So I sold my 2006 F150 FX4 and am in the market for a Excursion. I see that the diesel is a little more money than the V10 but not sure what way to go. I probably won't tow anything or if I do, it will be only a couple of times. I live about 6 miles from home and that will be the majority of its miles other than holidays and trips into town.

What is your experience as I have not owned a diesel before. For what I am needing the truck for, will the V10 be the wiser choice?

Thanks for the help.

 

I had this


2006 F-250 Lariat CrewCab with 6.0 PSD and some look purty stuff. Great truck. Fun to drive and more power than I knew what to do with it. I live 4-5 miles from work. My motor never got to operating temperature. Luckily I only put 5,000 miles on it in the 2 yrs I owned it. Driving it like I did is very hard on the motor.

I just traded it in for this


2002 Excursion XLT with V-10 and 4.30 gears. I love this thing. Great power, and it's perfect for the driving style I have with the short trips. I miss having all the untapped HP/TQ of the diesel, but I don't miss worrying about harming the motor. The V-10 is very smooth and the 4.30 gears give it plenty of oomph when needed. Working on the lift/tires area at the moment


I highly highly suggest you grab a V-10. Especially a 2002+ version that has the PI heads and 4.30 gears. The PI heads give you more HP/TQ vs. the 2000/2001 models. Those are still great motors BTW.



Alot of people will slam the 6.0 PSD. It has it's issues...but it's a real powerhouse when it's happy. I'd buy another without much thought. But they require religious maintenance. It's not a fire up and forget about it motor.

 

Driving short distances and rarely under a load is not the best routine for a diesel. The higher maintenance and repair costs of the 6.0 along with the 3 mile commute each way led me to the V10. It does a great job - it just happens to be very thirsty while doing it. I get 7.5-8 towing the boat, 10-11 around town and 13 on the highway. Either way the Excursion is a great family vehicle! Good luck.

 

I'm a 6.0L PSD man and as much as I hate to say it...you're situation sounds like you'd be better off with the V10. One question though...how often will you travel longer (30+ miles or more) distances with the family? If you'll be doing it 2-3 time a month I'd still go with the older 7.3L PSD or the 6.0L PSD Excursion.

 

The PI Tritons, both V8s and V10s, were offered in all six years of Excursion production. The gas Excursions never saw increases in HP or torque and they all had the same transmissions...4R100.

For your short city trips, I would be inclined to go with a V10. Unless you are a die-hard diesel guy, tow/haul extensively, plan to mod the heck out of it or can take advantage of a diesel Excursion's long legs on the interstate (44 gallon gas tank + near 20 mpg highway), the V10 is the more rational choice.

 

Is the 5.4 not a good fit? Or are they not common? I'd think that if there's no real towing action, it might be a cheaper option. I don't really know much about them, just putting it out there for the experts to comment on.

 

The 5.4s will be cheaper but he'll be more satisfied with a 6.8, especially if he's going to get a 4WD Excursion. I have a 5.4 and I've used it purely for family hauling on nice, flat Texas interstate so it has worked for me. A 5.4 is good if you want to mod as well...all the bits from the Lightning 5.4 will work perfectly in a 5.4 Excursion.

 

the V10 is the cheaper, smarter choice for YOUR application.

 

I have owned three V10 Excursions, and my current one is a 6.0. I love the power of 6.0! That being said, for what you are going to do with it the V10 would be the better choice.

 

Test drove a V10 this weekend and was inpressed with how smooth and quiet the engine was, but was a little dissapointed with passing power on the highway. Is that just me expecting too much out of a gas powered heavy big suv?

 

the biggest improvement i saw with all power ranges but even more so in passing power was getting a SCT3 tuner from 5Star tuning. made a huge difference. i've never felt like i did not have enough power.

 

Having driven both a V10 and a 6.0, the only way a 6.0 will feel quicker is if you modify it. I have never owned a diesel vehicle so I am acclimated to the immediacy of a gasoline engine; because of this, the turbo lag on the diesel made it feel lazy while the V10 seemed much more spry and ready to play. I could of course get used to a diesel but I would certainly mod it.

 

hold it. lets be clear about something right here.
now, if you are talking from 0 mph to about 10 mph on take-off, then I'll give you that. The V-10 just goes. The 6.0 pauses for a second to think about it. Ford detunes the diesel from a stop to prevent blowing black smoke. That means a little bit slower spool-up time to get moving. Until she makes some boost, the 0-10 mph zone kinda sucks

I love my V-10. It's more than I could have hoped for in a 7k+ rig. But it doesn't hold a candle to my old 6.0. It doesn't even compare. Especially vs. my 6.0 when it was tuned. I'm not done with diesels just yet though. I'd like to pick up a cheap OBS 96/97 with 7.3...or a 99/00 model with 7.3. I can't afford another expensive truck for a few years.


I'm very happy with my V-10. I still need to call 5Star and get some tunes rolling. But $100 for tunes is $100 I can spend elsewhere fixing other things.

 

This is correct. My 2001 engine had PI stamped on the heads when I pulled it out.

 

OP - as much as I am NOT a fan of the v10 engine for a variety of reasons, it's the best choice here. From what I understand gears are not too big a factor unless you are towing, but most people prefer the 4.30 gears.

I have a 6.0 in my work truck and while it hasn't been too bad, the maintenance on it is enough to more than make up for the fuel savings. In the last 35k miles (the truck has less than 100k on it) I have lost the ICP sensor and harness due to an oil leak, EGR valve, turbocharger leak, and FICM. These combined cost about $3500 to have repaired at the dealer. It's also slower and less responsive from a stop sign than the V10. I even prefer the v10 for towing to the 6.0, although they both do it well.