Chrome Roof Rack

[El_Tranquilo]

I have a 2004 Expedition Eddie Bauer. I have read some of the other threads mentioning replacing the factory roof rack with a chrome roof rack, but I don't see any definitive information. I've read mention of the use of Navigator roof racks as a replacement.

Does anyone definitively know which roof rack makes a good replacement for the 2004 Expy EB? Do I get a 2004 Navi roof rack? Or..., since 2003-2006 Expy models are fairly compatible,...can I use roof racks from 2003-2006 Navigator models? Is the application a perfect replacement,....meaning is screw/bolt hole placement the same, or do other holes need to be drilled in the Expy roof?

I have been upgrading my Expy over the last 2 months, and this is my last external modification I need to complete, so any help would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks

p.s. - Anyone looking for reasonably priced ford parts should try www.fordparts.com

 

[Keydo]

I think if you stick with the 2003 and up Navigator roof rack, it should bolt on.

 

[smo0othride]

Where are you getting the chrome roof rack from, and how much does it cost? That sounds like it would be a nice upgrade.

 

[El_Tranquilo]

Once I got the useful information from Keydo, I started calling around looking for 2003-2006 Navigator roof racks. Started with salvage yards first. Even posted a part request on an online salvage search. Came close once, but someone already snatched it up. Someone did try to sell me an Expedition roof rack for $150,...they said they were interchangeable (thought this was useful information, and confirmed Keydo's advice),...I told him "I already had an Expedition rack on my Expedition,...but thanks anyway".

Gave up,...and started looking for a new one. Found the most reasonable price at www.NewFordParts.com at $122 per rail.
Both left and right rails plus $37 shipping will set me back $281 (no tax), and probably 2 weeks for me to receive it. Its on order though.

I still will need to order the cross bars (2;front and rear), adjusters (4;2 front and 2 rear) later. I didn't want to order these until I saw with my own eyes that the bolt holes matched up, and whether I could use my current bolts/screws. I'm cautious about ordering parts from authorized Ford parts suppliers, because they sometimes like to charge you 15/20% restocking fee, plus you are out shipping to send it back.

In case you need part numbers for 2003-2006 Navigator roof rack components:
2L7Z-7855115-AAA Left Rail
2L7Z-7855114-AAA Right Rail

F85Z-78551A00-AB Adjusters (need 4)

F85Z-7855106-AAA Cross Bars (need 2, front and rear)

Confirm the part numbers though.


I'll probably order the Cross Bars etc., from www.fordparts.com . You are probably wondering why I will switch suppliers. www.fordparts.com for the most part charges 10% of order total as shipping charges, but when we discussed the rails, I was told shipping might be $100+ (they are in Washington, I'm in Florida, and the length of the rails supposedly threw them into a different shipping class), so I went with www.NewFordParts.com even though they charge 15% of order total (shipping charges came to $37). www.fordparts.com told me the cross bars, etc., will incurr there general shipping charges.

I could have ordered from my local dealer but the best price I could get was $280 plus tax, which would be $300, and they do not stock this item locally, they still need to order it. You might be wondering "why sweat the 20 bucks, and just order from the dealer",...well as far as I'm concerned Ford OEM parts supplies are overpriced (sometimes twice as much as they should be). Giving that extra 20 bucks would insult my sensibilities. I'm sticking it to the man,....yeah,...right...

Sorry to give you such a long answer,....I'm a Systems Analyst,...I sometimes write books for answers.

 

[El_Tranquilo]

Looks like another Exp-y has a Nav-y roof rack

For anyone interested...

Looks like Keydo knows his stuff.

I received the left and right rails today (much earlier than expected), and have swapped out my roof rack. Bolt holes matched up perfectly, and was able to use existing bolts from the original roof rack. Squirted some Exterior use silicon caulk in the bolt holes to help keep things water tight (when I originally removed the bolts, looked like this was done at the factory also).

I now have the cross bars, and the adjusters on order,...and have decided to get the Navigator chrome window sills for the rear doors only.

I'll submit some picks once everything is added later.

 

[Keydo]

Glad to see they worked.

I have the navigator chrome sills on all the doors (front and rear doors)

The only problematic one is the driver side due to the keypad.

You actually have to tear apart the interior door panel to unhook the wire harness for the keypad. The new chrome sill will already have a keypad with wireharness on it.

I believe the new Limited Expeditions (mono-color - no two tone color like the Eddie Bauers) run the Navigator chrome roof rack. At least, I remember seeing a Limited Expedition with the chrome roof rack.

Thanks for the part numbers. I'm curious if the roof rails from a '98 Navigator would bolt onto an '03 Expedition. The new Navigator and previous generation Navigator appear to have the same looking roof rack. I haven't tried yet, but I guess I could try matching part numbers to find out.

 

[El_Tranquilo]

Thanks for your original info Keydo...

I don't know if you have seen the movie "I'm gonna get you sucka" (by Keenan Ivory Wayans), but there is a character in the movie (I think his name was JuneBug) that died of "OG", which stands for "over-gold". Well, I don't want my truck to suffer from "OC", "over-chrome" (lol). I'm only doing the window sills on the rear doors to balance out the chrome I have on the rest of the truck. Once I put the window sills on I'll try to submit pictures and you will understand what I mean.

You are correct that you have seen chrome roof racks on new Limited Expeditions. The '06 Expy brochure touts this. I have actually seen them on a couple '05 Limited Expeditions. This past wednesday I took my '04 Expy EB in for its 15K service at my dealer. While I was waiting I toured the lot, and found an '04 Navigator, utilized the step rail, and was happy to see the roof rack bolt pattern matched my own. I then later saw two fully loaded black '05 Limited Expeditions with the same Navigator rack, and therefore, the same bolt pattern. This made me feel good about my order.

I've been meaning to respond to Bernardo that he might want to do the same (I think your link to this post will get him this info). Meaning,...cruise his local dealer selling previous generation Expy's and Navigators (and maybe current generation), and don't feel shy about climbing the step rails, and eye balling the the bolt patterns. If necessary he could take a tape measure, some paper and pencil and mark the paper with the bolt pattern (laying the paper over the bolt pattern, and marking bolt locations), then matching it to his own.

While I was out saturday, I passed a parked previous generation Expy and also noticed that the roof rack bore a similar appearance to my original rack. I wondered the same thing you did.

p.s. - When you type in the part numbers on Ford OEM sites, it lists the parts applying to 03-06 (2003-2006) models. Don't know if you will get a part match with older models or not,...but I guess it could be worth a try.

p.p.s. - Also while I was waiting (15K service), I went to the parts counter to ask about the bolts between the Expy and Navigator. The parts guy stated that even if the bolts were the identical part, they would carry different part numbers (Lincoln vs Ford), so he could not match part numbers across makes. I guess this would hold true for all parts (even if they are identical),..even roof racks.

 

[Keydo]

Pics would be great!

Yeah, I know that movie. Seen it plenty of times. I thought it was funny.

They're my theme music. Every hero's got to have some.

 

[El_Tranquilo]

Submitted a couple of pics...

Follow link below to Show and Tell section..

http://www.expeditionforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1748