Have any Excursion owners done the harpoon mod? Does it work on Excursions? I fill slowly, wait for the foam to settle especially when it is warmer out, and rock the truck for several minutes to get an extra 4 gallons of fuel in my tank virtually every fillup. It usually takes me 20 minutes to fill my tank.

I'm going to be grossing about 24k towing up to Alaska and am told there is a stretch I'll be traveling without a fill station for over 400 miles so I want to be able to fill my tank as full as possible.

How much length can be cut off of the vent tube from the inside and can a guy with big arms access it? Any difference by cutting the fill tube as well? The tank obviously has to be dropped, is it a one man operation for such a large tank and skid plate? I've been able to put in as much as 44.6 gallons when running to almost empty. I read that Excursions have a 49 gallon tank, will this mod allow me the full 49?

I will soon be installing an AirDog 2 165 so I don't think I need to do the hutch mod. Does anyone have any pictures of the harpoon mod on an Excursion?

 

I have always heard filling up at night when its cooler is the best way to go...

 

Hey...Ranger-boy. This is where REAL men post. Yeah...that's right...REAL men who drive REAL trucks. Although there's a couple of chicks here and some kid who drive's his Mom's Excursion but other than that...MEN...REAL MEN! Not some girlie Ranger truck drivers.

What the heck is a Ranger anyway!? Your "truck" is named after these...uh...guys?



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Not having a PSD, I can't answer your question. I can say, however, that is the first I've ever heard someone claim that the Excursion has anything BUT a 44 gallon tank.

 

Ken, you always have to go out of your way to make fun of someone don't you?

We all know you dressed up as the Red Ranger for halloween last year don't even deny it....

Anyhow, you do exactly what I do: fill it up, let the foam settle, rock it back and forth, and continue filling till it can takes no more....

I don't know of any other way unless I'm missing something....

 

Everything I've read about the Harpoon mod should apply to the X. I was planning on doing it this summer. I too hate the delay in getting the last of the fuel in the tank. And it is a 44 gallon tank.

 

I helped a guy do his. I have some pictures somewhere. He was happy with the result I think. It definitely does apply to diesel Excursions, but it's up to you to decide whether it is worth the moderate labor involved.

 

Excursion stock tank is name-plated at 44 gallons. I'm not sure what the true total capacity is. My F250 has a "28 gallon" rated OEM tank, and I;ve put over 31 gallons in it before without having run out of fuel before filling up.

The harpoon mod makes a tremendous difference. Cut the vent tube as close as possible to the inside top of the tank. There is NO benefit from cutting the fill tube. In fact, if you cut the fill tube, you create another increased opportunity for foaming by allowing the fuel to free-fall those last few inches which will help entrain more air and result in more foam. I made that mistake on my F250 and wish I had not cut the fill tube.

When I did this mod to my F250, it shortened my fillup times by a good 10 minutes at EVERY fill up, and that is with a 28 gallon tank. I used to have to trickle the last 4-5 gallons to get the tank truly full. Now the pump clicks off with less than 1 gallon remaing for a truly full tank, and it only takes another minute or so to get my tippy-top fill up that I want so I can make sure my hand-calculated mileage numbers are really accurate. Much, much faster fill up times.

As for the Hutch mod, this still applies to the Excursion just like it does on the Superduty trucks. The same quick connect fittings are used on both, and they will all suck in air when placed under negative pressure by being on the suction side of the stock pump.

As an alternative to the classical Hutch mod, Clay with Riffraff Diesel (one of the sponsors in the 7.3 forum) is coming out with a different approach to this mod which involves installing an intank pump to put these quick connect fittings under pressure. This intank pump will also act as a booster pump for the stocker. This concept has been proven to be effective by Kwikkordead (Dan) who took this approach several years ago and has had zero trouble from his application. He has been working with Clay in developing this new kit, and it is scheduled to be ready around the end of this month.

FYI... I benefit in now way from sharing this info about the Clay's kit. I do know Clay personally, and he's a standup guy to deal with. It is simply an excellent design concept and I'll be purchasing one of these kits myself as soon as they are available to go in my newly acquired 7.3L Excursion.

 

 

Ranger? Does it come in a can? Is it electric?

 

I plan on having to drop the tank to install a Hot Fox and want to do everything I can to improve the tank while its out. F250_ thank you for providing a detailed and useful response. Makes sense about the fill tube. I don't think I need to worry about the hutch mod because the AirDog 2 is a purifier that removes debris and air from the fuel. I think ITP already markets a hutch mod with an in tank pump.

I removed the PSD lift pump years ago and have been using just the engine mounted mechanical lift pump but replacements are no longer good original Cummins parts and I've talked to folks who have seen major benefits in power and fuel economy with aftermarket pumps and filters so I'm eager to run the new AirDog.

bpounds it would be awesome if you can post pics of the harpoon mod on an Excursion tank. Has no one else read the post on this site about someone who was told by Ford that the tank is actually 49 gallons? I was hoping it was true and that there might be a way to make use of the extra space. Has anyone else harpooned their X?

 

Yeah, so I did the harpoon mod. Now what do I do when I catch those pesky priusessss?

 

That's funny!

 

For reference: The Excursion fuel tank is listed as 44 "usable" gallons.

 

Right duck fan this was already mentioned in this thread and it seems redundant that most of us who own an Excursion know this but I'm sure like me you've been able to put in a little more than 44 gallons even when the tank wasn't completely dry and the engine was still running. Does doing the harpoon mod have any effect on the possible maximum capacity or is it just speed of refill and decrease of foam?

 

The possible max capacity should not change. The only thing that changes is how quickly you can reach that capacity at a fill station.