Since I have a son and do road trips a lot for visitation and camping, I have been looking for a Crew Cab Superduty or Excursion 4x4 with a 7.3. I have a 7.3 03 F250 Supercab 4x4 and love it, but need the bigger back seat. If I could have made it a crew cab I would just keep my truck. After a phone call from my nephew last weekend I ended up with what I kind of didn’t want, a 03 Eddie Bauer Excursion 4x4 with a 6.0 and 136k miles. But for the price (13,400 with a 3 year aftermarket warranty) I couldn’t argue as it was in unbelievable shape compared to what I have been driving all over looking at and had pretty much every option. All it lacks is a bench second seat, it has buckets. And even though Ford says it has more 75 more horsepower than my 7.3, it definitely feels like it has less power during acceleration from a stop and passing. They both have 3.73 gears, but my truck has bigger than stock tires and should definitely feel less powerful.
But being a little nervous about the 6.0 I took it to my dealer for a good looking over and other than the full fluid change I already plan, they found a front axle seal leak and ball joints($1600) that won’t pass VA state inspection and recommend an EGR cleaning and fuel injector cleaning. No codes or other issues noted. The tech said he saw most 6.0’s he sees don’t really seem to have more power than the 7.3, and I thought that was one of the selling points. He gave me a few pointers on maintenance, but thought I should just deal with the lack of handling.
Since I am a part-time single parent in the military, I can’t justify the expense of keeping both a diesel pickup and an excursion. So I am considering selling my truck. But the Excursion has horrible handling compared to my truck, front seats too soft to provide the support I like, 16 inch wheels, a Dana 50, and the 6.0 I am not sure I trust. I was going to look around for parts for a 05-07 front clip, 05-07 suspension swap or at least the VF truck springs, and new foam in the seats. But I recently found an 07 Crew Cab (88k miles)that was rolled that has a good front clip, suspension, power-train, 20 inch wheels, and leather interior. Almost all those parts can swap into my truck, and give me a spare engine, tranny, and transfer case. I can get a straight swap for my truck which is paid for, but don’t know if it’s a good idea to get a totaled vehicle in trade for a vehicle I have owned since it was 1 year old. I guess I could recoup some of the costs by selling whatever I don’t use or keep from the 2 vehicles.
It seems I have a few options.
1. Sell the truck, and buy the parts to upgrade the Ex.
2. Trade the truck for the totaled 07f or the parts to upgrade the Ex and have a spare engine.
3. Keep truck and Ex, slowly upgrading the ex to what I want from it.
4. Or I could always sell the Excursion and start over in my search.
I guess I am looking for suggestions on which route to go since I am kind of stuck in a big loop of indecision. . Any input would be appreciated.
One more question - Does anyone who went from truck to Ex regret it and wish they had kept the truck? Especially if you had a Supercab before.
Thanks.

 

I actually started considering the 07 trade because I wanted the newer suspension and better turning radius of a newer truck. Then I wouldn't have to bother with the Dana 50, I didnt want to keep anyway. I assume the 07 has a Dana 60 like my 03. And it has a lot of the other things I wanted to upgrade all in one place.

 

Hi Buddy! There are a lot of things here to address, so let me start off with the 6.0L issue. The 6.0L is a good motor, yes it does ave more power than the 7.3 which sort of concerns me about your Ex. I wonder what the weight difference between the Ex and the truck is? I could see the Ex being heavier, and that would definitely explain the sluggishness if so.
Don't be afraid of the 6.oh. As long as they are taken care of and not pushed beyond what they are designed for, they are really good motors. They get a bad rep from people putting huge turbos and tuners on them, mostly and blowing them up. They do have some design flaws, but most can be controlled in the way you drive, such as driving it like you stole it once and a while to blow out the soot. Besides, you have a three year warranty, which on a $13K truck is sort of like spending just a little over $4000 per year for the truck AND piece of mind. Not bad at all!
Thirdly, as far as SUV or truck, it all depends on what you want to do with it. If you plan on hauling a lot of stuff a truck is the way to go. If you plan on going out to eat and taking along 35 of your closest friends, the Excursion can't be beat!
As for the seats, those are easily changed out to bench if you like them better (or you can add a jump seat, even on buckets they will work). Lots of guys are looking for consoles and buckets, so you might get a free swap out of this, or even make some money.
Fourthly, and definitely most important, thank you for your service to our country, and God Bless you!

