2 Dirt Bikes and Gear? 3.4 Lacking Power?

My wife wants a 7.3 Excursion real bad but finding one of those with low miles for a realistic price is tough! I wish she'd just settle for a gas one but has to have the dang diesel.. I got her sold on Tacomas though, so maybe we'll just get her into one of those instead so she forgets all about having an Excursion!

I like diesels for heavy towing and hauling, but as a regular driver they are a nightmare! 15 quart oil changes, fuel costs more, repairs cost more. Just about everything on them is twice as much to repair/maintain than a gas powered vehicle. I don't know how people daily drive the things! Haha

 

Ours was fantastic. It was lifted from the previous owner but we still got surprisingly good gas mileage outta it. I can't remember any huge repairs on it, we just had the local shop go through it once a year to keep problems from developing. What are you considering low miles in your search?

 

I'm not saying they are problematic, the 7.3 is one of the best diesel engines made, but when problems DO come up, they get expensive in a hurry. New injectors for my '97 cost $350 a piece, for example. Not to mention we live in Montana so it's really cold and the 7.3 (at least mine) hates the cold and needs to be plugged in in order to start on bitter mornings. For someone like her, that's pretty inconvenient.
As far as mileage goes, anything under 250k is something we are after. I would even consider a 6.0 Excursion if it was bulletproofed, but she absolutely refuses to have a 6.0 so that's not up to me. When a woman gets her mind set on something, she has to have that exact thing, haha!

 

Does she have any practical need for it or does she just want it for cool factor? I hope that doesn't come off in a negative manner. And it's a good idea to plug in most diesels in the cold. We plugged in the 7.3 and our new 6.4.

 

She mainly wants it because she feels safer in big vehicles. Also, having 4WD and good hauling capacity for our pets and rabbit breeding business. Plus she's been a Ford fan for years and loves the diesels.

 

All good reasons. Speaking of Excursions, I think the wheelbase of a DCLB is about the same as an Excursion

 

Helped a buddy landscape with 2 tons of sand, 1 ton at a time. He only lives about a mile away from Lowes. I wouldn't have wanted to drive a whole lot farther than that all loaded up. Had a chance to drive without the camper- and it was real peppy, obviously very sluggish with the 2k lbs in the back, and about what I'm used to back with the camper.

Before:

After: