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Ford Excursion Owners: Meet the Members
Please take a moment to introduce yourself and share some details about your Excursion!
My name is KarenS and I am the host of the Edmunds.com Owner's Clubs. Please let me know what discussions you would like to see in your Club folder. I will create them ASAP. You may want to take a look through the other clubs to get ideas for discussions.
Looking forward to meeting everyone!
KarenS
Host
Owner's Clubs
My name is KarenS and I am the host of the Edmunds.com Owner's Clubs. Please let me know what discussions you would like to see in your Club folder. I will create them ASAP. You may want to take a look through the other clubs to get ideas for discussions.
Looking forward to meeting everyone!
KarenS
Host
Owner's Clubs
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Comments
I don't get the issues on handling and tires and stuff. Compared to my new Impala, the handling and ride is a little bumpy and the handling a little different, but it is exactly what I expect from a truck. Doesn't seem any different than my 1/2 ton sub (it had Michelin LTX/AT's at 48 psi and it made the ride rough). I am going to leave it just as is.
The one thing I do miss from my sub is the ability to override the interior courtesy/dome lights. In the sub, you hit a switch and when you open the doors the lights don't come on. Major bonus when you are acclamating your eyes for fishing or night flying or when the family is sleeping at night on the road and you have to stop and get out.
If anybody has a fix for it, I would appreciate any help. I thought of pulling the fuse and running the leads to a fused switch on the dash, but that will take the power windows with the lights. It might work as a spot solution some times.
Love the back up sensors, all the room in the driver's seat, first time I don't need to put the seat all the way back and can raise it up and still have head room. Loading with the split doors and no heavy tail gate is also a big plus over the older ones. Ours is mostly used for dog show travel so it gets loaded full but not very heavy on most trips. Done one trip to Vancouver Island for 9 days this past summer and drove all the way back from Anacortes, WA to SF Bay Area in 14 hours with one driving and the other sleeping in the entry exit alley we have to get dogs into and out of their crates.
Enjoy your Excursions, and I enjoy reading what others have done, not a wrench here, that may help us keep the Ex for years and miles to come.
Do enjoy the feed back from other owners. Has helped alot. Thanks everyone.
After I ordered the truck I read through all of the discussion boards and started to get worried. Everyone was talking about putting new shocks, tires, and anti-sway bars on their vehicles. I have to say that the ride is pretty darn good and I don't have plans right now to make any modifications.
I always liked the Excursions but never considered one because of the gas mileage. The PSD took care of that concern. On my road trip to Northern Arizona I averaged 16mpg. That's with a brand new truck climbing up to elevations of over 7,500 feet. In town I am getting about 14mpg. I am told that I should expect better results when I get 6,000 miles on the engine. I traded in a 99 Expedition (which was a great truck, just didn't have the room I needed) and it only got 12mpg, city or highway (that's the only thing that I didn't like about it).
I noticed that on the discussion boards many people complained about the noise of the PSD. The PSD is not as quiet as the v10 that's for sure, but it's greatly improved over other diesels I have had in the past. On the highway you can't tell the difference. I'll trade the mileage and torque for some engine noise any day.
I like the truck and would encourage anyone who's looking for a large utility vehicle to consider it. It definitely is not for everyone, but it fills a need for capacity, looks, and functionality for me.
I was also trying to decide between the stock Ford rubber floor mats or Husky's. They look aweful similar.
I have a 2000 V-10 Limited 4x4, and one of the first things I did was to buy a complete set of slush mats and the rear cargo liner from Ford. I don't know how people do without either, they keep the carpet in good shape not only from camping outings, but just every day wear. I really shouldn't tell on myself, but the Beast is almost a year and a half old and I've never taken a vacuum to it yet. The mats catch most of the dirt and what they don't catch I take a occasional whisk broom to it keeping it looking like new. I would suggest everyone get slush mats in all their vehicles!
About the liner, mine just covers the cargo area behind the third set of seats. I still have not figured those rear seats out yet. My husband swears that they should fold up nicer. Sat in them twice, I didn't care much for the ride in the back, so taking them out completely might not be such a bad idea.
Mom21
P.S. What types of dogs are you showing?
The cargo liner is a must buy, I agree. As are the slush mats. I see that Husky and Ford offer a set, I was wondering if one set was better than the other. There is also a full cargo area liner I was interested in because of the dog.
I prefer the third seat to second seat when my wife is driving. I like stretching out and watching TV. I will admit, I was surprised that the second seat is not as flat as the sub, but I can live with it. Third seats are in the way if you are not hauling people. Ours is 50% in 50% out.
Enjoy!
Remember-- No Boundaries---except the pump.
