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Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Michigan
Posts: 6,155
SUN #123
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Nice find! With well over 100k worth of Ex experience (between two) and probably 10k of that being towing miles, I know a thing or two about them. I sold my '02 V10 last summer in order to buy a DD, and keep my low mile '05 as such.
As John said, you may need to look into some rear suspension upgrades. Good news is, a 2553 is an awesome sized trailer for the truck. IIRC, your dry tongue weight is somewhere around 700-750#, so you definitely shouldn't be over 1000 loaded with that floorplan, and likely much less.
I'll cover some key areas of the Excursion below- suspension, tires, engine, transmission:
SUSPENSION:
Long story short, the Ex suspension was butchered by Ford engineers when they first designed the truck in order to give it a softer ride for soccer moms, as well as lower the ride height slightly to help it fit in especially small garage doors. A popular mod these days is to convert all the leaf springs to a V-code front and a modified B-code spring in the rear. The V and B code springs are what the F-250 uses, which doesn't have nearly the handling issues that the Ex does. This will only raise the truck maybe an inch or two, a lot of which could be just because you're replacing sagging, old springs. The other option John mentioned is RAS. Mine has air bags in the rear which are a whole 'nother deal, so I haven't installed RAS, but I hear many good things about it in the Excursion section of ford-trucks.com.
Another thing that should be addressed are shocks. The big, reputable players for Excursions are Rancho and Bilstein. Both make great products. The big difference is the Rancho is oil filled vs. the Bilstein is filled with compressed gas. I just replaced my factory shocks this year (which were horrible when new even) with the Rancho, simply because I put them on my '02 and was happy with them there. Bilsteins are naturally on the stiff side, where Rancho is generally softer. The Rancho 9000XL, which I got, are actually adjustable. I keep them low for solo driving (which gives it a great ride), but then dial them up to about 7 or 8 (out of 9) for towing. It gives the rear end the stiffness that it needs to be very sure feeling. Changing the setting doesn't change ride height though, so there's no concerns about hitch alignment. Decent shocks on this truck makes a HUGE difference!
Another big source of trouble is the steering gear box and the front ball joints. These things just suck, and it's common with the F-250/350. My '05 box has been bad since probably 20k miles, because it failed prematurely. I just replaced it last winter with a new/aftermarket one, which is the best known replacement. There was a group buy in the Excursion forum which happens every so often. Redhead Steering Gears out in Washington did a great job and TOTALLY changed how the truck drives. I used to constantly fight the consistent wandering, but it's nearly gone now. Front ball joints are another wear item that needs replacement usually after 100k. Have them checked and go from there. Front suspension components on the Ex are common wear items- whether ball joints, tie rod ends, steering box, etc. Front brakes also tend to 'warp', and I use that term loosely since they rotors don't actually warp, but they essentially feel that way. Go with a premium pad, such as a Hawk Super Duty or Wagner, and try to avoid hitting them hard all the time. Go on gentle and it'll prolong brake life a lot. You can go with a standard rotor again, or a drilled/slotted rotor is also becoming popular.
While I'm thinking about it, if the truck is a 4x4, test it. Go to a parking lot. Engage 4x4, move forward, and you should feel the transfer case engage. Then as you creep along, turn the wheels nearly all the way one way. You should feel a binding from the front driveshaft universal joints which should prevent you from wanting to fully crank the wheels on dry pavement. If you don't, your hubs aren't locking and your 4x4 won't work. Many times, this is related to a frozen auto hub lock, but it can also come from a leak in the vacuum system. It's a good idea to make a regular maintenance item of checking the hubs for operation. Basically they have an auto and a fully locked position. Leave them in auto most of the time, but turn them to lock and back a few times, such as when you wash it. This keeps the locks free to work as they should. If needed, spray some WD-40 around the rotating part and at the silver vent stripe to help free it up some.
As John mentioned, you may or may not need a rear sway bar. Easiest way to tell is to just look under there. They started putting them on factory in about 2003 if the truck had a trailer towing package. So basically, if you have the big extendable towing mirrors, there's a good chance you have it. My '02 didn't have it, '05 does, and it does make a big difference in cornering.
ENGINE
The 2V V10 is a decent engine, though it's underpowered in today's standards. I mean, it's pretty much on par with the new 3.5 Ecoboost. Earlier V10s (2001 and older) had an issue with spitting out spark plugs, so you should be exempt from that. But speaking of spark plugs, depending on how many miles yours, you should think about replacing them. Especially if the plugs have over about 90k on them. Be careful when changing them and start all the plugs by hand to prevent any cross threading, and use anti-seize. I forget the correct gap off the top of my head. It is also a good idea to replace the rubber boots on the coil packs (the little things that push on over the plugs) because the rubber won't seal as well as it did with the old plug. Crazy how that is, but it makes a huge difference with performance. The coil plugs do go bad from time to time, and you can either buy one and move it around until it's fixed, or just replace them all.
