Howdy everyone!!

I'm the proud new owner of a 2000 Excursion XLT 4x4 V10 with 144k miles on it. I traded my father-in-law a 1994 Infiniti J30t with 204k miles on it. It really was more of a gift from him. He wasn't using the Excursion and said he'd rather have the J to drive around town in.

It works out great for us as I own my own stump grinding business and need a 3/4 ton truck. We were in the process of selling the J30 anyway. Now we can sell my old 93 F-250 and keep the nicer Excursion.



That's not the best picture but I just got it and haven't had a chance to clean it up. Was going to do that tomorrow but it looks like it's going to rain.

I did get the new tires that I had just bought for the F-250 swapped over to the Excursion which are 265/75/16 instead of the puny 235/85/16 that are in that top picture. Also wired up my Prodigy brake controller.

Here's a picture of the rig I pull:




A little hurricane Ike action:


I weighed the trailer/stump grinder the other day and it was a bit more than I thought. It came to 6,960 lbs.

Our other vehicle is a 2000 Dodge Durango SLT 5.9L 2wd. I've spent quite a bit of money beefing that vehicle up to tow and it does a darn good job lugging around 7k lbs everyday. It has a new tranny with shift kit, 4.56:1 rear gears, added leaf springs, new Yokohama tires (have same tires on both vehicles now), Hawk Superduty brake pads, Bilstien HD shocks, and a few other goodies here and there.

The plan was to use the Durango to pull the grinder unless my wife needed the vehicle and then use the Excursion but I pulled the grinder around for a little with the Excursion and it did great. I guess it's all going to depend on what kind of mileage I can get while towing as to which one I'll use primarily. I get right at 10 mpg in town or hwy with the Durango while towing.



Anyways, that was a long hello. Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your comments.

 

Nice! Looks like Monsta's old X before his '05.

I saw you mentioned that you did some clean up from Ike, where you located?

 

gr8scott,

WELCOME to the Ex owner club and WELCOME to FTE...this is a great place to share
and learn...everyone has something to share and we all have something we can learn
from each other and those that think they don't have any more to learn...are WRONG! LOL

I KNOW from personal experience towing a previous 7500# high wind profile travel trailer
all over the country that the Ex is an exceptional tow vehicle for that sized trailer. Plus
you don't have all that wind resistance to slow you down and eat mpg's...do you happen
to know what gear ratio is in your new to you Ex?...if not...take a gander on the drivers
door sticker and see if there is a code under axle code...if it is 31...you have 3.73 open differential.
If C1 I believe you will have 3.73 LS diff (could be wrong on that one that is from memory)...
with that gearing...I would bet that you would get similar towing mileage to your D with 4.56's if not better.

My screen name is based on the fact that I used to drive a hemi D...and I can tell you
that my '04 D with 3.96's did 'okay' for our old 7500# TT around here in Indiana...but I
would never have dreamed to take that rig the places I have been in the last three
summers owning my V10 Ex. Now I pull a 9000# TT and I continue to know no boundaries.

Do you happen to know what load range tires you put on?...E's are obviously better for
towing stability due to their stiffer sidewalls...but with the low wind profile load you are
tugging...as long as you maintain proper tongue weight as you have for your D...you
should have absolutely no problems...the only mod you may want to consider is a rear
Hellwig sway bar if your Ex doesn't already have a stock one but I think the 2000's were
not well if at all equiped with that option...you can pick one up at JCWhitney for under
$200...I happen to have a 20% off coupon code that expires Wednesday of this week
if you want it let me know and I'll post it for you...

If you have any questions at all about ANYTHING...there is someone in this forum
or the V10 forum that can help you out quick...

Also...not sure if you are interested...but check out the sticky at the top of this forum
about our Second Annual Excursion Diversion meet in the Smokies in July of 2009...
all Ford familes are welcome!

Again...welcome to the BSEG V10 and Excursion owners club...you now have the KING of SUV's!

Take care,
joe.

 

I live in Brandon MS (Just outside of Jackson) but I went to Beaumont and Houston for about 2 weeks in September.

 

welcome to FTE. and congrats on the X

 

Can't quite figure it out. You tell me:

 

ahhh...the dreaded NO CODE...doh...

Okay...how adventurous are you?

There 'should' be a label on your axles themselves...I've found that the front one (if 4x4)
is actually easier to see/read...it will have the codes on there if you are willing and able
to crawl under there to take a gander...provided it is still ledgible after all these years that is...

If there isn't...the next step would be to put a piece of tape on the drive shaft to mark the
center (long ways)...then either jack up the rear of the Ex and spin the wheels and count
the revolutions of the drive shaft for ONE revolution of the wheel...or...
now be careful with this one...have someone slowly drive the Ex while someone is looking
under the Ex (from a SAFE DISTANCE) and count the revolutions on the shaft.

If for ONE tire revolution your drive shaft turns less than 4 times...you have 3.73's...
if it turns more than 4 times...you have 4.30's...don't forget to put a mark on the tire as well

Hope that helps...

Joe.

 

I thought I was going crazy as I didn't see any code on there. lol

I will crawl under there tomorrow if I can get out there before the rain gets here. I want to change the fluid in both diffs and T-case soon anyways.

I can already tell you that it's not the 4.30:1 or if it is, I'd be REALLY suprised just from the way it drives.

 

How many different ratios did they use on the Excursions in 2000?

 

If memory serves me correctly (if not someone will correct ... hehe)

V10's only two. 3.73 and 4.30

V8's had 3.73's and 4.10's

PSD's had 3.73's

Sorry had a brain fart...

What RPM's are you turning at 65mph in OD?

If under 2000...you have 3.73's...no questions...sorry I didn't think of that question first...
Much easier than crawling under your Ex...need a drink I guess!

Joe.

 

Looks like it's at about 2,200 rpms at 65 mph:

 

If that is with the 265/75/16 tires...you've got 4.30's...!

 

They are 265/75/16 and I've verified speed with GPS to be showing exactly 1 mph too high. (meaning 65 on speedo is actually 64)

Wow, so I lucked up and got the good ratio as far as towing?

When I got my Durango, it had the VERY high 3.55:1 ratio but I went ahead and got it because it had the 360 V8.

 

gr8scott,

Yup...you lucked out with 4.30's!

Here's a photo of mine in OD at 65...BTW...I'm actually towing my 35' 9000# TT while taking this photo...
I do NOT recommend doing this while towing...but I do have a very stable towing setup...

I HAVE 4.30's in my Ex...but it cost me extra after the fact to get them...best move I ever made for TOWING
where I tow for vacations!!!

 

EDIT: NM! LOL, I should kept reading to the end. You already discovered you have 4.30's.



Stewart