As for hauling dogs, not often but once to maybe four times a year need to get in 5 big dogs with crates opening into alley way along passenger side of vehicle. This leave enough room for one lose dog in the rear if one driver wants to sleep for a few hours. This used to work in all our old Sub's with extra large airline kennel opening about 10", but won't work in new Sub's so we went to the Beast. The slight tilt of the 2nd row seat took some trial and error to get set up ok, but just use some 3 ft boards to level crates and then use the small space for some extra stuff storage. So far, love the Ex and it is by far the most comfortable I've been on long trips ever.
I have done some modifications to improve the handling. Procomp steering stabilizer,
Timbren load boosters on the front and a hellwig rear sway bar.To change the looks I added 2002 headlamps, clear side markers and a superduty grill. I traded a '97 F-150 for the excursion and love the power of theV10. I have only 8200 miles so far and will be towing 1700 miles in a few weeks. No problems so far. It has not been back to the dealer for a thing.
If you have some time, we would really appreciate Town Hall members writing a review of their current auto, or a favorite make/model. It takes approximately a week for your review to appear on that make/model.
If you have any questions, please let me know!
Thanks!
KarenS
Host
Owners Clubs
I purchased a 2000 Exc V10 White Ltd., 3.73 new in 11/00. It's the "Big Dog" around our driveway, and it's a great rig. I've been running trucks/vans/SUVs since 1974, mostly towing boats across the US, hauling the family (and occasionally playing off-road in my younger days).
The Big Dog suits my needs perfectly. After 30K miles, it still is solid, not a rattle anywhere, handles, tows and looks great. I couldn't be more pleased (unless I could figure out how to get 20mpg!). In fact, it's been so good I didn't know I needed shocks, sway bars, tires until I started reading Town Hall. ;-)
Yes, I'm still on the Firestones, and the darn things still haven't worn out enough so I can justify going down and getting some "good" tires. (Seriously, I've never been a Firestone fan, but these Steeltex continue looking and working fine. I rotate them every 6K. I keep watching for an excuse to replace them, and am still waiting.)
I've added a few functional/cosmetic accessories: CatchAll mats & liner, sill protectors, bug guard, mud flaps, better headlights and backup lights, but that's about it. I would like to add fog lights, since they weren't standard in 2000. Any tips on models and installation there would be appreciated.
Anyway, just an intro for you all. Looking forward to contributing whenever possible.
Enjoy the outdoors,
BigDog2000
For those wanting better headlights there is an ad on E-Bay for what looks like the 2003 model headlight. It has a large light on the outside with two smaller lights next to it. They look awesome and listed under Excursion in the search bar. Not sure what page but think it was 3 or 4, only 6 under that search. Ad says slight modification needed which is probally the plugs.
My wife uses the beast as a daily driver so I only get it on weekends mostly. Get tons of comments from all ages now that it is lifted.
Please feel free to contact me as I am an information nut. If you get a chance go to the Sierra Club website. They are Excursion bashers. Just sent them a long e-mail about are ridiculous and obsesed they are about these vehicles. The head cheese was on good morning america making it sound like only an idiot would buy an Excursion. Well it made me mad so I responded. Well I shut up nice to other people enjoying their Excursions.
We have taken it on a couple of road trips and have been impressed with the tremendous power and smoothness of the psd. It gets a little over 20mpg on the hwy and 14-16 in town. This thing loves the open road!
Next week we are taking it to Monterrey, MX. I'll let you know how we did when we come back.
The only issue the dealership is trying to resolve is a clunking noise when it first goes into drive and I depress the gas peddle. I am interested to hear from anyone who has experienced this problem and what was done to fix it. I can be reached at victoriacoffee@cox-internet.com.
Thanks, john
Thanks from Calgary.
So much drech with the Eddie Bauer mdl and having gotten bitten on our Expedition a couple of yrs ago we decided to get the cloth seats and the 6 way power seats and be ready to tow the 31' Airstream in real comfort.
However, there are a few things I wish we could have gotten ...
I want to install Upfitter switches/Tow Command modules in the cubby hole to the left of the cup holder. just need the part number for the Tow Command. anyone??
I would like to get a good OEM proximity sensor since this is one thing that I lost out on .
And the fog lamps did not come with the truck.
Still, lots of room for the dog crate in the back. Need to get that rear seat out and bagged and stored. then I can install the Truck Vault.
One last thing, getting a Pulrite Hitch installed AROUND that verdampt skid plated fuel tank. Anyone fought this battle already???
thanks in advance in Houston, TX
Average over 22 mpg. 17 in combination. Two trips to Fla. 1 cross Canada. Regularly tow excavator and Bobcat B trained behind it, Gets looks but what else will do it.
