New additions to Family. Twins and 2002 Excursion Limited

Vader's Fury

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First off, I got a few new additions to the family a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share.

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae60/vader2003/20140405_143642_zps2mkzizdp.jpg

This is Emma.

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae60/vader2003/IMG_6228_zpshqwu3dgu.jpg

This is Roman.

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae60/vader2003/IMG_5135_zpshdiueobr.jpg

I found out back in September of last year that we were expecting twins. My wife has a 2013 Fusion that we bought last year and that works but it is tight for my 10 year old stepson in the middle and doesn't leave much leg room for my 6'3" height.

I figured it was time to pick up an Excursion. I found a mint condition 2001 XLT for sale in upstate NJ. Drove up to the dealership and bought it. Everything was good till I had title issues due to a corrupt dealer. Needless to say it has bee 6+ months and I still have not gotten the title issues worked out and I doubt I ever will.

Fast forward to 4 days before delivery and I find this 2002 Fully Loaded Limited with 179k miles for sale less than 1 mile from my house.

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae60/vader2003/Mobile Uploads/20140418_080008_zpsjicidjzu.jpg

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae60/vader2003/Mobile Uploads/20140418_080021_zps7k6iz4hr.jpg

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae60/vader2003/Mobile Uploads/20140418_080038_zpsqob2grxh.jpg

I saw the truck on Sunday, bought it Monday evening, and had it inspected and tagged by Tuesday night so I could take it to the hospital at 4 am Wednesday morning for the delivery.

I have been using the truck for the last few weeks and it only has a few small issues. For the price I paid for it and the condition that it is in, I have no complaints.

Now on to what I want to do to it. I plan to keep the truck mostly stock and just try to make it look a little bit nicer, ride a little bit smoother, keep it quiet as possible, but add just a little hp without going crazy. This truck is first and foremost for hauling the family around, so no high hp engines or crazy lifts or anything like that.

First thing that needed addressed was the brakes on the truck. It drove ok but didn't stop like it should. I pulled the wheels and ended up putting all new rotors, calipers, and pads on all 4 corners. While I was under there I saw the steering stabilizer was leaking so it got replaced as well.

Next I want to work on making it ride nicer without breaking the bank. With twin infants at home, the budget is very tight. What kind of shocks would be good but not kill my wallet? I would love to put Icons on or something like that but I don't think the money is there right now for them. The ones on there now are original and definitely need replaced.

While I am trying to figure out what shocks to go with, I have a few little issues to work on inside the truck. The door lock actuators need changed out for every door but the drivers. Also the auto lights and key pad on the drivers door are not working right now. All little issues but time is tight with working and taking care of the Twins. Hopefully it won't take to long before I am ready to move on to the next step. Will either be new tires and rims, or starting on engine mods. I have a ts chip for it and will be getting with No Limit for tunes here soon.
 

Barnbuilder

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Congratulations!! Got my twins 3 year ago Jan. and still loking for an Ex. They'll bring alot of happiness and sleepless nights!
 

Bushwakd

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Congrats on the new additions of joy in your life.
I am a father of 28 year old twin daughters myself.
Definitely a unique life experience that takes twice the love.
 

Vader's Fury

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After speaking with Obswiz, I will be going through him to get my suspension setup. Sounds like this should get the truck handling the way I want it to.
 

TNScrambler

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We found out last fall we were having Triplets, already had 1 son....so I sold my Crew Cab OBS 7.3 and picked up this '00 7.3 4x4 Ex.... Triplets came on May 12th....Congrats on your Twins!



20131216_164147.jpg


02-IMG_6101.jpg
 

LovinPSDs

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Wow, congrats man! You to Vader! My wife is newly newly pregnant with our first. Exciting times! She won't be able to get in and out of my truck anymore, plus puttin a baby up in a lifted truck so we're going to check out an X tomorrow. She wants a big SUV so I figured why not go BIG.
 
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uw mitch

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Wow, congrats man! You to Vader! My wife is newly newly pregnant with our first. Exciting times! She won't be able to get in and out of my truck anymore, plus puttin a baby up in a lifted truck so we're going to check out an X tomorrow. She wants a big SUV so I figured why not go BIG.

Congrats to the OP...and to you an your wife. we've got a 15 month old and he is awesome...even though it took 3 hours to put him to bed tonight. Kinda wish my wife wanted an X...she wants a CRV...which probably is more practical but way less fun.

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2
 

Vader's Fury

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We found out last fall we were having Triplets, already had 1 son....so I sold my Crew Cab OBS 7.3 and picked up this '00 7.3 4x4 Ex.... Triplets came on May 12th....Congrats on your Twins!



20131216_164147.jpg


02-IMG_6101.jpg

Beautiful kids you have there brother. It has been almost 3 months now with the Ex and the twins and it is so much easier than our 2013 Fusion. Also my step son is 11 and he can sit between them in the second row, or sit in the 3rd row all by his self. Only issue when he does that is getting back there. I let him just climb over the seat so I don't have to remove the car seat base.

Wow, congrats man! You to Vader! My wife is newly newly pregnant with our first. Exciting times! She won't be able to get in and out of my truck anymore, plus puttin a baby up in a lifted truck so we're going to check out an X tomorrow. She wants a big SUV so I figured why not go BIG.

Congrats on becoming a father. It is one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me. Completely changes your outlook on life and a lot of other things.

I can not describe how much easier my Ex is to use than our car. Hell between my friends we have a bunch of chevy, dodge, ford suv's and none of them are as easy to use with kids as the Ex is. 2 of my friends have already started their search for one after making a trip with me.

I am sure pulling an enclosed trailer 400 miles and averaging just over 12 mpg while my buddies Tahoe with same trailer got 8 didn't have anything to do with it....
 

Vader's Fury

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So the plan for suspension has changed. Just purchased a complete 05+ suspension and axles that will be going under the Ex. Still need to get shocks thought. Probably will be awhile till I get a chance to do the swap as I still need the truck through the summer for a couple of trips we have planned. I also need to get new wheels and tires since the stock 16's will not fit the newer drivetrain.

That being said, I am looking for recommendations for shocks and wheels. I am on a "have twin newborns, so I am broke" budget lol, so trying to keep cost down but still not just go out and buy the cheapest stuff available.

I can not make up my mind on if I want to keep the stock suspension height with the new 05+ suspension and go with 20" rims and 33" Nitto terra grappler tires, or if I want to lower the stance a little bit and put 20" rims and a lower profile tire.

Where it sits right now, I can put the kids in and out easily, and wouldn't have an issue if it was a little bit higher. My 5'4" wife on the other hand, can do it where the truck sits now, but would struggle a little bit if it was higher. Especially as the kid get heavier.

Just not sure how the truck will look with the lower stance and a more street profile tire.
 

sootie

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fox shocks from smokinstroker on here

factory 20" wheels look awesome no matter what year they are from...also can be had for a good price.
 

Vader's Fury

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Only thing that I don't like about the factory rims is that I want to run a 12" wide tire. I don't want the sidewall to be bulged out. I was thinking about a 10" wide rim, or even a 12" as long as the rim doesn't stick out past the tire. I am not a fan of the stretched tires on wide rims.
 

sootie

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i run 12.50's on factory rims and it is fine. 12" would be no problem at all.
 

LovinPSDs

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I had 12.50s with no problems and they looked fine, but my 35x13.50s didn't look right.. Visually it almost looked dangerous, not really sure if it was but that's the way it looked.
 

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