# Ford Excusion As Tv



## GO WEST (May 25, 2009)

2003 Excursion Limited
6.8L V10
121,000 miles
Mineral Gray exterior paint
Camel Leather interior
Rear seat DVD player
Front end replacement bumper
Trailer tow package

Please comment on the worthiness of this as a tow vehicle for any Outback out there. Main concern is # of miles...121,000.


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

If the price is right and the 121k is mostly highway non towing miles I would say go with it. It is a towing beast and if its in good condition it will pull just about anything.

John


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Excursions are awesome tow vehicles. Here are some things to check.

1. Exhaust studs. On the older V10's, they tend to break and/or seize in the hole and have to be removed. Most people find out by first discovering they have an exhaust leak. If you have some busted studs, this is a good excuse to drop on a set of Banks torque tubes or a similar torque increasing header.
2. Plugs. See if the plugs have been changed. If not, get them changed by a mechanic who knows how to change plugs on the Ford 2V modular head to prevent blow out. My mechanic, on my old 2V 5.4 F150 told me that a key was to let the engine cool completely (they waited 6 hours) prior to removing the existing, old plugs.
3. Excursion rear suspensions tend to be too soft since the SuperDuty suspension was softened to cart mom and kids to the grocery store. Air bags will really help firm up and stabilize the rear suspension. My in-laws have done this with Firestone ride-rite air bags.

The 2V V10 responds very well to some simple bolt-on mods such as an aftermarket y-pipe (and the aforementioned headers) with both increased power and mileage . I recommend that you visit the V10 forum over at ford-trucks.com (FTE) for a wealth of information on this wonderful powertrain. I also recommend visting 5 Star Tuning and speaking with Mike Butler. Mike not only has dyno proven V10 tunes, he also owns and tows a 36' 5'er with a V10.

-CC


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## GO WEST (May 25, 2009)

Thanks for the info, this is great. Are you talking about a Banks Power Pack. I work with a guy who was a full-timer for years and he mentioned that as a great $3000 addition to boost power and efficiency. I am going to stop by after work and look at this Excursion. They don't make this truck any more do they? I don't see any at our Ford dealer.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

No, the Excursion has been out of production for a few years now.









Curtis was right on with his comments. The V10 Excursions are thirsty beasts, but they tow nicely and I wouldn't personally be afraid of that mileage if it has been well cared for.


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## rsm7 (Aug 8, 2009)

Do yourself a favor and have it inspected by a certified technician. Its alot of miles but if it was cared for it will serve you well. Front end work on these things is very expensive and they are notorious for ball joints and hubs, even brakes. That age truck will require alot of maintenace and repairs. I'm not saying dont buy it just find out first what it needs, cause it will need something. Yes it is a towing monster. Mine is bone stock and it handles my 7500 lb trailer with ease. I have the 3.73 but I wish I had the 4.30 as fuel mileage sucks anyway. Check the door pillar sticker to find out what rear end it has.

C1 - 3.73 limited slip, F-250/Excursion 
C2 - 4.10 limited slip, F-250/Excursion 
C3 - 4.30 limited slip, F-250/Excursion


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

Love love love our Magic bus. Dont love the mileage, and wished we had the diesel when gas spiked to 4.00 a gallon, but overall, a great tow/all around vehicle. We just clicked 80K, so ours is in its infancy. A buddy of mine waited for all the warranties to pass, and modded his up- aftermarket exhaust (cat-back SS Borla...that V-10 sounds evil) and a chip for the computer. Other than wear and tear on the drive train, no problems. He just topped 200K and running strong.

If you are buying from a dealer, two things to check for....

Brakes....Make sure they are top notch. Being it is a 7K vehicle, the brakes are susceptible for early wear....and are not cheap to replace (trust me on this one...$1,400.00 later)

Rear end "pumpkin"... There were some early on issues with the rear ends, ie- carrier bearings. If you hear, at low speed, a humming sound from the rear, and there aren't aggressive off road tires on her... you might have some trouble down the road. And being it is a heavy duty rear end, repairs arent cheap either ($660.00).

Good luck, you wont be dissappointed!


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## WYOCAMPER (Mar 28, 2007)

GO WEST said:


> Thanks for the info, this is great. Are you talking about a Banks Power Pack. I work with a guy who was a full-timer for years and he mentioned that as a great $3000 addition to boost power and efficiency. I am going to stop by after work and look at this Excursion. They don't make this truck any more do they? I don't see any at our Ford dealer.


x2 on ALL the comments by collinsfam_tx. I'm on my 2nd V10 and they are a tough, proven, reliable engine. Definitely check out the V10 forum on fordtrucks.com for lots of great information. As far as the the Banks Power Pack, it is pricey. They make great gains in power & torque on diesels. However, for a V10 the cost of will probably outweigh the gains you'll see. As Curtis stated, you'll see the most gains on a 2 valve V10 (1999-2004) by changing out the restrictive y-pipe and adding a custom tune from 5-Star Tuning. You can get the tuner under $400, and a y-pipe for a few hundred bucks. Put that extra money toward gas. Yes, the Excursion has been discontinued.


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