2003 4x4 V10 here. Truck runs great—lots invested. 270k miles on the clock.
I originally picked it up just to tow my 8,000 lb boat to and from the ramp. But lately, I find myself driving it almost every day. And honestly—I really like it.

The suspension was replaced a few months ago. About 8 months back, the engine was pulled to address oil leaks, so a lot got replaced then—power steering, alternator, sensors, etc. The A/C system is mostly new (evaporator, condenser, etc.), except for the rear piping. Minor stuff is regularly taken care of.

Everything works well. Aside from changing the transmission and gear fluids, I haven’t done much with the drivetrain.

Still, I can’t shake the thought: this is a 20+ year-old truck.
I keep picturing myself broken down at the boat ramp with that whale of a boat in tow.

A new truck would run me $60K to $80K. A used one is still used—and would probably need the same kind of work I’ve already done on this one (brakes, for example—mine are new from end to end, minus the pedal!).

So I’m looking for real suggestions on how to quiet that little voice in my head (preferably something more sustainable than whiskey).
What should I be checking or keeping an eye on to reasonably avoid that worst-case breakdown scenario?

 

I have a 2001 Suburban,
2002 7.3L Excursion.

2007 Pontiac Vibe that eats up brakes about every six months, it is a Mail Delivery car and makes 700 stops per day, 5 days a week.


2015 Ford Raptor,


2008 Kia Amanti, which I just paid about $600+ on yesterday to have the auto transmission fluid sucked out, and replaced.

plus all new brakes/rotors/pads up front.

I keep our stuff in New Running condition,

I will not ever buy a new vehicle.

 

^^^ What he said ^^^ ***** happens, things break, you can't always predict what will happen, but if you keep up on the general maint. it goes a long way. When I change the oil in mine, I roll all around underneath it, look all in the engine bay and just generally check it out, and paying attn. when you're driving it to any weird sounds or something feeling off.

We have all 20+ yr old trucks, and we drive them everywhere, along with my old truck "fleet" we have AAA for those times when things happen, a couple yrs ago, right after coming back from a 3600 mile vacation, my 02 F350 decided the upper rad hose was ugly and wanted a new one, so it split open on the way up the hill, towed to house and I fixed it, bout a yr later the accel pedal assy took a dump, towed home, fixed, back on the road. I'd rather keep them in good shape and fix things as they break than have a $8-900+ truck payment every month.

2002 F350/7.3/CC/4x - 160k
2000 Ex/5.4/2wd - 150k
1998 Expy/4.6/4x - 190k

With all you've done to yours, I would just have a swig or 3 in the evenings, drive it and enjoy not having a payment. Change your oil regularly, check your brakes, keep an eye on temps and drive on!

I have driven my 79 F250 1800 miles to MO when I sold it to my BIL, 18mpg and no issues, I drive my 66 F100 down to Bakersfield and all over, they're old trucks, things can and will go kaput, have good towing insurance and fix it when it breaks.

 

I have an 02 V10 4x4 with 250K miles. Make a list of parts that eventually require replacement or cleaning. Spead out the work over time. Once you get most of the list taken care of, you will feel more confident about the vehicle. I've had more than 50 vehicles so far and mostly used when I got them. I've been lucky and never left stranded. In the case of the Excursion, I would check the vacuum pump body for cracks, inspect and check the 4x4 hubs and see if inner bearings rotate with your fingers and place a dust cap over the outside. Also replace the O ring gaskets for the hubs. You can note the engine sensors like aic valve and replace those. Had an issue with the trans filter where the business that I had change the fluid and filter didn't remove the old filter gasket causing new filter to fall out. That caused truck to stall when shifting into reverse only. If you shift lever is sloppy, there are some bushings in the steering column that are cheap and not to bad to replace. Like when you purchase any used vehicle with unknown past, catching up with the regular maintanance will help quite that voive and give you confidence. I also went through the fuel delivery system and started with getting a spare 44 gallon tank, having it washed out (fuel pump warrantee requirement), added new fuel pump, rubber hoses and fuel filler neck (mine was leaking gas). Had injectors cleaned too. Replaced plugs and coils. Also replaced front grake lines after having a shop inspect the truck just after I bought it. Hope yours is a great experience. Good luck!

 

ummm…Nuttin really other than already what ya know. She’ll go another 270k miles and like it. I have the V10 in my 2000 Ex.
If you wanna really keep up on it and have the peace of mind behind knowing all systems are operating at their peak, get an OBD2 for the rig, install one of the apps,( I have OBDFusion) and periodically run tests. It’ll pick up even subtle things you’d pay a mechanic 3 hundo to do. Example, just today I ran the diags on mine cuz I just got new exhaust installed. Turns out, my Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1 percentage was off slightly. Going by the steps my Master Mechanic (ChatGPT-no ****) advised, I cleaned my MAF Sensor and gotdamnit if that didn’t fix this little issue. Cost me about $9 for the cleaner and maybe a couple hours. What do ya think some crap like this woulda cost us dropping our beloved Excursions off at a place where to the fool workin on them wasn’t even born when ours was? On the ChatGPT thing, homeboi told me what dashboard to build on the OBD2 app and how they all play a part in painting the overall health of all systems.if ya have never used it, it’s free. Both the app and the site. I wouldn’t know jack. Here’s a pick of the gauge config I was instructed to build.

 

Good point on the transmission filter. That is one thing I did not touch, besides having the fluids replaced in 2023. I do not have a vacuum pump (V10 here) but I did redo most of the lines and the solenoid behind the radio.
All 4 hubs replaced last year, so I guess is time to check them as you said. Thanks for the pointer on the brake lines. Will do.

 

Thanks for the tip on OBDFusion. I do have an android head in the dash and I bet I do have an ODB2 reader somewhere. Looks like a very good tool.
Great that we use the same mechanic .

 

oil changes and only use the Fl-820s filter
check the torque on all sparkplugs. ensure 20-25 ft-lbscheck fluids regularly
put her in 4x4 periodically

otherwise, enjoy what you got. V-10 is crazy reliable. The whole rig is extremely reliable. You've already done more preventative maintenance than most people will have done after owning the rig for years.