04-05 Ford Excursion diesel towing?

Bird Freak wrote:

Lantley wrote:

Bird Freak wrote:
I keep seeing this $8K dollar repair mentioned. Do these folks like to throw away money? We have a Ford tech. here that doe's head studs, gaskets, egr and oil coolers for $3500.00.

Is a potential buyer supposed to be happy about that! If the truck were designed properly bullet proofing would not be necessary.
Chevy and Dodges of that era do not require bullet proofing.

The X is a great SUV . I have owned a V-10 and a 7.3 PSD. However I would not get involved in the 6.0 mess at this point.
Why would anyone want to start out with a $3500.00 bill?

I never said anything about being happy with it. My comment was why over twice the price.

Out here most shops are at $100/Hr. AllData says 28 hours to R&R 6.0 head gaskets. That is only HG's and not coolers or EGR and all of that.

28 hours x $100 is $2,800 dollars. :E ARP's are $500 bucks alone just for the studs. :E

That leaves a wooping $300 for, head gaskets, other gaskets, sealers
AND LABOR.

That shop is working for free or paying Micky D wages or not doing what they say their doing. I've seen all three around here.

Here's the problem with your theory: it's the only diesel SUV in recent history. Some of us, myself included, need a large SUV and the pulling power of a diesel. The 7.3 has emission issues, but a properly bullet proofed 6.0L is a very reliable engine. Build the $$$$ into the initial purchase price and you'll see that the total cost isn't too bad.

I wish there were other SUV options, but the suburban just doesn't have enough muscle.

lmarcrum wrote:
Anyone tow with a 04-05 Excursion diesel? Have you had any problems with the 6.0 engine, front end, brakes, electrical, trans, 4x4 system or any other issues? I am looking into buying a low mileage Excursion. Being a 10 yr old truck is there anything I should look out for? Any input would be great! Thank you

I have a 2003 Excursion which was the first year of the 6.0 and Torqshift transmission. It has been by far the best vehicle I have ever owned. My last two trucks were diesel Suburbans (1991 and 1995) and they were nowhere near the truck my Excursion is. When I bought my truck it had the original 6.0 tune which made the engine very quiet. Within a few months, Ford starting reflashing the PCM for varies reasons, and the pilot injection was turned off which caused the engine to sound like they do today. I really liked the original quietness of the 6.0 but have gotten used to the louder sound over time.

Front end - no issues other than the ball joints. My truck has 177k miles now and I replaced them around 110k. They weren't horrible, but it was time to have them done. All full size trucks need ball joints sooner or later.

Brakes - no issues. I have replaced both of my front calipers, but my truck is 11 years old and has a lot of miles. Both of my calipers were changed in the past year because one of the pistons was starting to stick (the front calipers are dual piston).

Electrical - no issues at all. My truck has all the original light bulbs, window motors, lock actuators, etc. The only problem I've had remotely linked to the electrical system is my stereo. It started crapping out this year and I replaced it with a remanufactured unit. I wanted to use the same stereo as I have the steering wheel audio controls and the rear entertainment system.....an aftermarket radio would not integrate as well as the factory radio.

Transmission - perfect....best part of the truck! I service it according to the manual and it has never missed a beat. My trailer weighs around 8k lbs. and I have towed quite a lot with my Ex. I've pulled heavier loads, but my trailer gets towed the most.

4x4 - no issues (sort of). Mine gets used fairly regularly and has never failed. With that said, the automatic locking hubs tend to act up over time. They are vacuum actuated and the slightest leak will cause them not to work (they do have a manual backup). The fix is usually simple and can be done at home for about $2. Mine leaked at the hose from the inner fender to the hub. Piece of cake to repair.

Engine - My truck is an early 2003 which was when the 6.0 was introduced. It has great power, never overheats, and pulls like a beast. My EGR and Oil coolers were replaced under warranty. My head gaskets were also replaced at the same time. It would have cost me about $5k, but the warranty covered everything. I've read more than I care to remember about the 6.0 issues. My truck was eating a little bit of coolant and my warranty was getting close to expiring (I had the 7 yr/200k Ford Dieselcare warranty). I took it in for coolant loss and they fixed it without issue. I haven't had any issue since that repair (it was done at 120k miles) and I wouldn't hesitate to tow my trailer across country tomorrow.

