lonestarjeff
Well-Known Member
Rather than fly from here in NE Texas to Birmingham, AL for Christmas with my daughter we decided to make the drive. That way we could bring the gifts, etc and not be tied to a flight schedule. It's a long drive(about 600 mi)for one day, but most of it is a beautiful drive. We just got a new CR-V for my wife in October, so the plan was to take it on the trip. The cargo volume kept climbing as we approached departure date, plus that many hours in a smaller vehicle tends to negate all the extra comforts for me. As the time approached I started thinking about taking the Expedition instead of the CR-V. I've always kept both my old trucks mechanically well-serviced, but a 20 year old original transmission gives me pause on a 10 hour trip.
I have to say, though, I've only ever experienced a couple of hiccups with the Expedition tranny. One was a delay shifting from reverse to drive on a few cold mornings the past 2 or 3 years. The other is sometimes I get a really hard thump going from a downshift back into overdrive at the crest of a hill. The thump is intermittent, but memorable.
In any event, I checked the truck over, loaded her up & off we went.
The only moment of trepidation I had on the entire trip was one cold morning when I headed to the grocery store from my daughter's house. There's a steep hill to climb to get out of her neighborhood. About halfway up that hill it just stopped pulling. I had to hit the brake & wait about 3 seconds before it engaged again. No more issues while there or on the way back, but the last couple of cold days we were there I always set the parking brake & dropped it into drive for a couple of minutes in the driveway before heading out.
I had checked fluid level & condition before the trip & again after the slipping incident, so I assume the fluid temperature was the issue or an aging component in the tranny.
Great truck, they just don't make 'em to last like this anymore.
I have to say, though, I've only ever experienced a couple of hiccups with the Expedition tranny. One was a delay shifting from reverse to drive on a few cold mornings the past 2 or 3 years. The other is sometimes I get a really hard thump going from a downshift back into overdrive at the crest of a hill. The thump is intermittent, but memorable.
In any event, I checked the truck over, loaded her up & off we went.
The only moment of trepidation I had on the entire trip was one cold morning when I headed to the grocery store from my daughter's house. There's a steep hill to climb to get out of her neighborhood. About halfway up that hill it just stopped pulling. I had to hit the brake & wait about 3 seconds before it engaged again. No more issues while there or on the way back, but the last couple of cold days we were there I always set the parking brake & dropped it into drive for a couple of minutes in the driveway before heading out.
I had checked fluid level & condition before the trip & again after the slipping incident, so I assume the fluid temperature was the issue or an aging component in the tranny.
Great truck, they just don't make 'em to last like this anymore.
