Searching for Excursion
I am new here and have been cruising through some posts and forums. My wife and I are about to welcome a second daughter to the family (induction scheduled for this evening) and we realize that we will be wanting to upsize from our 08 Escape Hybrid. It will hold our family just fine, but when it comes to having anyone else in the vehicle, that becomes more less ideal. So our ideal rig would be an Excursion given its versatility. We live in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana (an hour south of Missoula) and know we want 4x4. I am also under the impression we will want the V-10 due to initial cost as well as overall maintenance costs. I have seen one 7.3PSD for sale that is on the cusp of our range, but I have not got confirmation if it for sale along with other questions answered.
My first question is how realistic is it to think I can find a clean Excursion in the $5-7k range that has been well maintained? There is once locally (in Missoula) that is supposedly a single owner V-10 XLT that is posted for $7,500. It has 212,000 miles on it. He says majority of the miles are from the first 10 years of ownership. I'm not overly concerned with miles (I bought a 07 F150 with 197,000 in 2017 and it now has 368,000 without any major issues) so long as it has been maintained will and am more concerned that the suspension components have been kept up as needed and such. It looks clean and well kept. One downside is it doesn't have heated seats (not a requirement, but the wife would like them, and I wouldn't mind either haha). We tried to meet up to look at it, but the seller accidentally left the lights on overnight so we will have to wait until schedules open up.
Any advice on what to expect, being patient, etc is greatly appreciated. What really led me here to post also is that potential diesel option. I was wondering your thoughts on if I found a deal on a diesel, should I even consider it given our expected usage. Our expected usage would be to use the Excursion to do our occasional runs to Missoula (about an hour away, 45miles) for Costco runs, airport run when visitors come, etc., for road trips to visit family (or enjoy a road trip), and then around town on occasion as well which is the part that makes me think diesel would not be ideal, because around town runs would be 5-10 mins not allowing the engine to come up to temp.
Here is the information from the one that has me second guessing if I should consider a 7.3 or not. It seems like most the major things I would be concerned with on a higher mileage 7.3 have been taken care of relatively recently...There is only one photo on the ad, so I need more photos too, if it is still for sale.
We are not in a rush (though excitement makes it hard to think that way at times) so we do have the luxury of being patient and also saving a little here and there to increase our initial purchase price.
Please feel free to have me condense my thoughts as needed to help you help me better. I feel I am a bit scattered with what I'm asking for help with.
Thank you!
"I've had this thing for 9-ish years. It's been amazing and I've done a ton of work to it. Mechanically it's ready to tow whatever you want or drive wherever you want. Almost everything it needs is cosmetic. If you want a showroom Excursion, this one will need some love. If you want a cool rig you can start using tomorrow, this is the one for you. Despite the years I've had it, I haven't put a ton of miles on it, as I have a lot of cars and no daily commute. Even though many of these items are "years ago" the truck only sees maybe 2000 miles a year. I have documentation for the bulk of the items below. I did much of the work myself so you'll have to rely on pictures, parts receipts and visual inspection
Things I've done:
Whole front end was replaced w/ Moog problem solver components
Steering box and lines were replaced 3 years ago
Transmission rebuilt approx 6 years ago, serviced last year.
Differential fluid changed and re-sealed last year
KC Turbos stock+ turbo (supposed to boost a little faster). I will include the OEM turbo, which was previously rebuilt.
New pedastal w/ no cold-start butterfly
4" Exhaust
Banks intake (carb legal)
Water Pump, hoses.
Edge CS Tuner - Never raced or abused. Just wanted a little more power.
Tires are 5 year old but look basically brand new - tons of tread on them w/ no cracking
New injectors 3 years ago.
New hubs and brakes approx 4 years ago.
New fuel filter and seals 2 years ago.
E-fan conversion - This works great. I've towed with the e-fan and had 0 issues with heat. It's super easy to go back to a clutched fan if that's what you want to do, and I will include all the parts.
I have 4 additional soft-ride leaf springs and a track bar I'll include w/ the sale. I was going to lift it another inch or so, this improves ride quality at the same time.
