You guys think an excursion with the 5.4L gas engine would be good enough for a tow horse? I was hoping for either the 6.8L v10 or the 7.3L diesel but I found one with the 5.4L triton for dirt cheap. Probably be towing a civic on a flatbed and upgrade to an enclosed by the end of the year.

 

not worth it IMO. Powerstroke or Nothing. 5.4 is junk ive seen so many at auctions that were used for hauling half of them the trans was jacked or engine was blown.

Powerstrokes are holding there value very well. they are great for hauling. I had one for 3 years. F350 Quad cab with a Quick pick lift in the back. used it for repossessing cars. Never let me down one time. Towed everything from a GEO metro to a 36 ft Park Model Mobile home.

 

To hell with a 5.4 in a 3/4 ton+ truck. I am a Ford Diesel Tech at a Dealership. The 5.4's are turds. They barely get out of their own way in the larger chassis vehicles. Stay on the Search for a 7.3. Its much more powerful and more fuel efficient than either the 6.8 or the 5.4.

 

yeah not worth it. I pull my 24' enclosed with a v10 excursion and it has never given me any problems but is really in mountains but pulls fine anywhere else. I like mine but still in the market to get a new powerstroke.

How much did you find the triton excursion for?

 

a 2001 for $6k with 130k miles

 

make sure you buy a PSD

 

if i had it to do again i would have gotten a f350 (preferably dually). the truck ends up being much more useful. when i got my 7.3 excursion i thought more interior room would be better for me than having a truck bed, but ive changed my mind on that now. also the excursion suspension sucks, especially if you have a enclosed. it is upgradeable though obviously.


ive had my excursion for about 4 years now, and ive had a cam sensor go bad (warranty) and an o-ring on the oil pump go bad (that one was an expensive tow bill, but a free fix)

 

stick with the 7.3... Thats what i got and i love it. the gas mileage on the 5.4 sucks. i get around 26mpg on the highway, and around 21 in the city, really depends how much ur in boost .. stock it only got around 17mpg

 

yeah something on the excursion suspension isn't the greatest not sure what it is but mine squats really good with trailer on it but not on my buddys f250 single rear wheel truck. I really like the truck and it pulls good but seems like the suspension could use some work. What on it do you think sucks and what to upgrade?

 

5.4 triton + towing = headgaskets

if you plan on only towing with this vehicle, i would recommend a powerstroke. i got 217k miles on mine and only have had to replace balljoints, and glowplugs. no engine problems at all. and those are some pretty hard miles.

a good friend has a v10 triton and loves it

 

found another with the 6.0L diesel for a pretty good price. I now they are not as reliable as the 7.3L but are they pretty good as a whole?

 

get something after 2004 if youre looking for a diesel and a ford.

I had a 5.4 gas and i towed my civic on an open trailor and i was able to get a whopping 190 to a tank of gas and it would kick in and out of overdrive.

We use a duramax for the long hauls, and with 2 hondas in an enclosed trailor I can walk away from gas trucks pulling 1 car on an open trailor.

I also tow with a cadillac escalade with a 6.0 in it and it actually tows well and gets decent mileage, i was surprised

I just was not impressed with my ford 5.4 at all

 

i dont know a damn thing about them really....but what i have "heard" is that the excusion has the same rear suspension as the 250's, but the extra weight of the glass and what not from the rear of the excursion obviously puts more weight on it making it worse. sounds like most people wither switch to f350 rear suspension or air bags.

even not towing the suspension on the thing is uncomfortable. mine needs rear shocks at the bare minimum...but towing its just going to blow them out again instantly. i was planning on trying to upgrade this winter, but it looks like i only have 1 race i have to travel more than a mile to get to this year, so maybe i'll wait until next winter lol

 

www.powerstroke.org/forum

go read some of the threads on this forum.

from what ive seen as a whole, 7.3L have problems suspension-related
6.0L have problems motor-wise, but like mentioned do not get a 5.4 triton...horrible motor, i tend to think due to gearing issues actually.

I chose to go with a f350 7.3L for a reason. I would rather install balljoints every 100k miles and go through front leaf springs rather than turbos and injectors on the 6.0L. like mentioned it has 217k hard miles and still on the first tranny. the tranny behind the 7.3 will last if you dont drive like your in a race car.

