# Excursion 5.4 W/supercharger?



## louvel1

Hello All, once again I come to you to bounce something off of all of you. I mentioned in another posting that I have a 23 krs which I towed with a Dodge Ram 1500 5.7. Due to the economy I had to sell my truck, my wife drives a 5.4 excursion. We used it to tow the Roo this weekend and it did the job but it had struggled up some hills and just freaked me out hearing the engine rev. The truck and towing actually felt great except for the engine screaming. I can't afford a new tow vehicle but have been looking for solutions for more power. I ran into a vortech supercharger which adds 115 hp and additional 96ft. lbs. The supercharger runs about $3800.00 for parts and my friend said he will install it for free.

My question is, is it worth the trouble and cost to add the supercharger? Are there other issues I need to worry about by installing it? Will my engine wear out faster? My friend gave me his opinion but I value your opinions.

by the way the excursion is paid off and it has 80k miles.


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## Scottyfish

You will enjoy the added power, but may not appreciate the extra wear on all the engine and transmission components. A supercharger will put added strain on the combustion chamber, pistons, rings, etc. and will certainly draw less life from your transmission. While the diesel versions and some of the later V10 used the 5-speed Torque-Shift transmission, I do not believe your 5.4 has that combo. It probably has the 4R100. A good transmission, but you will probably want to invest some into its longevity and strength.

Added power is great, but you need to beef up the rest of the powertrain as well.


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## MJRey

Glad to hear the Excursion is a workable solution even if it's a bit slow. The motor is actually fairly happy with the revs you'll get running in a lower gear to maintain speed. I think the supercharger would definitely give you more power but I would be very worried about it causing something else to fail with that much extra hp/torque. The 5.4 had some know issues and one of them was blown spark plugs and the extra pressure would probably make that more likely. That's just one potential problem that could crop up. Almost $4K is a lot to pay and there are probably better mods to make it tow a bit better. I had an 01 and 03 Expedition with the same basic 2 valve 5.4 as your Excursion. I had a Superchip add on program chip for the 01 and it worked pretty good but soon after I got that I traded the 01 for the 03 and with that one I bought a Superchip custom tuner with 3 programs that I could load. The chip/programmers definitely helped with more power and much better tuning of the transmission for towing. I've still got the chip that should work with you're 00 Excursion and it's your's free if you want it. You would have to send it in to have it reprogrammed for your specific application but if I remember correctly that was about $100 to $150 depending on who did the work. The link below is where I bought mine years ago and he can reprogram them but I don't know the exact cost.

http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi-bin/p...;catalogno=1100

The only downside with the programmer is the need to use 91 octane fuel but I found that the better mileage pretty much offset the higher fuel cost. If you're interested just PM me as I'll be down in Costa Mesa this weekend for a soccer tournament and we might be able to work out a way for me to drop it off.

I think a supercharger would be cool but you're right to be worried about the problems it might cause. Since you had to get rid of the truck for economic reasons I suspect dumping $4K ++ into the Excursion might not be the best thing to do right now. I wish you the best with whatever route you choose and hopefully you can keep getting out to camp.


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## mmblantz

I think if you can afford the $3800 for the supercharger then you could sell the excursion and use the $$$ to buy a more capable deisel excursion. Thats what I did when I needed more vehicle. --Mike


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## Nathan

A supercharger will very likely cause a decreased engine life span. There was a supercharged 5.4L in the F150 Lightining truck for a few years, but that engine had to be heavily modified to make it work. Automotive engines are designed for the power they will produce. Significantly increasing that power requires extensive modification of components if you want everything to have the same durability. A power boost that significant is going to stress the Pistons, Connecting Rods and Head Gaskets. It also may cause trouble with other components, but I bet those will be the first to let go. (You're out of warranty, but if you weren't, just the witness marks from having a supercharger installed would void any warranty) 
I have personally seen the effects of superchargers on engines they weren't designed for and it isn't pretty. Incidentally, the chips can cause durability problems too. I think they are less likely too because the power increase is much less, but everyone should understand that a Manufacturer can refuse warranty if they consider a modification to have contributed to the failure.

If hills are really too slow for you, look into re-gearing the truck. Getting a new rear end ratio (and front if it is a 4wd) will make the truck feel better without casuing the large risk to engine durability. Finally, if it is just a noise issue, try turning up the radio. Seriously, letting the 5.4L rev is really ok. As long as the temps stay within limits and you do proper maintenance, you should be fine. Don't forget that if you are towing, there is usually a severe duty maintenance schedule. Use that one for towing season just to be safe.


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## puffer

Supercharger will help,but you also need to run some higher rpms for the supercharger to make the horsepower your looking for.


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## NJMikeC

I happen to believe that you would be better served by taking the $3800 and buying your wife a nice present so that she just doesn't go and chop your head off for a less then stellar move. You were trying to save money but that $3800 supercharger will cost you that and more. Go slow up the hills, kiss your wife and kiss MJRey .Take his chip and elect him site hero but don't do that goofy supercharger as it will just ruin a fine vehicle.


