Build Excursion paint, swap, 6 door conversion

Thatg9659 said:

Gavin Dug pretty deep into the wiring harness when he did a manual swap on his 7.3 excursion. I recall a lot of variances in the wiring harnesses over the years and engines. Half the harness matched up to a super duty, but half of it didn’t there was a lot of stuff that a super duty didn’t have and so on and so on.

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It is very frustrating. Makes no sense.

Looking at like the abs module. They look the same, same number of pins, same pin configuration, but one tiny little tab prevents the 6.0 harness from plugging into the V10 abs module. If you insert the plug upside down it fits. But of course wouldn't work.

The V10 is a late build 2003 and the 6.0 was an early build 2004. This is nuts.

The detail required to every aspect is tedious.

I need to push this thing aside and move onto some other projects for a bit, but it is like I am just this close to wrapping up this or that I can't quit.

Wish I could help, but I use the let the engine run until it doesn’t method while I cut stuff in the harness I think it doesn’t need.

If there is anything drawing power off the adr system anywhere it will never shut off. We had issues with this putting tracking systems in trucks. You had to be real careful where you pulled power foe them or it was dead battery time.

Slowly making progress.

The window system has nothing to do with the GEM / VSM I don't know why that keeps popping up on the internet as they do.

For that matter, the wipers have nothing to do with the VSM either which is also something I read on the internet.

First off the power windows, after some searching and pin point testing I found my test light to be slightly glowing when I test the ground wire.
So I used a jumper wire for a better ground and they work perfectly.
Pretty sure we didn't miss any grounds but you have to remember the chassis harness is cut where it is supposed to go into the B pillars and rear of the truck.

I just dug that wire out of the harness and added another ground to it.

On to the VSM

I downloaded the as built files from Ford. Wrote them into the VSM via forscan and no change. I was reading data in the VSM, I was able to communicate with it.

By chance I had pictures of both units and they had the same part number. So I dug out and unplugged the harness from the VSM mounted in the dash and plugged in the other VSM.
No change.

I updated the software. No change.

Started pinpoint testing. Had voltage everywhere it should. Not really sure what to do. But thinking about that cut harness and my power window issues I tested the ground wire.
It did not glow like it did for the power windows, but I decided to run a jumper wire to it anyway.

that was it, bad ground. Door locks work, keyless entry works, keypad works. Door ajar works.

So I added another ground to the harness and plugged everything back into the old module. Still works.

Now I suppose I will move onto the windshield wipers but that should not be any special module that might need to be repaired or replaced.

I really need to stop on this and move onto other projects but it is like, just one more thing. Then one more thing I want to get done to it first.

Just to add more information I had read and learned about. The Instrument cluster contains the power saver relay. It is a dumb relay and serviceable unlike what ford or most people will tell you. Honestly cannot remember how that ties into the power windows right now but it was on the list of things to check.
But one thing I had read as well was if the power saver relay is bad, turning on the headlights will allow the power windows to work. This is a work around and also a test for the power saver relay. Had read guys claiming their power saver relay had been bad for years they just kick the headlights on when they need to run the windows.
At that time there didn't appear to be anyone repairing instrument clusters on their own because Ford was claiming it had to be programmed.

Still chasing some electrical gremlins, but one thing I noticed going through the wiring diagrams is many of them say, grounded at C pillar or something like that, involving the B pillar. So we are going to just leave it for now since that portion of the harness is cut.

Like right now, we have this door ajar problem. The light comes one when all the doors are closed. LOL But also only about half of that stuff is hooked up. The radio shuts off when with the key, which is fine, But will stay on if the doors are open. So the door ajar is working backwards for now. But that means the ADR is working. The VSM is working.

The power pedals are not working, so going to have to go through all that and pinpoint out that circuit as well.

had no idea there would be this many electrical issues. Seems weird to me.

One of the things we were testing was fuel sending unit, shows open circuit. My son said, yeah it quits working around 1/2 tank then starts up again around 1/4 tank. LOL why not say that sooner?

So we have the truck turned around in the garage. I will find a sending unit, they are not cheap.

Have this annoying drip at the upper radiator hose to thermostat housing connection. Cannot get it to stop. Even double clamped now and won't stop. So going to order a new hose, but so far that is the only leak which makes me happy considering every hose in every system has been removed and reconnected.

Swapped the rear axle this weekend. Now my trailer is empty enough I can go get a decent donor cab. Kind of bummed about that. I can find cabs all day long for $400-$600 but even if the rockers are great on them the supports under the cab are pretty bad. So we are probably going to spend $1,000 on just a decent cab to cut up.

This V10 truck did not have a sway bar on it. But his 6.0 excursion did. So we will swap that over. It was pretty much bolt in. We had a new VSS we put in. We swapped over the steel and rubber brake lines because they were in better shape. Now we can bleed the brakes and get them working properly.

The passenger side shock mount if different. Not only did the shock mount from the V10 have a skid plate on it, the shocks on the excursion mount on the back, the F350 from 2006 donor, the passenger side shock mounts on the front. We will pull that shock bracket off his 6.0 excursion and make it work.

