Worst year(s) expy made

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

CPL_Guimonster

New Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Posts
4
Reaction score
0
Location
CT
Hi I'm a retiring military looking for a ford expedition. What years should I stay away because I caught wind about some engines blowing out spark plugs.Is this a one to two year thing that has been fixed?I am also wondering if the 4.6 is good or underpowered.
 

cougarmandan

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2006
Posts
10
Reaction score
0
Location
Bonanza, Arkansas
I am not sure about the 4.6 being underpowered since I have only had 5.4L's. They don't blow out spark plugs that I know of, but some do have a problem when changing plugs when doing a tune up. The one with the spark plug problem is the 5.4L 3 valve per cylinder motor. If you change the plugs at 60 or less miles to the updated plug, you shouldn't have any problems. The problem is the end of the spark plug gets seized in the head and breaks off due a weak design. It takes a special tool and some patients to get it out. I didn't change my plugs on my wife 06 until it hit 80k and it was a mistake as I had one break off. It did suck as some of the ceramic broke off and fell into the cylinder. It took a lot of vacuuming with a metal fuel line hooked to a shop vac to retrieve it. I am not sure when Ford fixed this in production motors. I had a 97 before that and I love these little trucks. I have 2 young kids and it easy to get them in and out and they have a plenty of room for all our crap we can't seam to travel without, plus I pull a camper and occasional trailer and they awesome tow rigs. I have an explorer too and the expeditions are smoother and more stable when towing. The pop up camper I barrow from time to time is really bad about sway, especially with the Explorer but is rarely is an issue with the expedition unless you yank on the wheel or something. Again, I have no experience with the 4.6 in an expedition. I have had a couple of 4.6L in cars and they are spectacular motors. I know they were available in the early years, but ford did some studies and the 5.4L Expedition in the early years had the number one owner loyalty of all cars in the us there for a year or two and I think that's when they dropped the 4.6l. I know the early years had air bag rear ends optional and they are rubber which wears out and I would probably avoid it or I would just plan on converting to regular springs.
 
OP
OP
C

CPL_Guimonster

New Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Posts
4
Reaction score
0
Location
CT
thank you i too have a explorer that i am happy with. just looking for something bigger
 

ELVATO

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Posts
2,637
Reaction score
30
Location
Orlando, FL
The early Gen 1 blew out spark plugs. I'd have to search for specific years and motors, but I think the issue was resolved by 01 or 02. In 05+ when the 3V 5.4 became the only option, they had trouble with the plugs getting stuck on higher mileage engines going for plug change. Anything approaching the recommended interval of 100k miles was pretty much guaranteed at least some broken plugs.

They came out with a TSB on how to remove and reinstall new ones, and fixed the design in the 08(?) F150s. Not sure when it was fixed in the Expeditions. FWIW, this problem also affected the 3V 4.6 in the Mustangs and Explorers (I think?).
 

ELVATO

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Posts
2,637
Reaction score
30
Location
Orlando, FL
Yea, more or less. The motor is pretty stout. The plug problem is more with the 2005+ with the 3V motor. The 03-04 have the 2V motor.

I have a shopping guide for 2nd gen Expeditions. Just search for it under my name. I think it's something like "what to look for", or look up "bubbling paint tailgate" under my name, since I talk about that in the "guide".

On the other hand, don't let the 05-06 Expeditions scare you. They do have more power, as well as more time to work out the kinks from the 03-04. Just be aware that engines with higher mileage might have issues with stuck plugs. They do make extraction kits for broken plugs, which you can usually find on ebay, or your local autoparts store.
 
Last edited:

toms89

technical advisor
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Posts
5,177
Reaction score
440
Location
MD
It is the generation 1 expys that have the reputation for spitting out the sparkplugs. Ford for some reason only put 4 threads for each plug in the aluminum heads. Sometime in late 03 they supposedly swapped over to the 8 thread heads. Its not really clear on the timing of this and which vehicles.
Aluminum expands and contracts faster than steel so with only 4 threads they can work their way loose quicker and eventually spit the plug out along with ripping out the threads in the head. If you re-torque them regularly it is supposed to help prevent this problem.
 

cdherman

Active Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Posts
43
Reaction score
3
Location
Kansas City MO
FWIW, I researched quite a while before I bought my 04. Seems like the years to avoid generally are the years where there were major changes. So 97, 2003, 2007. You have heard about the plug issue, but I am not sure that would sway me.

I found a couple sites that tracked complaints. 2003 was about the worst, 2005 actually did very well.

I would personally add that the air suspension system starting in 2003 has a real bad reputation for consuming money and/or time and effort. So I'd look for an '05 or '06 without the air suspension if I were doing it over again. Then I'd change the plug immediately if they were original and hope for the best....
 

smo0othride

Full Access Members
Joined
May 26, 2003
Posts
836
Reaction score
4
Location
San Diego, CA
I dont know about worst year, but 2003 was definitely the best year. My 03 has been amazing, it's the only year you can get the new body style and still have bench in front which I love for the leg room (9 seats total). The only problem I've had with mine is the A/C leaking which is going to happen to any 8 year vehicle. Not sure how cdherman is saying 03 is the worst??? I have wanted to buy a new expedition for a long time but haven't found anything that compares to my 03 that I bought new. I floor my truck everywhere I go and take turns as fast as possible... and after 140,000 miles I've pretty much just done scheduled maintenance.
 

Latest posts

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
53,396
Posts
500,653
Members
46,812
Latest member
Dcleghorn01
Top