I am getting close to purchasing a new TV. At this point I am looking at a 2500 Suburban with an 8.1 liter or the V10 Excursion. In MN, either of these vehicles can be picked up for under $10,000 with 80,000-100,000 miles, and in some cases, much less than $10,000. We would put less than 10,000 miles on the vehicle per year and would hope to get 5-6 years of mostly trouble free miles out of the vehicle.
I have a few questions on the Excursion.

1. Was the 3.73 standard on all Excursions? Did any come with the 4.10 rear ends? If so, can I tell which rear end the vehicle has by looking at the VIN #?

2. I have heard the transmission can be one of the weak points on these vehicles. Are these problems only found on vehicles that were used for towing?

3. What is the payload of a stock Excursion. Right now we have a light TT (6,500 gross, 600 lb hitch weight). Would this trailer require modifications to the EX’s rear end suspension?

4. Do most of these require front-end work at around 100,000 miles?

5. Anything else I should check when looking at these vehicles?

 

Greetings Mrad. I start with a few answers and there's a number of more qualified folks here on the board which will be more than happy to answer you questions.

The Excursions had both the 3:73 and 4:10 rear ends. If you do a search on the board, you find many postings regarding differential ratios.

Some folks say that the 4R100 transmissions in the 2003 and earlier models are a weak point. I have a 2000 Excursion and a 2000 E350 both of which have 7.3 PowerStrokes and both have towed our 24' 9500# enclosed car trailer and the only money I've spent on either truck's transmission has been on routine servicing.

I'm not sure what you mean by the payload. The towing capacity of my Excursion is 10,000# as it came from the factory. I don't have any suspension modifications and I have absolutely no complaints about how it handles our trailer. Any V10 or PSD Excursion will handle your 6500# trailer without breaking a sweat.

Some Excursions have been know to have front ball joint issues. Mine is a 4x4 and is approaching 100,000 miles and the inspection it had last month showed that the front end is fine.

You should definitely get a Carfax and an Oasis report on any vehicle in which you might be interested. There are some folks here on the board which can help you with this. Also, it wouldn't hurt to take it to a good mechanic or an inspection service to have a good going over before you commit. While the price on the Excursions seemed to bottom out several months ago and have had a moderate rebound, there are still some good deals to be had.

I previously owned 5 Suburbans having driven them since 1974, the last two having been 2500 models. The Excursion is not in the same class as the Suburban. It rides better and pulls circles around the Suburban. My best buddy's 2004 8.1 work Suburban just had the transfer case blow up on him this week and they have two others in the department which have suffered the same fate. He's driven it since new and takes good care of his vehicles.

If the extra size and weight of the Excursion isn't a problem for you, then you won't be disappointed getting one. My only complaint about mine is that I don't know what I'm going to do in years future when it finally wears out and there's nothing available to replace it. I've been spoiled!

 

The 2000 X had either a 3.73 or a 4.30 rear end. I have the 4.30 rear end in my 2000. Do a search on here for "rear end ratios" and you will find all the codes for them.

 

By payload, I mean how much can the vehicle carry, including passengers,gear and the weight of the trailer on the tongue. I know SUV's can be hampered by this. With my 1500 Suburban and a full tank of gas, I only have 1,100lbs for me, my wife, kids, gear and trailers hitch weight.

 

The Spec's tab will give you your payload. Depending on configuration it is around 1500lbs.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/specs/index.html

You should have a higher payload with the Sub due to it's lighter weight.

You'll want to add a rear sway to any Excursion that doesn't have one.

 

I am a very very big GM enthusiast, but I have always had a ford truck. Theres a reason for this and even as much as I love GM, for makes a better truck. Don't get me started on cars, or especially a mustang/f-body rant though...


As far as the front ends, you are looking at ball joints every 40-70K miles or so on the excursions, along with typical steering parts replacements at around 60-80K miles. Heavy towing, off roading, driving like a nut job in general etc will lead to the lower life spans obviously, while normal day to day driving and light-moderate towing will get you to the higher end of the life span of those parts.

