Okay, got a V10 Ford now, anything I should watch for?

[Dargo]

Thanks for your post Bake! You really make me feel better about my SUV/truck. I was sort of hoping that I'd get 14-15 MPG on the highway but really didn't know. Since mine is 4X4 maybe I won't? One of the main reasons I bought this was for a 2 week vacation this next summer with my family. We drove out west to Yellowstone several years ago and really enjoyed the trip. I checked into renting an RV the last couple of years and it was just going to cost too much.

I thought about just buying a class A diesel pusher RV and then selling it later, but I don't want a hundred grand tied up in something I'd only use a couple of times. Maybe when I finally retire...but not now. Anyhow, that's the plans I have for the Excursion. So far I don't see any signs that the V10 is close to being worn out with 89k on the odo. It sure seems fine and doesn't even have any oil seeps anywhere, let alone any leaks.

[rutwad]

Watch for gas stations!

Seriously, congrats on your vehicle. I cannot say anythiiing about the excursion from experience, but I often will check here
Edmunds.com - Maintenance Popup

[Dargo]

Originally Posted by rutwad

Watch for gas stations!

Seriously, congrats on your vehicle. I cannot say anythiiing about the excursion from experience, but I often will check here
Edmunds.com - Maintenance Popup

Watch for gas stations...ROFL! Hey, at least it has a huge fuel tank!

Thanks for the maintenance link! I hadn't used that before. It looks pretty cool.

[johnk]

I have an 05 f250 4wd w/ the 5.4. It is really a gutless but quiet riding truck. It is a bit stiff because of the 8 ply hockey pucks i'm riding on. I drove it to a dealer yesterday to get an idea for a trade on a New 08 v10 of which they had 1 on the lot. I said I don't want any BS just the bottom line. I have 17K miles on mine and it is the supercab XLT 4wd which I bought new. After about a 1/2 hr the salesman came back and said 20K and and its mine w/ the trade. I called him an idiot and proceded to walk out. He was following me out the door asking me what I wanted and i retorted with I asked for no BS and the bottom line. I was driving home in my truck when the cell rang 5 minutes later and it was him saying sorry if i offended you. I hung up. An hour later he left a message on tmy cell and the price dropped 4500 dollars. I hate BS artists and I wouldn't buy a bag of potato chips off of him.. I'll keep driving my slug as I don't pull my trailer all that often. I owe 2500 on my 05 still under warranty and can't see going into deeper trk payments now. If he knocked the 4500 off as I was sitting there I probably would have bought it. I think I'll Im going to look at the Chevy 2500'S...

[Builder]

Originally Posted by johnk

I have an 05 f250 4wd w/ the 5.4. It is really a gutless but quite riding truck. It is a bstiff because of the 8 ply hockey pucks i'm riding on. I drove it to a dealer yesterday to get an idea for a trade on a New 08 v10 of which they had 1 on the lot. I said I don't want any BS just the bottom line. I have 17K miles on mine and it is the supercab XLT 4wd which I bought new. After about a 1/2 hr the salesman came back and said 20K and and its mine w/ the trade. I called him an idiot and proceded to walk out. He was following me out the door asking me what I wanted and i retorted I asked for no BS and the bottom line. I was driving home in my truck when the cell rang 5 minutes later and it was him saying sorry if i offended you. I hung up. An hour later he left a message on tmy cell and the price dropped 4500 dollars. I hate BS artists and I wouldn't buy a bag of potato chips off of him.. I'll keep driving my slug as I don't pull my trailer all that often. I owe 2500 on my 05 and can't see going into deeper trk payments now. If he knocked the 4500 off as I was sitting there I probably would have bought it.

They're a bunch of losers that can't do anything else except lie. Someday these car companies are going to come up with something better.

[chh]

Congrats on the rig Dargo. I knew a lady that had an Excursion and the only complaint she had was visibility backing up. Of course I don't think she had every had a truck or big SUV before so they may not be a real world factor. You sure did want to stay out of her way when she got lined out and going though, that big rig could push thru traffic.

[powerstroke444e]

We test drove one & local dealer let us pull a trailer with it & i was very impressed, but went with F350 drw crew cab as the excursion did not have a gooseneck hitch.
Enjoy the true big dog of the highway.

[Ryan03]

I had a 1999 f350 4x4 with a v10, I loved that truck. The v10 is a good engine, the four things to watch out for with the v10 as well as any other triton engine of the same vintage are 1, they have a tendency to blow sparkplugs out of the head at the worst times, they do give you a warning before that happens though, it begins with a light tick that can usualy only be heard at a drivethrough, in your garage, or while under the hood, always and only while idling. The noise is very faint and can often be mistaken for an exhaust leak, or normal valvetrain or fuel injector noise. Repairing a blown out plug is realy not that bad and can be done with the head on the engine and minimal disassembly with a kit from KD tools, PM me if you would like more info on the kit and the procedure. 2, the exhaust manifold studs that hold the manifolds on the head are copper and have a tendancy to fatigue and snap off on their own one at a time. They can be extracted by removing the plastic inner fender and using a matco short left handed drill bit with a right angle air drill. 3, change your coolant regularly, as neglected coolant will develop an electrostatic charge and begin to attack the soft head gaskets , especialy in a bimetal engine such as a triton. 4 some of these engines had a problem with the intake manifold cracking behind the alternator where the rear alt mount attaches to the intake causing a coolant leak. The aluminum intakes in my experience are more prone to this than the composites. I drove my F 350 to 99k from new and experienced the spark plug and the manifold stud issue, but overall it was a great truck and if I did not trailer so much I would buy another on in a heartbeat, but I need the economy of the diesel for now. Just my 2 cents on what I have seen in my 11 years as a tech for a large gov. fleet.

[Dargo]

Thanks for the replies. Per the link from rutwad, it looks like I'm nearly due to change the plugs. Even though that thought somewhat frightens me with the spark plug issues, I'd rather do it now than leave on a trip this next summer and not know. Also, I'll take the advice from Ryan03 and change the coolant tomorrow while I'm changing the transmission fluid. I don't know when either was (or if) changed, so I'd rather waste the few bucks on fluids than take a chance.

I sort of think that it has had good maintenance because the transmission fluid looks good and the coolant looks clean and green. Also, there is no sign of any exhaust leakage around the manifolds. I have to assume that is good as well. Still, I'd rather be safe than sorry; sort of like with the spark plugs. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and put a new serpentine belt on it since it takes all of 5 minutes to change. Again, the safe rather than sorry thing...yeah, I know. I just don't want any surprises when I'm half way across the country with my family.

[Builder]

Do it now and give all your engine work a chance to settle in. Do it a week before you leave and something's bound to take a dump while you're out in the middle of nowhere.