In the market for a Ford...

NW-ZJ-SCOTT

NW-ZJ-SCOTT

TEXAS-JT-SCOTT
NAXJA Member
Location
NE Texas
My family quickly outgrew my durango, and the 5.9 ZJ will not haul all 7 of us at a time...
My XJ gets more reliable every month, but i would like to start adventuring to farther places.. and i cant cram 7 in it for a long trek either..

Me and my wife have decided the perfect rig would be an Excursion, Diesel to be exact. I am looking for a 7.3.. Been advised to stay far away from the 6.0, and thats okay with me because they are a little out of my price range, I am finding the 7.3s to be going for 12k-16k and 15k is about the top of my range.. (5k down.. dont want to finance more then 10k)

My problem is, the selection is slim.. not due to price, but simply due to the vehicle, the Diesel excursion is boarderline rare..

and because of this, i have ventured in to the dark world and just looked to see what the 6.8 v10's go for.. My problem with them is not really a problem, 10-15mpg at best.. (my 5.9 zj gets 13) where the diesel will get me 20+ on the highway towing 6k pounds..


Another issue i have heard of the 6.8, is the transmissions have issues (hello.. i owned a durango.. wont go threw that again)


anybody else have any info? right now i am still really wanting a diesel, but if the v10 had decent reviews, then i might consider..
 
I don't get 20+ Mpg with my 7.3 towing 6K but it's a dually with 4.10 gears. I wouldn't trade the power for anything though. Up here in mountain country all I hear is what gutless, fuel sucking turds the V10 Fords are. I have not had any trans issues with my 4R100 auto that everyone said was junk but I put a huge cooler on it and watch the temp closely.
 
Why not a 3/4 ton 'Burban? Decent power and decent mileage as well.
 
You're not going to get 20 mpg towing with a diesel excursion. I get 14 mpg and my 2wd F250 is lighter by 2000 lbs.

Guy I work with tows his 24 foot boat with a v10 excursion and sees 8-10 depending on the terrain.

He gets 12 mpg daily driving. The excursion is a heavy vehicle.

If you can find an '05, you'll get out of most of the 6.0 problems. The '03 and '04 powerstrokes were the real problem childs.

Not that it helps, but this is what they're going for around here:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=272623710&dealer_id=57287173&car_year=2005&rdm=1263678773230&lastStartYear=1981&model=EXCURSION&num_records=25&systime=&make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1981&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=200&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&showZipError=y&make=FORD&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=28574&advanced=&end_year=2011&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=228&standard=false
 
Last edited:
I was just getting at the diesel will get metter mileage.. i know they can pull 20mpg on the highway with no load behind them, i used to drive a 99 f250 witht he 7.3, had a cracked exhaust manifold and 365k and it still pulled 22 down the highway..

Besides fuel mileage, how is the reliability on a the v10? will it be gutless going threw the passes towing 6k lbs? with another 1000lbs of gear and people inside?
 
nw-xj-scott said:
I was just getting at the diesel will get metter mileage.. i know they can pull 20mpg on the highway with no load behind them, i used to drive a 99 f250 witht he 7.3, had a cracked exhaust manifold and 365k and it still pulled 22 down the highway..

Besides fuel mileage, how is the reliability on a the v10? will it be gutless going threw the passes towing 6k lbs? with another 1000lbs of gear and people inside?
Click to expand...

I don't have any first hand experience, just what my buddy told me.

My F250 went through the rockies with 2 rigs on a 34 foot trailer like it wasn't back there. Even the climb up to the Eisenhower tunnel we were doing 55 just to keep the EGT's under 1200.

I have heard from several people that the v10 excursions don't necessarily bring the suck, but you really pay for it in the pocketbook. I suppose it depends on how much towing you plan to do.

Other than the mileage, my buddy loves his truck. A local jeep guy I know get's 16 on the interstate on his diesel excursion on 35's. I think he's got an early 6.0.

I think the options on a diesel make the difference. I've got $400 in a SCT box and 3 custom tunes and I can change from towing power to dyno power in about 90 seconds. Went to the dyno one time on a $40 dyno day and put down 385/715 at the wheels with just a computer tune.

The only thing you can do to a v10 is drive it to the gas station. You kind of get what you get.
 
A friend of mine had a 7.3l f-350 4 door dually long bed 4x4 auto, on the highway towing a 4 sled trailer he got 21 mpg driving from LI,NY to Vermont, all he has is intake exhaust and a programmer
 
We have 2 V10 Superduty duallies at work (used to be 3, but mpg sucks and we do a lot of long drives) and average 8 mpg no matter what. We've had the 06 in the shop a couple times for the same problem and the dealer says they can't find it, so who knows. It ticks and rattles a lot.
 
www.ford-trucks.com is a great website with tons of info.

I own a 7.3 e99 f250 and love it. It's very reliable.

I know 6.0's are hated but I think most of there issues were fixable with arp head bolts. Or something in that general area. (bad memory) anyway fordtrucks will have all of the info you need.
 
AIbandit said:
www.ford-trucks.com is a great website with tons of info.

I own a 7.3 e99 f250 and love it. It's very reliable.

I know 6.0's are hated but I think most of there issues were fixable with arp head bolts. Or something in that general area. (bad memory) anyway fordtrucks will have all of the info you need.
Click to expand...


Head bolts aren't an issue unless you're modded over 400 hp. Even then, you really don't need studs unless you're pushing hard all the time.

Most of the early 6.0 problems were fixed by the '05 model year. You couldn't pay me to own a crossover '03 model and the '04's have lots of egr issues.

The tranny's went to the new version in '05. Mine has been trouble free and runs 150-160 all day.

Towed the new trailer back from Lexington. 16.5 unloaded. It's about 2K pounds.
 
Scott,
I went through this same decision a few years ago now.
We had a 1/2 ton sub and wanted something bigger and better for towing.

I spent several months waiting for the "right" one to come along and I was searching all up and down the west coast to find it.

We ended up with a VERY low mileage 01 with the 7.3L and a bunch of mods (exhaust, programmer, lift, 38's, etc).

I have been nothing but happy with the Excursion. I get between 14-18mpg with the 38's and now 40's that are on it (doesn't seem to matter if I am towing or not on the freeway).

I had a V10 in a motorhome several years ago and it was actually a great truck, engine, tranny in that application (we never had any issues with it and it provided good power and reasonably mpg). But I have heard of a bunch of people who have had issues with the V10 but I don't know of any personally. I have driven a V10 Ex and it didn't seem to have the same power that my motorhome had or my 7.3 Ex has.

PM me if you have any other specific questions.
Michael
 
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