Full Size Spare w/ a brand new matching tire
Federal 7.3 - did not come with a catalytic converter from the factory.
The bad stuff (the reason this thing isn't more money)
*This truck came from Virginia originally. There was rust on the rocker panels, on the cab corners, and on the underside of the body. I had a guy cut out and replace the rockers, we ground out and patched in the cab corners and a few other bits. You can probably have this thing for another 15 years and never have to worry about major rust, especially out here. *There is no frame cancer*. Because the rockers were replaced the running boards won't go back on unless someone re-drills them. I dont like the running boards anyway but you can have them if you want them. They were the source of rust previously.
*The radio stopped working
*South Dakota Title - This truck has been in California. It was never in South Dakota. This isn't actually a huge problem, but I prefer to discuss the details of the title in person. It's nothing illegal and the title's in my name it's just easier to explain why I did it this way.
*Passenger seat is a little tired. The leather is torn and the foam is a little compressed. I'll include new seat foam and a new leather kit for it, that I just never got around to installing.
*The stupid wind deflectors are less than stellar.
*Due for leaf spring bushings in the front. They creak.
*Could use paint touch-up in a few small areas. It's a single-stage ford white so it's really easy to fix. There's some chipping under the back windows on the door and stuff, for example, that you can see in the pictures.
I'm selling it because I bought an LX570. The older I get the less I like wrenching on cars and the more I want some quiet luxury. I also don't really tow anything anymore. I have a bunch of cars and it's time to downsize."
I am new here and have been cruising through some posts and forums. My wife and I are about to welcome a second daughter to the family (induction scheduled for this evening) and we realize that we will be wanting to upsize from our 08 Escape Hybrid. It will hold our family just fine, but when it comes to having anyone else in the vehicle, that becomes more less ideal. So our ideal rig would be an Excursion given its versatility. We live in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana (an hour south of Missoula) and know we want 4x4. I am also under the impression we will want the V-10 due to initial cost as well as overall maintenance costs. I have seen one 7.3PSD for sale that is on the cusp of our range, but I have not got confirmation if it for sale along with other questions answered.
My first question is how realistic is it to think I can find a clean Excursion in the $5-7k range that has been well maintained? There is once locally (in Missoula) that is supposedly a single owner V-10 XLT that is posted for $7,500. It has 212,000 miles on it. He says majority of the miles are from the first 10 years of ownership. I'm not overly concerned with miles (I bought a 07 F150 with 197,000 in 2017 and it now has 368,000 without any major issues) so long as it has been maintained will and am more concerned that the suspension components have been kept up as needed and such. It looks clean and well kept. One downside is it doesn't have heated seats (not a requirement, but the wife would like them, and I wouldn't mind either haha). We tried to meet up to look at it, but the seller accidentally left the lights on overnight so we will have to wait until schedules open up.
Any advice on what to expect, being patient, etc is greatly appreciated. What really led me here to post also is that potential diesel option. I was wondering your thoughts on if I found a deal on a diesel, should I even consider it given our expected usage. Our expected usage would be to use the Excursion to do our occasional runs to Missoula (about an hour away, 45miles) for Costco runs, airport run when visitors come, etc., for road trips to visit family (or enjoy a road trip), and then around town on occasion as well which is the part that makes me think diesel would not be ideal, because around town runs would be 5-10 mins not allowing the engine to come up to temp.
Here is the information from the one that has me second guessing if I should consider a 7.3 or not. It seems like most the major things I would be concerned with on a higher mileage 7.3 have been taken care of relatively recently...There is only one photo on the ad, so I need more photos too, if it is still for sale.
We are not in a rush (though excitement makes it hard to think that way at times) so we do have the luxury of being patient and also saving a little here and there to increase our initial purchase price.
Please feel free to have me condense my thoughts as needed to help you help me better. I feel I am a bit scattered with what I'm asking for help with.
Thank you!