Hooked to a friends Duramax dually 4X4 and pulled him acrost the lot. He doesent have the weight. With my tools and attachments aboard she weighs over 9800 without passengers. Just a little locomotive???? Hope Ford will continue making this beast as it suits me fine. I do drive carefully don't want to crush a burb.
tidester, host
I had hoped our Ex would show a large increase in towing fuel economy compared to the 6 - 7 mpg our Sub was getting, because our Sub struggled with a 350ci, but the Ex didn't show as much of a difference as I had hoped. Hard to compare apples to apples though, as we bought a larger camper at the same time, and I think with the larger Ex engine, we (I) tend to drive faster.
Our camper is around 8000lbs loaded, give or take 500lbs depending on water and stuff. 9600lbs gross, so we have the potential to be maxed out on long trips. 35' long including the tongue, 11' high including the A/C.
Our Ex only has the 3.73 gears. At 55 - 60mph, we get 8 - 9mpg. At 70 - 75mph, we get 6 - 7mpg. Not an incredible difference. This is according to the o/h computer. I would be interested to see what you get with the different gears.
Most of our traveling has been through mountains and long grades. We're planning a trip out to Yellowstone from the east coast this summer, so I'm looking forward to a slight increase in mpg's - at least on the way home with the wind.
You will have no problems towing your camper with this truck. Your camper is on the small side for the amount this truck can pull. Don't forget to have the weight distributing hitch setup properly for this vehicle.
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Also it has around 69,000 on it. Any concerns with the diesel after it gets the higher miles?
Thanks!
2800rpm was likely because it wouldn’t go back into O/D. If you’re not sure what it’s doing, in a safe place when you can concentrate, push the O/D button in to cancel O/D(is your O/D cancel light on the shifter working?), wait a bit, then turn it on again and see if the rpm’s change. If they don’t, you were never in O/D. If it never goes back into O/D under any circumstances, then you obviously have an issue. If you couldn’t get it to go back in only when towing, (A) were you still in hilly terrain, and (B) were you using regular gas? Hopefully you don’t have a converter issue caused from lack of regular fluid changes by the previous owner.
Not sure if you really have an issue or if you've discovered the same faults that I originally did during our first few trips. You may be merely experiencing the not-so-good- part of this truck. My opinion is that the tranny and the computer are the weak links of an X.
I find the computer changes power range after you've been into the pedal for a while. I'd love to snap my fingers and have a carburetor when I'm losing power. It seems to calculate for your throttle position and then give you less fuel at that position, because you had to hold it there too long. As if it figures, “hey, this is the new cruising position of the throttle, so I'll back off on the fuel delivery.” And then you have less power and end up laying into it even more but never seem to get that original power back that you started out with. Finding long down grades to get it back into O/D with your foot at a relatively light position on the throttle, seems to get some of that life back.
I can feel when I’m in the sweet spot. Takes a lot of concentration on that throttle and you need to take it out of O/D before the bottom of a hill so it can settle in and lock up the converter again before it tries calculating all the changes during the uphill climb. If in the sweet spot, the beast with go up hills with almost no extra throttle pressure and not lose a beat, like some magic is going on. If you have no choice and end up in that 4000rpm range you are on your way to the “where the heck did the beef go” range. And it never seems to come back that day, unless you shut it down for hrs.
I have gone to the extent of pulling over and removing the battery cables to clear the memory during a lunch break. Not sure if that works all the time, sometimes appeared to but other times didn't. (remember to idle a minute or two before shutting down to cool exhaust) Always seems at it's best when you leave home for the first few hrs.
A mechanic may be looking for something that he'll never find. If I'm right and the computer is just a little stupid, (which also seems to affect it's demented brothers, the tranny and the converter) an after market chip/on board adjustment computer may be a solution, though I've heard too many mixed reviews. I'd love to try one but will kick myself if it's a wash.
After having a Suburban with a tranny that I loved, (but not enough pulling power), I have never liked nor gotten used to the one in the X. I've seen it not shift soon enough when losing speed up steep grades, then hold the damn gear past the top of the hill and even down part of the other side, when it should have up-shifted long ago at the top of the hill when I started backing off the throttle.
On a trip to Yellowstone, we struggled to get over the first 12,000' pass, stopping 3 times before reaching the top because of absolutely no power, we learned together with another V10 person in the park, that we needed higher octane. We normally pulled with regular, but when driving thru mountains or anything other than flat land for that matter, we now use the highest octane available in the area and it has made a big difference. Helped in a trickle-down effect because the tranny and converter no longer have to make up for the lack of power/torque from essentially the wrong fuel.
