2003 Expedition Face Lift Begins

[Gruz7]

Great idea to weld the nuts on the inside.. The guy that welded my bumper had the same thought but I wasn't ready to commit to the bolt position... or maybe that's just me having commitment problems .

Hey, is that you in the one picture with the truck on the lift or is that the welder?

That’s me lol
And yes I was thinking about that too... was going to probably drill holes and pin it on there too... as far as skid plates I’m going to just leave my factory FX4 plate for now and then hopefully figure out the rad and cooler covers and also a cover for the bottom of my fan shroud for when I cut it because of the body lift
Fitting the bumper on as we speak and it’s tough getting it into the exact position I want ...lol



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[Vancouver Bob]

That’s me lol
And yes I was thinking about that too... was going to probably drill holes and pin it on there too... as far as skid plates I’m going to just leave my factory FX4 plate for now and then hopefully figure out the rad and cooler covers and also a cover for the bottom of my fan shroud for when I cut it because of the body lift
Fitting the bumper on as we speak and it’s tough getting it into the exact position I want ...lol



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That is looking G O O D!!

Where did you get the factory FX4 skid plate? Did it come that way stock? I'll have to Google that up see if I can find something.

 

[Gruz7]

That is looking G O O D!!

Where did you get the factory FX4 skid plate? Did it come that way stock? I'll have to Google that up see if I can find something.

Found a 2004 FX4 expedition at a pull apart junkyard and the rest is history lol got both skid plates and bought the hardware from ford.
Special service Expeditons have the skid plates too
Here’s what they look like.
And thanks!!! I’ve having a rough time getting to sit exactly where I want it but we’re getting there!



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[Vancouver Bob]

Found a 2004 FX4 expedition at a pull apart junkyard and the rest is history lol got both skid plates and bought the hardware from ford.
Special service Expeditons have the skid plates too
Here’s what they look like.
And thanks!!! I’ve having a rough time getting to sit exactly where I want it but we’re getting there!



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Yea, getting it in position with a fork lift probably doesn't allow for fine adjustment unless you use shims or something... I know you guys will figure it out.

I like those skid plates!

 

[Gruz7]

All done for now! Still have a few touch ups but it’s on there like a rock!
Thanks again Bob!!!


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[Vancouver Bob]

All done for now! Still have a few touch ups but it’s on there like a rock!
Thanks again Bob!!!


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Looks AWESOME!! Great job!!

And you got the lights on there as well! Took me a few more months after getting the bumper on before I got mine on there . I’ve got the white LED lights... super bright. Almost afraid of using them when other cars are around but amazing how well they light things up. I’ve tried running them to see how many people flash me and so far no one has so perhaps they're aimed downward enough not to shine in people’s faces... I hate the vehicles that run the super bright lights... it's like they have their high beams on so want to be careful not to be one of them.

 

[Gruz7]

Looks AWESOME!! Great job!!

And you got the lights on there as well! Took me a few more months after getting the bumper on before I got mine on there . I’ve got the white LED lights... super bright. Almost afraid of using them when other cars are around but amazing how well they light things up. I’ve tried running them to see how many people flash me and so far no one has so perhaps they're aimed downward enough not to shine in people’s faces... I hate the vehicles that run the super bright lights... it's like they have their high beams on so want to be careful not to be one of them.

Yes I have the same ones as you I just out yellow caps over them and I know they are very bright old how I feel about them yet lol.


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[Vancouver Bob]

Managed to get the differential oil changed on the front today. Was hoping to suck the old fluid out of the fill hole since the front doesn't have a drain plug but the big tube I was hoping to use to suck it out with wouldn't go down into the housing and the little one that I did manage to get in there would have taken forever. I did drive around a bit to get the oil warmed up and thinned out but the tube was just too small. So decided to pull the cover...

 

[Vancouver Bob]

It was a bit of a bear to get to all the bolts but did ultimately manage to get the cover off.

 

[Vancouver Bob]

Drained the old fluid, cleaned the cover, cleaned the mating surfaces of the old RTV, dry fit the cover on a time or two to see how I was going to get it back in place without ruining the bead of RTV. There isn't a lot of room to get the cover on gracefully because of the ring gear that's protruding out and the cross member. So a bit of up and over and a little sliding in place and the cover was on. Gently tightened all the bolts and am now waiting to allow it to cure before tightening the bolts down and filling it back up.

 

[Gruz7]

It was a bit of a bear to get to all the bolts but did ultimately manage to get the cover off.

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Boy do I wish I had the 03 with limited slip... mine he advanctrac and open diff in the rear so I couldn’t add lockers


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[Vancouver Bob]

Boy do I wish I had the 03 with limited slip... mine he advanctrac and open diff in the rear so I couldn’t add lockers


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I have advanctrac too. Had open diffs front and rear... well I guess I sorta still do... but added front and rear ARB’s when I had her regeared.

 

[Gruz7]

I have advanctrac too. Had open diffs front and rear... well I guess I sorta still do... but addrd front and rear ARB’s when I had her regeared.

Hmmm I thought that would irritate the traction system with it just being in there... maybe that’ll be something I’ll do down the road, do you have an air setup?


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[Vancouver Bob]

Hmmm I thought that would irritate the traction system with it just being in there... maybe that’ll be something I’ll do down the road, do you have an air setup?


