Or am I crazy? I know 97-14 side mirrors are interchangeable, but from looking at multiple Expeditions over the course of a few months, I've deducted that they all use the same body, just different doors, mouldings, hoods, tailgates and bumpers. They all have the same B pillars, the arch on the rear door over the fender-well is about the same, the wiper cowls look the same, the windshield lines look the same. Again, am I crazy? They all look too similar.
I think all Expedition years are the same
- Thread starter Manlavi95
- Start date
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It would be great if this were true. The replacement rocker panels that are available for the 97-02 are much nicer than the ones available for 03-07 and I would love to be able to use the ones intended for 97-02 on my 03. But I suspect this is not the case.
Technically they are not the same, due to the amount of differences.
The platforms (chassis & suspension) are not the same for the three different generations.
The first generation Expedition (UN93) used the original U platform. The second generation Expedition (U222) used a all-new redesigned U platform, sometimes called U2. The third generation Expedition (U324) and Expedition EL (U354) use the all-new T platform, also called T1 platform or simply T1.
The four-door body (five if you count the liftgate) was carried over throughout the years, but not without heavy modification.
The first generation Expedition (UN93) has the original body, naturally.
The body of the UN93 was reused for the second generation Expedition (U222), however its was completely redisgned from the "A-pillar" forward (front end), and "C-pillar" rearward (rear quarter panels, glass and liftgate). Only the mid section containing the "B-pillar" was left largely alone.
If you look close, and even measure the rear quarter-panel window glass cut out and glass shape of the U222, you will find its different from the original UN93.
The doors are the same shape and have the same door handle cut outs (though the door handles themselves were redesigned), but even they were reworked slightly for better sealing when closed. So they might not work on older UN93 bodies.
The body on the U324 is the same as the U222, but has thicker side window glass and an acoustic sound deadening windshield. So while the glass is cut the same shape as the older U222 and UN93, its actually of all-new material and construction.
Of course there are other small differences like moldings, mirrors, roof rack, interior designs, and so on that changed over the years.
The platforms (chassis & suspension) are not the same for the three different generations.
The first generation Expedition (UN93) used the original U platform. The second generation Expedition (U222) used a all-new redesigned U platform, sometimes called U2. The third generation Expedition (U324) and Expedition EL (U354) use the all-new T platform, also called T1 platform or simply T1.
The four-door body (five if you count the liftgate) was carried over throughout the years, but not without heavy modification.
The first generation Expedition (UN93) has the original body, naturally.
The body of the UN93 was reused for the second generation Expedition (U222), however its was completely redisgned from the "A-pillar" forward (front end), and "C-pillar" rearward (rear quarter panels, glass and liftgate). Only the mid section containing the "B-pillar" was left largely alone.
If you look close, and even measure the rear quarter-panel window glass cut out and glass shape of the U222, you will find its different from the original UN93.
The doors are the same shape and have the same door handle cut outs (though the door handles themselves were redesigned), but even they were reworked slightly for better sealing when closed. So they might not work on older UN93 bodies.
The body on the U324 is the same as the U222, but has thicker side window glass and an acoustic sound deadening windshield. So while the glass is cut the same shape as the older U222 and UN93, its actually of all-new material and construction.
Of course there are other small differences like moldings, mirrors, roof rack, interior designs, and so on that changed over the years.
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Wow man, this is what I was looking for. You covered all the bases. So technically could I put 2nd gen door handles on a first gen?
Maybe. I’m sure its possible. But remember the UN93 door handles lift-up to unlatch, while the U222 and U324 door handles pull-out to unlatch. So the latch linkage is slightly different. Just swapping the handles might not work; you may have to swap the mechanical linkage too.
I don't understand why go this deep into the weeds on how the truck is built...at some point all makes do the same thing...so whats the problem...is this stopping u from owning or buying one/another in the future?
Not at all, I was seeing what parts interchange
At this point, there is very little the current Expedition body shares with the older Expedition bodies.
While they still have some appearance similarities, less than about 5 percent is carried over. There is virtually nothing on the vehicle that has not had an engineer rework performed on it.
One can get away with swapping small miscellaneous parts (though even some of those won’t work), but major parts, like liftgates, interiors, SRS airbags, some power accessories, core body panels, core body structure (such as the rear load floor) rear glass window panels, OEM control electronic systems like stability and traction control, etc. cannot be swapped from a U222/U324 to a UN93.
A lot of the reason for not being able to install some of those listed above (like stability and traction control for example) is that the UN93 simply didn't have those functions or features to begin with.
The next (fourth) generation Expedition will have a new platform, and this time, a new four-door (five-door) body, made from aluminium-alloy of course.
While they still have some appearance similarities, less than about 5 percent is carried over. There is virtually nothing on the vehicle that has not had an engineer rework performed on it.
One can get away with swapping small miscellaneous parts (though even some of those won’t work), but major parts, like liftgates, interiors, SRS airbags, some power accessories, core body panels, core body structure (such as the rear load floor) rear glass window panels, OEM control electronic systems like stability and traction control, etc. cannot be swapped from a U222/U324 to a UN93.
A lot of the reason for not being able to install some of those listed above (like stability and traction control for example) is that the UN93 simply didn't have those functions or features to begin with.
The next (fourth) generation Expedition will have a new platform, and this time, a new four-door (five-door) body, made from aluminium-alloy of course.