Fuel filter maintenance - good to keep in mind at the rate of delivery in the 4000+ rpm area.
Keep that tranny fluid fresh. I’m anal and change it every yr. Lots of mountain towing. I do it myself so costs less than $90. Ours has never smelled burnt or showed any sludge or metal filings in the pan.
*******check and change your rear axle fluid. Often overlooked. If it isn’t honey golden color, and I have no doubt that it won’t be, clean out that diff and freshen it up. The front diff (4x4) will likely by okay. Just by the Ford stuff and make sure to buy the Additive. Ask at the dealer, they can advise if you’re doing it yourself. Save yourself unnecessary heat build up in the rear diff and resulting failure – remember it won’t break down around town – it’s going to do it at the worst time on a trip, likely up a monster hill.
The tranny is bullet proof if maintained, just a little dumb - leave it in O/D unless the terrain won't let it stay there for periods of approx 4mins, otherwise you will be building up heat shifting back and forth. If you find it won't maintain speed without jumping back and forth, suck it up and push the button in to cancel O/D and drive around the 2800 - 3200 rpm range. That's your power band any way. (keep that engine oil fresh and full for that kind of long-term high rpm’s – it’ll be fine) You'll only loose a mile or two per gallon - get used to the hum and vibrations at that rpm. I’ve done it numerous times for hrs at a time.
Some guys have changed gears from their stock 3.73's to 4.35's or as high as 4.56's. Gains fuel economy around town from shifting sooner, gains fuel economy when towing or at the least maintains what you had with less wear and tear, might loose 1 or 2 mpg normal hwy driving w/o towing. Costs $$$ though. Not worth it if you don't tow many times per yr. Anywhere from $1800 up, and it needs to be done by a really competent mechanic or you will have whining, grinding and subsequent issues.
You may want to join the Excursion club on the Ford Truck Enthusiast website (it's free http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum29/ ) for more opinions/info/experiences. The X is far more of a truck then the Suburban - I've had both, but you may never like the tranny. My advice would be drive it, maintain it, don't do any mods to it. It will get the job done but may not do it the way you'd expect all the time.
Overall – keep fluids fresh, full, and use high octane when towing. We have over 80,000 miles over approx 7yrs, lots of it towing, still stock, runs without issue, does what we need but can be annoying on long uphill drives. Learning to drive it at peak operation takes time. Hope this helps you to have more confidence in your truck.
Our #’s for ref – optimum conditions:
11 – 12mpg combined
13 – 15mpg hwy
6 -7mpg towing @ 70 – 80mph
8 – 9mpg towing @ 60mph or less
We have the SuperChip programmer on our 2002 F350 4x4 7.3 PSD. I elected to try the HyperTech programmer on our 2005 Excursion 6.0 PSD. We like the HyperTech better. Not only can we tow up to the maximum allowed on all 3 stages, but we have experienced No negative "side effects". With the SuperChip on our truck, we experience a "hiccup" of sorts. It can happen at any time - while just cruising down the road, under acceleration, coming to a stop - we never know when it will happen. When we gun it to get on the freeway and it happens, BOY O BOY does it jerk you around! It's like the engine just stops momentarily (hiccup) and goes right back to where it was before. I also don't like having to keep changing the settings when we change our driving habits - Tow safe to pull our 31' 5th wheel, Tow-Perf to pull our boat or utility trailer, Hi-Perf for "normal" driving. The HyperTech is much easier. Just set it and go! It takes another 1-2 minutes longer to program than the SuperChip, but we think the end result is better.
I have seen postings on changing to 202 headlights, 2002 cup holders, info, links, why? Also would like to add driving lights in same location as factory without spending fortune. Any info/help would be greatly appreciated.
2002 headlights are clear lenses - brighter than yours
2002 cup holders are deeper and won't loose your Dunkachino on left hand turns.
I've changed the cup holders - cheap, $10 I think, can't quite remember. Very happy with it.
I've been wanting to change out the headlights and add the factory driving lights as well - haven't found the time or the $$ to justify yet. Your headlight switch should have been recalled an will have the position for the factory running lights now - 2000's originally didn't.
Thanks.
Currently in the shop getting chipped and adding air intake. I bought it 300 miles from home after an extensive search. I have to travel two 9500' passes to get home, and the X wasn't even breathing hard going over...nor did it downshift at all.
I think it's going to be just fine. And I'm always open to constructive advice.
Oh BTW, this is my first Ford and my first diesel, so I'm not giving any advice just yet.
The web site for the chip is edgeproducts.com
Last stop will be me and my local mech...just down the street and can do anything...and we'll address the rear suspension. Starting with the Roadmaster Active Suspension (RAS) system. If expectations are met, may be all I need.