First 3rd Gen looking for a skid plate part number

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montecarlo31

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Engine and Tranny,


According to RCI and posts elsewhere, Engine and Tranny yes.
Transfer case for 131 WB no. Not sure about the 119 WB.
Nothing for the 131 fuel tank. But then that does not look available from Ford either.

As noted if your Expy did not come with skid plates on the fuel tank, you will need to replace the skid plate straps with the appropriate Ford straps. These have studs built in to bolt the skid plate onto.
I got my straps from White Bear Ford posted above. Waiting to burn down the fuel in the tank before changing out straps. I'm just going to get a local metal shop to fab a piece of sheet aluminum for that.

7L1Z-9A147-D = 131 fuel tank.

Truthfully with the poly tank and this skid you are pretty good with an expedition. It's not like these will be wheeling the same terrain as a Patrol or 200 Series cruiser. These just are not set up for real wheeling.
 

Toddb

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Thanks for the PN on the fuel tank skid plate. I found it in 2014 Expy search and the PN says good for 2009-2016, But that particular PN is not listed for 2015 and 2016 altho it is shown in the exploded fuel system diagrams on the White Bear parts listing. Appreciate it!

And agree, it's not for serious Jeep-like offroading!
 

Toddb

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Update for inquiring minds....
I went ahead and purchased the above noted RCI skid plates for the F150. I went with the aluminium ones. Full engine and tranny. 100% bolt on no issues on my 2016 Expedition XLT EL 4x4. There's actually a well built flap in the tranny skid plate to allow access for engine oil drains. The only issue is it required some cutting and trimming to re-fit the front air dam (the front of the engine skid plate ties into the 2 bolts holding the air dam on).

I also got the Ford "skid plate" for the fuel tank. It's actually poly, same material, only about 1/4 thick as the rock/scatter shield between the stock fuel tank and the drive shaft.

Start to finish install, including my first oil change on this beast was about 4 hours. Expedition was up on ramps and I was on a creeper. Boy do I miss my old 4-post lift.
 
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montecarlo31

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Does/did yours look different?

View attachment 18897


Yours appears to be a 07/08 (mechanical cooling fan). Otherwise it looks normal, you already have a skid plate under there but the RCI's appear to be beefier with the exception of the exposed mounting bolts (poor execution but fixable with 2 hours and a welder).
 

Adieu

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09 SSV, actually...no clue if stock or not though, seems to have a bit of a lift courtesy of the taxpayer so who knows what other mods they bolted on

Is the mechanical cooling fan a good oldskool design, or a weak point and potential source of trouble that was wisely addressed in newer builds?
 

montecarlo31

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09 SSV, actually...no clue if stock or not though, seems to have a bit of a lift courtesy of the taxpayer so who knows what other mods they bolted on

Is the mechanical cooling fan a good oldskool design, or a weak point and potential source of trouble that was wisely addressed in newer builds?

I like the mechanical fan, there is a reason real trucks still use them. 1/2 tons have gone away from engine driven fans because they have gone more soccer momish. With electric fans less load is on the engine and improved low speed (parking lot speed) efficiency. A/C tends to work better. I've had several expeditions with and without (3rd gens) and never really noticed a performance difference with respect to A/C. Most of the switches have occurred in the name of efficiency and fuel economy.
 

Toddb

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The RCI engine skid plate is 2 pieces. One that covers the same area in the picture and a second one that goes forward of that and ties into the frame rails right behind the 4x4 hooks (this is where the air dam bolts at least on my 2016).

If you look at the RCI pic: http://www.rcimetalworks.com/2015-2017-F-150-Full-Skid-Plate-Package-F150-15-pkg.htm
The first plate is the one with the RCI logo on it. Front of this bolts to frame rails behind 4x4 hooks and covers the open area in your photo. Second plate is the one with a single rectangular hole in it and the long narrow plate is the tranny skid plate.
 
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