Im new here but shopping for our Excursion. This will be daily driven by me ~13min 1 way to work as well as the 3 boys playing sports hauler & summer vacation to FL from Clt rig. The plan is to have this truck for ~7yr minimum.

I am strongly considering one near me that is an '03 XLT 4wd 6.8l v10. The seller description states that it comes with 4.30 gears. Was this a factory offering?

The truck is lifted what looks to be ~3" with slightly larger tires.

I guess where I'm going with this question is, what kind of fuel mileage (or lack of) can I expect in that combo? I know usual is around 10-11mpg. Mainly wondering about the interstate cruising for trips.

 

From what I understand the 6.8L Excursions all came with either a 3.73 or a 4.30 from the factory. I don't have the 6.8L so I can't speak to it as much as some of our other members could but I know people generally rave about the 6.8L in all of the other groups/forums I am a part of on Facebook. You would have to do some of your own research but it looks like 3.73 and 4.30 don't differ a ton in mileage. I would expect around 10-11mpg.

 

I've been reading for quite some time about these rigs. I did find last night that the V10 came with either 3.73 or 4.30 which would answer my question.

I've researched so much into them that I figured fuel cost per year, oil change, fuel filter etc per year. Even costs associated with the 7.3l. Those are the only 2 engines I'm considering. Really trying to make as educated & responsible of a decision as I can since this will be relied on as a daily/family trip hauler.

 

I love my 6.0 and wouldn't want anything else, honest. Regardless of what engine you choose you need to understand that these trucks are at a minimum 19-20 years old by now. You have to be able to keep up with maintenance and be willing to get your hands fairly dirty with part replacements and other things or you will be paying someone else a lot of money to do it for you.

 

I've had the 7.3 and now have the 5.4, just bought a V10 for my BIL, for the 7.3, before the ULSD it avg. 20+ hwy, 15 running around, after the intro of ULSD it went to 16-17 hwy and 12-13 running around, my 5.4 I changed to 4.88's when I got it, avg 14+ hwy, 10-12 running around town here in the mtns. The V10, so far 9-10 running around, haven't had it on the hwy yet to give you good est. on that, but from everything I've seen, expect 12+ ish... I went to 4,88's on my 5.4 as the PO had put a Fabtech lift on it, so it would've looked funny with 265's, I went to 315's and 4.88's and am pleased, I almost wish I'd done 5.38's since most of my driving is in the mtns.

All that to say, I wouldn't shy away from the little engine that could geared right, the lil 5.4 will move that big pig around, just not at lightning speed! I didn't buy it to tow, as I have my 02 F350 7.3/CC/4x for that, so the Ex is just a hauler, if you are looking to tow occasionally I would opt for his bigger bro V10

 

I don't mind working on it. I'm ok when it comes to working on my own stuff. I'd like to make 300k in what ever i get. I know these will do it, with appropriate maintenance..

 

if this is just going to be family hauling rig,
I would choose the V10, the maintenance costs will be immensely less.

Diesels can get expensive in a hurry, if something goes wrong.

Plus as a family hauling rig in the cold winter months, that is not going to work for those short 3 mile hops to the grocery store, get the V10 gas rig.
It takes a Diesel about 30 minutes just to get up to operating temperature....
fact, I can drive 15 miles to the grocery store, and it is almost up to 150* oil temp.
the heater isn't even feeling warm in 15 minutes.

I have an '01 K1500 Suburban, all it wants is gasoline and some oil to replace what drips out the rear main seal.... that will never get repaired, oil is cheap, pulling a transfer box & tranny is not cheap.

and an '02 7.3 Excursion, it has been a dollar sucker so far.

* front suspension was totally worn out.
* hubs and brakes and bearings
* water pump seized, so everything brand new, radiator, tensioner, idlers, 'stat & housing,

* was on a trip back to Utah and pulling a trailer, and something stuffed up on Loveland Pass.... $1350 to get it fixed at a diesel shop 1500 miles from home

* installed a Sump in the tank, a PreFilter, changed oil... that stuff is getting expensive now and the oil Filters have gone Sky High in price??? why???

