General Ford Expedition Thread

[Jelorian]

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While I'm happy with my 'Burb I know it won't last forever and I'm giving serious thought to maybe switching teams when it comes time to replace the 'burb in a couple of years.

BITE YOUR TONGUE MARTIN!!! BITE YOUR TONGUE!

You know you can't leave the Suburban Mafia...

 

[ExplorerTom]

as near as I can tell, <snip> yada yada yada <snip> 2 speed transfer case....

Martin,

Based on what I know about how you use your current rig, what about having a 2 speed transfer case is beneficial?

 

[Ivan]

Yeah the full size SUV market is limited unfortunately. At the time i was looking I couldn't find a Suburban or Tahoe in my price range that was in decent shape. My brother has a 2000 f150 that has been good to him so I decided to take a chance. So far for me It has been a mixed bag so to speak. I do like the truck and set up, but have had a few pretty major issues with it after purchasing. It started about a moth after I bought it with a stumble / hesitation that turned out to be coil pack # 3. I had sent it into a ford dealer for diagnostic and to have the plugs changed. When they pulled one of the plugs on the passenger side they found that someone had installed a Helicoil and cross threaded it into the head. That cost me about 1400 to have a head replaced. about a week after I got it out of the Shop the Transmission lost reverse and wouldn't shift out of 2nd. The truck sat for about 5 months. Now I have a used transmission in it and It seems to be running pretty good. So for now I am going to be watching the truck for the next month or so to see if I want to build this up or trade it in. Still on the fence as of right now.

It sounds like you took care of the biggest neglects/screw ups already.

If you keep it, get a 40k gvwr trans cooler. It'll help with the biggest weakpoint in that transmission: heat.

Something else to look for:

1) if you have windshield leaks, make sure tp fix it soon. The water can get into the cabin and if it does, it can make its way to the fuse box located on the driver's side. If the fuse box corrodes, it can affect the GEM module that controls the Auto4wd.

2) change the transfercase fluid. It'll help the clutch in the Torque on Demand BW4406.

3) if you want to disable the Auto4wd at will to have 2wd as an option, look up the Brown Wire Mod.

4) if you have issues with the a/c blowing air through the defrost vents under load, look at the vacuum hoses in the engine compartment first. The vacuum canister is against the passenger side quarter panel, next to the battery. I just replaced the dried and cracked hoses last week. Not surprised on a 17 year old vehicle.

Other than that, expect to have the usual maintenence to be expected with an almost 20 year old truck. Mine has been pretty trouble free so far with the usual preventative maintenance.

 

[IRISH]

Lol. seems just my luck with this thing. This morning on the way home from work stopped for gas. went to start it and the PATS kicked off and it won't start.. I think I'm just going to trade this thing in. 7 months now and pretty much been a headache from the git. I still may end up doing that overhead console switch idea on my brothers truck if he wants. Will let you guys know what happens.

 

[p nut]

If I were buying a new SUV today, the Expedition would be a top contender. Suburbans would be another top choice. Other than that, Sequoia--bleh. RR-Bleh. Chrysler-BLEH.
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Too bad Ford decided against locking rear diffs on the Expedition. At least they offer a limited slip, though, which is probably good enough. Wish they would change up that front grill, though. Looks too much like the last gen F150.

 

[IRISH]

I may go the pick up route as well. I have been looking into Silverado, Titan, Frontier, JKU and Tacoma. After this round with the Expedition I am a little nervous about buying another Ford. Haven't ruled anything out yet. Still researching reviews, prices and trolling on here to look at mods lol.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Martin,
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Based on what I know about how you use your current rig, what about having a 2 speed transfer case is beneficial?

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I've used low range several times. When we go camping we like to explore the area. Sometimes that includes unimproved roads with steep slopes, up or down. Low range may not be 100% necessary, but it's nice to have the option to save wear on the transmission (going uphill) and wear on the brakes (going downhill.)
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Honestly, though, even if I'd never used the low range I'd still want it. I've never used the fire extinguisher in my truck but I still carry one. I can understand the Denali and Escalade having AWD as those are not really intended to be "off road" vehicles in any case. But the single-speed t-case in the base model Suburban and Tahoes seems to be an unnecessary deletion.
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I mean, assuming for the sake of argument that it was deleted to cut costs since very few Suburban/Tahoe buyers ever use it, what do you think Chevy saved? $250? On a vehicle with an MSRP well north of $45k?
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Hell, if I wanted some feature deleted I'd be perfectly happy to live without the "automatic climate control." Thermostat-based climate control works great in a house where there is enough volume to spread the heat or cooling around a large area, but in the Suburban (and in my 4runner before, which also had temperature-based "climate control") I find I am constantly fiddling with the temperature to maintain comfort. Give me the old school system with a slider for temp and a 4 or 5 speed fan and I'll figure it out on my own (also, funny thing, my '02 Pathfinder has the old-school system and I find myself fiddling with the controls less than I do on the supposedly "automatic climate control" of the 'Burb.)

