2005 Ford Excursion 6.0 Diesel...OASIS report? - The Hull Truth

MONSTAWHALA · 11-30-2008, 07:22 PM

I have an oportunity to pick up an 05 Excursion Limited 4x4 LOADED with the 6.0. from a good customer of my company. According to him.........He ordered this vehicle from Ford the day before they ended the production line on the Excursions, so it is one of the last ones off the final line, literally. This customer owns a big fleet of trucks for his biz, and this one is his personal truck ,it has about 95k, but he decided to buy a top of the line Range Rover because of the deals out there and he wanted something smaller. This truck has never been used for towing, has mainly been a back and forth to work vehicle, and a family wagon, so it hasnt seen a hard life. I have no real reason to doubt him , but I wanted to gather as much info as possible

I have read just about everything I can stand out there about the 6.0. What I have gotten from the many different forums and the seemingly endless negative comments about this engine, is that most of the bugs were worked out by '05 with the exception of the FICM. I have only seen major service bulliten for that year and it seems to be about the injection controller/harness/module..............Can anyone run me an OASIS on the VIN?

Here is the VIN: 1fmsu43p05ed41546

I can pick this thing up for under 10k my cost, which is amazing, but a deal is only a deal if there arent any major headaches! I will use this truck for light towing and as a work vehicle for deliveries

Can anyone help or comment? I appreciate it!

bamaboy473 · 11-30-2008, 07:44 PM

If you can buy that truck for less than $10,000, you'll save between 5-8K dollars. Get a PPI if you think it won't offend the seller's relationship with your company, but the price is either reflective of some serious damage or its a sweetheart deal for some lucky buyer.

EODContender · 11-30-2008, 07:57 PM

Go to any Ford dealership with the VIN and they should be able to pull you an Oasis report.

MONSTAWHALA · 12-01-2008, 08:50 AM

double post

MONSTAWHALA · 12-01-2008, 08:51 AM

Thanks.......I am off to local Ford Place now. Yes it is a good deal, he and I have had a good relationship over many years, which probably accounts for some of it. At the end of the day, I would rather have a diesel crew cab, but this may be too good to pass up, if I can get it put together. Any other input would be great.......

bms1939 · 12-01-2008, 07:26 PM

The motor should still be under warranty (5yr/100k), have it checked out before the warranty runs out. The biggest and most expensive problem for the 6.0 is the head gaskets, it will probably set you back around $4,000 for the job. Once the head gaskets are done correctly (new head studs installed) you should'nt have to worry about them again. A guy that comes to our shop for service has close to 400,000 miles on an F450 hauler that we did the heads at around 150,000. The best thing that could happen is for the head gaskets to go in the next 5,000 miles, then you would only have to pay for the studs and the $100.00 deductable. We sell a lot of Ford 6.0 diesels, for the most part the ones that have the biggest problems have been modified with a chip or have been towing very large trailers. For that kind of $$ I would jump on it!

thomas70 · 12-02-2008, 03:27 AM

I wish I never got rid of mine. You will like the Excursion.

MONSTAWHALA · 12-02-2008, 06:56 AM

OK the OASIS looked pretty much ok, BUT , it looks like he had probs when he first got it of the "water in fuel" light coming on and it was fixed on warranty under a service bulletin . He also had problems on cold start and had something reprogrammed, also from a bulletin. Any and all warranty and service issues were from 05 , when he first got it. However, he has had a prob again with cold starts, and I emailed him the last recall/bulletin on injectors-harness's-FICM, he is bringing it into Ford to get it fulfilled whether I buy it or not. He hasnt had any problems other than this since 05, and overall has been very happy with it. Everytime he has stopped by my shop, he has always praised the Excursion, even long before he knew I was interested in it, so I think it has been trouble free overall for him.

Heres the thing, is there any way for him to ask or even force Ford to change the gaskets/studs before it goes out of warranty???

lbud · 12-02-2008, 11:18 AM

Are you an obamite? wanting the world for nothing!

thomas70 · 12-02-2008, 02:09 PM

So it sounds fixed. It's cheap enough buy it. It is a great vehicle.

MONSTAWHALA · 12-07-2008, 05:58 AM

Done!
I made the deal last night . This truck is in excellent shape and it had a pretty clean service history/Oasis. After looking into it I found out it was a daily commuter vehicle , mainly on the highway. The real bonus is that it has NEVER been used for towing.
Thanks again for the input!

EODContender · 12-07-2008, 06:06 AM

They will not change the head studs for free unless it blows up.

kitebuz · 12-07-2008, 06:44 AM

You won't be sorry. I've got an '04 Ex w/ 6.0, and it has been excellent. Great for towing, and cruising.

