My 2000 5.4l Eddie Bauer 4x4

[ExplorerTom]

The Expedition is certainly no rock crawler, but it can handle some stuff. There used to be a terrific site dedicated to 4wheeling trails where it would give detailed description and rate them. The site is still around, but it is no longer free. Trailsoffroad.com is stepping up to fill that void, but I honestly don't have too much experience with it- although my Explorer can be seen in some of the pictures taken while mapping a few of the trails. On the old website, trails with a 3-4 should be a pretty good fit for the Expedition. A 5 (out of 10) might be doable depending on tire size.

Check out Backcountry Discovery Routes. While developed for dual sport bikes, the trails they've map out are really nothing more than trails that are rated 2-3, maybe a 4. The Alpine Loop is part of the COBDR.

There's also the Trans-America-Trail. I haven't done any part of this one- that I know of anyway. But I believe it to be about the same.

Both of these are perfect to get you off the beaten path yet not beat on your rig- which is one thing you don't want to worry about while 14+ hours from home.

As far as a RTT, they are nice, but unless you get a really big tent, your kids are going to quickly fill up that tent as they grow. I know families with only 2 kids and they are crammed inside their RTT.

I'll get a measurement of my rack. It's big.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Some say ignorance is bliss. But since I have my UltraGauge displaying transmission temp, I get worried when I see trans temps above 200- or really anything above 150 since I don't tow. It's not uncommon to see trans temps above 190 in stop-n-go traffic in the summer.

And this is after I upgraded to aux trans cooler 2 or 3 years ago.

I've been reading about how the 6.0l diesel trans cooler is huge. I figure since it has the same transmission, the larger cooler couldn't hurt on my 5.4l. It's a popular swap for 7.3 and V10 Excursions. I don't know of many (if any) Expeditions that have done it.

It's huge. It's only a couple inches narrower than the width of the opening in front of the AC condenser.


Install wasn't exactly straight forward. This cooler was never meant to fit here. It's a bolt in swap for the Excursions and Super Duties- but I had to get creative. I cut off the driver side lower bracket and shortened the side brackets. Then I used metal strap to secure it from above and I drilled a hole through the lower radiator support to bolt the lower passenger side bracket. All in all, I'm pretty happy with how secure it is.

I'm going to also run an Autometer trans temp gauge on the cooler exit line. I don't have that wired up just yet.



I spent a small fortune in plumbing adapters. But the 6.0 cooler has larger nipples than the Expedition lines.


I'll update with my observations.

Edit:
This is the upgraded Hayden cooler that replaced the factory cooler:

 

[SnuffThePunkz]

Love the 6.0 cooler swap, was looking into the one you removed. Changed plans.

Also I've done it myself, but your taking the bumper off the hard way.

Above the frame, 2 bolts each side and the brackets and bumper come off with no fuss or ****** clips.

Also if you wheel in the summer, your old transmission cooler would be a killer upgrade over the factory PS cooler. Plus massively increase capacity.

 

[ExplorerTom]

I'll update with my observations.

So after a couple days of commuting to work and then a trip to SW Colorado for some backcountry driving, I'm very happy with what I've been seeing.

Now I know I can't do a back-to-back comparison, but during all of this I never saw temps over 180 degrees and it would come down quickly. In previous trips under similar conditions, I would see temps over 200 and the temps wouldn't recover easily.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Took my Expedition on a little expedition. I've been wanting to do a trail called the Alpine Loop in SW Colorado for awhile. It's a "scenic byway" that is mostly dirt roads. 4wd is recommended, but I really only used 4lo for the gearing help while going up long, steep sections at high altitude. High clearance is a must though. We started just outside of Ouray.

The trail goes by a bunch of old mines. Sites like this are not uncommon.


But more importantly, sites like this were even MORE common.




I saw tons of waterfalls in the area.


We set up camp at a weird pull off area. There were a couple fire rings (that couldn't be used due to the fire ban) and what looked like horse hitching posts.


In the morning we continued down the road.






Spent a bunch of time above treeline. The sun is very intense at that altitude. Temp was pleasant though.


We got to an old mining ghost town called Animas Forks. Very cool. The buildings were open and you could go inside.


This 2 story house was very neat.

 

[ExplorerTom]

And while I was in this corner of the state, I really wanted to do a trail called Black Bear Pass. The mystique of this trail are the switchbacks that are stacked right on top of each other as you descend the steep mountain down into Telluride. I've watched a bunch of videos about it. I'd seen larger vehicles on it so I knew my expedition would be fine. Because it's so steep and the shelf road is so narrow, the switchbacks are downhill only.

Getting to the top of the pass was fairly easy.


The smoke from a nearby forest fire was starting to make the sky all hazy.


In all honesty, the switchbacks were easy. But there was a section just above the switchbacks that had some pucker factor. This section is narrow: jagged granite to the right, 20 foot drop to the left into a creek and loose, slippery granite to drive on. I had my dad spot me through this section.






This building perched on the cliff side is the Smugler Union Hydroelectric Powerplant. It's sits atop Bridal Veil Falls, which at 365 feet is the tallest free failing waterfall in the state.




Once in Telluride, I noticed my tire took a gash. It didn't cut a cord, but it looks like it's down to the cords. I'm getting it replaced.
http://[URL=http://s642.photobucket.com/user/TJUrbanek/media/Expedition/Trips/Alpine%20Loop/74A5808B-609F-4743-B98A-7F058B3E64BD.jpg.html][ATTACH=full]61331[/ATTACH]
[URL='http://s642.photobucket.com/user/TJUrbanek/media/Expedition/Trips/Alpine%20Loop/74A5808B-609F-4743-B98A-7F058B3E64BD.jpg.html'][IMG]http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu143/TJUrbanek/Expedition/Trips/Alpine%20Loop/74A5808B-609F-4743-B98A-7F058B3E64BD.jpg[/URL]

The smoke was pretty bad in Telluride. Ash was actually falling from the sky and the sun was heavily obscured. We decided to get as far north as we could to escape the smoke. We ended up camping on the east side of Monarch Pass just outside of Poncha Springs.

Pretty awesome trip. The Expedition did amazing

 

[John Christopher]

These pictures are awesome. Thanks for posting them. Some of the trails are really rough especially the one your dad quided you through. Enjoy.

 

[ExplorerTom]

I'm no newcomer to 4wheeling. I also have an Explorer that is solid axle swapped with a ton of parts thrown at it. I’ve been all over CO and Moab with it over the passed 6 years or so. But for a trip like this- one that spent a bunch of time on pavement getting there and back and terrain that didn’t justify the brutness of the Explorer, the Expedition did great.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Finished up the transmission cooler install project by installing the gauge. This is reading the temps going back in to the transmission, so in all likelihood, the needle probably won't ever move much.


Don't mind the Service a Engine Soon light- it's been a nagging code for gas tank pressure for awhile now.

 

[devincox]

Im loving the pics. This kind of stuff is exactly what I'm setting up my expedition for. Thanks for sharing.