I picked up my Excursion Tuesday evening from a 4x4 truck dealer. It's a 1 owner, carfax certified 2003 v10 and has 98,xxx on the speedo. I've owned my 02 Ford Taurus for several years, it's given me issues but I love it. Driving a Ford Crown Vic police interceptor at work keeps me well grounded in the Ford family, rarely do I get a shot at a Charger to drive. For a family of 6, safety and comfort was my #1 concern, and after browsing on here for weeks, researching, reading and watching videos, to me the Excursion was just a no brainer after finding the one we did. Paid just over $10,000 for it, 24 month, unlimited mile bumper to bumper warranty, overall it's in great shape, except the door locks and handles on the rear wouldn't work, so it's at the dealer right now getting all taken care of. I love the way it drives, sits high, rides smooth. Looking forward to reading and getting tons of information, as well as giving where I can.

 

Looks good Mark and welcome.

But need more specs.

 

Nice looking rig, welcom to FTE! You are going to wonder why you didn't get one of these sooner

 

Welcome !! I like the solid white. They are great trucks for families,and very safe.Enjoy.

 

Congrats. Looks super clean. Ditch your so called mirrors for tow mirrors

 

I definitely plan on ditching those mirrors, and the rear view mirror that apparently came out of a honda civic, it's tiny, seriously can't see the entire back glass in it. I'm in the process of getting some kinks worked out, bought used, gotta be ready to shell out some cash to get it worked up right? Everything mechanically is wonderful as far as I can tell, plan on doing a tune up shortly, as it inches closer to 100k.
2003 Ford Excursion XLT 4x4, stock wheels, cooper discoverer ATR's, everything is stock in it and on it, except maybe the exhaust, it sounds mean, don't know if that's just the v-10 or what but it sounds pretty good. I got it back today from the dealership, rear doors work perfectly now, gotta go back to get the lock ***** and arms put in when they get in.
Planned to do list: brakes, tune up, tow mirrors, dvd player in back for kids, possible paint job (haven't decided on black, or re painting it white, wife thinks black would be better) grille guard, exhaust tip. That's kind of the jist of it, don't know what else to put for specs so let me know and I'll do it. If anyone reads this and can help, I'd appreciate it. I'm going to be pulling plugs and replacing them and the COP's, what all do I need? Just anti-seze, plugs, COP's? I have a torque wrench and extensions, plug socket as well, I'll pick up some compressed air as well, as I don't have an air compressor, yet. I've heard horror stories about plugs blowing out, how often is that on the 03 xlt's? Blowing the holes out, torqueing the specs should prevent this, just curious. Also, how can I find out what gears I've got? I read somewhere about tying a string to the axle, pulling forward 1 complete turn of the tires and calculating that way, any help? Thanks in advance for the help, and thanks for the welcome, looking forward to being here.

 

I just recently replaced all cop's and plugs in my 04' XLT. Pull the cop with a 7mm socket(the further back you go, the more time consuming btw) pull the old cop, blow it out, then take out the plugs. I had to unplug the injector harness at each cop to have room to work, no biggie. Use anti- seize on each plug, gap to specs, and use a torque wrench on them when reinstalling. Remember to add an extra lb. ft. of torque for every inch of extension over the torque wrench. Welcome aboard the FTE train!!

 

I'm on my second Excursion, first was a 2000 XLT 2 WD V10 and second is 2005 Limited 4X4 V10. Wonder what Ford wsa thinking when they stopped manufacturing them. I plan onhaving mine for years to come. Are the mirrors hard to change?

 

Spark plugs blowing on the V10 were fixed in the 03 model year. When you change the plugs, change the rubber boot as well. If you bought the COPs, they come with a new boot.

Regarding the gear ratio, look on the label on the driver's side door jam. It will be either C1 or C3. C1 is 3.73 while C3 is 4.30. It could have others (I don't know). Someone here can chime in.

Mirrors are a piece of cake to replace. You'll need to remove the door panels. I would recommend having a magnetic socket set so the nut does not fall down. Also, before you pull the mirror out, tape a string to the cord so you can guide in the new cord through the holes. I learned it the hard way. Fishing it through the holes in the metal door is real PITA. Have a buddy to hold the mirror while you tighten the nuts also helps.

Good luck and Welcome.

 

Using a mathmatical formula to determine applied torque to the end of a fastener only applies when an extension changes the length of a torque wrench, not when you add an extension at a 90 degree angle.

Using a mathematical formula for torque corrections applies to extensions like a crow's foot, because that changes the working length of the wrench.



To quote info found on the 'net regarding a 90 degree extension:
My Snap-On torque wrench came with a factor chart for when the overall length of the torque wrench is lengthened. It does not include a chart for when an extension is used at a 90 degree angle because it doesn't change the torque value applied at the fastener.

Stewart