2000 XLT expedition rehabilitation thread

[2000UN93]

Hey guys my name is Mark. I am no stranger to blue oval products having owned a few fox body mustangs, a full size bronco and an explorer 4x4 2 door in the past. I've always liked the expedition first gens styling so I decided to put together a little cash and buy one. I need a vehicle with more cargo space for projects and home depot runs and missed having a 4x4 in the winter.

The search for a truck had a couple initial disappointments. The first one I looked at the rockers were so rusted out you could reach inside them. Didn't even drive it, wasted a trip on that one. I couldn't believe the guy wanted 3500 for it in that shape. I looked at another for 5 grand that was in a lot better shape but I did not care for the tan interior and I knew I could find a better deal if I held out.

I found an ad for a 2000 expedition on craigslist. Called the guy up and went to check it out. There are some good things and bad things about the truck but it was exactly what I was looking for. A relatively clean body that runs and drives well, needs some work/TLC and is cheap. Has 140k miles on it. The shell is nearly rust free with just a little cancer on the bottoms of the front two doors. Running boards are rusty but they can be removed. Interior rearview is missing. Has springs and shocks all around, no air ride.

It's a 5.4L 4x4 with gray leather interior. Entire exhaust is new from the manifolds back. The rear bumper has a nice ding in it, looks like it may have been rear ended or backed into something slowly. Both airbags were popped. Radio missing. Front lower valance under the bumper is cracked and needs replaced. Spare tire/wheel missing. Rear wiper broken. Hood latch is broken. Needed tires bad. After I drove it I told the guy I would offer 1850 bucks cash then and there, and he signed the title over to me.

Here are a couple pics.







I've already done a few things since I bought it and I will update this thread with more pics and info as I continue to bring this beast back to roadworthy. So far I have put new airbags in, bought tires, new battery, replacement wheel for a spare, new hood latch, new rear wiper arm, and some floor mats. Lots of work to do. Next round of repairs will be suspension related. I imagine a lot of these bushings and ball joints are factory and have never been touched. I love this thing already though.

 

[Canadian Expy]

Cool let us know how it go's

 

[treycool94]

you planin to go to the track with those slicks lol nice find

 

[2000UN93]

some notes on the airbags. I was not able to turn up any good info on this forum (or any website for that matter) when searching for the location of the airbag control module or as ford calls it the restraint control module (RCM).

It is under the dash on top of the trans hump on the drivers side. It has two electrical plugs and is held in place on a bracket with 3 fasteners.


The first two bolts are easy to get to but to get the third bolt out and get the module out of the truck I had to remove the entire center console and pull the carpet back a little.

 

[2000UN93]

New bags installed, console going back together.

you planin to go to the track with those slicks lol nice find

haha no racing on those slicks for me thanks. I picked up some tires for it I just have to go get them mounted.


They are firestone snow tires. Here is a pic of the replacement wheel I ordered.


Going to run that one on the passengers front. The current wheel there has brake dust baked onto it so badly it would take sandblasting to get it off. That wheel will be the spare so I don't have to look at it.

 

[2000UN93]

Put the new hood latch on there today, with success.

I was dreading messing with that thing but it was easy to change out and the hood closes all the way now.

I also ditched the running boards today, I think it looks 100 times better.






I'll add more to this thread in the coming days as things happen. I need to get the front wheels off and see what the suspension needs up front. I want to have it aligned and the tires mounted at the same time so I need to address any issues first.

 

[BakerEdition]

Lookin good man...always work in progress

 

[GAINMOB]

welcome to the site

 

[alaskanexpy]

looking good! great price also.


you will love the firestones, i have a set of the winterforces studded on my winter wheels. makes the truck stick like glue to the ice.

 

[rburch]

Welcome! Nice find and great job on the progress! Great looking Expy for the price!

 

[2000UN93]

Thanks guys I am really enjoying the truck so far. I went with the snow tires because I live right near lake Michigan and we get pounded with lake effect snow every year. Glad to hear others have good things to say about them. I'm really looking forward to trying them out.

 

[walnuts4x4]

welcome to the forum... looks like a fun project there

 

[2000UN93]

I have not had much time to play with my new toy but I did spend a little time with it today. I'm working two jobs right now so things are coming together slowly but surely. I installed a new battery today. Went with a duralast gold from autozone. I've been running a duralast in my other vehicle for over 5 years so figured stick with that. Replaced both of the crusty original terminals too for good measure.

I ordered an HID kit for the fog lights a week or so ago and they showed up the other day. I went with 55W ballasts driving 3000K bulbs in H10 fitment from a site called understeer.com I chose these because they have a low initial current draw and I have read of others using them with good results on stock harnesses.