 

[IRISH]

I agree totally. I usually set it to either max cold or max heat and adjust the fan.

 

[Martinjmpr]

BITE YOUR TONGUE MARTIN!!! BITE YOUR TONGUE!
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You know you can't leave the Suburban Mafia...

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"Every time I get out, they pull me back in!" :bigbossHL:
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Seriously, though, I know my GMT-800 'Burb isn't going to last forever so I'm keeping my eyes open for a replacement. I don't like to keep vehicles until they start nickel-and-diming me with small, annoying problems.
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The natural progression would be to go to the GMT-900 Suburban, or even the 2015+ K2XX version.
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The problem is, I really don't like those newer Suburbans that much. The fact that the 2 speed T-case is an option that is not on all vehicles shrinks my "pool" of available vehicles by at least half.
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The other factor is cost: For some reason, Expeditions and Expedition EL's (the "stretch" Expedition) seem to sell for considerably less than an equivalent year/mile Tahoe or Suburban. Not sure why this is, a supply/demand thing, I guess, but it's tough to consider a Suburban with 160,000 miles on it for $25k when I can find an Expedition EL of the same year with 110,000 miles on it for $18k or less. Assuming that the Expedition has the same drivetrain as the F-150, it should be at least as rugged.

 

[GrayStone]

If I were buying a new SUV today, the Expedition would be a top contender. Suburbans would be another top choice. Other than that, Sequoia--bleh. RR-Bleh. Chrysler-BLEH.
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Too bad Ford decided against locking rear diffs on the Expedition. At least they offer a limited slip, though, which is probably good enough. Wish they would change up that front grill, though. Looks too much like the last gen F150.

ARB makes lockers for the front and rear differentials IFS & IRS. I have put a set in my 2003 Expedition when I changed my gears from 3:73 to 4:56 ( front is an 8.8" like the mustang and the rear diff. Is the 9.75") with some modifications to the axles. I love them, best up grade so far.

 

[Ivan]

Lol. seems just my luck with this thing. This morning on the way home from work stopped for gas. went to start it and the PATS kicked off and it won't start.. I think I'm just going to trade this thing in. 7 months now and pretty much been a headache from the git. I still may end up doing that overhead console switch idea on my brothers truck if he wants. Will let you guys know what happens.

Any updates?

 

[IRISH]

Still hanging in there with it. Still not driving it every day lol. So far I have figured I have a short in the starting system. It is either a short in the wiring from neutral safety switch or ignition. I have been doing some reading up on it and have yet to send it into the shop. The problem started after having the newer trans installed so will have to see what happens. I can drive the truck if needed and it surely did come in handy when Irma hit a month ago. I basically keep a 2 spare starter relays and 15a fuses in the truck for now. I'm hoping to have it in the shop within the next few weeks and budget allows to have the problem tracked down and repaired. I will post an update once I know a little more.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

I had similar problems, I bought my lemon I mean 99' 150 for $ 3400 and over the last year about 6500 in it that's including expy rear end, rebuilt trans, after those two major pita, might add inconvenience, it wouldn't run, crank until the battery was almost dead, I was infuriated to say the least. One time when it finally started I drove it an hour to the dealership and told them don't call me till you can hand me a failed part. Called me a couple days later when they could get started and said it was the crank shaft sensor.. been running great ever since about a week ago, out of the blue dead battery,I thought here we go again turned out cracked ground clamp on the battery, so not charging properly.
But I really like the POS, all that said, I'm gonna keep after it.
Problems aren't unique to old Fords.
Good luck,
Mickey

 

[Ivan]

I just made my own problems today. I accidentally cut the wire loom to the rear A/C controls located at the back of the center console. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal until I found the second set of rear a/c switches no longer did anything. So now... no more rear A/C until I solder all the wires back together...

This whole center console mod to put in a fridge mod backfired a bit.

 

[IRISH]

Money has been a bit tight so I still haven't sent it into the shop. I have already replaced to much to give up on it over something like what i have going on. I do know the diagnostic is a little more than I want to get into. I have decided to make it A daily driver when the kinks are worked out / occasional camper and tailgater. Ivan what mod are you doing?