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Nope, that's the beauty of the selectable style lockers... keep them off and it's open diff, Advanctrac is happy. Going gets tough, turn Advanctrac off and swtich lockers on .

Yes, the ARB system requires air so I've got a small compressor up front for the lockers and on board air...

 

[FRD88]

Got started on my face lift this weekend after a doe last fall decided to rearrange the stock front end for me. I am going to be installing a grey factory grill with the headlights that have a black housing not the chrome.

After removing the header panel I found some surface rust on the bottom of the radiator support. So ended up dealing with that and fixing a couple blems on the front fenders over the weekend. I am no body man so be kind . I know my patch jobs won't look the prettiest but they are really small and my main concern is preventing rust.

It goes to CK fab for the front bumper on the 14th and I am having a very hard time deciding on what to coat the bumper with and what color. I will only be able to get one color which is making it a little harder to decide. I was originally going to have it powder coated but I recently have started leaning towards a bed liner. I have been told that black would look fine but with the tan trim I don't think it will, so I have been looking at green. Tan would be a little to flashy for my taste. I would really prefer a texture on the bumper and not a smooth finish. The powder coating place hear can't match factory color. I did find a color just slightly darker than factor with some crinkly texture but my friend made a good point yesterday stating that if I went that route it would look like I tried to match color and failed and wouldn't look good. If I can't match the factory green I will want it darker and not lighter, so I might just have to go really dark. I did purchase some tint for the bed liner guy to play around with to match color, but I haven't heard back yet. My issue going with a bed liner would be keeping it clean, I don't think its going to be easy removing bugs and stuff after driving.

Can I please get some of your guys advise and opinions on which color you would do and powder coat or bed liner?? Thanks

 

[Vancouver Bob]

Got started on my face lift this weekend after a doe last fall decided to rearrange the stock front end for me. I am going to be installing a grey factory grill with the headlights that have a black housing not the chrome.

After removing the header panel I found some surface rust on the bottom of the radiator support. So ended up dealing with that and fixing a couple blems on the front fenders over the weekend. I am no body man so be kind . I know my patch jobs won't look the prettiest but they are really small and my main concern is preventing rust.

It goes to CK fab for the front bumper on the 14th and I am having a very hard time deciding on what to coat the bumper with and what color. I will only be able to get one color which is making it a little harder to decide. I was originally going to have it powder coated but I recently have started leaning towards a bed liner. I have been told that black would look fine but with the tan trim I don't think it will, so I have been looking at green. Tan would be a little to flashy for my taste. I would really prefer a texture on the bumper and not a smooth finish. The powder coating place hear can't match factory color. I did find a color just slightly darker than factor with some crinkly texture but my friend made a good point yesterday stating that if I went that route it would look like I tried to match color and failed and wouldn't look good. If I can't match the factory green I will want it darker and not lighter, so I might just have to go really dark. I did purchase some tint for the bed liner guy to play around with to match color, but I haven't heard back yet. My issue going with a bed liner would be keeping it clean, I don't think its going to be easy removing bugs and stuff after driving.

Can I please get some of your guys advise and opinions on which color you would do and powder coat or bed liner?? Thanks


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Wow... that dear did quite the job on your front end!

As for color... I opted not to go black because I didn't want to introduce a third color to my Expy. Especially with mine being white... black just seemed too much of a contrast. Maybe if I didn't have the Eddie Bauer accent the black would look decent along with black wheels.

I was also considering powder coating and found a place that would color match. They were going to charge me a fee for the custom color since they'd have to order the color and I think there was a minimum amount of powder they had to buy. It wasn't ridiculously expensive... I want to say $1-200 or something like that. So I'm guessing your shop would probably be willing to do the same if you wanted to go that route or perhaps you could provide them the powder if they didn't want to order it for you.

The bedliner approach is appealing in the sense that it would be pretty bullet proof and easy to touch up. But I figured with a steel bumper, pretty much any color would be easy to touch up and I really like the look of the color match. I'm still running with a rattle can paint job and actually pretty happy with it. I am seeing a little surface rust here and there on the backside so do plan on pulling it off and having it blasted and painted properly.

Perhaps something you could consider... you could spray paint it green and see how you liked it. Would be a relatively cheap way of trying it on for size. Then, if you didn't like it, just sand it off and have it sprayed with bedliner. Just a thought.

 

[FRD88]

Thanks for the input Bob. I did go back to the powder coating place yesterday after I looked at the website that they get there powder from and had them order a couple samples they didn't have so I can see the colors in person vs on the computer screen. If I go with a green the powder coat shop will have to order and will only charge an extra $50. If I were to chose a color they have in house it would be $200, so price is reasonable either way. The bed liner will be roughly $260 so there isn't really going to be a price difference between the two. I like your idea with the spray can but I don't have an easy way to remove and remount the bumper myself so I would rather have it stay on once the bumper shop installs it. I sure am ready to see what the bed liner will look like. I should hear from him soon and I have a feeling that will help a lot with my decision.

 

[Vancouver Bob]

That's great! At least you've got a couple of good options to choose from. Post pics when you get it painted!

 

[Michael Jaramillo]

Where did you get that bumper??

 

[Vancouver Bob]

It’s made by WAM Bumpers. A couple of others out here have used them as well. I’m really happy with it. It isn’t bolt on but fairly straight forward to have mounted. I had a few small mods made to the ends to tie into the fenders more naturally. No winch yet but hopefully soon unless Uncle Sam works me over at tax time .