We have a customer that has a 6.0L, he is on his 3rd turbo and truck only has 70k miles. Luckily they have all been warrantied. The truck does not leak oil or anything, just has had a run of bad luck, he has been to 3 ford dealerships and they dont know what to tell him.

if you are going to get a 6.0L, do not get a 2003. they have all had vga electrical problems, and the computer in the 2003 requires updates, which does not fall under warranty and must purchase an up-to-date ecu (pcm).

seriously, if you are stuck on getting a ford, and plan to use the rig only for towing, get a 7.3L 6spd manual, with a add-a-leaf on the front. that thing will last you forever.

if i had to do it all over again, i would get one of the older body style dodge 2500 5.9L automatic. the newer chevys with the duramax tend to go through front wheel bearings and torsion bars probably due to the independent front suspension and the heavy diesel motor.

not any of my business, but will a 1/2 ton not be up for the job for what your pulling?

 

I've had nothing but good luck with my '04 F350 6.0 PSD. I love it! Quad-cab and extended bed is a pain to handle sometimes, but it pulls like no other. On a stock flash I get about 20mpg highway and 17mpg around town. That's with 33's too.

 

i think its just the 03's that have had problems being first year with the 6.0L. and yes the trannys behind the 6.0 is a tad better than the 7.3, but they will both last forever

 

Coming from someone that works on these rigs all day, The 7.3 and 6.0 both have their own issues.
7.3- These trucks like to leak oil like there is no tomorow, whether it be a High pressure pump($1k job to replace), Valve covers, w/e, they are dirty *****. Both 7.3's and 6.0's have shitty injectors, I do alteast 5-10 a month by myself alone. I have done a number more transmissions in 7.3's than 6.0's also. There are a ton of free mods out there for 7.3's that can make these trucks run nearly as hard as a stock 6.0 The biggest problems i see with 7.3's-
High Pressure Oil pump leaks
Cam sensors(thank god they're only about $20 now, instead of 200 a year ago)
Injectors
Other Oil leaks
Glow plug relay

6.0's- They have a horrible rep due mainly to the EGR system. These trucks are prone to busting EGR coolers, Oil Coolers and Head Gaskets. All 3 of these are due to the EGR system which is gay. Usually when one cooler goes, the other follows. Also, due to the superheated coolant running through the EGR cooler these things have super hot Coolant running through them causing HG prblems. One other reason is the Head bolts. 2 remedies to the 6.0- EGR block off and a stud kit. I personally prefer to install the 3$ block off that doesn't allow any EGR into the system. There is a certain Freeze plug, I do not know the size directly off the top of my head but, It can be hammered into the end of the EGR cooler to completely block the system if you do not have access to a welder. If you do have welder access, just weld it shut and never worry about EGR valves or coolers again. Throw a set of ARP head studs in it and never worry about the Heads lifting. As far as turbo's go, said above, the early models were worse. Early models were also bad about harness issues but can usually be fixed by retaping and rerouting about 1 ft of the harness on the left side of the Intake manifold. The only thing I really fix on 05-07's normally are Injectors and Bed Pan seals(Oil pan seals which require engine removal).
6.0-
anything egr related
Turbo's
Bed pan seals- 05+


Even with the problems listed, I'd prefer the 6.0's. I like the power and driveability of these much more. They are also quieter IMO and upgrades are much easier. I have never been impressed with any of the GM diesel's I've worked on. I have also seen a lot of transmission Issue's associated with the dodge diesels.

 

is there any make model of vehicle that has a well-built egr system on it?

i know what you mean by the 7.3 tranny, its got a bad rep for sure like i mentioned above, but if you remember what your driving, and take care of it (check fluid, tow with od off, etc, etc) it will last forever. there is an excavator in my area that uses his 7.3 daily for towing is heavy equipment around, has 450k miles on his, only thing he has replaced engine-wise is some glow plugs and glow plug relay. no tranny issues at all. to be honest, his oil pan gasket is just starting to get a little damp.

do you know why the 03 and you also seemed to mention the 04 go through turbos so quickly?

im not gonna lie, the "ride" of the 6.0L is much better compared to the 7.3 years as far as smoothness goes, probably due to the front suspension im assuming?

the dodge autos are not great, but i think the manuals are pretty damn tough. i also think gm is a little off when it comes to diesel trucks that is. that front suspension is just horrible, but the duramax will definately out perform the two other.

when you mention the dodge tranny issues, what years are you talking about?