I have 74K on my 03 V10 X and the dealer did ball joints on one side only under warranty as the other side is still fine according to them. Not to my liking, but free parts are free parts. You can replace the ball joints with the MOOG brand greasable joints when you have them replaced and get more life out of them. The factory ones are non-greasable and that hurts their life span.

My steering parts all feel tight except for the one bar from the steering box down. Simple replacement and with a lil competence you will not need an alignment after replacing it.

Don't get me started on alignment problems on the GM independent front suspension, good luck getting a good alignment on one, and its out of whack after you whack your first pothole. Not to mention notoriously weak tie rods on those trucks.

As far as transmissions, both GM and Ford have a very reliable trans in both trucks that will easily see wayyy over 100K if not abused. 200K+ is not uncommon in either companies transmissions unless towing very heavy loads quite regularly.

Drive line the ford wins hands down. Solid front axle>independent front axle in a truck. I dont care what the GM guys tell you, that IFS is JUNK. A good example is what kind of upgrades you need to run big tires on a lifted truck, or in a diesel towing competition. Those GM front ends flex like soft pretzels in a gorillas hands. The dana 50 front, ford/sterling 10.25/10.50 are bulletproof and proven many many times over. Thee transfer case on the X is also much heavier duty.

The 8.1 V8 and 6.8 V10 are both very reliable, but I would give reliability to the V10 in this case. These tritons just keep going and going. I forgot the exact problems with the 8.1's but there were 2-3 minor issues with the 8.1, nothing serious, but enough to cause some problems for you that I'm sure you wouldn't want.

Comparing frames, again, no contest at all. Ford wins hands down. 7" by 3" thick wall steel vs the average frame under the suburban. Theres a reason the excursion is so much heavier, its built like a tank! This is what you want when towing though, you don't want your chassis flexing in your truck as your towing stuff around.

Brakes I think GM may have a slight edge over the stock ford setup as the fords like to ruin rotors. You can upgrade to the powerslot cryogenically frozen front rotos and hawk pads and eliminate this problem as I did for around $400ish and have a heavy duty pad/rotor that will last a long long time and take the abuse of towing without blinking.

Fuel mileage the V10 is noticeably ahead especially in highway traveling. Unloaded I have seen 16-17 miles per gallon in my 03 V10 limited.

In general beefiness of the body, you can tell fairly easily if you open and close a few doors, push on a couple panels little, and compare a few higher mileage vehicles to see how they have held up to the test of time. The ford lasts longer. GM seems to have issues with door hinges from what I have noticed, as well as weaker body panels that dent easier.

Those are the main things I can think of off the top of my head. Oh one more thing. Go drive by a couple construction sites and count the ford dodge or GM pickup trucks sitting around there. I bet you count 3-4 fords to every GM and Dodge offering. Theres a reason for this. Those are the people that really work these trucks, and they have learned what stands up to the abuse.

The excursion has underpinnings of a real work truck a 3/4 to 1 ton pickup. The suburban is built to be more of a soccer moms vehicle. What do you want to tow 6500 lbs or trailer around with? I think the choice is pretty easy. If you want all the soccer mom luxuries just get a limited, it has everything the burban does and then some.

Again, I love GM's and regularly push people to buy them over other brands, but when It comes to trucks, I bite my lip and recommend fords for heavier work like your going to be doing. (if you just need something to tote the family around and you want an SUV to do it GM has better offerings in the tahoe/suburban for everyday commuting for a family, but when you start towing around a descent load the ball game changes and the excursion is the route to take then)

 

Only a 5.4L V8 Ex came with a factory option 4.10 in addition to 3.73 I believe.

V10's had 3.73 or 4.30

PSD's came with 3.73's

At least what I can gather...

Other things to check on a V10 Ex in addition to the great lists above...

Manifold studs should be inspected as they are known to snap/shear...physically lay eyes on and if possible hands on each stud to make sure they aren't cracked.

Door lock actuators are prone on all Ex's as well...

Steering boxes on all Super Duties can be an issue as well...