I figured I had better see if all the lights work as is before adding the xenons and that is where I noticed an issue with my truck. After you switch the headlights on, turning them back off does nothing. shutting the truck off / removing key does nothing. I had to pull fuse #3 in the electrical box under the hood to get the low beams to shut down. After that I can put the fuse back in and repeat the same sequence. Lights come on if you need them but will not shut off without pulling the fuse. Any of you guys have to deal with that before? I could not find a relay for the low beams. Hope this is not some complicated electrical demon but I will figure it out. Also the instrument cluster illumination does not work and the overhead console display and overhead heat controls seem to be dead. front heat controls all work perfect. Will try to further diagnose tomorrow afternoon.

The HID kit was plug and play, although the H10 based bulbs don't fit the sockets just right they do click into place. The stock foglight pigtails plugged right into the ballasts, no splices or anything. The 3000K bulbs at 55W are BRIGHT and YELLOW, exactly what I was after. I have read that yellow colored light is good for rain and snow, wanted to try it for a while now. I will pull the truck out on the street tomorrow night and get some pics of the illumination from the inside. I will be using these like high beams. On when I need them and click them off if there is oncoming traffic so people are not getting blinded.


From head on they don't look super bright, which is cool. Just have to keep an eye on them and make sure they are not getting too hot for the fog housings.

Going to buy a set of shocks for all corners for it this week. It's on stock stuff now and they appear to be completely toast. ABS light also made an appearance today. Need to look into that as well.

 

[2000UN93]

Went this morning and plated the truck. Put it on insurance yesterday. No emissions testing needed until I renew next year too, nice. After I left the license branch I went and had the firestones mounted and had them do an alignment at the local NTB. 166 bucks for mount, balance x4 and an alignment. Tech came and got me to look at the truck once they got it up in the air. Passengers front hub is shot and has significant play. Had them do the alignment and babied it home but the truck will be grounded until I can replace both front hubs. If the right is that bad the left can't be far behind.

He said other than that everything was tight which is nice. New hubs and shocks will be up next and then I will fix things as they arise.

Shot of the truck on the rack as seen from the waiting area.

Tire mounting and alignment are about the only things I will pay a shop to do for me, I'm a DIY guy as much as possible. Post alignment the truck drives great but the steering wheel is still not centered. I may have to pop the airbag back out and put it on straight, that is one thing I cannot tolerate in a vehicle of mine.

couple shots of the snows mounted just because.




I think I will have to look into rear spacers of some sort, looks like the rear end is sagging a bit to me. Need to take some measurements.

Picked up a Pioneer double din stereo with DVD player for the truck.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HW6F7E?ie=UTF8&redirect=true

Got it delivered yesterday along with a wiring harness to mate it to the stock harness. Will play with that over the coming weekend if I end up with a day off. Kind of an impulse buy there, but I need some tunes and have never been a fan of ford stock radios. That should fill the hole in the dash nicely. Will update when I get some more work done.

 

[mmrseed]

Sounds like you are having a blast doing all that and honestly...there is no comparison between taking something old that you like and fixing it up and just buying a new car and watching it depreciate. If you gave me $40,000 to spend on a new expedition or $15,000 to fix up an old one I'd take the latter. Keep us posted on all the updates and details

 

[toms89]

Damn, not wasting anytime fixing her up!

Congrats on your purchase and good luck on your future projects with your new expy!!

 

[BakerEdition]

keep up the progress....but save some for a rainy day....

 

[sgtowing]

Looking good. Keep it up.

 

[rewarder]

Why did the airbags pop? You may already have said but I'm too lazy to go back and read three sentences. I like the wheels. Nice choice. I was going to say, there are a ton of rust free Expy's here in Phoenix. Fly over buy one and drive home. But you made an excellent buy.

 

[2000UN93]

Thanks guys, this is a fun project for sure and seems to be coming together well for me. The truck just needed an owner who cares about it, just like anything else. The bags blew because the truck was either rear ended or backed into something hard from what I can tell.



There are a bunch of first gen expeditions at a pick n pull yard near here, so I will go look for a decent looking bumper and pick up a few other odds and ends I need from there when I have the motivation. Hoping to make a run out there within the next week before it starts getting much colder. I need a bumper, lower valance for the front, interior rear view mirror and probably a few other little things I am forgetting.

As far as project spending/ saving for rainy days goes, I had put aside 4k for a truck. I bought this one for less than 2k so I had some cash left over to put into it. I've just about burned that up though so purchases will slow down. There are only a few more things I plan to do to this thing, then I will drive it til it dies and go from there. Get the suspension/hubs replaced, rear bumper, front lower valance and from there out it's just going to be maintenance. I have no plans for any significant lift, bigger tires, winch bumpers etc. although I would like those things. Just can't rationalize them. I'm saving to build a garage/pole barn on my property so I can't be sinking big bucks into this thing.