$5k SUV Showdown: '91 Burb,' 01 Burb, V10 Excursion

[kraven]

The Excursion with a V10 is a real treat. One of my friends had one he used for Elk hunting, making laps back and forth from NC to the rockies. And he did a lot of hunting in GA, so it stayed on the road a lot, but also got hooned in post harvest soy fields after rains.

It was a beast. He sold it to get a Chevy Duramax crew cab. The guy he sold it to refuses to sell it back to him. He's still mad about selling it.

 

[onemanarmy]

Looks like the excursion is gone. And my goodness, that 91 Suburban is something that you would never see on the right coast these days in that shape for that money. If it were here, it would be mine.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Just test drove the '01.

On the whole: thoroughly adequate. It would do the job just fine, but didn't find myself with a huge "I must have it!" response.

• 6.0L + 4L80e makes good but not impressive power
• Rear discs are a nice touch
• Steering and suspension felt pretty tight (especially for 173k)
• Seats are nice thrones from which to rule the road

My biggest fear with the early-2000s vehicles I'm looking at are miscellaneous electronic gizmos crapping out. Those fears appeared well founded with this example.

• After parking and re-starting the fuel gauge read dead-empty despite having 3/4 tank. Once we backed out of the parking spot it snapped back to life.
• The driver's seat lumbar air compressor runs for a solid 1-2 minutes when starting the car. Probably a leak or control issue there.

The fuel gauge thing is most likely a stepper motor issue. Well known and cheap to fix. I wouldn't let that be a show stopper. AFAIK the lumbar support is a motor not an air compressor. Seat motors can be an issue, I have one that's out but it's the up/down motor and it's stuck in a good position so it's not been a problem.

 

[MTCK]

I towed some heavy loads in my 91 V3500 with the tbi 350. It would do it, get 8-9 mpg and keep up with traffic. Gears would be key. I have 4.56 with 33" tires. Drove quite a few excursions and was never really enamored with them. Small gripes but I didn't think they road well, shifter felt like it was going to come off in your hand and steering was vague and clunky. All were 7.3's and leaf sprung in the front.

Keep an eye out for a GMT 400 or 800 with a big block. Will tow circles around the 6.0 without much penalty at the pump.

 

[mad_science]

Just for fun figured I'd update this thread, 5 years later.

I ended up buying a 2002 Excursion 7.3 diesel, but quite possibly the sketchiest one in California at the time. 304k miles, salvage title and a big dumb lift kit. Paid $9k for it.

I give some credit to my wife because I was ready to walk away from it for it being just too sketchy/extra/modified. She was really into it, so I went for it. Best. Wife. Ever.


It's now 5 years, 50k miles and something like $10-15k in fixes and upgrades later, and we still absolutely love it. It tows like a beast, hauls 8 people if needed, is great for camping and hasn't let me down offroad. After the recent tune and upgrades, it gets high teens cruising on the highway...almost cracked 20 on one trip. Mileage is decidedly worse around town, as accelerating 8,500lbs of truck at every stop light takes its toll. The 44 gallon tank gives more range than we know what to do with.

That said, I carry the residual stress of driving around a high mileage, 20 year old vehicle. The good news is it's far from an orphan, given the popularity of the 7.3 and 99-04 Super Duty platform. It's never left me stranded, but I have had to do a pile of roadside fixes, having to cancel a couple of day trips when something broke. Definitely a different ownership experience than, say, my brother's 2013 4Runner.



I cleared out the inside of the rear doors and use them for storage, then built a sleeping platform for when we camp. At 5'11" I can sleep on that with the 2nd row in place in relative comfort, dog piled in there with the wife and two kids.




