newbie, need some advice, 6.0 excursion, 165k

[crossbones]

new guy here looking for some help. i have a '03 6.0 ex with 165k. i purchased the vehicle new and as a result of being completely clueless regarding anything mechanical i have done little to this vehicle. i realize that i have been lucky beyond belief and have begun to get on the road to paying attention.

routine maintenance has been done on this vehicle though i will admit that some of the time intervals have been longer than are acceptable to the expert advice i have read recently.

hpop was recently replaced and while having that done the ford diesal expert advised to have the oil cooler replaced as well. after his internal inspection he advised that i was even luckier than i thought. he said i had the 'good' oil cooler and that i had almost no indication of casting sand buildup in the degas bottle or even inn the old cooler.

i did not go with the egr delete (maybe a mistake) but replaced the egr valve.

as for the typical issues with the 6.0, at 165k this is all i have experienced.

flushing the system has been done, new batteries, fuel pump, alternator, a hose here or there.

so now that i am the luckiest 6.0 owner ever i would like to continue my streak. i need to get the edge insight and the egt probe, i know. cs or cts? do i need any other probes or pressure sensors for the edge?

i should add a secondary oil filter and a coolant filter. what do you recomend?

i need to do the fuel spring mod. is their a kit for that with intructions that i can order?

believe it or not i still have the original brakes and pads. i know it is going to be time soon though. should i go with all ford parts or are there aftermarket parts that are better?

it will be time to upgrade the suspension, both front and rear soon. the rear end has always sagged a bit, did tie rod ends at 110k and i was told they have a little play so need to do them again, went for a front end alighnment and was told there is too much play in the steering box so i need to do that as well. so bring on your recomendations for the suspension upgrades.

the vehicle runs about 1000 miles a week now that i am using it for work and got my wife a car. stock everything at this point and i am not looking to lift or do anything to the vehicle to make it crazy. i am hoping that it will be my dependable work vehicle for the next 200k. i do tow occasionally well within the limits of the vehicle and the vehicle is usually loaded with about 5-700 lbs of tools and other things.

this was moms soccer van for the first 135k. it was probably started and shut off outside of the parameters of proper diesal handling but the past is the past. i will currently drive it 100 miles one way stop do a job for 1 hour and then drive back home stopping for 3-4 addtl jobs on the way home.

starts right up perfect but does have some turbo lag especially in the first 10 mins of running. on the highway it seems to get up and go but there does seem to be some turbo lag. i am buying some rev-x which i have never used and hope it might help a little??

what say you? thanks in advance for your help.

[2 stroker]

Sounds like you got a good or you are just lucky if you are going to stick with the Ford Gold coolant flush evert 2 years why it lasted this long don't know the only way to check the oil cooler is with gauges may be he hooked up his PC to it and took it for a drive for 1/2 an hour but the Edge Insight CTS will tell you how good your cooler are going 60mph set the cruise after 5min on flat ground take your reading 15* or more your cooler are toast 10* they are getting plugged from the silicates that drop out from the Ford Gold junk it can't take the heat. Here is the fuel reg kit and you should have a fuel pressure gauge.
Here you go this is a good post by Band Member on the fuel pressure reg spring install.
Fuel Regulator Upgrade w/ Pictures - Diesel Forum - TheDieselStop.com
Get a coolant filter on to remove any casting sand
http://www.dieselsite.com/2003-20076...waterpump.aspx
2 stroker

[Banshee365]

I must know why everyone thinks it is just unimaginable that their 6.0 doesn't break like all of the threads they see on the boards online. Fortunately trouble free 6.0's out number the problematic ones as far as I know.

Just keep up the maintenance as far as oil changes every 5k, fuel filters every 15k, etc... and you'll be good to go. You may end up replacing the oil cooler at some point as it works as a coolant filter if you don't have one installed already. That is a great mod that comes highly recommended.

I'm also on original brakes at 95k and when it comes time to replace mine I'll be replacing them with parts in a Ford box, that's for sure.

[NYC F-350]

Originally Posted by crossbones

he said i had the 'good' oil cooler and that i had almost no indication of casting sand buildup in the degas bottle or even inn the old cooler.

It seems like the 03 doesn't experience the oil cooler plugging as much as the later years. The egr cooler design is much different on this one year, and I think that is the main reason why.

Originally Posted by crossbones

i need to get the edge insight and the egt probe, i know. cs or cts? do i need any other probes or pressure sensors for the edge?

Fuel pressure

Originally Posted by crossbones

i should add a secondary oil filter and a coolant filter. what do you recommend?

oil bypass filtration. I have (well had) one that I got off ebay and I forget the actual place, but it has the Amsoil bypass oil filter on it which I believe is a BP100 (or is it an BP EAO 100??).
The most popular coolant filtration kit is the dieselsite kit. It is the most versatile as far as mounting locations, since the hoses are not pre-assembled to a determined length. If you go with bypass oil filtration, the spot where that goes is the same spot that many of the other coolant filtration systems use. You will then have to find a way to move the bypass oil filtration somewhere (which would cost you more in the long run) than mounting the coolant filtration elsewhere. I mounted my coolant filter under the truck, mounted on the frame. It is real cheap to add rubber heater hose, not so much to add braided steel line for oil filtration.

Originally Posted by crossbones

i need to do the fuel spring mod. is their a kit for that with intructions that i can order?

CLICK HERE to buy the kit. There is another, slightly cheaper kit that Ford and International sells, but since you have an 03, the cheaper kit doesn't come with one part that you should replace that this one does have.
Keep that dealership as a link. Tousley Ford sells Ford factory parts for 10% over dealer cost. You will not find Ford parts any cheaper, and whenever you need parts for your rig, start there.
CLICK HERE to read an EXCELLENT thread for installing this kit.
The kit comes with directions, but the thread linked gives many more visual references.

Originally Posted by crossbones

believe it or not i still have the original brakes and pads. i know it is going to be time soon though. should i go with all ford parts or are there aftermarket parts that are better?

You got how many miles on your original pads/rotors? And you want to change to aftermarket? Why?
Remember that dealer I talked about earlier???

Originally Posted by crossbones

it will be time to upgrade the suspension, both front and rear soon. the rear end has always sagged a bit, did tie rod ends at 110k and i was told they have a little play so need to do them again, went for a front end alighnment and was told there is too much play in the steering box so i need to do that as well. so bring on your recomendations for the suspension upgrades.

Talk to a member by the name of 'CT Performance, Inc.' for the suspension solution for your Excursion.

[crossbones]

thanks a bunch to all who replied with very useful info. it is enormously appreciated and i will get to work!

[mmm635]

I just installed the BPD system in my truck and when I removed my EGR cooler it was clean as a whistle, as well as the cooling system at 160K. I have not cut open my oil cooler yet, but I know it has some clogging because the EGR cooler was on its way out. If you plan on keeping the truck, then you might want to consider the BPD system.

I think a majority of the problems with the 6.0 stem from tuning. I really don't think a properly maintained, stock truck will experience that many problems.

The blue spring kit is pretty straightforward. Also, upgrade to the 6.4 Banjo bolts while you are at it.

I just replaced my brakes and went with the Heavy Duty version from the dealer since I will be towing a good bit. They work just fine.

Think about replacing the sway bar bushings with Energy Suspension. I bet that is where most of your sway is coming from - it helped allot on my truck. However, I have some Bilstein shocks coming in this week to tighten the truck up.

["Stroker 8"]