ExPo's 2000 7.3 Excursion Build

[justcuz]

I am surprised anybody's kit is cheaper than factory replacement springs. Shocks were a buy it once and done suggestion. Lockers are based on my Suburban and full size truck experience. These trucks are heavy, they sink into the mud and sometimes slide a little on hard frozen surfaces. Having traction devices is an insurance policy. Randy's ring and pinion has a listing for a Yukon Locker and a Dana 50 Eaton style spring loaded posi-traction like the old Chevys had. Both can be had for less than a grand.

I believe in keeping it simple too. I don't see much of a need to lift any higher than the doorsills even with the center hub of the wheel/axle.

Dogtown Lake closes in October. Its well stocked and the road south is doable with a trailer, just go out to 89 at the gravel plant road. A nice little weekend trip.

Looking forward to the progress!

 

[Chris Cordes]

Agree 100%. Reasonably stock is more than enough for most of us but we get caught up with gadget envy and start going crazy.

And pay no attention to the Explorer build in my signature.......

Well that escalated quickly! Come on you cant say dont push this button and expect no one to push it.

I am surprised anybody's kit is cheaper than factory replacement springs. Shocks were a buy it once and done suggestion. Lockers are based on my Suburban and full size truck experience. These trucks are heavy, they sink into the mud and sometimes slide a little on hard frozen surfaces. Having traction devices is an insurance policy. Randy's ring and pinion has a listing for a Yukon Locker and a Dana 50 Eaton style spring loaded posi-traction like the old Chevys had. Both can be had for less than a grand.

I believe in keeping it simple too. I don't see much of a need to lift any higher than the doorsills even with the center hub of the wheel/axle.

Dogtown Lake closes in October. Its well stocked and the road south is doable with a trailer, just go out to 89 at the gravel plant road. A nice little weekend trip.

Looking forward to the progress!

Yeah it certainly wont be cheaper to lift, poor wording on my part. What I meant was that if im paying for replacement parts which seem to range from $500 to $1000, I might as well pay more to get what Ill want down the road anyway. With how much time I spend off-pavement, and the rapidly changing road conditions encountered throughout AZ, a little bit of extra lift is one of my worth it purchases. I totally agree on lockers and I really want them, but for now Im gong to make do with the maxtrax I already own. They're more work than flipping a switch but they get the job done!

 

[justcuz]

I would imagine now during Monsoon Season would present the most challenging time of year when water runoff can change things in a hurry. Arizona does have a diverse selection of off road terrain, which makes it a wonderful state to travel in. This is what convinced me to install a locker in most of my vehicles. Arizona Strip, Februrary 2009, stuck about a mile from the schoolhouse. Luckily the ground froze so hard that night that a slight tug the next morning popped me out of the hole and on to hard ground. I think even MaxTrax may have been overwhelmed here.

 

[Chris Cordes]

Yeah that's certainly a tall order for any recovery gear!

 

[bigskypylot]

Yeah that's certainly a tall order for any recovery gear!

back home in Montana and the high plains, it's bentonite clay. Man that gets nasty!

 

[Chris Cordes]

So it's not exactly a build update, but I spent over ten hours this weekend polishing, clay barring and waxing the Excursion. Over time hard water spots and a sort of haze had built up on the paint. Sadly the hard water stains may have etched the paint, but it still looks better than before!

 

[justcuz]

The last time my Suburban looked that good was the last week my wife drove it!

 

[Chris Cordes]

Well I forgot to post these but this truck was extremely clean when I got it. One of the reasons I flew to Georgia. Never driven off-road etc. Anyway I shot the undercarriage after 1000 miles of highway with rain etc. Still pretty clean

 

[haven]

What sort of mpg did you record during the drive back from Georgia? The highway miles with little cargo are the best circumstances for a high mpg number.

 

[Sisyphus]

Awesome excursion, love the color! Sub'd.

 

[justcuz]

My son spent several months stationed in Seattle. He drove down to visit us in Southern California and we decided to do an oil change. We were shocked how clean his undercarriage was. The rain and highway driving is like a steam cleaner for chassis.
That was In the truck pictured above stuck in the mud.

 

[Chris Cordes]

What sort of mpg did you record during the drive back from Georgia? The highway miles with little cargo are the best circumstances for a high mpg number.

Just over 20 With the 44 gallon tank thats nearly 900 miles of range.

Awesome excursion, love the color! Sub'd.

Thanks!

My son spent several months stationed in Seattle. He drove down to visit us in Southern California and we decided to do an oil change. We were shocked how clean his undercarriage was. The rain and highway driving is like a steam cleaner for chassis.
That was In the truck pictured above stuck in the mud.

Haha yeah it does tend to do that, but I was pleased to see no oil or rust of any kind. No dirt up in cracks or seems etc.

 

[Scott39]

Cool Excursion, since I have the same one. I will be watching this thread also.

When I start working on mine, I will start a build thread also.

I would do a small lift with bigger tires, gets the diffs higher.

I've seen 40" tires with out a lift on these, they used F250 Bushwacker cutout fender flares.

I plan on running 37" tires with about a two inch lift.

 

[ExploringNH]

How large are the tires you plan to use? I've read that the ring and pinyon on the Dana 50 front axle is a source of failure if you're planning to employ 38" tires and a tuned Diesel engine. Might be worth upgrading to a Dana 60 axle as part of the project, along with ARB locker and lower gears.

