Hello
I have been on this FTE forum for many years. After a few years of not owning a 7.3, I bought a 2005 6.0 Excursion yesterday. Many thanks to Razzi & Mike for helping me with the search and decisions. Looking forward to spend a lot of time on this sub-forum reading the posts, tech folder etc. and hopefully contributing to the awesome expertise and experiences that this forum brings.




Short Intro - I am an IT guy by profession, but love to work on my own autos. Not scared to get my hands dirty. Play a lot of golf, ride a lot motorcycles as well and have a great affinity to the Excursion platform!!

 

Congrats on the Excursion purchase and welcome back Prakash!! It appears to be in great shape.

Rob

 

If you haven't already, get a monitoring system / scan tool.

Really important to know what the temperature (oil and coolant) behavior is. Fuel pressure is also an important thing to monitor, but that requires an add-on sensor AND gauge.

 

Also - What engine is in it? '04 or '05?

 

Suggestions on which one to get...I was thinking the SCT Livewire.

It is an 05 6.0.

 

I saw that it is an '05 Ex, but that doesn't tell the full story on the engine itself.

I doesn't seem that you realize (although you may know this already) that all the early '05 Excursions (2005 Model Year Excursion manufacture dates from mid '04 to January '05) actually came with the late '04 engine. It is very important (for parts purchasing at a minimum) to know what you have.

Post a picture of the top of the engine and we can help you learn a few things about it.

The SCT livewire can display multiple engine parameters nicely. Just be aware that it doesn't retrieve codes very thoroughly (if in the future you need to do some troubleshooting). Also, I am not sure if it accurately displays the EBP value accurately or not. Just can't recall atm. I have an outdated DashDAQ monitor for watching engine parameters and troubleshoot with FORScan and FORScan Lite.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/ford-man...ble%20Book.pdf

 

The 05 EX's were weird. They were phasing them out so Ford kind of pieced them together. 05 Front lights and bumper, 04 axles and front suspension, 04 engines for most part (but I've seen that can vary). Still a great truck, just realize it's not the same as an 05 Truck.

 

Thanks for this link. I will read it to familiarize myself more.

I figured as much. But wasn't aware of the piecing together or a big change to the engine design within a year of them coming to the market.

Thanks, good pointers. Keep them coming. I have a lot of reading to do here. Some more info on my Excursion & things that I have to get fixed first.

• Door tag says Mfg date is 09/04.
• P0401 - EGR has been lightened, 2 owners before me. But no tuner installed on the vehicle.
• Needs 2 glow plugs
• Needs new-er batteries. I have a code from the ABS.
• Need to figure why the Water in Fuel indicator keeps coming intermittently

I used to run Torque Pro on a tablet on my 7.3. Maybe I will do the same

 

With that manufacture date, you could have either the '04 or '05 engine (or even a mix), but you do have the EGR throttle plate, and the Power Steering Reservoir and the ABS control module are in the '04 location. Likely to be the '04 engine and HPOP, but would need to see the HPOP cover to know for sure.

 

In case you didn't already know, you have a plastic intercooler pipe going into your intake. They can be prone to cracking and cause a low power condition due to boost going out the crack rather than into your intake. We've seen lots of misdiagnosed low power issues that stem from pesky piping, with the common fix being replacement with an earlier style metal pipe. Just might save a guy some trouble down the road!

 

Yes, I noticed that as well. Though it is not leaking AFAIK, I do plan to change them to metal pipes in the long run. Have a few other priority items to address first. See post below.

 

Just thought I would point it out in case you hadn't already noticed it. Looks like a sweet rig though! I'm hoping to own one like it sometime in the future, when time and money allow

 

Been doing some reading on the forum for the last couple of days. Here's how I intend to go about baselining the truck. First, the NEEDS to be done list.

1. CEL Codes & dash lights
   1. P0401 - I have a new Motorcraft EGR valve ordered for this. While I read that the old one can be cleaned and used, I preferred to get a new one. I'll clean the old one and store it as a spare.
   2. P0562 - System voltage low. Though motorcraft batteries on the truck are only a few years old, I am getting new Interstate AGM batteries from Costco. I've had good results using this battery in many vehicles.
   3. P0676 & P0678 - 4 New Motorcraft glowplugs have been ordered. 2 will be installed, 2 will be spares. The old one will be discarded
   4. B1676 - The PO had replaced the +ve terminal on the passenger side cable as it had broken. I suspect that there are other breakages in the cables. While the truck does fire up easily, it does feel like the starter needs some more ooomph to tun the engine over. A new complete cable set has been ordered from Performance Custom Cables. I have ordered a new voltmeter and will monitor the health of the batteries to see it it warrants a new alternator.
   5. WIF light is on. Will drain the HFCM and also clean it thoroughly. Should I buy a new housing & replace it, just for sanity?
2. Engine Oil & Filter Change - PO had the oil changed at a Firestone shop about 2k miles ago. I always like to do my own immediately after I buy a vehicle and then in multiples of 5k there after. Ordered 3 gallons Rotella T6 5w40 from Amazon. Also bought Motorcraft Oil filter & cap, Fuel filter, and Air filter from Diesel Filters Online. It is on the brown truck now. Currently has a Napa Gold oil filter & cap on it.
3. Ordered Archoil 9100. I have used Hotshots Stiction eliminator in the past with good results.
4. Ordered a vLinker OBD reader. I couldn't find my old OBD readers from my 7.3 ownership days I have FORScan on the phone & Torque Pro on the tablet. Should be a good start to be able to read and monitor the engine data.
5. Transmission, Transfer case - Flush & Fill: What is the recommended oil for this? Need to search the forum too.
6. Coolant flush and refill - This will get prioritized higher based on the engine data that comes out. I would like to combine this with replacing the oil cooler from BPD at a later time if possible.

Now the WANTS

1. Ordered a set of 17+ style tow mirrors from Boost auto. I've had a great experience using the Trail Ridge mirrors from 1AAuto in the past. Just want to give this style a try.
2. Leaf Spring & shock absorber Kit - Either a set from ATS or will do the Pirate Procomp setup (it is detailed on the Excursion sub-forum). The front springs are almost horizontal now and there aren't any bump stop on either side.
3. 20" Wheels and new tires. The current set on the truck is old (0216 date code). I am eventually going to need newer springs which will probably raise the truck. So debating whether to get new tires for existing wheels or get a whole new set. I prefer the OEM style wheels with appropriate spacers. My spare tire is the original spare from factory. Neither of the previous owners have opened that cover. The steel rim is all shiny Debating between Michelin LTX and General Grabber HTS. I had these on the two 7.3 trucks before this one and liked them both. What's the forum choice?
4. Hubs - Motorcraft/Warn/Milemarker - what's the forum's choice?
5. Seat heater elements & new seat bottom covers. I plan to take it to a local upholsterer first to see what he can come up with. Otherwise, I'll end up ordering from The Seat Shop.
6. 10" Android based head unit - Looking for recommendations

Please provide your suggestions and pointers. I am a newbie with the 6.0 and have a lot to learn from this braintrust!!
@Toreador_Diesel @bismic

 

I am a big fan of putting in my own fluids and filters as an immediate first step when buying a used vehicle....unless I know the previous owner personally.

Just an fyi - P0401 could ALSO be a dirty (or bad) IAT2 sensor, so you might check that.

It is a toss up on an entire new HFCM vs just clean the old one up. I guess my recommendation would be for you to start cleaning it up - first remove the manifold, and post pictures of what you see.

The only transmission flush that will work is this one:


Don't forget to change that bypass filter on the transmission fluid!! It is the more important one of the two.