Finally mrad...WELCOME to FTE!!!...glad you made it over here...BTW...I'm crappie_fisherman from RV.net...

Joe.

 

Steering boxes only require an easy adjustment that most anyone thats capable of screwing in a lightbulb can do in my opinion, not a big worry. Just tightening a screw to take some play out of the steering, then tighteining a locknut. I wouldnt consider it an issue with the truck, more of a wear item that is easily adjustabel, unlike most where you can not adjust the steering box.

 

Agreed that it is a 10 minute job to adjust...I've done it and there are more than a few threads on it and some of my photos embedded...

Point is that if the steering box was overtightened by previous owner which is very easy to do by accident...all the adjustment in the world won't make it better...so it is worth a check before purchasing...that's all...

Joe.

 

Ahh ok, the way I read it I thought you were syaing they are a known problem on these trucks when they actually seem pretty reliable.

 

Hey Joe,
Thanks for the reply. I also believe you PM me on the RV.net site last spring. We have been looking to upgrade our TV for at least nine months. I tend to over research. The Excursion has caught my eye for sometime. We are just trying to be sure the SUV fits us better than the Crew Cab. Something about the Excursion keeps saying "buy me" in my head.

 

I was talking to a technician today who had a high mileage Expedition that he was looking to trade. He was at the dealer looking at a low mileage Expedition and it happened to be sitting next to a 2001 V10 Excursion Ltd. He made the "mistake" of driving the Excursion just for fun and ended up taking it home with him. He absolutely loves it and said that it pulls his 24' pontoon boat like it isn't back there.

 

If you have the VIN # for the Ford contact FTE/Parts Guy https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...newpm&u=406391 and ask for a build sheet. Give him a E-mail address to send it to and Ed can usually help.

 

Decision between a CC or Ex...well...not sure if I posted this over on RV.net or not.

There are characteristics of the Ex that make it both good and bad over a CC.

Some have a very difficult time finding the towing handle on the Ex and I believe it has a lot to do with improper WD setups. But the Ex makes it easy to have a POOR setup simply do to the rear springs...so the combination of a poorly sprung Ex with someone that hasn't spent the time to tweak their WD at the scales...makes for a very frustrating situation for many...and it doesn't have to be that way.

I have towed 18,000 miles in 3 summers with my Ex...thru some pretty challenging areas and weather too...in fact this summer I traveled to the Grand Canyon...I spent 1500 miles battling 30+mph cross winds...with two of those days being 600 miles each...so I know how rock solid a tow vehicle my Ex is...but I've tweaked on her a little...not that much actually...I've got less than $700 in mods to the suspension all told.

Point is that a CC is an out of the box tower...and is much more forgiving with a poor WD setup. However you give up much of the benefits IMO of owning an SUV...in particular that 3rd row seat and interior reachable storage behind that seat.

I've only got 2 girls (9 and 11)...so a CC would have worked for me...however on our LONG trips...having each child in thier OWN row really cuts down on chatter if you know what I mean...

Plus having stuff in the cargo area (snacks, books, videos, etc) where my daughter can reach is really handy...so for us...the SUV makes a LOT of sense in how we use it.

However it is also only our snow and tow vehicle as we are fortunate enough to have 3 vehicles with 2 drivers (for now)...so having a V10 dedicated to towing...i.e. what it is good at...and not trying to make her my commuter vehicle is great...

Bottom line is that if you do your homework and research the vehicles (i.e. post the VIN on here for an Oasis report)...you can find yourself a very nice used vehicle...you may have to travel to look at it and drive it home...but these Ex's are impressive vehicles no matter how you slice it.

If you do end up with an Ex...great...let us know how we can help you out in getting her dialed in...not a big deal really as many of us are doing it...it may take some tweaking...but once you find your setup...man are you rewarded for it as I have been...

Good luck with the search and once again...WELCOME to FTE.

Joe.

 

I agree with the 3 rows of seats. My kids are 12 AND 14. It also comes in very handy when they bring their friends and their friends junk.