Hello first post<o></o>

<o></o>Thinking hard about getting an Excursion. Specifically a<o></o>

1. Diesel
2. 2002 – 2005
3. 4x4
4. black or black with beige<o></o>

<o></o>

• Maintenance<o></o>

I’ve drive plenty of diesels but never for personal use. I do most of my own mechanical work, save except for major repairs like an engine or tranny teardown. What kind of maintenance costs/change should I expect if all of my knowledge and experiences are centered on gasoline powered vehicles?<o></o>

say how much would typical oil change cost?<o></o>

• Mileage<o></o>

From the research I’ve done the turbo diesel tends to get 15-20 MPG? Is that about right? Most of my driving will be hi-way about 60 miles round trip.<o></o>

• Excursion vs. Chevy Avalanche<o></o>

The Ave is my current ride & just doesn’t have the room for a growing family plus pets. My Av is a ’02 with about 70,000 miles. I have a hunch the tranny is on its way out and the AC is not working very well & the brakes will need to be changed within the next 6 months. And finally I owe just right about what it’s worth. Move up or not ‘tis the question.<o></o>

Excursion Candidates<o></o>

• http://tinyurl.com/kzte4 - like it but little high on the mileage<o></o>
• http://tinyurl.com/ghp9z<o></o>
• http://tinyurl.com/jgaua<o></o>

<o></o>

 

Welcome to FTE fear_nothing!

Please take the time to check out the "Read First" threads at the top of this and every forum, so have an idea as to what goes and what doesn't.

As far as your candidates are concerned, you've chosen wisely. Although the first one is a little high on the mileage, you shouldn't be the least bit concerned. You may have heard that the 6.0 has had it's fair share of issues, but a high mileage 6.0 is more than likely a good sign. (check out this thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=402770 and this one https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=509915) At the same time, if you pick one of the lower mileage ones, you still have plenty of warranty on the enigne itself in case you hit a fork in the road. As far as mileage is concerned, you should see about 15-16 around town and as much as 19-20mpg on the freeway. You'll get more power as well as fuel economy if you decide to add an exhaust system, chip, tuner, and/or intake. As far as maintenance, you're looking at about $60-$80 for an oil change depending on where you go. (15 quarts of oil vs 5 quarts) Other maintenance items will cost you anywhere from $75 or less to $189 for a tranny flush. Check your local Ford dealership(s) as different dealers offer different services for less. If you can wait a few days, I'll have an OASIS report done on the three and let you know if any of them had issues. Just let me know, take care.

 

If i was buying an diesal i would buy a 7.3 not 6.0 !

Just my thoughts, V-10 is much better than an 6.0
Don

 

..really....

 

Thanks for the reply... 'tis rather funny the dealer said the same thing... boy it's a deisel 60 thou ain't nothing

Is the OASIS report like a carfax report? Either way the more info the better please send the report my way.

 

All that info about the 6.0 and I forgot to even mention the tried and true 7.3?!? I don't know what came over me!

2003 was the final year for the tried and true 7.3. So if you want to avoid all the issues commonly associated with the 6.0, go for the 7.3 workhorse. They were rare as Ford was trying to get rid of whatever 7.3s they had left from the '02 MY, but they're there, you just have to look harder. In fact, most of the people that have them aren't willing to give them up. (I know, I have one. ) But I'll have an OASIS run on all three and see what comes up. I should know within a wekk. Stay tuned......

 

Personally, I'd avoid the 2003 and early 2004 6.0 psd just to be safe. There are some problem free ones, but it's more of a gamble. I started out looking used and talked myself into a 2005 (new) while employee pricing was going on and got the last diesel X in town just for this reason - didnt want an early 6.0 and the 2002 or 2003 w/ 7.3L I could fine all had 100K+ and didn't want to go that "used" for interior and mechanical reasons. If you find a 2002/3 7.3L with reasonable miles you won't hardly go wrong either.

I have 19k miles on mine in 11 months now, no problems whatsoever, love it. Oil change and fuel filter changes are piece of cake, cost mostly depends on reg or synth oil and where you get your filters. Plenty of tips available here.

As for trade or not, I've never owned a Avalache, but do travel with 2 or 3 adults, 2 kids and 2 dogs on lots of road trips and don't feel cramped if we pack careully. You'll love the space. Only thing that gives you this much space is the Club Wagon full size vans, which I owned and loved but hated the 5.0 engine in it. My last tip, if you'll use the 3rd seat much, or have car seats in the second seat, be sure to get the second row seats (not bench) as it makes the 3rd row much more accessible, especially if you travel with dogs!
Good Luck!

 

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Nothing bad showed up on a carfax report for this one.
http://tinyurl.com/kzte4

Its an:
'04
6ltr
PSD

Are the 6 liters a definite NO BUY? Dumb question but wouldn’t an extended warranty cover any potential engine issues?<o></o>

Really the only thing I noticed when driving…. It really wanted to GO. When stopped at a light I had to keep my foot firmly on the brake as the ole girl wanted to get up and run. Is that normal.<o>?</o>

Boy I’m really torn, I’ve looked thru about 100 X’s & always come back to the one I listed above.<o></o>

 

I wouldn't say they are a NO BUY, but later MY 2004 may have some updates that the early 2004 will not from what I have read. Someone with more knowledge about when changes were made could tell ya from the build date. When/If you get the OASIS report on that one it will tell you if it had a list of failures already.

As for the ext warranty, you have 100K on the engine from Ford (not tranny), which will cover most problems, but there is a high price for inconvenience of those problems that the warranty can't help. Nothing kills the joy of a roadtrip with the fam more than a breakdown, warranty or not. And the stoplight, brake comment could be weak brakes or just nomal, theres a fair amoung of torque even at idle that your brakes are working against. Compare to another, they should not feel different unless modifications are present.

The X in your link is just like (or very similar) to mine, black/tan EB 4x4. It has to run pretty darn good to have that many miles in 2 years, right? If all checks out (oasis too) I would not be afraid of that one.

 

After a LOT of looking, I finally found and bought a 2000 X 7.3L in June. It had just over 107,000 miles on it and it still looks and drives like new.

Just turned over 110,000 on it the other day. Here is my experience: Fuel mileage varies from 15 to 23.5! It doesn't like putt-putting around town, drinks the fuel, probably 14-15 mpg. But on the highway it does great, I get no less than 18 mpg on the highway. But there is a catch, there are several posts out there about this and I have found it to be true, keep it under 2000 rpm, which is about 64-65 mph...once you start into the 65-80 mph range, expect consumption to increase almost immediately. The best mileage I have gotten is while driving 55-60 mph.

The kids love it, the wife loves it and it is excellent for road trips.

I can't speak for the 6.0L, I have heard stories that the first year or two had issues that have been corrected (according to a dealer). And there have been a couple of people tell me to stay away from the 6.0's -Didn't really matter, I couldn't afford any newer than what I bought!

I don't know how flexible you are on mileage and distance to buy one, but the dealer where I got mine has a green 2001 Limited Edition 4x4 with the 7.3L with 88k miles on it. (I got the last black one in Ohio ) The wife didn't like the tan leather in the green one.

The dealer has nothing but trucks and they do a great job of detailing them and checking them out. Several people have looked at mine and thought it was new, they were shocked that it was 6 yrs old.

I plan to get a programmer for it soon, to help with fuel mileage. A friend tells me he gets 28-29 mpg on the highway when he has the power boosted in his 7.3L F-350!

http://www.magnamtruck.com

Good luck!

 

I have an '03 7.3 Excursion, wouldn't have it any other way. I love it!