Ford Expedition advice

[marshal]

honestly if you have another 5 grand to spend and want the least amount of headaches and things to fix possible, get a first gen Sequoia.

if you're set on the expedition - its a great truck if you are aware of what stuff you need to take care of. the warnings of the 3V engine's spark plugs are very real. If you can find one that has already had the spark plugs changed and helicoils put in the head then you're way ahead of the game and its not a headache you need to worry about anymore. Also, the IRS is a nice upgrade that i haven't ever heard any problems out of it. The solid axle rears actually had less available travel than the IRS system and rode considerably worse.

Adventure Driven has a 2007 Expedition that they've built up and run 35's on for a lot of their cross country trips and they love it, and did a fantastic job on it

http://www.adventuredriven.com/ford-expedition

 

[REDONE]

I'm following this thread! I'll be looking for something bigger in my fleet as we get closer to adopting a kid or two (already have one and I love being a dad, but having a pregnant wife was harder than 16 years of military life, haha! Hoping to pick up one or two more from foster care.). As anyone can tell from my sig, I'm a Jeep guy, but the pricetag expected with the 2020 Grand Wagoneer is out of reach. I'll be looking at FS wagons less than 10 years old, and for some reason the Ford Expedition drops in value much faster than the other full size wagons. While I'm not a particularly high-earner, I do like fake wood and heated leather so the Expedition Eddie Bauer stands out in a lot in my searching.:smiley_drive:

EDIT>> It's not hard to picture myself logging some windshield time in this, especially with only 160K miles and for only $8K. (Mmmmm. Wood and two-tone leather!)

 

[al_burpe]

honestly if you have another 5 grand to spend and want the least amount of headaches and things to fix possible, get a first gen Sequoia.

if you're set on the expedition - its a great truck if you are aware of what stuff you need to take care of. the warnings of the 3V engine's spark plugs are very real. If you can find one that has already had the spark plugs changed and helicoils put in the head then you're way ahead of the game and its not a headache you need to worry about anymore. Also, the IRS is a nice upgrade that i haven't ever heard any problems out of it. The solid axle rears actually had less available travel than the IRS system and rode considerably worse.

It is not so much that I am set on it as I have seen that the Expeditions that I can afford are a lot newer with a lot fewer miles on them than anything comparable. I also really like the way the third row folds down and opens up a lot of usable space when you don't need the third row. The information you provided above is really helpful though. What I was trying to figure out in my decision making is it worth going the cheaper route or would I regret it later. Regrets are certainly possible with any make of vehicle, I just want to lessen my chances of that without breaking the bank.

 

[al_burpe]

I'll be looking at FS wagons less than 10 years old, and for some reason the Ford Expedition drops in value much faster than the other full size wagons.

This is exactly what I have found as well and what attracted to me them.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I'll be looking at FS wagons less than 10 years old, and for some reason the Ford Expedition drops in value much faster than the other full size wagons.

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This is exactly what I have found as well and what attracted to me them.

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Hmmmm...OK.
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I noticed the same thing. Kinda makes you wonder why that is, though, doesn't it?
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Put another way, people seem much more motivated to get rid of their 2nd and 3rd gen Expeditions than they do their GMT-900 Suburbans and Tahoe/Yukons. Compare prices of similar years and miles and you see a pretty big difference.
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Could there be a reason for that?
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Serious question, I don't know. I really like the look of the 2nd and 3rd gen Expedition. Even with the IRS a 2 - 3" lift is fairly easy, from what I've seen.
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But the price difference makes me wonder if there's a reason that Expedition owners seem to be much more willing to dump their vehicles at fairly low prices, even when they don't have a lot of miles on them.

 

[REDONE]

That's exactly why I'm folling this thread martin.

I've done some google research and haven't found a smoking gun. My theory is a combination of market saturation from Ford pushing fleet sales along with low product recognition is driving the resale value down. Just some quick math, there are 370~ reports of the sparkplug issue. Assuming this is only 1% of the actual occurrence that could be 37,000 instances. Since 1.5million Expeditions were produced, that's only 2.4% effected. Granted, that's making a really big assumption regarding frequency and also including all models of Expedition, but even then, knowing which model was effected makes it easy to either avoid or address the issue proactively. Checking Chevy reveals their own problems. There are a similar number of reports on comparable year Suburbans for both transmission failures and traction control failures. Addressing any of these problems is a PITA, so it's kind of a "pick your poison" situation.

Since my wife's KL is the main putt-around commuter and my cars are just occasional drivers, I might open chaff a little and look into the Excursion too.

