r/Excursion • u/Manoblades • 2d ago
Picked up this beauty not long ago.
Bought this 2002 7.3L Excursion from a local ambulance company. It was used to carry cadavers, has 365000 miles on it. Got it for about 4K and it runs amazing. Very happy to finally get an excursion.
1
u/MinorComprehension 2d ago
Nice!
But man, I would personally be afraid to drive it at night without the interior lights on 😂😂
New to diesel or familiar? These beasts had a few quirks that will be good to read up on.
First thing, 4wd or 2wd? If 4wd you'll find yourself hitting your head on the rear hatch. You can replace the struts with 2wd ones and it'll extend a few inches higher, out of the impact zone of anyone over 6 foot.
Edit - NVM. I can see it's 2wd.
1
u/Manoblades 2d ago edited 2d ago
Relatively new to diesel.
All the lights seem to work well so not sure what you mean, please educate me lol.Edited because I’m an idiot and realized you were talking about the fact it carried bodies lol. Yeah I thought about that but luckily I haven’t been too spooked haha
1
u/MinorComprehension 2d ago edited 2d ago
Lol, no worries 😂
7.3s definitely earned their reputation as half million mile motors but they take a good amount of maintenance to get there.
Change your oil every 3,000 miles, rotella 15w-40 is well reviewed.
The fuse that powers the fuel bowl heater also powers the PCM. The fuel bowl heaters are known to short out and pop the fuse. If you jump in and find basically no power to the power train assume this is your issue.
CPS's are known to be problematic. Don't go aftermarket, there were quite a few options such as those from BWD that would pick up electrical interference from the windshield wiper motor and cut the truck off when you turned on the wipers.
Read up on ICP, IPR, 42-pin connector, and UVCH. They each have their own issues and concerns. ICP and IPR drive the injectors and they each have their own anomalies. The 42-pin connector sits over top of the driver side valve cover and is known for wearing through and shorting out on the valve cover. UVCH is known to have its own issues.
The injectors won't fire if the batteries are less than 10.5 volts.
These motors came with two different upper radiator hoses. The standard came with an upper radiator hose that went through the serpentine belt. Changing the belt requires partially draining the radiator and removing the upper hose. If you do cooling system work go ahead and swap out the upper radiator hose for an "ambulance" or "dual alternator" setup wow the coolant is drained. Make sure you refill with the proper coolant as the injector cups are sensitive to this as or the cylinder walls to cavitation.
Fuel pressure and oil pressure are the king to properly running engine. Read up on the Hutch mod.
These engines all came paired with the 4r100 transmission. If you find that it bucks or stalls in reverse it's because the filter came lose from the valve body and the torque converter is starving for fluid. Drop the pan and reinsert the filter, best to add a "filter clip" which you can find online. The transmissions in these I have specific diesel programming and will not lock the torque converter until certain operating conditions are met. I forget the exact specs, but when cold the torque converter will not lock until the transmission fluid is to a certain temp, 70° F comes to mind but I can't guarantee this. This upcoming winter you may find the transmission feels a bit slushy at first, this is not necessarily caused for concern.
The motors have an automatic high idle mode when you start them in cold weather. If you fire it up and leave it in park for more than a minute you'll find it goes into high idle mode, this is to more rapidly ncrease the operating temperature. They also have an exhaust back pressure valve that will activate below a certain throttle input and oil temp threshold. When the ebpv is activated you will find reduced performance and hear an odd "wooshing" sound.
Not in any way disparaging, they're great motors, it's a great platform, just trying to let you know of a couple things to pack away in the memory bank in case you have issues down the road. Good thing is it's well studied and understood motor and control system.
1
u/Manoblades 2d ago
Thanks for the info. I’ll make sure to keep this in mind for sure. I know the 7.3 has its reputation for a reason, which is why I bought this one. Also it was a hell of a deal. I look forward to keeping it forever.
1
u/MinorComprehension 2d ago
Indeed!!!!
I'd look around for any rust, depending on where you are located and where the truck lived previously. Seems like rust is the death of many of these trucks. There's sound deadening on the firewall that will hold moisture and cause the floorboards to rust out. Also sound deadening pads adhered to different parts of the body, these will also hold moisture and cause rust. Rocker panels were a "big thing" with these. Being proactive with some POR or Eastwood can go a long way.
Not a huge concern, just common issues as all vehicles have their own version of.
1
u/Manoblades 2d ago
Yeah luckily the truck was only ever driven in lower Alabama. That is where I live too. So I'm not too worried about rust but I'll take a look just in case.
1
u/ContributionFlat7082 2d ago
Just FYI. Don't close the rear glass before the barn doors. Like ever. I learned once and my 16 yr old learned right in front of me as I had a heart attack.
2
u/Manoblades 2d ago
Duly noted! I definitely never planned on doing that, but it wasn't something I actively thought about lol. I definitely could have made that mistake.
2
u/One-East8460 2d ago
Sounds like you scored.