My new Ford Excursion

Jim Oaks · Nov 2, 2014

I was looking at my 1996 Ford Ranger (TRS-2) in the driveway one day, and thinking about how good it looks and the fact that I haven't owed any money since I bought and built it.

Then I looked at my 2012 Ford Expedition, and wondered why I was paying over $530 a month for a vehicle that I can't do much modifications to.

I decided to trade my Expedition in on the 2002 Ford Excursion 4x4 I posted above. An unexpected surprise came when the dealership cut me a check for over $3,100 for the equity I had in my Expedition. I used that money to pay off a tax debt that I almost sold my Ranger to pay (divine intervention).

Anyways,

The Excursion has around 113,000 miles, it's a V-10, Eddie Bauer with leather, DVD and remote start.

I got it for $8,900. It had some minor issues and the dealer wanted to sell it 'As is' to get rid of it.

The issues are/were:

Exhaust leak - broken exhaust manifold studs - got the studs replaced, exhaust fixed, and a Flowmaster 50 Series HD put on for a total of $375.00.

Rear passenger seat was stuck in the down position - broken cable - used pliers to pull the cable and put the seat back upright. Still need a new cable.

Dome light wouldn't go out - sprayed WD-40 in the rear barn door latched to free them up so the latches/switches wouldn't stick. Problem solved. Sprayed the remaining latches.

ABS comes on and the vehicle steers to the right when braking under 5MPH - The L/F wheel speed sensor is either dirty or defective triggering the ABS on that wheel when it gets under 5MPH (the wheel speed sensor thinks the wheel stopped and is sliding which triggers the ABS on that wheel). I'll replace it when I do a brake job.

It's a great vehicle and is costing me less than 1/2 of what the Expedition was costing me.

I'm hoping to put a 6-inch lift and 35's on it sometime next summer.

martin · Nov 3, 2014

Nice, but if you put the lift and tyres on it you will need a ladder to get into it. lol.

RangerSVT · Nov 3, 2014

Glad things worked themselves out and you were able to keep TRS-2. I don't think you'll need 6" of lift to fit 35's with those wheel wells. With 6" you could probably fit 37's with ease...

SVT

wizkid00104 · Nov 3, 2014

Nice.

I replaced ABS sensors in my F250. Not a simple walk in the park... The sensors have a rubber O-ring that corrodes to the steel housing it is mounted in. Removing the sensor results in this:

I picked up a set of MAC Extractors (about $20 online) and with some PB Blaster and some patience, I was able to get the old sensor bodies out. Don't skimp on cheap extractors... I've heard too many horror stories of them breaking.

The whole reason I took them out in the first place was to grease the unit bearings. Riff Raff diesel makes this little adapter so you can use a grease gun to fill the bearings. Mine rolled with a dry sound to them and this was a huge help. You can get this little adapter for about $30 shipped from Riff Raff.

Another area to check out on the truck is the inner rockers right behind the front wheels. Its the plate where the step bars would bolt too. These areas are known for rust... I had my truck undercoated and Ziebart last year and the did a great job, but I still got rust here. This year, I coated these areas with bar and chain oil. Just got the truck back from undercoat touch up Saturday. I am going to spray the whole underneath with oil now. I am sick of rust ruining my investments....

I look forward to seeing what you do with this Excursion!

Jim Oaks · Nov 3, 2014

Thanks for the input.

Since you've done this....

Why do I see sensors with and without the harness? Can I just get a sensor, or do I need to get it with the harness? Obviously, just the sensor is a lot cheaper.

wizkid00104 · Nov 3, 2014

I ordered Dorman part number 970021 from Rock Auto: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1268803&cc=1385434

I ordered with the harness. I am not sure why they would sell them without the harness for the front unless the style of sensor changed. The harness included the cable to the plug up at the frame rail. There is nothing to unplug at the sensor itself.

It's also worth mentioning that if you would rather replace the unit bearing assemblies on the axle, they sell the bearings with the sensor's included. The cheapest I saw an assembly was about $100. I thought about going this route and putting the new bearings on the shelf until they were needed in the spirit of saving a few $$$.

wizkid00104 · Nov 3, 2014

A member of ford-trucks.com has written some really nice maintenance articles for the Super Duty line of trucks (99-04/05 Excursion). He has one regarding greasing these front bearings and the specs to make your own greasing tool.

http://www.frontiernet.net/~jmray/04F250_articles.htm

Clay Lorance · Nov 23, 2014

Nice looking rig Jim. It oughta be able to tow or haul just about anything you want.

adsm08 · Nov 23, 2014

Eww, 6.8L. I hate to tell you Jim, but you got such a good price because the engine is missing half a litre.

Seriously, nice find.

The sensor question, IIRC there was a production split at some point, and the early ones were just a sensor, similar to what the new Focus and Escape use. The later ones have the harness built on. Be sure that harness is UNDER the tab on the dust shield or it will rub the rotor and cut quickly. It's a little thing that is easy to overlook, but oh so important.

While you have the sensor out be sure to look down that hole. I have seen a few from around that year where the inside of the bearing housing got shitty and flaked into the tone ring. Only way to fix that is to replace the unit.

MastuhWaffles · Nov 23, 2014

V-10. That exhaust note has to be pretty awesome.

My new Ford Excursion

Jim Oaks

Just some guy with a website

martin

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RangerSVT

Oct 09 OTOTM

wizkid00104

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Jim Oaks

Just some guy with a website

wizkid00104

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wizkid00104

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Clay Lorance

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adsm08

Senior Master Grease Monkey

MastuhWaffles

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