2003 Expedition Face Lift Begins

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Vancouver Bob

Vancouver Bob

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Yeah I went with 4.56 gears bc it's in the recommended range for 35's up to 38's which is what I'll be working on. I pondered on the thought of cutting my wheel wells opening more. I have looked and the front fenders have plenty of room to cut but the rear I'm on looking at 2" of trimming B4 I cut into the wheel well tub.
But that's another day right now getting my gears is high priority.

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Did you get the bumper mounted?

I'm looking to get new gears during Christmas break. Torn between the 4.10's and the 4.56's. I'm not planning on going any bigger on the tires and the 4.10's get me back to where I was but I've been seeing a lot of people going up to the 4.56's.
 
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scoot0073

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Did you get the bumper mounted?

I'm looking to get new gears during Christmas break. Torn between the 4.10's and the 4.56's. I'm not planning on going any bigger on the tires and the 4.11's get me back to where I was but I've been seeing a lot of people going up to the 4.56's.
No not yet still sitting on the saw horses outside.
Was going to do it this Saturday (tomorrow)
But gotta pull the pump out of the well and replace it. But maybe Sunday.
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scoot0073

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Hey Bob
But I think I did come up with a way to make it adjustable up n down left to right.
Using 3/8's thick angle
But using the supplied brackets for the mounting there just is no really good way.
But if it works out I'll be sure to post pictures.

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Vancouver Bob

Vancouver Bob

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Hey Bob
But I think I did come up with a way to make it adjustable up n down left to right.
Using 3/8's thick angle
But using the supplied brackets for the mounting there just is no really good way.
But if it works out I'll be sure to post pictures.

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I'm eager to see it! You can probably also tie into the existing bumper mounts unless you feel they're too wimpy and wouldn't hold up well to a good yank. That original mounting scheme, though, is probably the way to go. I see that on other bumpers.

upload_2017-12-1_8-16-44.png
 
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scoot0073

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I'm eager to see it! You can probably also tie into the existing bumper mounts unless you feel they're too wimpy and wouldn't hold up well to a good yank. That original mounting scheme, though, is probably the way to go.
No I'm not using the existing mounts I done cut them off.
The 3/8's angle iron is going to be welded to the frame top n bottom and the bumper will bolt to the 3/8's angle.
This way I can easily adjust the bumper up n down and to adjust it side to side is going to be
a matter of adding or removing washers to shim it one side or the other.
Now that's the plan atm but after I get it tacked up then I'll know for sure if my idea is going to work.

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Vancouver Bob

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No I'm not using the existing mounts I done cut them off.
The 3/8's angle iron is going to be welded to the frame top n bottom and the bumper will bolt to the 3/8's angle.
This way I can easily adjust the bumper up n down and to adjust it side to side is going to be
a matter of adding or removing washers to shim it one side or the other.
Now that's the plan atm but after I get it tacked up then I'll know for sure if my idea is going to work.

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Damn! I need to learn how to weld! :)
 
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Vancouver Bob

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Rockclutch

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Going to tackle the transmission fluid today. I'm ashamed to say it but it hasn't been touched in over 200K miles! Found this AWESOME write up on another site so thought I'd pass it along...

https://sites.google.com/site/fordf150p0171p0174fix/4r70w-fluid-change-procedures

Will let you know how it goes... hopefully I don't end up with 4 gallons of tranny fluid all over the garage :)
Good luck Bob!
That is a good and thorough write up, thanks for sharing.

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Vancouver Bob

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Well, got the tranny fluid changed. Would have been a complete success if it hadn’t been for one mishap.

Initial setup was straight forward but getting the plastic hose over the end of the return line wasn’t easy. I decided to route the plastic tubing over the top of the tranny and up over the back of the running board. That way the tubing was held in place and I could keep an eye on how much fluid was being pumped out, watch for bubbles...

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After the first 4 or so quarts the bubbles started (pan "empty") so stopped and dropped the pan to change filter and clean it out (laid an old towel on the ground to catch any random drops). Easier to drop the pan when empty.

IMG_8690.JPG

Got the pan all nice and clean, changed the filter, then put it all back on. Almost stripped the a bolt when torquing the first bolt down because the torque setting was so low that there was no “click” on the torque wrench and I didn’t notice the “breaking” of the handle so I just kept torquing away. Realized what I was doing before I stripped or broke something.

After that it was just a matter of adding some fluid and draining some fluid, a couple of quarts at a time, until it was coming out nice and clean. I went thru the gears a couple of times during the "flush" like the instructions said... but at one point, I think it was reverse, I suddenly saw more big air bubbles so I stopped and looked under the truck...

IMG_8693.JPG

I think a combo of the weight of the tubing filled with fluid (since it was hanging in space) and the tube warming up caused the tube to pull off part way. It was still on and still looked like it was over the return line far enough... but it had to come from somewhere. I tried pushing it back on a little more and all was fine after that. A clamp or vise grips would have prevented that. Oh well... what's sad is that I had the towel down underneath but removed it thinking I was home free :).

Continued until I ran about 15 quarts thru, reattached the return line, went thru the gears once more, checked level, added too much in attempt to get it to the proper fill level, but after I drove around the block, again going thru all the gears, it ended up low. Topped it off, cleaned up the mess on the floor, and called it an over all success.

Total spend was about $160 ($110 for trans fluid, $20 for filter, $30 misc) plus about 3 hours of time. Was it worth the effort?

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ExpeditionAndy

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It always seemed like whenever I changed oil, I always wound up with more on the floor than I had in the catch pan. I have always said if I build another house I'm going to put a pit in the garage. But then I thought about it and I'd rather just pay somebody to do it rather than mess with it. :)
 
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