“Thunder” 1998 Expedition Build Thread

MISTERgadget · Jul 27, 2016

Inspired by the concept vehicle Ford built in 2000 and teased us with - following rave reviews in the press and then nothing from FoMoCo, I've decided to finally take this into my own hands and use my personal parts bin to make the SUV Ford should have! I have owned a Lightning since new in 2003 and accumulated a lot of the bits and pieces over the years as the setup on that truck has evolved.

Our starting point - a 1998 Expedition EB, 2wd with just the right combination of options to get us the right hard parts we want - 5.4L, 4R100, 9.75" rear with 3.73s and a limited slip!

The truck has been in my family since new, and as pictured, you can see there's been just a few mods over the years - LED taillights, Xenarc Headlights with Lightning corner markers, and a basic stereo upgrade.

From here, the goals and order of things are pretty straightforward.

Make it handle and stop well
Get the chassis and driveline ready for power
Reliable 500rwhp
Make it look the part

Of course, opinions on what the "right" answer is for each of those questions will vary.

I hope to be able to incorporate into the build some of the knowledge built up over years of modding the Lightning trucks and really make sure that good, practical solutions are for each one to ensure a fun, comfortable, and most importantly reliable ride.

MISTERgadget · Jul 28, 2016

Step 1 - put my Sportmachines.net 20" 03-04 Lightning Replicas to good use on the Expedition.

There are a couple of wrinkles in the install that are good to know

99-00 centercaps and 01-04 centercaps are different, the radius of the hole for the lugnuts changes. You need 01-04 centercaps which are marked with a "14mm" stamp inside, regardless of the lugnut size on the truck, so that the bores match the wheels.

285/50-20 tires are much meatier than the OEM size!

Can't wait to see how they look on all fours!

mmm, much better!

z168 · Jul 28, 2016

oh yesss... this is going to be good. Love the 20s

what did you replace your 3rd brake light with? looks different

MISTERgadget · Jul 28, 2016

z168 said:
oh yesss... this is going to be good. Love the 20s

what did you replace your 3rd brake light with? looks different

It's an LED 3rd brake light with a red lens I got off Ebay a few years back

z168 · Jul 28, 2016

Hows the lens right now? Is it still as shiny like the tail lamps?

I bought a Depo brand oem style brake lamp and theyre beginning to fade again

MISTERgadget · Jul 28, 2016

z168 said:
Hows the lens right now? Is it still as shiny like the tail lamps?

I bought a Depo brand oem style brake lamp and theyre beginning to fade again

I'd have to take a look, I honestly haven't looked at it closely in while.

Most headlight restorers/retrofitters will sand the outer lens lightly and coat them with 2k automotive clear, which has a UV protective layer that keeps them looking good for a long time.

https://www.amazon.com/Spraymax®-Glamour-Gloss-Aerosol-Usc-3680061/dp/B0043B7UQY

MISTERgadget · Jul 28, 2016

Next steps were to get started on handling and braking.

Unfortunately, I can't find any pictures of the belltech swaybar installation or the swaybars themselves. Belltech sells a swaybar set, part # 9921 for Expeditions.

The next mod was a full slate of parts for maintenance and to keep few other parts you would expect to degrade on an 18-year old truck in check, as well as a hydroboost upgrade and some lowering springs!

Used a junkyard hydroboost with a JC Customs adapter plate and a fresh coat of paint, along with raybestos brake rotors, pads and lines.

Kwik SC · Jul 29, 2016

How much did the stopping improve with the hydroboost upgrade? I know it works well on the L's and its definitely on my to-do list for that truck. But I drove my friend's Lightning swap Expy and that thing had zero brakes to stop with. Definitely needs a good solution.

MISTERgadget · Jul 29, 2016

Kwik SC said:
How much did the stopping improve with the hydroboost upgrade? I know it works well on the L's and its definitely on my to-do list for that truck. But I drove my friend's Lightning swap Expy and that thing had zero brakes to stop with. Definitely needs a good solution.

The Hydroboost helped braking tremendously. One of my favorite upgrades so far.

MISTERgadget · Jul 29, 2016

Lowering was accomplished with Belltech 3" drop coil springs all around, #4804 in front and # 5308 springs in the rear. Now it's really starting to look like something! Stability, handling and responsiveness was greatly improved as well.

Ok, so now she's looking mean with the new stance, time to complement that by completing the rear suspension upgrades. Added these PMT upper and lower trailing arms with poly bushings in the rear.

