fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Thinking about buying 1 for towing purposes. I can get a killer deal on an 04. It does have 103K miles though.
I familiar with Ford's but nothing that new. I had old explorers & F150's before.

Thanks

charliemike

What are you towing? And unless you're constantly towing I'd go as cheap as possible.

For example, if you're only going to tow something once or twice a month, then I'd go with the oldest Expedition you can find that is in decent shape.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Well I know what I'm going to need already. I have a set budget for this. However this 1 Expedition came up local & falls within my price range. It's cheap because of the high miles.
It looks & drives great. No problems with it. I had it checked out.

Again I'm not familiar with the newer Ford SUV's. Give me a 90's Ford though & I'll rebuild it ground up.

iTimmy

There are few common problems one of which is a huge PITA, some how coolant gets around the outside of the sparkplugs and erodes the socket part of the sparkplug and the plug itself into place. Unfortunately this usually happens to one of the plugs in the back which are very difficult to get to, and there is enough of the plug to grab onto, but not enough to break it free and the plug breaks. There is a special tool designed to fix this, there is no way of telling if this will happen to you, but I've seen it enough times that you should be warned about it. When you get it out run a thread chaser through the head and use hi-temp anti-seize on the plugs going in the back locations to try and prevent this from happening again. There is also a problem with the intakes on some of the 4.6's from those years, I don't know when they "fixed" the problem but the composite intakes are known to crack, thus needing replacment there is no warning when this will happen, but keeping clean coolant in the vehicle is a good idea. Coilpacks are some what common to see go, but they are fairly inexpensive, easy to replace and diagnose with a basic OBDII code scanner. EGR problems are common when the vehicle is at high mileage, a good fuel injection cleaner can help prevent this. Its most often not the EGR valve itself, but the passages or solenoid. If you tend to drive aggressive they tend to go through brakes and tires, but that can be said of any vehicle. The front ends are solid, rarely will any steering components need replacement(which is not the case with GMs).

Overall they are not bad trucks, but like all vehicles they have a few short comings, the worse thing that could happen to you would be the intake manifold cracking on you with no warning, but its so common aftermarket companies make them with metal reinforcements in the mold where they typically break. The sparkplug thing may be a huge pain, but once you've dealt with it, its a non-issue for the rest of your ownership

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Cool that helps. With 103K miles I'm not sure if the plugs have been touched. I'll have to ask the shop that looked it over.
It is a 4.6L. I'll have to check the truck again & inspect those areas.
thanks

Tripp11

Ironic, a co-worker has a 2004 Expedition 4.6L 4x4 and the transmission went out at 62K miles...of course, his wife had it towed to where they bought it and now they are having the dealer install a new transmission for $2,600 - ouch!

Might want to have someone look over the tranny too? Perhaps this was an isolated incident but the timing just fell right with your post.

65 Fury Convert

The 4.6 is a reliable motor but a little underpowered to move around a large SUV like the Expedition let alone tow with it as well. The 5.4 would be the better choice but if the price is right go for it.

fast-tl

We are on our 3rd Expedition: '98, '99 and our favoritte, the '03. These trucks are rock-solid dependable, and require little maintenance. I haven't experienced the coil pack issue with my 5.4, I have had zero transmission problems. I sometimes say I wish we had TWO of them! You will not be disappointed in the quality of this vehicle vs a comparable GM product. They just WORK.