28k mile 7.3l excursion

In reply to Tom_Spangler :

How do you like your EcoBoost expo? I was looking at those lol

In reply to yupididit :

I have an eco boost F150. It’s wonderful, but it doesn’t come close to competing with the 7.3L for towing. 

yupididit said:

In reply to Tom_Spangler :

How do you like your EcoBoost expo? I was looking at those lol

It's been pretty great, honestly. It doesn't get the best mileage, but it's light years ahead of the old 5.4. We're coming up on 4 years and 60k of ownership and have had a few electronic issues, but the powertrain is rock solid so far. It tows our 7k-pound travel trailer just great, though with single-digit MPGs. Compared to the 2011 Ecoboost F-150 I had before, it's better in a number of ways. First off, being the long wheelbase, you can fold all the seats and fit 8' lumber in the back with the hatch closed. The IRS means that not only does it ride and handle better, it has a lower rear load floor. And it's just a more versatile vehicle all-around, being an SUV. The 3.5EB is a beast of a motor, IMO. 420 ft-lb at 2500 rpm makes it a great towing motor, and the 6-speed with tow/haul mode does a great job of being in the right gear and using things like engine braking to control everything. I towed our travel trailer from Michigan to Las Vegas and back, over the Rockies, with 4 people and two dogs aboard, in the middle of summer, and the temp gauge never moved. 

In reply to Tom_Spangler :

Thank you.They seem like the modern replacement for the Excursion. I want something with that 3.5 that can provide the space my excursion does. I just want modern interior, safety, quietness, and luxury that my excursion doesn't provide

They're still expensive though, the oldest one is only 4 years old though.

I had a 7.3 Powerstroke Excursion for about a year, and honestly, I just don't get the love.

The 7.3 has this magical reputation for whatever reason.  Mine was reliable, I'll give it that, but it was noisy as hell, stinky, didn't like to start in the cold, and didn't really make that much power/torque.  I even did an intake, exhaust, new turbo compressor wheel, and a tuner, and the thing still wasn't as good as the stock 04 Duramax that came before it.  Some of it was the awful 4 speed transmission that never seemed in the right gear - it either spun the thing until it sounded like the rods were going to come out and tap dance on the hood or it would lug the motor so bad the EGTs would go through the roof.  Then there was the constant fear the overstressed tranny could give up the ghost at any moment.

The suspension on the thing was truly awful too, as they lowered the spring rates so that soccer moms wouldn't complain about the ride of a 3/4 ton truck.  It wound up that the rear suspension was so soft that if you put any weight on the hitch the thing would wallow around and give you the sense that the steering wheel was more of a way to set a goal direction wise than it was to steer the truck down the road.  This was even after putting nice Bilstein shocks and a big sway bar on the back end which they left off the Excursions for whatever reason, even though the pickups had them.  The only way to fix this was to change the leaf springs out at all 4 corners for F250/350 springs.

The only redeeming thing about that truck was that it got an honest 20mpg at 80 mph on the interstate as long as it wasn't towing.  That, combined with a 44 gallon fuel tank meant you could go a long, long ways without stopping for fuel.

I saw people asking about the Ecoboost too - I had an Ecoboost F150 one truck after the Excursion.  I'd take the 3.5 Ecoboost 7 days a week and twice on Sunday over the 7.3 diesel.  The awesome 6 speed tranny probably helped out just as much as anything.  I only got rid of it as I have an enclosed trailer for the race car, and the F150 was just not quite heavy duty enough for that trailer.  I never felt it lacked for power though.

This reminds me that there should be an eco boost v8 as an option on the big trucks. Diesel is cool but not as cool with all the emissions issues. 

yupididit said:

 Friday I will be driving to Virginia from central Texas, no trailer. I am interested to see what this old thing will get for gas mileage with 236k miles on her. 

  I went about 980 miles on a single tank. Filled her up just under "15 miles to empty" which was 44 gallon of diesel lol. And $115.  That's about 22.2 mpg. I made a few stops that required city driving but that tank was basically 15+ hrs of driving.  I stayed between 60-70 mph.