The OEM trailing arms typically rust into junk in northern states, mine didn't have that issue as the truck has lived in Miami its whole life, but these sure did make the rear feel much more sure-footed and will help keep everything square and planted with the planned power upgrades.

In addition to the PMT arms, I will have my fabricator build a custom panhard bar down the road to clear a TA Performance rear-end girdle.

MISTERgadget · Aug 1, 2016

So, next step was some of the easy cosmetic tweaks. The door strips and Eddie Bauer trim on the doors are simply held on with double-sided tape and removing those greatly cleans up the sides so off they come! An eraser wheel made quick work of the cleanup.

Looking much sleeker with the clean flanks now

z168 · Aug 2, 2016

I always hated the door moldings. What eraser wheel did you use and how many did you end up using?

Texpedition · Aug 3, 2016

I am very interested in following your progress on this project. I am doing some planning for the same type of upgrades.

ExplorerTom · Aug 3, 2016

Very nice. Looks really slick now. And I'm not normally a fan of 2wd lowered trucks.

Can you point me ("us" as there seems to be a few) toward more info on the hydroboost swap? Better braking is something a lot of people are interesting in.

I've been tossing around the idea of the PMT trailing arms myself. I think you're the first that I've read about actually using them. Good to hear that they firmed up the rear end.

MISTERgadget · Aug 3, 2016

z168 said:
I always hated the door moldings. What eraser wheel did you use and how many did you end up using?

I used an Astro Pneumatic eraser wheel I bought from Amazon. Only needed one for the pinstripes, door molding amd EB molding on both sides.

ExplorerTom said:
Very nice. Looks really slick now. And I'm not normally a fan of 2wd lowered trucks.

Can you point me ("us" as there seems to be a few) toward more info on the hydroboost swap? Better braking is something a lot of people are interesting in.

I've been tossing around the idea of the PMT trailing arms myself. I think you're the first that I've read about actually using them. Good to hear that they firmed up the rear end.

Thanks!

Ultimately your braking capacity is unchanged, since the tires, calipers and rotors determine your stopping capacity, but the hydroboost makes a huge difference in feel and by creating greater power assist, lets you effectively "push harder" on the brakes and get the most out of them.

The hydroboost uses hydraulic pressure from your power steering pump instead of the vacuum booster for power brake assist, and the hydraulic system generates more assist, better pedal feel, and isn't susceptible to weak vacuum lines or vacuum leaks.

You get a stiff, tall pedal that feels much better than the mushy vacuum assist, and it starts braking more, earlier on in the pedal throw vs the vacuum assist, making short stops much easier to modulate.

This thread goes over the pros/cons well, there is a ton of info on the Lightning boards regarding both the Hydratech kit and junkyard setups as well.

http://www.lightningrodder.com/foru.../244250-hydroboost-set-up-likes-dislikes.html

MISTERgadget · Aug 3, 2016

Ok, So my next step was really not quite in the original plan, but who was I to say no to a great black friday sale from TRS right after Morimoto released the best Mini H1 projector to date?

Unboxing, the internet's new favorite thing!

Very nice casting on the bowl with great fit and finish

In keeping with the "OEM" modifications theme, I went with an SVT logoetching to match the SVT logo on the bulb covers of the OEM Lightning headlights.

The base was a set of replica "Lightnin" headlights, and it came together with some Apollo 2.0 D shrouds to finish them off, and XSB 2.0 switchback halos to finish off the lights with a modern look. Kept it chrome and fairly mild so it stayed within the "could've been factory" theme.

Low beam output shot here - even though it's a phone picture, easy to see the excellent output of the MIni H1 7.0 here. It really punches above its weight considering the compact size and ease of install.

Texpedition · Aug 3, 2016

MISTERgadget said:
I used an Astro Pneumatic eraser wheel I bought from Amazon. Only needed one for the pinstripes, door molding amd EB molding on both sides.

Were the pinstripes painted on or decals?

MISTERgadget · Aug 3, 2016

They were the factory EB decal pinstripes.

Texpedition · Aug 3, 2016

Good to know. Thanks. Mine have faded and look like crap. Want to get rid of them prior to paint.

MISTERgadget · Aug 3, 2016

Texpedition said:
Good to know. Thanks. Mine have faded and look like crap. Want to get rid of them prior to paint.

Yeah, mine were starting to crack and flake

“Thunder” 1998 Expedition Build Thread

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