Hi all, I'm new to this forum. I want good advice about the 7.3 diesel excursion- what better advice then from an owner of the beast itself. I am looking at a 2003 7.3 with 190k miles. I have talked to a bunch of people who give mixed opinions. Everyone that tells me to steer away from this particular truck does not, and has never owned the 7.3 diesel. The people who tell me the thing is bullet-proof and 190k is just broken in have either been diesel mechanics or excursion owners. What do you guys think? I'm just debating on getting the newest model (2003) with more miles, or an older model with less miles. I just don't know what to do. I need to find one soon, we have a 9 month old and are expecting twins. I apperciate any opinions!! Thanks, Ellen.

 

E-bay is your friend......

 

Congratulations on the twins! My wife and I just had twins about a month ago and it is a wonderful blessing. I'm also looking at the 7.3 Diesel Excursion. From everything I've been reading it looks like if you take care of it it will easily last you 400,000 miles. For me it's pretty much getting what you can find as I haven't come across many in this area. Good luck on the hunt for the right Excursion!

Brian

 

Congrats on the twins! A little over two years ago, we were in your same shoes, had a 9 month old and became pregnant with twins! Now we have an (almost) 3 year old and our twins are 18 months old. But the O.P. wasn't about the twins was it???

We use an extended Chevy Trailblazer as our primary 'family' vehicle (it's about the most my wife can handle). We put three car seats across the 2nd row seat and use the 'extended' rear area (with the 3rd row folded down) to tote all the baby / toddler junk.

But, I do have a 2000 4WD 7.3 PSD Excursion that I really love and I'm sure that it'll become the primary 'family recreation' vehicle once the boys get a bit older. Tailgating, pull the boat to the beach, camping, travel, etc. The big Excursion is perfect for a growing family of 5 (3 boys). The 7.3 PSD is also the perfect powertrain for our use. I routinely get 17 - 18 mpg in mixed (mostly highway, some city) driving and that could be better if I'd keep my right foot out of it a little bit better. I do tow 5K - 7Klbs occasionally and get decent mpg then also. We have a largish boat and if we are able to replace it one day it'll be even larger and I use the Excursion for work some which involves towing so that was important to me.

For my own use, I wouldn't think of trading the 7.3 PSD for the big gas motor. I had an Expedition with the 5.4 before the Excursion and the difference is night and day, not to mention the performance mods that are available for the PSD. The early 6.0 PSD were full of problems or at least questions, although I really feel that the later 6.0s might be superior to the 7.3s. We own 3 other 7.3 PSDs in our work truck 'fleet'. The 7.3 is tried and true and nearly bullet-proof. My Excursion has 120K miles and after going over everything after I bought the truck, the motor seems as solid as ever and I think that the tranny is good too. I just rebuilt everything on the front end including shocks (front and rear). These trucks are heavy (especially the PSD on the front end) and bushings and joints do wear out, but I expect the motor to easily last another 10 years 150K.

I highly recommend the 7.3 PSD, unless you can afford one of the last years with the 6.0. As I said this is the 4th 7.3 PSD we own and some of them are pretty abused and they all hold up well. Just for reference I bought the Excursion about 4 months ago for $9K.

Good luck with the truck and the twins!

 

Congrats on the twins!! We have 4 kids and 1 on the way, we love our 04 6.0 Excursion!!

While the 7.3 engine will probably go another 300k to 400k miles at least,maybe even more, I would never buy a truck with 200k on it! Axles, trans, PS pump, fuel pumps, transfer case, etc....... all that stuff wears out and any vehicle with 200K on it is just a time bomb ticking away and could go off at any time! If I owned my Excursion all the way from new to 200K that would be another thing because I know the maintenance history etc. I just would not feel comfortable buying any Excursion with 200K miles. If you are getting it for way way cheap maybe, but you better have $10K in the bank for repairs, it may not break down or it may become the money pit!! I would not buy an Ex with over 65K-85K miles on it. Don't be afraid of a 2004 or 2005 6.0, you can get those with way less miles on them! All they need is to remove the EGR and some head studs and they are good to go pretty long too!!
Just my .02 cents.........

 

246,000 miles and 8 years of trouble-free ownership, 'nuff said. I'll expand on this a little later, but a 7.3 if well cared for is always a good buy.

 

I have a 2000 with 196K on it. Its used to haul around our 7 kids (yes 7). Pull a 3 horse trailer with fat horses. Pull our boat. And run the dragstrip. Maintenance is key. That being said, a lot of places don't know what they are selling. Use the mileage as a negotiation point.

 

Congrats on the twins! They seem to be a popular thing amongst us Ex owners, ours are 18 months

We bought a 2000 2wd 7.3 Ex a couple of months ago. She had 159k on her at the time. Just finished up a 3000 mile road trip pulling our travel trailer, we now have 168k miles. No major problems yet, the truck was well cared for and maintained by the previous owner.

After carting the twins and assorted baby paraphernalia around in a Nissan Xterra for a year or so I can say we love the Ex. The room on the road trip was great and the wife is comfortable driving it. Decent fuel mileage too. I don't think you will find a better vehicle for a growing family.

 

7.3 hands down,nuff said

 

For sanity's sake, I'd suggest finding an Excursion with the quad captains chairs. If you regularly use the 3rd row seat, it's so much easier to have 2 end chairs and the passage way up hte middle than it is to have one middle seat always folded down. Just get used to the idea of not being able to park in the front row of pretty much any where you go. I was thinking of turning the back of mine into a toy hauler, so I can keep a mini gas scooter in the back. That way when I have to park 1.4 miles away from the mall parking lot in an area my truck actually fits, I can get to the entrance in a reasonable amount of time.