"I've had this thing for 9-ish years. It's been amazing and I've done a ton of work to it. Mechanically it's ready to tow whatever you want or drive wherever you want. Almost everything it needs is cosmetic. If you want a showroom Excursion, this one will need some love. If you want a cool rig you can start using tomorrow, this is the one for you. Despite the years I've had it, I haven't put a ton of miles on it, as I have a lot of cars and no daily commute. Even though many of these items are "years ago" the truck only sees maybe 2000 miles a year. I have documentation for the bulk of the items below. I did much of the work myself so you'll have to rely on pictures, parts receipts and visual inspection
Things I've done:
Whole front end was replaced w/ Moog problem solver components
Steering box and lines were replaced 3 years ago
Transmission rebuilt approx 6 years ago, serviced last year.
Differential fluid changed and re-sealed last year
KC Turbos stock+ turbo (supposed to boost a little faster). I will include the OEM turbo, which was previously rebuilt.
New pedastal w/ no cold-start butterfly
4" Exhaust
Banks intake (carb legal)
Water Pump, hoses.
Edge CS Tuner - Never raced or abused. Just wanted a little more power.
Tires are 5 year old but look basically brand new - tons of tread on them w/ no cracking
New injectors 3 years ago.
New hubs and brakes approx 4 years ago.
New fuel filter and seals 2 years ago.
E-fan conversion - This works great. I've towed with the e-fan and had 0 issues with heat. It's super easy to go back to a clutched fan if that's what you want to do, and I will include all the parts.
I have 4 additional soft-ride leaf springs and a track bar I'll include w/ the sale. I was going to lift it another inch or so, this improves ride quality at the same time.
Full Size Spare w/ a brand new matching tire
Federal 7.3 - did not come with a catalytic converter from the factory.
The bad stuff (the reason this thing isn't more money)
*This truck came from Virginia originally. There was rust on the rocker panels, on the cab corners, and on the underside of the body. I had a guy cut out and replace the rockers, we ground out and patched in the cab corners and a few other bits. You can probably have this thing for another 15 years and never have to worry about major rust, especially out here. *There is no frame cancer*. Because the rockers were replaced the running boards won't go back on unless someone re-drills them. I dont like the running boards anyway but you can have them if you want them. They were the source of rust previously.
*The radio stopped working
*South Dakota Title - This truck has been in California. It was never in South Dakota. This isn't actually a huge problem, but I prefer to discuss the details of the title in person. It's nothing illegal and the title's in my name it's just easier to explain why I did it this way.
*Passenger seat is a little tired. The leather is torn and the foam is a little compressed. I'll include new seat foam and a new leather kit for it, that I just never got around to installing.
*The stupid wind deflectors are less than stellar.
*Due for leaf spring bushings in the front. They creak.
*Could use paint touch-up in a few small areas. It's a single-stage ford white so it's really easy to fix. There's some chipping under the back windows on the door and stuff, for example, that you can see in the pictures.
I'm selling it because I bought an LX570. The older I get the less I like wrenching on cars and the more I want some quiet luxury. I also don't really tow anything anymore. I have a bunch of cars and it's time to downsize."
Are you mechanical, have a shop to get in (out of the weather / heated), have resources to diagnose electrical / computer issues ?
This unit sounds like it is on the verge of needing some expensive "maintenance".
Do you have your heart set on an Excursion
Hobo?
I do not have a shop, currently have my F-150 on a jack stand in front of the house (power steering pump and hoses)... Also not the most mechanical, though I can follow directions generally. My struggle is patience. I get flustered.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum29/
This section is chocked full of shade tree mechanics ingenuity. Like beating on the dash when the PCM is about to go out, to at least get home in a blizzard.
Problem here in Hamilton is the lack of a Ford Dealer. The little old Ford place here is a joke. Long ride to Zootown for parts, if they have OEM stuff.
Specifically on the one you are looking at is "rust". Rust will form above the windshield trim and allow water to drip or run in and destroy some of the electronics.
You might look more in Oregon / Washington since they don't use salt on the roads.
https://boise.craigslist.org/cto/d/n...701398400.html
https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/c...703158913.html
https://seattle.craigslist.org/est/c...699447892.html
I've done some going through threads and am aware of some of the issues, such as looking for rust around the windshield and such. I am planning to keep my search as you mentioned to the west and south of here.
Thank you for your insight, it's much appreciated.