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## jzero

I have an 02 f150 king ranch with the 5.4 and I tow a 21rs in Colorado, over a lot of mountains. I considered a supercharger briefly because I wanted help with air intake above 8000ft. The Vortec is only about 7 lbs. of boost, so I wasn't too concerned about damage to the motor, and I would use it responsibly (not going 75 mph up a 6% because I can). The other reason I avoided the charger is because it will demand a lot of fuel to achieve the performance. You could be looking at 4-6 mpg when you put demand on the charger. My solution was to re gear the truck with 4:10's, I built a custom dual exhaust, stainless exhaust manifolds (deleting the cross over) and a new air intake. I used a programmer not so much for "hp gain" but for the reprogramming of the new gearing. I also replaced the transmission pan and rear differential cover with larger ones that basically double the fluid capacity. I did all of this in 05 and I am very satisfied with the results. The biggest improvement was the gear change; that was the biggest bang for the buck! no question, so I would definitely start there. I will say that at about 9500 ft, going over one of the major passes here in Colorado, I lose a lot of momentum. I usually top the pass at 25- 30 mph. There just isn't any way to force more air into that motor. But lets see, I am in that situation maybe five times a year and it lasts all of 10 min., not enough to justify dramatic changes to the vehicle.


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## Collinsfam_WY

I know the sound you are talking about from the 5.4 and it isn't pretty as I owned one until just a short time ago. I did some looking around and found some dyno pulls of 5.4's. The 5.4 just doesn't sound happy after about 4,000 rpm and the dyno charts showed me why. The motor has a torque curve like a big block - at least the 2V version I had was like that. I cannot speak to the newer 3V version. The way you talk about your motor is the same way I felt about my 2V. It sounded like it was going to come apart after about 4,000rpm. My 3V V10 in the SuperDuty sounds great at 4,000 rpm. I pulled a couple hills at 4250 and it just sounded real strong and would accelerate up any grade. Big difference (woot).

I had a similar decision to make on my F150. It also had 80k when I started towing our 23RS. I could, at the time, afford either a new TV or a camper but not both. We decided to go camping and "make do" with the F150 for a couple of years. The truck performed a workmanlike job. At times, it was pushed to its limits but it held together and got us to many places and back. 2 years later, we bought the SuperDuty (last Dec.). I decided not to modify my 5.4 at all. I thought seriously about it but in reality, the truck already had 80k mi. on it and I would 1. Never get to a break-even point on a mod for the fuel savings before I sold it. 2. The motor was already aging and well broke in as it was. Stressing it with mods at that point, to me, was not a wise idea.

Good luck!

-CC


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## Carey

NJMikeC said:


> I happen to believe that you would be better served by taking the $3800 and buying your wife a nice present so that she just doesn't go and chop your head off for a less then stellar move. You were trying to save money but that $3800 supercharger will cost you that and more. Go slow up the hills, kiss your wife and kiss MJRey .Take his chip and elect him site hero but don't do that goofy supercharger as it will just ruin a fine vehicle.


lol... good one mike!

I totally agree, lol

Carey


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## louvel1

NJMikeC said:


> I happen to believe that you would be better served by taking the $3800 and buying your wife a nice present so that she just doesn't go and chop your head off for a less then stellar move. You were trying to save money but that $3800 supercharger will cost you that and more. Go slow up the hills, kiss your wife and kiss MJRey .Take his chip and elect him site hero but don't do that goofy supercharger as it will just ruin a fine vehicle.


HEY NJMIKEC,

Please don't sugar coat it! LMAO! Thanks!


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## louvel1

MJRey said:


> Glad to hear the Excursion is a workable solution even if it's a bit slow. The motor is actually fairly happy with the revs you'll get running in a lower gear to maintain speed. I think the supercharger would definitely give you more power but I would be very worried about it causing something else to fail with that much extra hp/torque. The 5.4 had some know issues and one of them was blown spark plugs and the extra pressure would probably make that more likely. That's just one potential problem that could crop up. Almost $4K is a lot to pay and there are probably better mods to make it tow a bit better. I had an 01 and 03 Expedition with the same basic 2 valve 5.4 as your Excursion. I had a Superchip add on program chip for the 01 and it worked pretty good but soon after I got that I traded the 01 for the 03 and with that one I bought a Superchip custom tuner with 3 programs that I could load. The chip/programmers definitely helped with more power and much better tuning of the transmission for towing. I've still got the chip that should work with you're 00 Excursion and it's your's free if you want it. You would have to send it in to have it reprogrammed for your specific application but if I remember correctly that was about $100 to $150 depending on who did the work. The link below is where I bought mine years ago and he can reprogram them but I don't know the exact cost.
> 
> http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi-bin/p...;catalogno=1100
> 
> The only downside with the programmer is the need to use 91 octane fuel but I found that the better mileage pretty much offset the higher fuel cost. If you're interested just PM me as I'll be down in Costa Mesa this weekend for a soccer tournament and we might be able to work out a way for me to drop it off.
> 
> I think a supercharger would be cool but you're right to be worried about the problems it might cause. Since you had to get rid of the truck for economic reasons I suspect dumping $4K ++ into the Excursion might not be the best thing to do right now. I wish you the best with whatever route you choose and hopefully you can keep getting out to camp.


MJREY thanks for the all the info and I would love to take you up on that chip. I'll PM you so we can set something up. Per NJMIKEC's suggestion, I'll kiss you when I see you (JK).


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