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I have been lurking here for a couple of months since I picked up my Excursion. I have an 05' Limited 4WD with the 6.0. What a beast. Plan is for it to be the family hauler for around town but primarily trips. I expect to pull a travel trailer at times and do some mild off-roading.
The good:
Mileage is low. <130k on the odometer and the condition of the vehicle would lead me to believe it isn't terribly off
Interior is in decent shape
Exterior is in great shape (except the front - more on that in a bit) with no rust and few dings.
Engine and trans pull good. Gobs of smooth power.
AC blows really cold throughout
I did just put some new Nitto Ridge Grapplers on (first mod?)
The not so good:
It was in a wreck at some point and had some frame damage leading to a rebuilt title. Nobody I have had look at it has seen any issues but still a slight worry
Front end needs some work. Some panels don't quite line up right. Looks decent form a distance.
Engine needs some work. Minimal oil leak (haven't had to add any yet) and it is eating about a gallon of coolant every 500 miles.
Steering is a tad off kilter and very loose.
Ride is pretty bouncy.
Door ajar sensors don't work (maybe bad body control module)
Cruise control doesn't work.
The maybes:
There is some kind of lift I believe. My height from mid wheel to fender is 25 in the front left, 26 in the rear left, and oddly, about an inch higher on both right measurements, although I can't see of feel the difference when looking at it.
It seems to have some engine mods done. The oil filter is moved and I think the EGR is deleted.
Things I would like to do, basically in order of importance:
Fix the leaks and get the motor squared away. I wouldn't mind upgrading some parts for power and efficiency but I primarily want to get a couple of hundred thousand worry free miles out of it.
Fix the steering. Straighten the wheel and firm it up.
I am pretty good with the ride height but might want to play with the suspension a little. Make it more sure footed and smoother on the road. Possible off-road upgrades. Possibly the coil upgrade for turning radius and ride. Air bags in the rear and an onboard air tank/compressor for that and tires when needed.
Upgrade side mirrors. Present ones won't adjust electronically and I can't even find a good manual place for the passenger side one.
Upgrade the stereo. Have an after market head unit but sound is pretty bad.
Fix front body and paint the whole thing. Or Plasticoat or wrap. Not sure. Possibly a later model Superduty swap just for uniqueness.
Maybe some overlanding type upgrades. Lights, racks, tent....
Any comments on these are welcome but I will probably work on separate posts with more detailed questions and research more first.
I will start with a couple of burning questions.
First, how much fire am I playing with in regards to the coolant being used up. It seems like a lot to me but the motor feels strong. I did have one time where it randomly wouldn't start for about 5 minutes. It would turn over but never crank until about 5 minutes later when it started and ran just fine. How likely am I to be stranded?
Where is the best place to take it to have the engine upgraded and repaired? I am in western TN but I don't mind making a couple of road trips out of taking it and picking it up so I am open to a good bit of the eastern/central us. If there is someone out there who really has these mastered and won't break the bank, that would be great. I have a local quote from a pretty decent shop but they are more jack of all trades diesel guys. And it's high but I am not sure that won't be anywhere. If they are good with other Excursion upgrades as well, that might be a plus. Again my goal is not super power, just good power, efficiency, and longevity.
Thanks for all the advice I have read so far and in advance for any other you may have.
sounds like you have a project on your hands. You will find many folks here that have tackled every aspect of fixing them.
for starters i would get the coolant issue squared away as that is likely to be your go no no decision making point.
steering gear replacement is a fairly easy project as is replacing your worn out shocks.
suspension lean can be a more complicated issue as it might be a sagged spring but could also be a bent frame. You will need to dig into that to determine it.
how much fire ? 9 fires
My brand new 6.0 left me stranded more times than i can care to remember but after it’s third $10,000 head gasket, egr cooler episode ford finally purchased it back as a lemon. To me I would consider it a toy, not a reliable family hauler you want to depend on. Don’t spend more on it that you are willing to walk away from.
I agree with Pirate, the 6.0 is not to be trusted. You likely have a blown head gasket already (very, very, very common issue with the 6.0).
I have virtually the same Excursion as you, (05, limited, 4x4. 6.0, heck its even the same color). I'm in the process of making it a reliable family hauler by swapping the 6.0 PSD out for a 6BT Cummins. Expensive and time consuming for sure, but that's the only way I could figure to make it as reliable as I wanted.
I'm still in the early stages of the swap but below is a link to the build thread I have going for it on another forum.
Thanks Pirate. Yeah, knew it would be when I bought it but man, what a monster. I know it has a reputation but it seems like there are some pretty successful builds out there too.
Thanks Antonm. That build looks awesome. Way out of my skill or time range. It does raise the question though of whether a swap would be better than a repair. It seems there are some successful 6.0s out there though so I don't know.
