Excursion Project: The War Wagon
 

Introducing our four wheel drive, diesel, 7 passenger, heavy duty station wagon that does not make me feel like my balls have been forcefully removed. I call it The War Wagon. In this thread I plan to discuss modifications and repairs.

http://www.competitiondiesel.com/for...pictureid=3429

2002 Ford Excursion Limited with a 444ci dinosaur divouring, iron headed, hippie hating International noise maker.


Plan of attack:

Chip or tuner - I am reading that the PHP Hydra is the way to go. It can upload tunes from emails similar to most other modern day tuning systems. Much better than removing a TS chip and waiting for it to be reburnt and returned.

Exhaust - I plan to follow a similar route as my last Duramax, straight pipe or install a straight through muffler into the stock system. With the current culture of the diesel world I prefer a more minimalist look.

Intake - I am not sure if this is actually worth upgrading or not with a modest 7.3l

Suspension - The place I feel the most work is needed. This old girl is loose on country roads, bumps and turns. I do not want to raise it at all so aftermarket or truck springs may not be an option. I was hoping that a combination of airbags (rear and maybe even front) with a good rear sway bar might fix the issue and keep the ride height near factory.

Undercoating - I am in Ohio and the Excursion is from Alabama. I plan to fluid film everything under the truck in order to keep it as rust free as possible.

Wish me luck!

How many miles on her?

285,xxx. I was willing to take on higher miles in order to get one with no rust and a good body.

Forgot to add, due to it's age it's going to need a mirror adjustment switch, passenger seat controls, coolant tank, a leak fixed in the rear window sprayer, and a few other small things.

I will say that it might be the quietest 7.3l I've ever heard. Runs and shifts nice, no smoke.

How would you like to P-pump that 7.3?

Best thing you can do suspension/handling wise is yank everything out from under the front, replace with everything from a coil sprung super duty. Axle and all. Rear springs from a 11 and newer 350 help also.

Throw a Napa #6637 filter on it. Home made CAI.

That is why I quit looking at the excursions. I didn't want something that will nickel and dime me.

How many horsepowers does it make with the rods sunbathing on the interstate?

I'm not ready for that sort of surgery right out of the gate, but you're probably right. Is that what you did with yours?

lol lol

Is this like the BHAF for the Dodges? If so I feel like it's more of a HAI.


Bah, go buy one and have some fun. $14 here, $35 there... Even if I spent $3000.00 a year it would take 20+ years before I get to the dealer price of a new loaded Suburban.

Preach on brother!!!! Todays folks are to quick to buy money to buy something they don't really need.

No, though I'm kicking myself in the a$$ for not doing it. I sandblasted and rebuilt every piece of my chassis, now I have this fully rebuilt leaf sprung front end sitting under it and I wish I didn't. I added leaves to the rear springs. I screwed up and didn't do enough homework before I dove into it.

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The problem I have seen is that $5 part breaks when you are 200 plus miles from home. It is all of the plastic on the things anymore that at a certain age, just give up the ghost.

Wait till the electrical starts going like it is on my moms.

I looked hard for a clean excursion and found a few. However in the end a suburban will tow what I needed and 7 to 8 years newer for the same price.

Kind of how I explained it to my dad after mentioning all the crap we would have to do if they bought another. And they do not need the room any more as my sister and I are older. Been all over the U.S. in that thing lol

I wish I would have picked up some 05 up D60 fronts before the prices went up on them. I want to do this swap to one I have now too. :kick:

I do have to admit that some of the interior parts for these things can get expensive to get. I'd still rather have an excursion over a POS min van though. Haha

What would you estimate the cost of this coil front end conversion, upgraded rear setup? I feel like it might be better to convert a newer F250/F350 for the amount of work involved.


I guess that's possible, but if it's $5 and a common issue that could leave me stranded, I would spend $10 and put 2 in the tool box.

Not to sound like the illegitimate love child of Macgyver and Chuch Norris, but I've had axles come out from under a loaded gooseneck during a 2000 mile trip. I was 500 miles from home, in early February, and cobbled it together at a rest stop and made it home. Hell, during the trip to buy this Excursion I lost the brakes in the Dodge trying to stop in the hills of eastern Kentucky. I shrugged my shoulders, puckered my asshole, and drove the last 2 hours without 'em. I generally expect problems on trips, if somethng happens I try to improvise, adapt, and overcome. That being said, I'm not into challenges enough to buy a 6.0l one.

found this for $700.00, 01 2500 burban 6.0/4l85 2wd, 251k, towed it home, wheels/tires, flexplate, batteries, transmission, brakes, hydro-booster, does 13/17 city/highway, radiator, themostat, fan clutch, plugs wire.. so far a lot of little stuff needs fixed
6.0 drinks oil, pretty sure its been overheated.. looking hard at a converting to 4wd and a lbz swap down the road
https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...be&oe=594628CD

I have been there, done that. I have had tires come off of trailers, hitches break off of trailers, wagon came unhitched. Of course that was 20 years ago LOL Now I just want to drive and get to where I am.