The Airliner

So I have been on this board for a while now and I don't post very often but I felt that I should start a build thread. So here we go.

Well, it looks like I am just about complete with the Miata other than basic maintenance so I have shifted some of my focus towards my Expedition. I am about 5 to 6 months from it being paid off. 2005 XLT 4x4 with power folding third row and towing package.

I love how comfy it is and long drives are great in it. I will be documenting my build for a comfortable cruiser and I do apologize if I go out of order as I don't have many pictures and I haven't done much.

So on to the build......

Sep 2013- Front Grill

I couldn't stand the gray grill on the front and decided that I needed a black grill. I had seen numerous Expeditions on the road that had the black grill so I decided to paint mine. Plastidip to the rescue. I think it turned out pretty good.
















Feb 2014- The Winter Storm

So this happened.











Freaking people don't know how to drive in the snow here and was driving in the middle of the lane and ran me off the road. I thought it was going to roll when it when into the ditch. My face was heading towards the passenger side window and then flung me back when it landed. Town of Cary Maintenance workers saw me in the ditch, asked if I was ok and if I had a cell phone and then drove off. Nice. A guy in a orange Jeep must have been looking for people to pull out because he circled around a couple of times before stopping. He hooked up a nice tow strap to his hitch and to my front tow hook. Mine in 4x4, his in 4x4 and we were able to get it out of the ditch. I assessed the damage and my passenger side taillight was busted and a piece of my rear bumper was broken off. The truck tracked straight and drove like normal. Damn, this thing can take a lick.

Found a taillight at a local junk yard for $35. Good, because the red and clear tape on the taillight was not working well. Fixed that. My rear bumper was bandaged and drift stitch was placed on the rear. This is temporary until I can spend some money on it.










Aug 2014- The Inevitable

So I had been getting an intermittent misfire when slightly accelerating and going up hills. I had not replaced the spark plugs since I first bought the truck and I had a feeling it was the plugs. The problem is that with the 2004-2008 Expeditions (and other trucks), Ford had this wonderful design where they used 2 piece spark plugs and the plugs would fuse to the head of the modular engine due to carbon buildup. When removing the spark plugs, the plug would break in half and leave the center electrode in the engine. You guys know this already.

My truck was at 113,000 miles so after 6 months of putting it off and researching, I figured what the hell and got everything ready to do it. My uncle, who has a 2004, had the Lisle Tool for removing the spark plugs.

I ordered my plugs from Rockauto and prepared myself for the worst. I expected to break all 8 plugs. I did not have $500 to give to the dealer and that is a minimum. I have read people paying almost a grand because of broken plugs.

Well as I get started, the first one breaks. Great. Used the tool to remove the remaining piece. Tool worked great, by the way. Put anti-seize on the threads and on the body, careful not to get any near the electrode. Ford recommends this to prevent any carbon build up on the body. Went to work on the second plug and that breaks also. Even better. Continued on. Third plug came out without breaking. YES! Things are looking up? Nope. The remaining 5 break.

Here is the carnage:



They get my middle finger. One plug even broke into 3 pieces. At least, next time will be easier.

So, that is where I am so far. I have done a couple of other things that I will get pictures of and put them here. I have plans just to make this thing snow capable and comfy on long trips. It's pretty much there but I will add my own touch.

I am trying to gear up for the upcoming winter. I had to get some new tires. My Nitto Terra Grapplers were shot. They were loud as hell too.

Here is a shot of them:




I had been researching tires for a while and finally settled on a set of Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10s. Reviews for them were great and a lot of people loved them in the snow and their price point. Sold. It was a good thing that I got them put on this morning. Snowflakes started falling as I was waiting. Nothing accumulated so no fun but I know it will be coming. I will try and get pictures up of the tires later.

Finally am able to post up pictures of the tires on the truck.








I did manage to pick up some new wheels from a guy on the Forum, Fiveohpoepoe. I think his name was Tony. Real cool guy and his truck looks amazing! He lives in Winston Salem and he met me in Greensboro at the Coliseum. He was taking his kid to the Monster Truck Rally, I believe. I was able to score some 2010 OEM 6 Spoke Expedition wheels for $75. For all 4. Could not pass that up. The wheels were pristine. He had them on his truck before doing a slight lift and adding wheels and bigger tires. I will probably head that route in the future as well, minus changing the wheels. I had them put on today after work. Local used tire shop put them on for $60 and did the work in 20 minutes. I was impressed.



I really like the way they look.

We are about to possibly get some white stuff tonight and early morning so we will see how my drive to work goes.

Looks good Anthony, thanks for a very smooth deal. [Tony]

Thanks Tony! Looking forward to doing my slight lift later this year.

Looks good so far. I like the 3rd gen mirrors, they're on my long list of want-to-do's. Did you have to do any extra wiring to get then working right or were they pnp.

I had to run a new circuit and switch to run the power folding mirrors. To get the defrost to work, I just found the wire on the Expedition and soldered it to the power wire in the Nav mirrors. The ground plugged right in with the plug.

I will tell you that it took some getting used to with the Nav mirrors. They are longer in length but the Expedition ones seem wider.

Did you swap out the mirror switch on the door or do they just fold/unfold when you start or stop the truck?

No. Mirror switch was left alone. Picked up a window switch from the junkyard and mounted it in the location where the message center buttons would be. If you hold it one way, it extends the mirrors out and vice versa. I was going to get the actual mirror switch but just decided to install it like this for now. Maybe sometime down the road I will change it.

Thanks, looks good.