And today, I am trying to figure out what happened to the HVAC vacuum controls???
cost me $55 to get a new Vacuum harness that goes between the electric vacuum pump and the big Canister.... then started looking for where the Vacuum Leak is going????

it takes 10 minutes for the pump to pull the tank volume down low enough for it to stop running.... so the exercise of opening the lines, loosing all the vacuum again, and tracing a new line, is tedious.... finally isolated it to the line that goes thru the Firewall past the blower motor....

anyhoo, I think you should get a V10

 

04, V-10, 4x4, 3.73, V/B Spring Swap, 33" tires, 270+k

I'm the second owner. Bought it with less than 40k on the odo.

Expect 10-12 mpg. I've absolutely babied it on a ten hour trip and barely saw 13's. I've wheeled it an entire weekend and it may have dipped into the 9's.

Empty or loaded, expect 10-12 normal driving City/highway.

Good luck with your purchase.

 

Thanks for those replies. I do have a line on a nice lowish mileage V10 I'm going to look at Thursday. Initially I don't mind doing the normal fluid changes, brakes etc but would rather not start with big costs.

 

How much do you plan on towing? Is there another driver too? Depending on what you're towing and/or drive-ability (parking at a mall/soccer tournaments/hotels,etc), I'd consider a low mileage Expedition EL too. Had one in those years our kids we're going to tournaments/etc. and it was the perfect vehicle. Put almost 100K miles on our '08 with zero issues with the 5.4 3V. Able to get 17-18mpg on highway (not towing). It also could tow our 6000 lbs (boat+trailer) with ease.

With that said, those days (enjoy them, they go by fast!) are over for us. Picked up an '03 F250 V10 almost 3 years ago w/92K miles and it has 106K today. Almost everything is shared with the Excursion. Like the truck more today than the day I bought it. Motor is stock and the power delivery / sound is addictive. Mileage 10-11 mixed driving / 13 Highway / 7-8 towing.

No issues, but here's a list of what's been done (mostly in order) just so you can get an understanding of what you might encounter or need:

- Spark plugs changed at 80K miles (before I bought it) at a Ford dealership

Stuff I've done or had to have done:

- ESOF (electronic shift on fly) R&R (hubs and hub vacuum solenoid)
- Tires / 4.56 gears / Ball Joints, Brakes, Axle seals, etc checked
- magnaflow muffler cat back / catalytic converter theft deterrent
- adjusted steering gear (about 1/2 turn) - took out a little slop - has been good now for almost 2 years
- transmission flush
- recharge AC
- backup camera / trailer brake controller / FM-bluetooth adapter (still has OEM radio)
- 5" B&W Tow and Stow hitch / Timbren bump stops
- installed KYB Monomax shocks
- replaced ac pulley (bearing started going) / new serpentine belt
- inspect/clean 7-pin trailer plug on truck (problem with left turn signal / cleaning plug connectors fixed it)
- I change the oil/filter every 5K miles - 5w30 synthetic (~1/2 qt. of usage over 5K miles)

Overall, this era F250/Excursion platform is pretty solid with a lot of aftermarket support. Wouldn't have any reservations buying one today (provided in good condition). Did exactly that almost 3 years ago and looking forward to using it to go camping next week!

 

Before our current '10 Armada Platinum(now with 183k), we had an '11 Expedition XLT(not EL). I believe it had ~160k when i sold it. I loved it but we were moving on.

Thanks for that list. Some of that I had found just in reading but some I had not heard. I'll definitely add that to my notes I'm keeping on potential items needed/items I want to do.

Mainly looking at the EX bc I've always wanted one. We're in a good spot to get one & will definitely use the space. Two 6yr olds, one 10yr old & a 130lb Rottie.. all boys. Like you said I know it'll go fast & I want to maximize it's use.