EDIT>>> To mention that the Expedition problem I'd heard word-of-mouth in my sphere of influence isn't reflected in my research. I thought that Expeditions had issues with vacuum actuated hubs. I'd have sworn I've heard from people I know in real life that the hubs seals dry out and leak preventing the front wheels from engaging, or something to that effect. Has anyone else heard of this?

 

[Martinjmpr]

WRT Suburban/Tahoe the biggest issues I'd worry about would be AFM-related engine failures, particularly in the early AFM engines (2007 - 2008) and of course the weak 4L60E transmissions.
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Suburban/Tahoe got the 6 speed in 2009, don't know if that cured the previous problems with the 4L60 or not. I haven't heard of a lot of trans failures in GMT 900 trucks with the 6 speed though.
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If I was in the market for another SUV as opposed to a pickup, I'd for sure consider either the Expedition or the Expedition EL (the extended Expedition - basically the Expedition equivalent of a Suburban.) As it is, my next vehicle is likely to be an F-150.
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One thing that seems odd to me is that in 2011 or so the F-150 got the 5.0 V8 to replace the old, problematic 5.4. But even though the Expedition and F-150 are based on similar platforms, the 5.0 was never offered in the Expedition lineup. My understanding is that starting in 2015 there's no V8 offered at all, the only engine is the 3.5 Ecoboost V6. The ecoboost has impressive credentials but I'm still not sold on it as a towing platform.

 

[StreetsofCompton]

06-08 LR3s can be had for decent prices. The two seats in the 3rd row are big enough for two adults to sit in with relative comfort. the fold flat feature is a huge bonus and accessing the 3rd row is cake with how the second row seats fold flat and then forward.

Obvs, previous owner maintenance is a huge deal for them but we've absolutely loved having the 7 seats as we routinely use them. Just another option to consider.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ExplorerTom]

EDIT>>> To mention that the Expedition problem I'd heard word-of-mouth in my sphere of influence isn't reflected in my research. I thought that Expeditions had issues with vacuum actuated hubs. I'd have sworn I've heard from people I know in real life that the hubs seals dry out and leak preventing the front wheels from engaging, or something to that effect. Has anyone else heard of this?

So the hubs are all unit bearings. I don't believe I've ever seen a unit bearing that is vacuum actuated. Some of the early 1st gen had a vacuum actuated front axle disconnect that could be problematic. Mine had an issue were the transfercase was always engaged. That's an easy fix: brown wire mod. There's a brown wire that tells the transfercase shift motor to engage- cut the wire and it disengages. The good news is that really only effects the a4wd function. 4hi and 4lo still work with the switch. Now the only difference is that I have 2wd. I was never a fan of the a4wd. I actually put a switch on my brown wire so if I want it, I can still have A4wd.

And IMO, the spark plug issue is overblown for the 2v 5.4 (the 1st gen). Proper torque and you don't have any problems. The 2 piece plugs in the 3v motors is a corrosion issue (I think).

The 5.4 isn't a sexy motor like an LS variant, but it gets the job done. This dude put 1.3 million miles on his 5.4 2v E-series van.
http://millionmilevan.com
He's only got just over 1 million more miles than mine.

I like mine. My Explorer gets neglected because of it.

 

[al_burpe]

.

.
Hmmmm...OK.
.
I noticed the same thing. Kinda makes you wonder why that is, though, doesn't it?
.
Put another way, people seem much more motivated to get rid of their 2nd and 3rd gen Expeditions than they do their GMT-900 Suburbans and Tahoe/Yukons. Compare prices of similar years and miles and you see a pretty big difference.
.
Could there be a reason for that?
.
Serious question, I don't know. I really like the look of the 2nd and 3rd gen Expedition. Even with the IRS a 2 - 3" lift is fairly easy, from what I've seen.
.
But the price difference makes me wonder if there's a reason that Expedition owners seem to be much more willing to dump their vehicles at fairly low prices, even when they don't have a lot of miles on them.

I definitely wondered why they are so much cheaper, but I wasn't able to find very many negative reviews that would indicate an obvious reason for it. I thought I would check in here and see if people had recommendations or reasons to avoid them.

 

[Fatty ss]

Do you have Commander? The reviews I read said the 3rd row is awful for adults and very hard to access. Also, a quick check on prices in my area show that they go for about the same as a similar year and mileage Expedition. I would consider a newer Durango if I could find one in my price range. I think I would pass on the older ones based on the Dakota platform. I had a Dakota for a number of years, and wouldn't want to go back.