But it is sitting down on all 4 tires, mobile again. Now all 4 tires are the same size and we see it squatting in the rear. With some playing, we need to jack up the rear 3-4 inches to make it sit right.
Doing some measurements, it seems from the factory the front fender well is 2-2.5inches lower than the rear. Based on the other trucks we have sitting around. If that tracks to this truck with the coil swap that means we need to add 2 inches to the rear.
We have decided that we need to stretch the truck first then get it to sit right after. Because we really don't know how much weight we are adding.
His 6.0 excursion has newish springs that sit 3-4 inches higher over stock. From whatever code he purchased to get a batter ride a few years ago.

But still moving forward. Especially now because the shift cable does not always get the truck all the way into park. We have the cable adjusted as far as possible but the parking prawl doesn't always engage. Again, weird, since all of these parts came from one working trucks.

That stupid pot metal shift tube mess on top of the column is garbage. The clamps break, the bushings spit out, the screws on the cable attachment bracket back out. The range switch gets tight and contributes to all of those problems.

Thatg9659 said:

That stupid pot metal shift tube mess on top of the column is garbage. The clamps break, the bushings spit out, the screws on the cable attachment bracket back out. The range switch gets tight and contributes to all of those problems.

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Thanks,
Randomly in some facebook group a guy posted a similar problem, some piece fell out from under his dash and now it doesn't shift right.

Considering this column has been moved around, flipped, turned, beat on. I would bet we knocked something loose. Just another thing to dig into on the punch list.

2006 e450 aka betty,

While I have been trying to wrap up some other projects I neglected I have been searching for a cab.

I can find a good cab, but no doors, I can find decent doors, but the last one I tried to pick up 2.5 hours away last weekend the guy ghosted me. Decided he didn't need to sell them I guess.

So frustrating.

I can find completely clean cabs for $1,000 or more and okay cabs for $200. I hate cutting up a $1,000 cab for the 35 inches of steel I need. Pretty funny how you message someone that says, yeah I have a rust free cab and when I ask for a picture of the rear supports under the cab I never hear back from them again.

This guy was awesome. I feel bad. He even went and got his forks and picked the cab up to get me a picture but probably not clean enough for me to use, so close.
This is a $200 cab.



This cab is the winner so far. But for $1,000

One other problem I have been having is deciding how to go about the cut and splice. I figured I would be adding a body mount but it seems like most guys are skipping it.
It needs a body mount there right? I think it does. That is a long span from the front to the back of the cab. A 4 door superduty has 6 mounts, 3 on each side. Many of the 6 door conversions I find have 4, 2 on each side. that seems crazy to me. They either use the front 2 from the superduty then skip to the excursion portion. Or they skip the middle on one the super duty.

Also see where some guys box the frame, some overlay. Does it need that? haven't decided yet. I don't think he will ever tow heavy but he will tow with it.

I had always thought I was going to drill out the spot welds like this guy did.



But watching this video, these guys do this for a living and they didn't. They drilled the rockers and butt welded the rest of it.

I think I would cut the spotwelds and do it that way.
Years ago a buddy of mine built a 6 door truck. He put the center body mount in, but didn't put the bolts in, IIRC.
That gave it support, but didn't bind it up.
Cool project!!

My take on ford frames, once you start welding on it you might as well box it in. You'll be doing it eventually anyway. There's a reason everything is bolted to the frame.....

To add to that, boxed frames flex less. Will make the body live longer. I'm not sure the extra mounts will help or hurt with all the flex going on. The extra mounts would stiffen the whole thing up, but at what cost to the body.

The above $200 can looks plenty salvageable

The guys that do it for a living, probably do it the quicker way, not necessarily the best way.

Provience said:

The above $200 can looks plenty salvageable

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You are correct and if it was for me I would probably use it.

I look for two things pretty much when I look at these cabs.

This is another cab I was looking at. If I can see rust inside the rocker channel or especially at the bottom of the outer and inner rocker seam. then for me it is a no.
You cannot stop that rust. Slow it down maybe. But once it is in that seam it is coming. I don't want to be putting rockers on this thing in 5 years.

Also don't want to spend $200 on a cab and then a couple weeks trying to put rockers in it right now.

On top of all of that, looks like I am going to have to drive 4-5 hours away to get a cab.

Everything makes that $1,000 cab look better all the time. I have no idea why I have not went after it already. It just doesn't feel right. stupid I know.

The body mount VS flex is a good point.

This will have 2 roof seams in it. Don't want to be popping them.

I was going to just plate over the inside of the frame across the weld, that is the way we used to do it on construction equipment. But thinking about it, it might actually be easier to box it.

At least it has a full length roof, broncos wreck the B pillar if you take the shell off.

Finding a cab has not been fun.

Drove 3 hours yesterday to pick up a cab for $500. Pictures were great. But they are old, he has been dragging the cab around on rock and the pinch welds are all bent and folded over.

Even worse, he is a liar. He said he had a forklift to load and did not.