Alternators don't fail that often, but it does seem like that's the one accessory off the engine that fails the most. Whether a slow start or if you see the battery light come on your dash while you're driving, that's a good indication to have it checked.
The only 'problem' with the V10 are the exhaust headers. Over time due to many hot/cold cycles, the headers warp and cause the head studs to break off that hold them on. Usually one by one. My '02 had 2 or 3 that had already broken, but I never did anything with it. It'll sound a bit funny (hard to describe), but eventually the exhaust leak will be so loud/annoying that you'll want to replace these. It's a big, difficult job because many of the studs break off flush with the block, so you have to drill them out.
In terms of V10 performance, well, it leaves a lot to be desired. The best option out there is to do some flash tuning. The one I got, which was highly recommended on the Excursion forum, is 5 Star Tuning. I had this on my '02 and finally couldn't live without it on the '05. The economy and performance tunes are just plain awesome for around town driving, but the tow tune is quite unique. It's basically a performance tune with adjusted shift points- meaning it won't shift into 3rd until about 40 and won't shift into 4th until about 58 mph. I'll discuss more in the trans section.
TRANSMISSION
The 4R100 is quite basic in today's standards, but it does suffer from heat problems. The stock trans cooling is really inefficient when towing large loads. First of all, I'd recommend doing a trans fluid flush. Search for Mark Kovalsky's 4R100 fluid flush procedures on Ford-trucks.com- he's a retired Ford trans engineer and developed this DIY procedure to flush to avoid having to take it to a dealer. The trans fluid really should be flushed about every 50k, IMO. For a 2753 it shouldn't be an issue, but if you do get a large trailer some day, you may want to consider an upgraded trans cooler. The trans cooler from a 6.0 Powerstroke is a nearly direct swap and does wonders for trans cooling.
The A/C compressor doesn't really affect fuel mileage much when towing, but it definitely affects the load on the engine. I notice a significant drag, especially when really warm out, and it also increases the coolant temps. If I notice the engine running pretty warm from the A/C being on, I shut it off for a little while, let the engine cool down some, which then seems to cool the trans down. If you're climbing mountains, especially on back roads, you should be aware of this.
While I talk about temps, it's important to note that the trans temp gauge on the dash cluster is useless. The only thing it tells is 1) the needle will be at the first low line of the operating range when it reaches 53 degrees in the winter, at which time it'll allow the torque converter to lock. Below that, it stays unlocked to help warm itself up. Otherwise, it'll start to rise as it gets too warm, but it's probably too late if you see the gauge pegged to the top. The ONE time I saw mine rise, the temp readout was higher than I wanted to see and caused me to do a trans fluid flush not long after.
In light of the poor temp gauges, aftermarket gauges are important. While you can get a gauge pod and an authentic gauge, the easiest option is to get a Scangauge II. Plug it into the OBDII port, attach it to the dash with some velcro (mine is right below the headlight switch), and away you go. The Ford trans temp gauge is a special code to program in, which is easily found online/through Google. You can display up to four gauges on it, so I have trans temp, coolant temp, instant fuel mileage, and speed (because again, dash gauge is not real accurate). Even if you don't do a fluid flush, tune, or anything else, you should get some sort of gauge to watch your trans temps.
TIRES
Opinions on tires are like butts- everyone has one. The Excursion was originally built with Load Range D tires, but then at some point (maybe starting in 2003), that was increased to E range. The difference is in sidewall strength, which you especially need for towing. You can still buy D range tires in the stock size or a slightly larger size, so you need to be aware to make sure they are E. Check your current ones too, to make sure they're E. Brand wise, I love Michelin- the new LTX M/S 2 has been redesigned and does a great job, while being very quiet, efficient, and long lasting. BF Goodrich Rugged Trails would have been the OEM tire, and any BFG is also a good choice. Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor is another good one I hear. I bought my '02 with Bridgestone Duelers installed and was never happy with them, especially toward the end of their life, so I would NOT recommend those.
Regardless of brand, all E range tires should have a max tire pressure of 80 PSI. The door stickers were never revised (even on my '05), so the pressures listed there are much too low. I run 65 PSI all the way around and it provides a decent enough ride as well as sufficient handling. I know people increase up to the full 80 (at least in the rear) for towing, but I haven't found the need to.
Also, not sure what brake controller you're going to get, but make sure you get a proportional based controller, and not a time based one. You want one that has the ability to react to panic situations, which a time based one can't. The Prodigy and P3 from Tekonsha are both excellent proportional choices.
Wow, that's a lot more than I expected!
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2007 T-286SR Cherry/Granola, #6236, original owner, current mileage: 9473.8 (as of 6/18/21)
1997 T-2653 Blue Denim, #5471
1979 12 1/2' MC, Beige & Avocado, #4639
Past Sunlines: '97 T-2653 #5089, '94 T-2251, '86 T-1550, '94 T-2363, '98 T-270SR
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