I'm really bummed Ford no longer makes the Excursion. I would love to buy a newer truck, but nobody makes anything comparable to the Ex. I'm not sure where you are, but plan on paying top dollar for a low mileage diesel Excursion. Regardless of what the others have said in this thread, diesel Excursions are in demand and pull top dollar....trust me, I've done a lot of looking! Good luck!

I took good care of mine. Used proper coolant, always monitored ph, etc. Ran great! Then boom. The story goes something like this...

1. Oil cooler gets clogged
2. Back pressure from oil cooler causes egr cooler to fail
3. Factory head studs stretch causing head gasket failure
4. Cab comes off, new head gaskets, studs, bulletproof egr cooler, bulletproof oil cooler, coolant filter, etc, etc.

My quote from the mechanic was 7k assuming the heads were ok. Hello new 6.7.

Bird Freak wrote:

Lantley wrote:

Bird Freak wrote:
I keep seeing this $8K dollar repair mentioned. Do these folks like to throw away money? We have a Ford tech. here that doe's head studs, gaskets, egr and oil coolers for $3500.00.

Is a potential buyer supposed to be happy about that! If the truck were designed properly bullet proofing would not be necessary.
Chevy and Dodges of that era do not require bullet proofing.

The X is a great SUV . I have owned a V-10 and a 7.3 PSD. However I would not get involved in the 6.0 mess at this point.
Why would anyone want to start out with a $3500.00 bill?

I never said anything about being happy with it. My comment was why over twice the price.

With any job or service there is always someone willing to do it cheaper.
Price,warranty,reputation,insurance,overhead,dealership pricing,turn around time, work quality may all come into play as to the price difference.
My bottom line is I'm not interested in a 6.0 even if it can be bullet proofed at the bargain price of $3500.00.
You'd have to drop the figure down to $1000.00 before it becomes a worthwhile gamble. I imagine parts alone are more than $1000.00.


In the end I see no need in comparing bullet proofing pricing because I see no need to buy a truck that needs bullet proofing,when there are other options available.
I'd recommend spending the money on one of the other more reliable diesels of that era that don't require bullet proofing at any cost

Lantley wrote:

Bird Freak wrote:
I keep seeing this $8K dollar repair mentioned. Do these folks like to throw away money? We have a Ford tech. here that doe's head studs, gaskets, egr and oil coolers for $3500.00.

Is a potential buyer supposed to be happy about that! If the truck were designed properly bullet proofing would not be necessary.
Chevy and Dodges of that era do not require bullet proofing.

The X is a great SUV . I have owned a V-10 and a 7.3 PSD. However I would not get involved in the 6.0 mess at this point.
Why would anyone want to start out with a $3500.00 bill?

I never said anything about being happy with it. My comment was why over twice the price.

Bird Freak wrote:
I keep seeing this $8K dollar repair mentioned. Do these folks like to throw away money? We have a Ford tech. here that doe's head studs, gaskets, egr and oil coolers for $3500.00.

My buddy ended up with NEW heads and ARP head studs, gaskets, egr and the bullet proof stuff.

'Nuff said by me about my F350 2006 6.0 I did what I had to do to keep it running right for a good while. My comment is this; I thought I read somewhere that the excursion 6.0 was somehow different than the pick-up model?

Bird Freak wrote:
I keep seeing this $8K dollar repair mentioned. Do these folks like to throw away money? We have a Ford tech. here that doe's head studs, gaskets, egr and oil coolers for $3500.00.

Is a potential buyer supposed to be happy about that! If the truck were designed properly bullet proofing would not be necessary.
Chevy and Dodges of that era do not require bullet proofing.

The X is a great SUV . I have owned a V-10 and a 7.3 PSD. However I would not get involved in the 6.0 mess at this point.
Why would anyone want to start out with a $3500.00 bill?

I keep seeing this $8K dollar repair mentioned. Do these folks like to throw away money? We have a Ford tech. here that doe's head studs, gaskets, egr and oil coolers for $3500.00.