Hey folks, going to look at an 04 diesel excursion tomorrow morning. From what I can tell it looks brand new all around . The engine has 180k miles from one owner.Now I've never owned a diesel vehicle before so I'm a little nervous .What should I look for? The asking price is just over 10k with a little room to wiggle. From the trucks I've been looking at in my area for at or under 12k. This seems like the best overall deal.We don't tow a trailer just yet, but DW has been talking about trading our class A with toad for a TT. So may be shopping in the near future if we already have a capable TV. Any an all advice on this SUV is appreciated. Thank you

Just make sure you understand all the potential problems with the 6.0 L ford. You may have to sink several thousand dollars into it to keep it reliable. Just do a search on 6.0 L ford.Just wanted to inform you

You need some history on that engine. What has been done to "bulletproof" it?.Typically costs around $5000 to mod the engine to make it substantially more reliable than stock.Don't want to scare you off IF all the right mods have been done, but that engine, especially in its earlier years, has a less than sterling reputation.

The X is a great vehicle. The 6.0 PSD has a very sordid history. Beware.Personally, I would avoid any 6.0 PSD at this point.

Hmm, the short amount of reading I've done thus far, has brought up ttyl head bolts EGR and EGR cooler failure , oil cooler failure some issues with the turbo sticking. I feel like if these issues were going to fail, maybe would have already after 180k miles of driving? And should have been repaired properly. I will absolutely bring some print outs with me and get whatever maintenance records I can on the vehicle. At $10k I'd only hope for about 3-5 more years out of a typical vehicle purchase. Or at least that has been my luck in that budget range to date.

OP, go to youtube and look up a channel called "powerstroke help" and watch Bill's videos on the 6.0. Watch as many as you can or as many as it takes to have a general understanding of the 6.0. This motor is not an absent minded owners motor. You need to be actively involved with this motor and intimately know how it works. And you need to closely monitor several temperatures and learn what they are telling you. If you don't hen you will damage the motor to the tune of thousands of dollars eventually. Here is the quick and dirty thst I can recall off the top of my head. Gonna happens1) injectors are going to fail...it's going to happen2) The EGR cooler will eventually fail3) the oil cooler will eventually fail4) if you tune it...the headgaskets will eventually go5) The coolant cap in the early 6.0's were known to go bad and not hold pressure. It needs replaced Probably will happen1) head bolts will streatch and cause a head gasket failure 2) the PCM will fail if the battery voltage gets low3) heads may/will/already have micro cracks4) when the headgaskets fail the heads may also have to be replaced. Per the Ford TSB for headgaskets failure the heads must be replaced. Because they are not resurfacable..some have success resurfacing the heads...some not so much. 5) this list is not exhaustive These issues are well known and there are many options to deal with them... Or bulletproof the motor as you have heard. The good news with the 6.0 is most of the issues happen on the top end...the 6.4 PSD...ugh...that's for a different thread. Anyway what most do with good success is to add head studs to keep the heads clamped down to the block and prevent head gasket failure. Some go hog wild and buy customs EGR and Oil Coolers That seriously reduce the chance for failure. Again, go to powerstroke help on youtube and search for a particular video about testing for head gasket failure... Also you need to get some kind of OBD2 monitoring system and check the Oil temp vs Coolant temp. Once at operating temp the Oil and Coolant temp should be with 15-20 degrees. If they are not then there is an EGR or Oil cooler failure. Also, make sure you start the diesel cold when you go to look at it. If you see white smoke on start up...walk away or offer the seller 5-7k less...take the truck to a good diesel shop and get the issues fixed. With everything I just said, a good running 6.0 is a JOY to drive. Very powerful and responsive. Thanks And good luck. Jeremiah

2004 Excursion 6.0 diesel. | Good Sam Community

34 Replies

Usmcsousa
Explorer
Jun 02, 2014
Hmm, the short amount of reading I've done thus far, has brought up ttyl head bolts EGR and EGR cooler failure , oil cooler failure some issues with the turbo sticking. I feel like if these issues were going to fail, maybe would have already after 180k miles of driving? And should have been repaired properly. I will absolutely bring some print outs with me and get whatever maintenance records I can on the vehicle. At $10k I'd only hope for about 3-5 more years out of a typical vehicle purchase. Or at least that has been my luck in that budget range to date.
Lantley
Nomad
Jun 02, 2014
The X is a great vehicle. The 6.0 PSD has a very sordid history. Beware.

Personally, I would avoid any 6.0 PSD at this point.
kaydeejay
Explorer
Jun 02, 2014
You need some history on that engine. What has been done to "bulletproof" it?.
Typically costs around $5000 to mod the engine to make it substantially more reliable than stock.
Don't want to scare you off IF all the right mods have been done, but that engine, especially in its earlier years, has a less than sterling reputation.
smj224
Explorer
Jun 02, 2014
Just make sure you understand all the potential problems with the 6.0 L ford. You may have to sink several thousand dollars into it to keep it reliable. Just do a search on 6.0 L ford.

Just wanted to inform you

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2004 Excursion 6.0 diesel.

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