 

• If you can't do it yourself, get a quote from a reputable shop on the seal and ball joints, that seems high.

• If you can only have one rig, it can be a pickup or Excursion and a trailer for occasional hauling that you can't do inside the Excursion.

Personally, I'd sell the pickup and the Excursion to buy the truck I really wanted and be done with it.

 

Seems to me that having a spare engine is counter productive, since you also have a 3 year warranty. Also, will modding the Excursion void your warranty?

The Excursion and a utility trailer will take care of most of your hauling needs, although a pickup is easier in most cases.

Still, I have to agree with BigPigDaddy, sell them both and get the rig you want.

 

In order to disclaim your warranty the dealership has to prove that the modification actually added to the failure. This is laid out in the Magnason-Moss act

 

I think you should give the Exc a chance. The handling is probably just something you need to get used to, unless it has some bad components like the steering gear. Front seats will swap with any Superduty.

The last thing I would do is swap front clips. That's just a waste of time and money, and you end up with a frankentruck.

As for the 6.0, if you can handle a front clip swap, you can handle working on the 6.0. If you are willing to put the effort into some upgrades you can get all the power you want out of it. And for a lot less effort and money than a clip swap.

 

It's an aftermarket warranty, so basically worthless anyway.

 

Not exactly.

What is does say is the warranty

"may not exclude or limit consequential damages for a breach of any written or implied warranty on the product, unless the exclusion or limitation conspicuously appears on the face of the warranty;"

 

Honestly I think the aftermarket warranty is likely not worth the paper its written on. That said I do like the Excursion, more so for my son than me. And I rarely use my F250 as a truck, mostly a daily driver with not enough room for passengers in the rear. And occasionally (rarely) towing.

I am a little bit **** about having things ready "in case" of a problem. I guess a spare engine could be overkill, but I have heard some crazy stories. I will do gauges and exhaust. Not sure I will do anything as far as tuning ( don't want to push my luck with this motor), but I would like a little more torque for taking off.

I am definitely going to have to upgrade the suspension, be it a vf swap or an 05-07 swap. and the seat cushions are wore out. And an AC mod. Other than that, we will see.

 

I can tell you from my experience this is high. I had this done a few months ago and it was a few hundred less at a shop. Also, the shop that did mine told me that to do the ball joints they needed to replace the axle seals anyway. So don't think they are doing two jobs.

 

I really like the Ex, but I am still getting used to it. The seat cushions have to go. I am not sure it is all that the Ex handles so bad, the seats are so soft you are moving all the time, no support. I am hoping my son will like it when he sees it. I got it mainly for him and my mom. Turns out at 84 years old, she doesnt like riding in the F250, it "rides too rough" compared to her tahoe and town car. Guess I can't blame her.

My other truck is an 03 F250. I was considering selling it to pay for some upgrades to the ex and maybe put some away for a rainy day. or just buy a wrecked newer truck for a little more and sell off what I dont use. I have found a salvage title 07 F250 with the parts I wanted to upgrade and a motor/tranny with 80k miles. And an 06 f350 for around 10k. Both are rollovers with what appear to be good drivetrains/suspension and interior.

I know all the 4x4 Ex's have leaf springs, but my nephew has done an 05 swap on his 02 f250. it was a good bit of work but not that hard. there were enough bolt holes already there that the rest were not too bad. The handling change in his truck wasnt a lot, but it rides a lot smoother. The going rate for a dana 50 ball joint/axle seal change at my local dealer is almost a fifth of one of the trucks I found. I dont want to repair an axle I would rather replace with a Dana 60 anyway.