Welcome to the forum NashEx. Nice looking Ex as well. There are a lot of knowledgeable folks here who will gladly assist. My first suggestion would be to go thru Tech folder at the top to get familiar with things. You could also do a pressure test on the coolant system to start investigating the head gaskets. Another good thing would be to get a OBD II Bluetooth dongle and an app such as TorquePro to get some baseline numbers on the motor.
A few things to know.
Head Gaskets are a frequent problem, but they are sometimes the result of other problems.
The 6L has an (EGR) Exhaust Gas Recirculator that allows hot exhaust back in to the intake air, for emissions purposes. There is an EGR valve on top front of engine, that regulates the flow rate. The hot gasses, flow thru an EGR cooler to reduce the temps. The EGR cooler can leak, which allows moisture into the cylinders, drastically increasing the cylinder pressures, and can lead to blown head gaskets. In extreme cases, liquid in the cylinder(s) will hydrolock the engine, preventing it from turning, potentially damaging things further.
There is also an oil cooler, which passes engine coolant thru to cool the engine oil, the coolant then flows to the EGR cooler, and then returns to the coolant system.
The Oil Cooler can clog, causing elevated oil temps, and worse, restricting coolant flow to the EGR cooler, causing the EGR cooler welds to partially melt allowing the coolant into the air intake. Early 2003/2004 EGR coolers are more prone than '05+.
So, you'll want to have a qualified 6L engine shop look and determine what all needs/should be done, not always "just" new head gaskets and ARP studs is enough.
I've got 170k miles on my 6L, at 100k, I detected poor oil cooler performance, and had the BulletProof Diesel Remote oil and upgraded EGR coolers installed, to "eliminate" both of those problems.
another problem is some "tuners" to boost engine power. The Ole reliable 7.3 diesel engines really benefitted from them, so folks naturally did the same thing with the 6L. Unfortunately the stock Torque To Yield (TTY) head bolts are fewer per cylinder than the 7.3, and the added power from more fuel can cause cylinder pressures to cause head gaskets to fail.
Some folks believe, the CAT engine plant had improperly calibrated robot(s) that improperly torqued the head bolts.
Other folks believe some casting sand was left in the engine blocks, contributing to the oil cooler clogging.
I iinstalled a coolant filter the first weekend after I bought my Ex, in 2012, to help remove anything that might clog the oil cooler.
Get an OBD2 gauge, scangauge2 or bluetooth adaptor and APP for your phone, you can monitor internal engine sensors, trans temp, oil temp, coolant temp, FICM voltages, injector PSI, etc all highly valuable to find out things that need attention, BEFORE a fatal failure strikes.
I love my Ex and 6L, but it requires lots of care as your new favorite hobby! And you will have lots of fun times!
Thanks Antonm. That build looks awesome. Way out of my skill or time range. It does raise the question though of whether a swap would be better than a repair. It seems there are some successful 6.0s out there though so I don't know.
I also have a 2010 F250 that I’ve already completed a Cummins swap on. It got converted because the 6.4PSD in it cracked a piston.
There is not a single a 6.0 ( or 6.4 for that matter) out there as reliable as that Cummins converted truck, not even one, not anywhere.
And there’s a reason for that, complexity. The 6.0 has so much going one where one system depends on another and a fault in one affects the others ( i.e, the low press oil system that feeds the high press oil system which in turns feed the injectors, or the EGR cooler being in series with the oil cooler such that if one fails they both do), then there’s just the fact that the engine must have functioning electronics to run ( FICM are also known failure points), heck there isn’t even a direct link from the accelerator pedal to the engine, all the pedal is is a fancy potentiometer that’s sends a signal to the ECM.
The Cummins 6bt I put in the 2010 f250 and what’s going in the Excursion is a mechanical engine. Literally needs no electricity at all to run ( needs a starter to start the engine unless you have a manual transmission and push start it of course). It’s a marvel of simplicity and as such it’s less refined, louder, not as smooth , has a more limited useful RPM range ( no dynamic injection timing control) and WAY more reliable as there is simply less stuff to go wrong. No one brags about their 6bt hitting the 300k mile mark because it’s not unique, the people that brag about their engine mileage are guys that are over a million miles.
So , the conversions are expensive, and time consuming, but if done correctly ( not hacked together ), are far more reliable than any 6.0 can ever hope to be.
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Thank you Rob. I have read quite a bit so far but I think it will take some experience for it all to sink in. I have the scanner and will get it set up.
Thank you Misky! I think some of those mods have been done but I don't know enough yet to tell for sure. I know you are way out in Colorado but any knowledge of any specific good 6L shops?
I like the thought of the simplicity and I know those Cummins are beasts. Not sure I am ready to take that route yet but will keep it in the back of my mind. Your build looks sweet.
Congrats! Im going to look at an 02 Ex Limited V10 tomorrow with FULL intentions of purchasing so much so I made my username early haha! Estate Green zero rust they say they have owned it since 2009 and only put 30k miles on it Carfax rings that true.