The 50 isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It's fairly stout and will handle 35's without any problem. I ran 37's on mine and wheeled it VERY hard with no problems. Like you said though, 38+ is pushing your luck if you wheel hard. To me, the biggest benefit of going with a newer D60 is a significant turning radius improvement which on a truck as wide and as long as this, is a big deal. You can also do an even newer setup D60 with coil buckets and radius arms. The cost isn't too bad and it's almost a bolt-on affair. The springs provide a huge ride quality improvement.

Thanks for all the feedback and kind words! Im really excited to bring a domestic full size to expo, it has been a long time coming.

In terms of build plans, dana 60 swaps, gears, and lockers, Im going to hold on all of that right now and keep it simple. I find it incredibly easy to go too far too quickly on builds like this, and my practical side quickly killed off any immediate dreams of 40s. As noted earlier I did a trip on sagging springs and shocks, running boards, and 255/85 tires with zero clearance or performance issues (besides a rough ride) While it is tempting to create a beast right off the bat, I want to first focus on building the most practical vehicle I can. My hope is that by doing so I can inspire those people who drive suburbans, tahoes, and the like to simply upgrade their tires, do a few home built interior mods, and just get out there. If I find I need more capability, then ill spend the time and money to make it even more capable

In terms of suspension I did consider the code swap, but with prices of shocks and springs I ended up deciding to do a lift. I initially considered the full Icon kit as well as the fox options however I ended up coming back to the practical side once more. I don't drive that fast, and im not building a race truck, so why spend thousands on those kits. I focused instead on something more affordable, and simple that will still improve the ride and handling over what I have now. I ended up purchasing a full ARB kit for the f250 with springs, shocks, etc. They dont have all the parts in stock though so im waiting still. Tires will be 34" or more likely 35" in a mud pattern of some sort. All terrain is likely the better choice, but im a sucker for knobby look

Yes I do have the stupid actuator issue :/ I quoted out new ones and decided that manually locking doors werent so bad haha. Martyn at AT mentioned a fix as well so I will hopefully get to that in the next month or so.

So now a questions for those of your ford gurus. From what I have seen the excursions rode nearly 2" lower than an f250, thus the lift through code swapping. If the ARB kit is a 2.5" for the f250, then it is technically a 4.5" for the excursion right? Im not worried about clearing 35s either way, but just out of curiosity since nobody seems to talk about the actual difference in height.

Also i do like the look of the buckstop a lot, but Im a die-hard believer in ARB front bars. With the effort they put into the design, their airbag compliance, and my previous experience with one in a deer impact, I consider them a must have for every truck I own. From H3T to Range Rover Classic and now Excursion I have bought one each time. MY 4Runner would have had one as well if it had been available

The massive interior space of the Excursion will ruin your future expedition vehicle opinions. I've had Rover's for years and was perfectly content. Now that I've had the Excursion, everything is too small. I miss being able to have a full size bed in the back, a fridge, all my gear, and still have plenty of space for changing, storing dirty clothes, sitting down and eating in the rain, etc.

35s will fit pretty much stock with some trimming and the right backspace wheels. I don't like the v/b swap or any of those for an offroad rig. It stiffens things up and beats you up on the dirt roads. Pretty much every lift kit out there is too stiff for offroad use. They all retain the factory tow rating and with that high of a rating, you need stiff springs, no way around it. The v/b is even stiffer. You need some serious weight on the truck to start getting the suspension compliant.

You are correct that a 2.5" f250 kit will net you 4.5 on the Excursion. The Excursion really needs a decent lift to get the most out of it off-road. I had a 6" and I think I would have been happy with a 4.5" and 37" tires. The truck is long so you do need quite a bit of height to clear the rockers over obstacles. Even at 4.5", you better start shopping for a decent 10" drop hitch if you plan to tow. A lot of places say it won't, but you can clear a 37" tire with this lift and some minor trimming up front, practically no trimming if you do an aftermarket bumper. A 34" tire will look tiny in there. 35" will look small as well but will work and be better for power/driveability. With the 35s and the 7.3, you won't win any races, that's for sure, but in my opinion, you don't really need to regear. It will be a noticeable power loss but still very manageable.

I love ARB stuff. I have a ton of it. I've had their bumper on a Range Rover I used to have. It's great. There is no comparison when you stack it next to a Buckstop or some of the others. The ARB is thin and not up to the same quality standard. Plus I think it's ugly on the Excursion/F250 of this generation. Buckstop I think makes a smaller top grill protector bar than I had. I like the other one a little better. Make sure you get the correct bumper brackets. The Excursion had a different bottom anti-run over bar or whatever it's called for each year of existence.

I think someone else above mentioned a traction device. These trucks are absolutely miserable in any kind of slick conditions without a rear traction device of some sort. They don't hook up at all! With the stiff suspension you can also lift tires fairly easily, even with the massive wheelbase. This rig is far too heavy to be bouncing down the trail with tires spinning. With a locker, everything changes. It just becomes a beast.

The 08+ mirrors are a massive improvement in functionality, especially towing, and the 05+ front end looks so much nicer.

I've never seen an excursion that is that clean. You running board brackets and bolts are like new! That's nuts. Most of them rotted off years ago. Good find!

 

[ExploringNH]

Oh yeah, I forgot the absolute most important modification for the Excursion. You MUST NOT continue until you have done this...

Rear fold down table!!