Key fixes:

• Front ball joints + bearings
• Steering box
• Injectors, but used that as an excuse to upgrade
• A bunch of "20 year old car" BS: sensors, switches, turbo hoses, fuel and oil leaks, rear heater line leak, etc

Upgrades:

• Went with a "Stage 1.5" upgraded injectors + tunes + turbo wheel from 1023 performance
• Installed a Ford OEM E-locker that was optional on FX4 trucks, complete with aux switch panel from an F650 for lights/lockers controls.
• Rear swingaway bumper from Buckstop to get the tire out of the interior, added an under-chassis tow/utility truck box and DIY basket
• Front receiver hitch and receiver-mount winch. Wired front-and-rear for winch hookups
• Swapped to Goodyear Duratracs when previous tires wore out.

Future Upgrades/wish list

• Smaller lift with more progressive leaf springs and air bags out back
• 37" Tires (you can clear these with the right 2-3" lift and fender work
• Re-gear from current 3.73 to like 4.10 or 4.30 for the 37s
• Replace/reupholster front seats, as they're starting to fall apart
• Better sleeping platform setup
• Maybe a diesel heater to keep things warm on snow days and camping trips

 

[Speedphreak]

• Rear swingaway bumper from Buckstop to get the tire out of the interior, added an under-chassis tow/utility truck box and DIY basket

What are your thoughts on that Buckstop bumper? I got the front version for my '94 F250 so I could fit the Warn 8274, and I'm looking at the rear dual swingaway as my next purchase.

 

[Jacobm]

After pricing out how much a tubing bender, welder, and steel costs I'm also considering getting buckstop bumpers for my Yukon, so I'd also love to hear any thoughts/reviews on them. They seem to be popular amongst the crowd that needs bumpers to be functional.

 

[mad_science]

I, too, went back and forth about DIYing a bumper, semi DIY like Move Bumpers, Aluminess or Buckstop or go custom from a local shop. To build a setup like this it's easily $1500 in materials, plus whatever tools you do or don't have.

Overall, the Buckstop unit is a good one. Beefy construction, reasonably tight clearance, etc. It's basically them and Aluminess for off-the-shelf options, and I prefer having a steel base in case I want to weld on other stuff.

• I really like the "aux" side structure of a heavy metal rectangle, as it was super easy to DIY box mounts that bolt right onto it.
• Also like that the spare tire mount is actually just a 2" receiver mount and a male part that bolts to your wheel. You could swap it out for something else if you needed to.
• Also +10 points for building in an antenna/light pole mount in the tire mount side.

There are a few details I wish were different that you may or may not care about:

• Starts cheaper than Aluminess, but full price with dual swings was over $3k. This is what a shop will charge for a custom setup too.
• For some reason tire mounting studs weren't included with the tire mount...even at that price. So after getting my $$$ bumper couldn't actually mount up my tire until I rolled though Autozone and found a way to hammer in studs.
• The license plate light sticks out right where you'd step in the middle of the bumper; ended up breaking it off.
• The pivot points for the swing arms block the rear doors from opening all the way. Wouldn't be an issue on a tailgate or lift gate
• With the spare mounted, the backup sensors "see" the spare and go off all the time. So...don't pay the extra $50 to retain them
• I'd definitely get it with the hitch built in. It doesn't seem like an option on the Ex, but it's doable if you're willing to drop the tank. If you don't get the hitch, don't get any D-rings attached, b/c they basically block your existing hitch chain hookups.
• The swing bearings are looser than I'd like after only a year. They can theoretically be snugged up? ...but I haven't done that yet.
• Lead times are lonnnnnnng. I was trying to order mine to line up with a camping trip up in Oregon where they're based and just pick it up. They really pulled out the stops to make it work, but default lead time is like, many months.

 

[cjthing]

Rig looks great! Excursions are far underappreciated I feel, they are big and are a great do-all rig.

Curious about the Ford OEM E-locker install. Have heard about it and considering going that route on my Excursion as well. Any info in regards to other parts (different bearings etc) needed for the swap? I have already gone to 5.13 gears and should have done the swap then but wasn't aware of it until after.

 

[Jacobm]

Thanks for the review on the bumper, that's helpful information. I'm thinking I may DIY the rear bumper and purchase the front, since my expectations for the rear are less stringent on looks and more about function. Luckily I live reasonably close to Buckstop so lead times and shipping aren't really a concern for me.