Bush Hawg · 12-07-2008, 06:45 AM

Quote:

MONSTAWHALA - 12/2/2008 6:56 AM

Heres the thing, is there any way for him to ask or even force Ford to change the gaskets/studs before it goes out of warranty???

No, If you have a problem with the head gasket and they have to replace it you can request to have the studs installed instead of the factory bolts but you will have to provide the studs and I believe the kit is around $400-500 and there might be a small charge (depending on the dealer) for installing them. Also if you take it in thinking you have a blown head gasket wait until they have fully diaged it before buying the kit. Ford warranty is so strict now they require a ton of diag and then contacting them for prior approval before they will give the tech approval to replace the gasket. I've had them come in where I knew with out a doubt that the head gaskets where blown found the Egr cooler leaking and they had me replace the cooler first retest and do the whole thing all over again to replace the Head gaskets, double the work. I've also had them come in where I would have thought the gasket was blown and the Egr cooler fixed it, in this case if you bought the studs you would be hanging on to them until the head gasket blew.

ABoater · 12-07-2008, 11:57 AM

Congrats on your "new" Excursion!

I've had three, with my final one being an '05 with the 6.0. My previous two had the 7.3. Like your friend, I ordered mine right before they closed the order banks for them. It was delivered in July, during the "employee pricing" deals.

I certainly baby mine. Garaged. Fully maintained, etc... Thankfully, I have the 100K ESP for it. I tow my boats with it, which range up to 7,500 lbs.

At 35K, the rear main seal was leaking. They replaced it. They also "de-coked" the turbo. At 40K, the leak re-appeared. Replaced it again.

Hopefully, it will last longer this time.

Other than that, the EX is an awesome vehicle. Too bad Ford gave in to the enviro-whacko's over the behemoth.

I consistently get 18 mpg out of mine. Once, while traveling to SoCal on I-5, I hit 20.1 mpg. I rarely keep an eye on the mileage though. It was purchased as a "need", and not to keep up with the Jones'es.

Enjoy!

MONSTAWHALA · 12-07-2008, 05:52 PM

ABoater-
Thanks. I think this one will be ok, as it appears to have been "babied" too.........
I am going to use it as my work vehicle because my other trucks are HD commercial trucks with all kinds of equipment and tools on them ( like cherry picker/ electric company trucks ). I think this will make it easier to move alot of stuff back and forth to job sites without using the bigger trucks. As for gas mileage, I will be thrilled with 18 mpg, because thats far better then the service truck I just sold (8mpg). My personal car is a Honda Pilot, which is a decent sized SUV, that is pretty good on gas, has lots of room, and is incredibly reliable, but now I wont need to use it on a daily basis for a work truck.

sc1 · 12-08-2008, 03:49 AM

I have an 06 w the 6.0. I cant believe you guys are getting 18-20 mpg ,I can only sqeeze about 14 out of mine. The only mod I have done is 18" rims and wheels, surely thats not killing my mileage 4-6 mpg. Other than that love the truck!

kitebuz · 12-08-2008, 08:03 AM

Keep rpms at or under 2k (@ 68mph), and I see 19-20mpg on the hwy. Ave @ 15 around town. I've been on road trips in a friends Pilot where we only got 16mpg on the hwy (granted at @ 70-75 mph speeds).

solo464646 · 12-30-2008, 08:00 AM

Quote:

lbud - 12/2/2008 11:18 AM

Are you an obamite? wanting the world for nothing!

HAHAHAH... I love it.... you are right.... some people just cant get out of their own way... buy the dam truck enjoy it.. and if you want everything to be perfect and not worry then go spend 40k on a new one...

bamaboy473 · 12-30-2008, 08:15 AM

Quote:

sc1 - 12/8/2008 5:49 AM

I have an 06 w the 6.0. I cant believe you guys are getting 18-20 mpg ,I can only sqeeze about 14 out of mine. The only mod I have done is 18" rims and wheels, surely thats not killing my mileage 4-6 mpg. Other than that love the truck!

I don't know the model year, but newer trucks got more EPA mods and their MPG went downhill about to your level, so it probably isn't your driving style or the wheels. Now if you live in hilly country, that will hurt.
The other MPG factor is the rear end. I have two Excursions and the one with 4.10 RE gets about 17 while the one with 3.73 gets almost 20. I don't have the big boat anymore, so the 2000 is now for sale.

Anybody reading this thread that's interested in the one with 4.10 for $9200, PM me for details.