 

HaHa, I have never seen anything with a good EGR system, but never seen any with as many problems as 6.0's.

I do not know why the Turbo's are so much more trouble on the 03-04's. Maybe the VGT actuator has some differences and creates some spool differences or something. I know the Oil Drain tube was changed in the later 6.0's which may have made the difference. Lately I've delt with turbo issues on the later models a little more in the form of broken shafts. I had one recently that had to have the turbo, downpipe and exhaust filter replaced due to exhaust wheel particles tearing up the filter and the wheel being lodged in the DP somehow, unless it just disappeared. Wasn't in the turbo, and wasn't in the filter, i assume it was in the DP since I never found it the backpressure sensor was reading somewhere in the 70+psi range on a freezeframe datalog

The front suspension on the later 99-07's, i think 03+ is what makes the difference. They handle better and ride better.

As far as my dislike for the GM's, its mainly in Chassis design. Get under a GM and compare the chassis to the Fords. IMO, the Fords are just built bigger, tougher and more truck like. The Gm's tend to ride a little better but they're payload shows the difference.

I am not a transmission man to be honest with the dodge thing. I just get the box with the new case and swing em in and out...

Oh, and to hell with a 6.4. They suck the donkey ***** with their 11-13mpg average along with the most cramped shithole of a engine compartment I've ever seen. Cab off is about the only way to work on them. Just getting the cab off is usually a 4 hour affair with their cage bolted cab bolts. Cage bolts FTL- The cages have been breaking left and right making my job just excellent. Having to take another additional 2 hours to figure out how to bend a wrench to get to the top of the cage nut has been the high light of my 6.4 career.

 

haha, egr systems are complete bs, all for emissions and yet i dont see what the difference is.

03 is when ford went with the front coil spring suspension, i think ???

i have no clue about the 6.4 other than what ive read, which you pretty much summed up what ive read, haha. they suck.

one of our customers, a pollination guy, had a 05 duramax and we put 4 wheel bearings in that thing, and had to replace the torsion bars twice. he now has an 08 duramax and hasnt had any problems yet, but that thing sure does sag with a load of bees on the back of it. the guy also has a topkick = the ultimate towing machine, haha.

 

I have an 03 Excursion Diesel, I love the truck !rides very nice and is a beast, so far I had to put 2 set of batteries and thats about it, we tow a 28ft enclosed trailer

 

I have an f350 dually for sale. Crew cab lariat, loaded.

 

If you get the 5.4 you better invest in a helicoil kit for the spark plug threads, those things love to blow plugs outa the heads

 

i have a 2002 Excursion 7.3L that i has been used as the tow horse and wife's daily since 2004.

It has been a great truck for us -- we have put about 80k miles on it since owning and have put 2 new batteries in it, done the cam angle sensor recall, new set of bilstein shocks, new set of tires, upgraded rear sway bar, bullly dog programmer, k&n drop-in and exhaust and it runs great

a weight distribution hitch is a must to tow any enclosed trailer in my opinion -- once that is properly setup it tows very nicely

we have probably put about 40k miles on the truck towing trailers from as small and light as an open trailer to as big as a 30' enclosed.

currently i have a 20' enclosed and that seems to be a perfect match for the truck -- all works together very well.

recently my wife started a commute back and forth to work of mix city/highway driving about 50 miles total daily and on the last tank of diesel it averaged 16.4 mpg

i have seen as high as 18.5 mph on the highway and about 14.5-15 with strictly city driving

...and about 10 mpg towing

the rear leaf springs are softer than the F250 and F350 from what i have learned -- some excursion owners that tow a lot will swap in the F350 rear leaf springs to tow better but rides worse when not hitched up -- the usual give and take i guess

we don't have any plans at all getting rid of the truck -- does everything we want it to well and i can't say that about other trucks i have owned in the past.

comfortable to drive/ride -- tows well -- carries all our family crap when we need -- gets decent gas mileage

 

While it's not totally related to an excursion, or a ford. I have a chevy 3500 dually and it's also my daily driver (have a suburban too but it sucks lol) and the truck is great. I don't have any problems manuvering anywhere and it pulls anything. The car on an open trailer isn't even noticable.

Basically what I'm getting at is a truck is like a motor, it's nice to have it over built