Can anybody school me on V-10 Excursions?

After years, and years, of making do with tow vehicles that are too small or a bit underpowered, I'm thinking of biting the bullet with a 2000-or-so Excursion. They are down in the $4,500-$7,000 range, cheap as or cheaper than a comparable Suburban; most seem to have high mileage but are pretty much well-kept, and most have leather and so much room and towing capacity I'll never have to do the can-I-tow-this? math again. And most seem to be the Triton V-10, which I know gets terrible mileage, but this won't be a daily driver. Decent engine? Transmission? I know it's an F-250 underneath, and they seem to last. Any advice or trouble areas to look out for appreciated.

I've had a 2000 Excursion for a few months now. It tows great, has lots of power, and it's very comfortable. I tow my tandem axle race car trailer and my airplane hauling trailer with it, and you can hardly tell they are back there, and you can actually pass slower traffic with authority on the 2 lane roads. The mileage is obscene, though. The best I have seen is 11 mpg without a trailer, which is about 5-6 mpg worse than the 99 Suburban that it replaced. I just towed a 300ZX on my trailer about 200 miles and it averaged 9.5 mpg.

I had a 2000 V10 before I got the 7.3L Excursion. I plan to keep the 7.3L until the wheels fall off. Absolutely love that truck. And I loved the V10 almost as much, gas mileage aside.

On that V10, you'll be lucky to get over 10 MPG in mixed driving. Towing, depending on what, you could easily wind up at 8.

There are a few cheapish mods that make the truck much better to drive. In particular, consider installing a Hellwig sway bar (I think mine was under a couple of hundred bucks) and if you're ready for shocks Bilsteins are the choice upgrade (at maybe $50-70 a shock; haven't priced them in a while).

Once you take care of the suspension stuff, it'll tow anything you'd like. Rock solid at 85 miles an hour. While carrying eight people and their luggage. There's really nothing else like it.

Here's a brief article with some more detail on the suspension stuff and a couple of other suggestions on what to do to your Ex. http://www.supermotors.net/clubs/fordexcursions/articles/article_2/index.php

And there's a pretty active Excursion forum at ford-trucks.com.

One more note: these trucks seem to eat ball joints and other front suspension bits. Check that stuff out very carefully before you buy.

When you log in to Ford-Trucks.com go in to the Super Duty forum then in to the V10 sub forum.

I love my 2010 v10 f350. In 2002 i rented a u-haul box truck with trailer to haul a 62 dart back from Milwaukee to Mass. Truck didn't know the trailer was there.

One thing to look out for with older motors is who and when the spark plugs were changed. Early 2 valve motors had problems with stripped holes. when the plug exits the head it also takes the COP unit with it.

Many people complain the 2010 v10 feels weak...At 1st I thought so too. Ford just gave it a strange EMC tune you don't feel the power but its there. I hate drive by wire as a rule of thumb but you can't buy anything but today... I don't feel my 10,000lbs toy hauler behind it at all. Mike from 5Star tunes is great and as soon as the warranty is up mine will get a 5Star tune.

44Dwarf

Find a 5.4 version and do a Cummings swap????

Man, and here I thought I was off the Excursion train... you people need to knock off with all this good information. Now I want one again.

A good friend of mine has owned one for a few years with minimal troubles. As noted the V10 swills the gas, but does a decent job of towing. I've towed a 35' trailer with it while the "X" was fully loaded with humans/ beer/ stuff and it gets the job done. It always reminds you that it is a truck though, loaded or unloaded. The Suburbans I've driven are much more pleasant to drive, but they also have less towing capacity. The Excursion is a big machine, and it feels like it.

He recently had a plug leave the head, which is pretty common I guess. From what I understand most folks don't get super high mileage without a rebuild. 150K or so is the norm IIRC. My buddy has 120K or so and is getting nervous!

In reply to Joe Gearin: Joe, if i get it, we can use it to tow school buses to Crash A Rama. Thx for all the good info, folks!

Screw that......we can ENTER it in Crash-A-Rama!

Is there a reason to get a v10 gasser over a diesel?

Yani, only if it is considerably cheaper or if you just hate diesels.

YaNi wrote: Is there a reason to get a v10 gasser over a diesel?

For me it was two fold. Wife hates the rattle and smell and the biggest was cost. We only use the thing for hauling the trailer or supplies. Based on the cost of maintenance and the upfront cost of the diesel it would take 5-8 years before there was any pay back. I could not justify a 50K truck (she has to have other options....like 4x4, A/C, long bed, 4 doors, no brown anywhere on truck...., power defrost mirrors, etc.)

Joe Gearin wrote: He recently had a plug leave the head, which is pretty common I guess. From what I understand most folks don't get super high mileage without a rebuild. 150K or so is the norm IIRC. My buddy has 120K or so and is getting nervous!

A buddy of mine just sold his v10 F250 with a little over 230k, so there is hope!

YaNi wrote: Is there a reason to get a v10 gasser over a diesel?

Initial cost; ongoing maintenance cost. I traded my V10 for the diesel because I wanted a diesel and to get ~40% better mileage. If you're not going to drive it all that much/keep it all that long, the V10 would be the choice vehicle.

Adding: I love the rattle and smell. Particularly as I run 100% biodiesel from waste vegetable oil. Love the smell of burning biodiesel.

I drove one at work for a while and hated it. But keep in mind I don't like trucks and the trucky-er the truck is the more I dislike it. The one I drove was an earlier 2v, and it was slow in addition to getting 10mpg.

The 7.3 Powerstroke in the same basic thing (F250) was much more pleasant to drive in my opinion.

I have the 5.4 Expedition, based on the F150, gets better mileage and tows just fine.

Same interior, lighter frame, gets around 18mpg

More discussion:

http://www.roadraceautox.com/showthread.php?t=35724&highlight=v10

Teggsan wrote:

YaNi wrote: Is there a reason to get a v10 gasser over a diesel?

Initial cost; ongoing maintenance cost.

Strongly disagree. I used to be a fleet maintenance manager and by far the diesel puts more money in your pocket. From purchase cost through maintenance and fuel costs to selling value, diesel puts way more money back in your pocket on the average.

We usually bought trucks new and ran them until they were wasted. For the gas trucks that was usually about 200k. For the diesels it was usually 400k, and the diesels would still sell for twice what the gas trucks would.

Do some really hard research on the Ford V10... its a widely hated engine. Spark plug threads like to rip out, cooling system corrosion issues. You couldn't pay me to own one. I would rather have a 5.4L and have to replace coils every 30k than own a V10.

YaNi wrote: Is there a reason to get a v10 gasser over a diesel?

I got to drive a BRAND new v10 dually extended cab F350 (2010) for over a year when I worked for the City of Red Deer. I hated it, the v10 is a terrible motor. Will it tow anything? Sure, but not any better than a 3/4 ton chevy with an old 5.7L vortec would. And it drank gas. Lose lose all around. It's like saying the 502 chebby is a good motor... it's mediocre, but why not get a diesel?

Also, as mentioned, resale on the diesel is WAY better and people CLAMOR for powerjoke excursions. You'll make your money on it by resale alone!