo back exhaust, not a southern car, some rust, nothing tragic; rebuilt tranny about 70K miles ago, airbags, 20-inch Toyos, good life left, S&B cold air intake, custom bull bar giant, (solid and in great shape) and 12K winch, has all maintenance records; seems to shift a little hard- not hesistating, but a little clunky/noticable, backup camera, Nav, Kenwood stereo. One window not working, throwing a glow circuit engine code, missing the line for the winch, some surface rust underneath.

Help! Thanks!

 

Welcome!

I personally would go for the no-rust option.

You should also post this over in the 99-03 7.3 Diesel section: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum31/

 

The first thing on my list would be rust free if at all possible, so the first one. Also, it has a new engine? I'd be asking why that's the case, but sounds good. What leaf springs? And the windows/stereo issue is concerning only because they put a reset switch in it (seems a little janky to me). There are multiple threads around the whole radio/windows issue but I can't remember what the cause is. It's typical and can be fixed properly to my recollection. I'm sure others will chime in, but let us know what happens! And picture!! Lots of pictures!!

 

Thanks for the welcome and your thoughts, @ArmyLifer and @EXSwap !

So a little more on the first one [no rust-option]:

New engine because of head gasket.

new rear leaf springs--Upgraded to f250 springs, 800 lbs more load capacity.
-- Upgraded heavy duty KYB shock absorbers, front and rear
--Slight oil leak from turbo area. Most likely turbo stand seals or high pressure oil line

 

Welcome to the EX forum!

Rust free wins every time in my mind. You are buying a 15 to 20 year old vehicle that you will want to be safe, solid and reliable for several more years while traveling away from home, start off with the most solid example you can find. Modifying the engine, suspension, electrical, interior, etc...... is doable on any rig and can be taken one step at a time to work your way to the desired goal, 10 years into my ownership my EX still has a to-do list that I would like to get to, but all of the really important mods I tackled early on to make it a better tow rig. Speaking of towing, are you totally set on a diesel? If so, then absolutely go with that desire and the 7.3 is a good one with lots of potential. But if your TT is only 8 to 9K then the V-10 would handle it fine, and even better with a couple of changes. The gasser won't do as well on fuel mileage but the purchase price should be much less for one in similar condition. My EX is a V-10 and it is our dedicated tow rig for our 12,000 lb TT, I have logged over 46K towing miles with it all over the East and it has been very reliable and capable. The 6.8 drives and tows a little different than the 7.3 and some of those differences don't seem to sit well with some in each camp, but both are totally capable of the towing work that you have lined up for it. I'm NOT a diesel basher at all, I have driven the various PSDs and have much respect for them and their abilities but for me the gasser was the right choice, but my reasons aren't the same as everyone else's reasons that drive the choice. Just don't rule the gas choice out thinking it can't handle the work, it can.

 

@Mamaste , where are you located? That could help us find good examples if they were near you. I flew to Texas from Georgia to pick mine up. A pretty darn rust free un-modified 2000 Excursion. It has taken a lot of work and time (and money) to get it where it is now. Knowing what I know now, having someone else that is hopefully competent do the fixes and mods prior to my purchase may have been an more economical option. However, I've mostly enjoyed the experience of it and met great FTE'ers in person as a result of this journey. @MoBill122 has a great quote in his signature: "You can't afford a diesel, if you have to pay someone else to work on it for you!"

 

Newer, no rust, and Fewer miles...I'd be looking to buy the 2003 model for sure! However, keep your eyes peeled, great low mileage trucks pop up periodically! Excited you are joining the Ex community!

 

@WE3ZS Thanks for your thoughts. We're feeling pretty good about the diesel, but are possibly open to gas. You make good points, for sure. We have no doubt about capability, as a certain nerd (ahem, me) has looked at like a million specs on such things. While we have teenagers, we have no doubt there will always be kids, dogs, friends to take camping with us, so the EX is really our perfect vehicle and we want to get one for the long haul (pun intended, sorry).

@ArmyLifer We're in NC, but have been looking within about 500 miles. We have some dynamics that make it a little complicated to fly out somewhere and get the perfect vehicle right now (though we've done so in the past). Hoping we can go with one of these 2 as they were both pretty nice. As I mentioned elsewhere, I used to have a Rialta. Not a diesel, but a 2005 that had some special needs, you know? We got to know how to work with it/her and I know it will be the same for the Ex. Just a little learning curve (yeah, I know...forever....). We're willing to put in the money, effort, and time for a great vehicle.

@Peace2Peep Thanks! I've been watching like a hawk! Hoping this is the one!

 

All great advice above, and I would also go with the lower mileage newer model year.

Plus the Ultimate has been molested.

 

I'd also go with the newer 2003 with the 7.3. I have a 2003 with the 6.0 and LOVE it! It pulls my 9500 pound camper like it isnt even there... before I would go towing with the 7.3 dont forget to get the newer style trans cooler for a 6.0 installed. You temps will always be cooler and for what I know it's a direct swap, others may chime in about it.

I live in Ohio and went to Tennessee to get mine, mine also doesnt have any rust. Hope you guys find what your looking for, a Excursion will pull 7600 without any issues, even if it was the V10 with 3.73 gears. You will be happy once you start pulling with it, they drive like a dream!

 

stick with No Rust, newer, and lower miles, non-molested option, Rust gets into places you cannot see and does evil things do not under-estimate its hold on your vehicles longevity.

And when mod time comes, unless someone meticulously detailed the mods, tuning, etc, you literally have a unknown bag, and if something goes awry, breaks, etc, the Dealer may be at a loss to fix it, especially if its something aftermarket or tuning wise, they will assume a PCM issue, reflash to stock, and if there are aftermarket parts the tune will not know that so it could even make problems worse, better to start fresh when possible and save yourself the headache. Go as crazy with the mods as you want, because you will know how they were done, and who to go to when they break down. I had this problem when i bought my 07 GT, it was thankfully fully stock physically, but they had put some strange tuning on it, and it was not tuned properly, and had occasional pre-detonation, bad fuel use, and very off the wall power curve, i took it to the dealer and had them re-flash it to stock because even my tuning guy could not figure out what the hell they had done to it, and we went through sensors with multi-meters and everything, once the tune was re-flashed by ford, we had a nice clean slate to work from and things went correctly. Its now a monster, and i know all the mods it has, tuning it has, and what to do if anything goes wonky.

 

@mecdac @MasterX Thanks for the heads up on the mods. That makes perfect sense. Those kind of neurotic car issues can be mind numbing.

@Theboneskes Isn't there already a trans cooler? Does it not do the job? Don't get me wrong, I had a vehicle with a need for a good trans cooler and I lived on the edge until I had one installed, so I can appreciate it, for sure. But the stock one isn't adequate?

 

The original 7.3L came with an anemic 9 row cooler if you tow anything larger than a 17' Alumacraft fishing boat you will want the 6.0 cooler.

 

As stated above a trans cooler upgrade for sure, either an oem 6.0 cooler, or a mishimoto cooler will do great, if it hasnt already been added on.

Also I found one in va on craigslist, 2003 Limited that only has 51,000 miles, mint. Its at a dealer. But.....they want $34,500 for it

 

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