No, I've had an XJ and a Patriot, but no Commander. My wife had a 2012 Durango R/T that we both loved. Build quality and materials in it were light years better than the previous gen Durango. I rode in the back several times and it was easy enough to get into and fairly roomy. More roomy than my parents' Ford Flex in the third row for sure despite similar exterior dimensions. Hers was an awd with selectable 4x4, I don't recall if it had a low range (though I *think* it did). The R/T package is lowered with sport suspension, but all other trim packages are standard height and house reasonably sized tires. A decent all terrain in stock size would keep you out of trouble on fire lanes and forest service roads. It is a road based vehicle for sure, and overhangs are pretty long and low. I know you're not looking at newer Durangos, but thought I'd relay our experience with one since you were curious.

The expedition is definitely more truck like than the newer durangos. For your needs, either would work fine. And because you can find an older expedition with a lower price tag, that's probably a better bet. Good luck in your search!

 

[nitro_rat]

One of my best friend’s Dads had a ‘98 Durango when we were in high school. In fact he still has it. He’s a HAM and SAR guy. He absolutely abused that thing and with a set of 31x10.50 buckshots it was surprising where it could go. He would basically just hit a mud hole hard enough to let momentum carry him through. We had to do the intake plenum thing and yank the dash for some a/c and heat related stuff a few times. And change a back door that the neighbor backed into. It was a good truck and they could be optioned with 9 seats I’m pretty sure. They are dirt cheap around here. $1000 will get you a decent one.

Now he has an ex border patrol Tahoe with 4.10’s and full underbody skids, engine compartment cage, and limit straps on Firestone Destination MT’s. I’m not sure if it’s really much stouter than the old Durango was...

 

[al_burpe]

Just to update this thread, I sold my Frontier this week and now have cash available to purchase a new family rig. We went and looked at cars today. We brought our daughter along as well as her current car seat and the car seat her new baby sister will ride in for the first year or so of her life. I wanted to pass on my observations for anyone in the same boat that I am in with two kids in rear facing car seats. We tested them in a 2004 Suburban, 2005 Armada, and 2005 Expedition.

Suburban - We ruled this one out before even driving it due to the way the car seats fit in it. On the Armada and Expedition, the second row is made up of three sections. On the Suburban, it is a 60-40 split or something close to that. Unfortunately, the 40 side is behind the passenger seat. This means that if you want to have 2 car seats in the middle seat and still access the third row, you have to have a seat behind the drivers seat. The Suburban was the least well laid out of the three and in order to have the seat behind the drivers seat, I had to have the drivers seat slide forward more than I was comfortable with. The actual seat itself was the most comfortable of the three however. The third row was also the hardest to get into of the three. The Suburban felt like it had the least amount of cabin space of the three. The main advantage to the Suburban was if you need to have passengers in the third row, it has by far the most amount of cargo space available.

Armada - The Armada had plenty of space in the second row for the two car seats and could have the front row all the back and still fit the seats. It was also easy to access the third row. The third row was the worst of the three however. I found the front driver's seat to be very comfortable, but the placement of the armrest was very awkward. The armrest was not comfortable to me, but the center console was not at a level where I could comfortably rest my arm on it either. We only test drove the Armada and the Expedition. In terms of driving, I would give a slight edge to the Armada in quickness and handling. The steering is a bit tighter and feels like you are driving a sportier vehicle. We only belted in the car seat in the middle, but I did find that it was more difficult to get it sitting properly due to the placement of the middle seat belt. This might only be particular to our car seat and other models might be better.

Expedition - Like the Armada, there was a ton of room in the Expedition in the second row. You could have both front seats all the way back and still be fine with the car seats in. We strapped one car seat into the middle ,and it did sit much better and was easier with the seat belt than in the Armada. The third row was the easiest to access and by far the most comfortable for an adult. It did drive nice and had good acceleration. It was little slower than the Armada, but there wasn't a huge difference. The driver's seat was comfortable as well and the center console made for a good armrest. One small thing it had that was a nice feature was a drop down mirror on the ceiling so the front passengers could view what was happening in the rest of the car which the other two vehicles did not have. Price wise, the Expedition was also the cheapest of the three even though it had 25K fewer miles. We felt like the Expedition would meet our needs the best and be the best family vehicle for us. I know I was leaning that way to start, but did feel like I gave the other vehicles a fair shot. Unfortunately, I was not able to test a Sequoia as well. Now we just have to decide if we want to go with one of the available Expeditions in town or wait until a better deal comes along.

I hope this might be of some help to others who have the same considerations as my family.

 

[al_burpe]

So I made the purchase of an Expedition today. Got them to include the changing of the spark plugs in the purchase price.

 

[ExplorerTom]

You'll enjoy it. You'll have many adventures with it.