 

If you're coming from an Expedition you will be absolutely blown away by how much room these things have. It's just ridiculous. I'm fairly tall and have very long legs and can fit in the back row without my knees touching the middle row. My parents leased my Excursion back in 2003 originally and used to haul me and my 4 brothers all over the place. My dad gave it to me when I turned 18 and I will never part with it. There's a good reason why these things have such a cult following! I wish you good luck in your purchase no matter what you decide on.

 

Have you had any other diesel engines to compare the 6.0 against?

A work colleague of mine is a die-hard GM guy (currently owns a Denali HD gasser, because even he couldn't justify the cost of a new diesel), loves to preach the praises of the General from on high every chance he gets. I once asked him what other makes of vehicles he'd ever owned that has him convinced that GM is by far the best in every regard. His response was that he and his whole family had only ever owned GM products, and he responded to me with, "why would I want to buy some POS made by Ford, Dodge or Toyota". So dude just keeps on preaching how GM is the absolute best at everything even though he has absolutely no frame of reference or experience to base his statements on.
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My comment you're quoting is more layered and I can elaborate a little. I don't hate other engines or manufacturers but I am a Ford guy and prefer Ford trucks. I spent a good chunk of time driving a 12V Cummins which I do have to say was quite nice. Great sound, great power, and seemed to be extremely reliable (was my Grandfather's truck and he grew up a Ford man).

When I say I wouldn't want anything else I mean out of the engine options in the Excursion itself, as there are 4 total engine options that ever came with the vehicle. I've driven 5.4 250s, 7.3 OBS 350s, and even spent some time behind the wheel of the 250 6.8L as well. The 5.4 I do not care for as I do not feel like it has nearly enough power for the 250 let alone an Excursion. 7.3L is great and reliable, but I don't do a ton of towing and I think most diesel owners (large generalization) that have had both agree that 6.0 is better for start/stop daily driver, if reliability is not an issue. Some people simply have bad luck with diesels or don't keep up with maintenance, or are unwilling to put the time and money it takes to get these older engines where they need to be. I get it. Nobody wants to buy a vehicle just to dump all of this money into it so that it doesn't die on you on your drive thru town. A large personal factor for me on why I am keeping my 6.0 going like I am is because it's a one owner vehicle, and I know every single bit of history on what has been touched/done to the truck. I don't have to guess if someone beat the **** out of it or tuned it all crazy, used the wrong fluids, etc.

I am speaking from my personal experience. As I said above, I can not speak to the 6.8L like many Excursion owners here can because I do not have one. That is why I called on other members to weigh in above. All I can speak to is really the 5.4 and 6.0 and a tiny bit of the 7.3. We are all Excursion lovers here and my experience with the truck has revolved around the 6.0. I learned auto mechanics because of this truck and engine and wouldn't want it any other way.

I used to hate Toyotas just because I was a "Ford guy" and then I bought a Camry and it has easily been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. I bought it at 250,000 for $2500 and it now has over 272K on it with minimal repairs. That definitely changed my blanket statement perspective of make vs make, even though the Camry is obviously not comparable to the Excursion by any measure except that they both have 4 tires, a steering wheel, and an engine. I've spent lots of time I(both riding and driving) in Suburbans, Yukons, Escalades, etc. and the Excursion is still the King of SUVs.

 

I'm mostly a Ford guy myself even though a couple Chevrolets , a Dodge, and a Jeep have made their way into my little personal family fleet. The whole brand loyalty thing is more preference than logic based IMHO and every mainstream auto manufacturer has made an engine/ reliability flop or two.

While I'm a Ford guy, I can/ will admit that even they have missed the mark a few times. Take the years 2004 -2011 as an example, during that time Ford produced the SOHC 4.6 non-VVT gasser V8 engine that they stuffed in Crown vic cop cars/ all the panther platform cars. Not a power house engine for sure, but man those things just ran forever with minimal maintenance (usually the transmissions gave up before the engine). But also during that same timeframe they made the 5.4 triton three valve (or really any mod motor with cam phasers kinda suffered the same fate), which was just terrible from a reliability standpoint (BTW the Excursion never got the three valve 5.4 thankfully). So the same company can, and has, produced two different, but relatively similar engines, at the same time, with very different reliability outcomes.
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