Been thinkin’ about switchin’ to a diesel. Safer in collisions, you can store a bunch of it at home without the explosion risk of gasoline, and the efficiency will silence any protest by my environmentally-conscious daughter about buying a monster truck or SUV. I would like to go with a non-Government Motors brand if possible. Never owned a diesel before, but the family’s owned Suburbans and I like the size. Whadday’all think of this Excursion? Fair price?
What’s this rusty-looking undercarriage item? Is it a concern?
You may want to do a little more research about the PowerStroke 6.0. Apparently early versions were somewhat problematic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Power_Stroke_engine#6.0
The “rusty undercarriage item” is the driveshaft (propeller shaft for some folks). Assuming it’s still balanced correctly, I don’t think the surface rust should be much of an issue. My Ram 1500 has an equally rusty driveshaft and it doesn’t create any obvious problems.
Well, with only 87k the engine is not even broken in yet. If the warranty still has some to go, if the price is near the the average loan value (not the blue book price) then it looks to be a good thing. Still have it gone over by a outside mechanic who knows diesels. That surface rust is nothing.
A rusty driveline and yoke are nothing to be concerned about.
If you wanted to, you could mask off where the U-joints go into the needle bearing cups, and then spray paint the driveline and yoke with a paint that adheres to rust. Black would be fine.
hth,
Erik in Colo.
Stay away from the 6.0L engines until at least the 2006 model year. That was a new motor in mid-year 03 and they didn’t have the bugs worked out of it until late 05-06.
Look for one with the 7.3L.
I’ve got the new 6.4L, maintenance design on it is a mixed bag (I’ll explain further down). 7.3L are fantastic if you can find them, odds are you won’t find a low mileage one. The 6.0L had a turbo issue with the earlier models as Phil already said.
As I have a 6.4 it’s a rock solid engine from my experience thus far. I know some farmers that have been putting them through their paces as well. No one has had any issues like the 6.0L. Further the 6.4 has considerably more power and torque if you have any toys you want to haul. Maintenance design is a pain and not because Ford wanted it that way, it’s because of emissions. All regular maintenance items are extremely easy to do. Oil filter and fuel filter are actually on TOP of the engine block dead center. All other regular items are easily seen. What becomes a PITFA is if you have a bad injector or plug or something of the more extreme maintenance wise. Used to be diesels were awesome due to simple design and construction, after all the new additions for emissions that has gone the way of the dodo. Not much room under the hood to easily get at stuff.
I recommend the Excursion, the wife didn’t want anything that big. 7.3L if you can find them are bullet proof, 6.0L 2005-2006, and the 6.4L thus far have been reliable. I pull my boat fully loaded up the Lewiston grade at 75mph no problem with room to keep going. For those that don’t know, that’s 2000 vertical feet in 7 miles. Most people don’t understand it till they actually see it and drive it. The steepest part of the grade is around 7%. I pull out of Dworshak no issues with the boat and that’s 10%. Both those grades destroy vehicles around here. Excess horsepower is always appreciated.
As for the rust, don’t worry about it, looks like surface rust on the drive shaft, doesn’t take long to accumulate it.
B
If you like Suburbans, get a Suburban. The GM 6.5 Turbodiesel is a fine engine, and you can find them used.
The older 6.2 Liter diesel is a serviceable engine that is very fuel efficient, but they are maintenance queens. Have to really stay on top of them.
I went with a Dodge myself. All the Dodge Cummins trucks are put together in Mexico anyways.
If you really want a Ford, by all means stick with it. But buying a used vehicle shouldn’t make you feel bad one way or another.
Something more like this
http://www.autopages.com/cgi-bin/search3.cgi?dbfile=/home/autopa5/public_html/cgi-bin/database.exm&multiple=1&option_1=pm&option_2=pm&option_3=pm&option_4=pm&option_5=pm&option_6=pm&option_7=pm&option_8=pm&option_9=em&option_10=pm&option_11=pm&option_12=pm&option_13=pm&option_14=pm&option_15=pm&option_16=pm&input=BBR_P1130
Until 2008, I was a Ford Certified salesman and internet sales manager. After a decade in the industry, I can authoritatively state that the preceding six comments are exactly correct in their advice.
And yes, I’ve also sold GMC trucks (attained certification there, too), and Dodge trucks (not certified), and know the ins and outs of them rather well.
The Excursion was a vastly underappreciated beast, as it could offer and do things that would kill it’s contemporaries of the time. Yes, all the competition is better now, but to have a Suburban from that era pull the loads that an Excursion could handle, would kill the Suburban in half the miles or less.
Take a 1 ton Suburban’s wheel bearings, and place them next to an Excursion’s same parts. The Ford’s bearings dwarf the Chevy’s. You’ll see the difference, and that’s replicated throughout the vehicle.
Basically, what Ford did with their Super Duty line, was to downsize their Medium Duty Commercial trucks into a consumer-sized package. All the other manufacturers still stuff their strongest chassis under a half-ton sized cab and bed, with the resultant limitations of space, component sizing and such.
Ever see the “Do Not Drill or Weld” sticker on the frame rails of a Kenworth or Pete? That’s cause the frame rails are forged, tempered and heat-treated steel. Not extrusions. Ford’s Super Duty line is made the same way, unlike their F-150 and everyone else’s entire light truck lineup.
If you want to go with GM’s equivalent of a Ford F-550, you’ll note that they put a “truck nose” on their van cabin, as their pickup truck cab format isn’t large enough to sit atop their medium duty chassis.
I think the ideal truck would be a Ford Super Duty chassis and body, with the 24v Cummins 5.9, and Chevy’s Allison tranny. That’d put one into the Peterbilt “million mile +” vehicle lifespan, for sure!
And yes, I miss the Excursion. It pissed off so many tree huggers, it just had to be good!
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
James: My 6.2L Chevy Suburban is on it’s fourth trip around the odometer, and still gets better than 20 mpg. I just do normal maint on it.
The prob on the old ‘burbs was the 700R4 tranny … idiots would leave it in overdrive while towing, and it would self-destruct.
There’s another option not seen in this post: a Ford E350 van with the diesel engine. There aren’t many out there, but at least until a few years ago, they could be special-ordered with the diesel. They are quite a bit cheaper than the Excursion, seat for seat, but will tow just as much.
The ones I’ve seen lately have been on the point of 30’+ trailer coaches.
BTW, that undercarriage photo shows a scrape or two on the frame rails. Taken with what appears to be a replaced driveshaft, that vehicle may have been involved in a bad high-centering situation off-road. It would pay to have a mechanic hoist it and look hard underneath to see if there’s any more damage which wasn’t repaired.
I got a ’93 7.3l Ford F250. It has the non-turbo International engine. I put an after market waste gated turbo on it and run a 70/30 biodiesel/diesel blend. Love my Ford. She is a work truck but I keep her pretty. I inherited my Dad’s ’07 Chevy 3500 dually with a 6.6l turbo and Allison tranny. I get the same mileage on both unloaded. It likes a bit of biodiesel too. The dually is a fully loaded princess. The transmission is rock solid. I wish the Ford had some of those features. I learned about diesels hands on and from some of the forums; FordTruckEnthusiasts.com and DieselPowerMag.com. I am with you about buying a Gubbmint Motors vehicle, but I think you should determine your needs and weigh out gathered info. Buy it used for a good price, have it checked out by a DIESEL mechanic and get it from a person, not a lot. Dealers know the value of a diesel. A person is going to be unloading the fuel hog and payments. You may not have to take on payments. BTW, I agree with Jim Sunk New Dawn about that combination. Good Luck!