So drive there, he shows up an hour late, this is a storage lot he rents. The cab is blocked in.
He gets there I said lets tip the cab up before we try to drag it up on a trailer with the winch.

Tip the cab up, the bottom of the rockers are all dented and scrapped up. The pinch welds are all folded over.

Yeah, thanks, but NO.

Really didn't want to spend $1,000 on a cab, but kind of getting there.

I can drive to Oklahoma and get a whole pickup for that, maybe have some parts to sell off it, but I don't really have the time or desire to deal with that either.

Ooofff

Hope you find one

Finally found a cab. $300, no ***le, 6 hours away.

This time I had 3 different cabs lined up along the route. So I had a backup plan.

Now I need to find one door but plenty of things to work on again now.

Cutting this cab apart should be fun.

One thing I didn't realize until I started looking at buying a cab was the roof ribs are different. Guessing around 2005 era they changed and went to a bigger rib.

Started cutting up the cab, getting rid of the parts of the cab I don't want.

Actually shocked that the inside of the rockers were this clean. I didn't expect this clean.

Pulled all the seat studs out.

Ready to drill

Started drilling spotwelds. Don't skimp on the spot weld cutter. It is a little tedious.

The floor is pinched between the front floor and the cab support underneath. So you are not drilling through the top, but the top 2 layers.

I expected the sealer or adhesive along the seam to be more robust but really it was holding nothing. Was a non issue.

Got that out. Came out pretty clean.

Need to start on the front floor seam now. Was going to try and save the front rockers but Don't know. We will see how I feel when the cutting starts.

The inner rockers and not seamed in the same places. They are cut and will have to be welded back together. So cutting the front rockers and saving them is not as easy as it sounds.
At least without risking the pieces I need



I moved onto the roof section.

There are 3 layers here.

I am not sure I am going to drill the welds and do it the same way. Haven't decided yet. Will get to that in next post.

So here is the roof.

Underneath the sealer the roof of the crew cab is welded to the upper supports.

The excursion is not done the same way.

The ribs of the roof, their spacing and design do not allow for a straight across cut in the same places I have to cut the excursion.

So I am Kind of thinking I need to pull this whole crew cab roof panel off.

Then I am not sure. Cut a section out of the old excursion to use? Move this panel forward or back to get flat areas where I need them.
But if I use the crew cab roof I will need to spot weld them back down and seal it up again.

Plus the ribs I think will look funny.

Kind of leaning towards cutting a smooth section out of the old excursion.

Don't know yet. that is a ways off, need to think about it.

Pretty neat with all the inside views

Pulled the roof skin. Used a wire brush on the drill to remove the seam sealer and expose the spot welds for the roof skin.

Then lots of drilling. I should count them, I think I have cut around 200 spot welds so far and I think my bit is done finally.

The roof bows stayed glued to the roof skin. Kind of bummed about that.

the structure was getting pretty flimsy before I took the skin off. I pulled the roof bows and put them back in with self tapping screws for now. I may not have the width right.
But then I may need to change the width when we add this to the excursion. So it's all good.




These are the seams I have to cut or seperate on the top in order to graft them into the excursion. You can see the structure. I may just cut and butt weld these. Not sure yet.

The upper structure is pretty flimsy I don't want to bend something. Screw something up just trying to get it apart.

The "drip" rail or whatever you call it, would need to be cut. the rest of it can be split at the spot welds. Don't know. See what the boys feel like drilling this weekend and let them decide how to do it. I could go either way.

Still need to remove the front floor section but I think I am gong to transport this home first before it becomes any weaker an easier to bend out of shape.

What do you use for drilling spot welds? I have a 66 mustang that needs the rear subframe replaced, so I'll have to drill out a bunch.

Frodo said:

What do you use for drilling spot welds? I have a 66 mustang that needs the rear subframe replaced, so I'll have to drill out a bunch.

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Good timing as I was just sitting here ordering a new 3/8" bit.

I like these the best. If you look at what I have drilled they are clean and ready to go. Ready to re weld onto whatever.
They are also kind of telling in a way, if you cannot tell if you have drilled deep enough, if the tip pokes through the bottom metal then you are for sure deep enough.

They do take more effort though, getting them started isn't too bad, but you are removing all the metal along the way so it takes some pressure. A lot more than the other style. There are cheap ones like $15 off amazon, a decent hardened set should cost $150 or more.

I just counted and I have drilled 218 spotwelds so far and the bit is starting to dull, but I also was not gentle at all, never let the bit cool, applied a lot of pressure when cutting.

They are shaving the weld off so it can be hard on the bit.



These are okay and are much cheaper.

The centering pin is spring loaded. It helps to take a center punch to the spot weld first or even drill a small hole like 1/16" just to help keep it centered.

these are like a hole saw and often leave material behind where you have to grind it off before welding new steel on.

But they are cheap and fast. The hardest part is keeping them centered on the spot weld. But they cut really fast with little effort.

You are essentially cutting around the spot weld and leaving it in place to grind off later.