The Lucidor
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Just read through the thread. Nice build, was fun to follow along. Hope you keep it up!
2003 Expedition Face Lift Begins
- Thread starter Vancouver Bob
- Start date
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Vancouver Bob
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Thanks, Lucidor!
I did just pick up an Edge programmer today. Bought it off a guy on Craigslist. Bought it for $150 but had to pay another $100 to unlock the vin. Used it to up the tune a little bit and adjust for the 35" tires and 4.56 gears. I called the dealer to see if they would adjust the computer for the tires and gears and they said they only adjust to stock settings. I guess their way of not being liable for anything that happens to the vehicle because of a non stock tune/setting.
Bob I didn't Kno that u had 4.56 gears installed
Was it after u had the 35's put on ?
I'm getting mine very soon and can't wait this loss of power and constantly going in and out of O/D is Killin me..
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Vancouver Bob
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Hi Scoot! Yea, I had them installed right after Christmas. She pulls much better and just feels more nimble and responsive. Been playing with the programmer a bit. It's fairly basic but I think I've managed to get my speedo back in line. Haven't played with the shift points much other than using the "edge" presets.
Did you get your bumper installed? Haven't seen pictures of it yet!
Man.. not yet still sitting n the shop.. I can't seem to get a break to get back at it. Hopefully soon
Yeah I met have missed the update about u getting the gears .. but glad u got them installed.
Lord knows I can't wait to get mine installed.hahah
Yeah I have read about people flashing custom tuner profile on 35's and bigger.
Im sure it makes sense difference as I have read the users end results.
Most of them was great results but some did bork their vehicle during the flash. But I think it was something the user did wrong but idk.
I was thinking of getting one BUT I seen the prices of what they cost and yeah I don't want it that bad at least not ATM..hahhah
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Vancouver Bob
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Hey I totally get it! It took me forever to get mine mounted as well. Still isn't quite where I want it but close enough to not be high on the priority list. I do still want to get it painted properly though... I'm beginning to see a little rush come thru the primer. The update on the gears is on page 46 and 47... you were interested in seeing some pictures so I managed to get a few
.Well got the bumper on and love it still got some finishing touches I got to do.
But I noticed that the sides doesn't meet evenly with the front wheel well trim. I thought it was me but I looked at your and it's the same way.
Wondering why WAM didn't have the corners of the bumper same width as the factory trim ??
Now gotta get the Winch and lights [emoji3][emoji3]
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But I noticed that the sides doesn't meet evenly with the front wheel well trim. I thought it was me but I looked at your and it's the same way.
Wondering why WAM didn't have the corners of the bumper same width as the factory trim ??
Now gotta get the Winch and lights [emoji3][emoji3]
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Vancouver Bob
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Well got the bumper on and love it still got some finishing touches I got to do.
But I noticed that the sides doesn't meet evenly with the front wheel well trim. I thought it was me but I looked at your and it's the same way.
Wondering why WAM didn't have the corners of the bumper same width as the factory trim ??
Now gotta get the Winch and lights [emoji3][emoji3]
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Hey Scoot!! That looks AWESOME! Great job getting that mounted!
Yea, your ends tie in to the fenders exactly like mine did. I'm not sure why WAM didn't design the ends to match. The bumper design may have been leveraged from an F-150 or something where the ends match better. Could also be they didn't want to try to match too closely to avoid having to control dimensions too closely. With a little welding the ends can be made to blend in nicely.
Hey, which shackles did you go with? They look great! I don't have any yet so trying to get ideas.
Thanks, Scoot!
My Shackles I got at Tractor Supply bc I'm always there getting feed n stuff. They are 1" 10 or 12,000lb can't remember. They was like $15 each. On bumpy roads they are quite they don't bang or chatter against the bumper
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Vancouver Bob
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My Shackles I got at Tractor Supply bc I'm always there getting feed n stuff. They are 1" 10 or 12,000lb can't remember. They was like $15 each. On bumpy roads they are quite they don't bang or chatter against the bumper
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Love the pics! Looks bad ass!
How did you end up mounting it? You did a great job!!
1/4 " 2x2 angle welded it directly to the frame top and bottom and drilled 3/4" holes in the angle and in the bumper and bolted the bumper to the angle. So that way I could adjust the bumper left to right and up n down..
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I see... with the angle positioned along the inside of the long axis of the frame (front to back)... bumper slides right in between and you bolt it up. That was a smart approach! Simple, strong, and like you said, adjustable. Way easier than the way I did it... of course, I had it designed by the welder so he picked an approach that involved more welding
.Yup that's how it is . And I never plan on taking it off so welding the brackets to the frame wasn't an issue.
It looks kinda ReDnEcK but I assure you it is solid.
When I take it off to install the winch I'll grab some pictures.
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It looks kinda ReDnEcK but I assure you it is solid.
When I take it off to install the winch I'll grab some pictures.
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JoshA77
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That looks fantastic scoot!My Shackles I got at Tractor Supply bc I'm always there getting feed n stuff. They are 1" 10 or 12,000lb can't remember. They was like $15 each. On bumpy roads they are quite they don't bang or chatter against the bumper
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It was time to change the differential fluid (was instructed to change it after running around 500 miles with the new gears) so snooped around a bit and landed on Amsoil Severe Gear 75W-140. Problem was no body carries it but luckily found a little Amsoil stand inside a truck stop right across the bridge in Portland... Kubitz Truck Stop. Picked up 6 quarts on President's day.
Rear was pretty easy to drain since it has a drain plug... uses a 3/8" drive (no socket). The diff shop used red loctite on the threads so it was a beaoch to get out. Had to hammer it loose and managed to get the old oil drained. It was a light purple when they filled it but came out a dirty, greenish color. Opened the fill plug in the same manner and got a little new oil in there to flush out a bit more of the old oil. Getting the new fluid in was also a beaoch! I bought a hand pump when I got the oil, like what you would get on a hand soap dispenser but larger.
It had a screw top to secure it to the container of oil but it was too small for the Amsoil top... so I'm laying on my back, under the car, it's freezing in the garage, one hand is holding the clear plastic tube from the pump in the fill hole while the other hand was reaching back over my head trying to pump this really thick oil up and in while trying to not dump the oil over. I didn't have much leverage to pump the pump so I'm straining and pumping and my arms tired after only a few pumps. Switched hands a few times and kept going. What worked best was to actually lift the oil container with the pump up and pressing the top of the pump handle up against the frame to get the pumping action. I could do this with two hands while still keeping the tube in position. Took about 2.75 qts, give or take. Phew!!
Going to tackle the front tomorrow but bought a drill pump from Home Depot with a few thread adapters. Hopefully that goes smoother. The front doesn't have a drain plug so I'm just planning on sucking it out. We'll see how that goes.
Rear was pretty easy to drain since it has a drain plug... uses a 3/8" drive (no socket). The diff shop used red loctite on the threads so it was a beaoch to get out. Had to hammer it loose and managed to get the old oil drained. It was a light purple when they filled it but came out a dirty, greenish color. Opened the fill plug in the same manner and got a little new oil in there to flush out a bit more of the old oil. Getting the new fluid in was also a beaoch! I bought a hand pump when I got the oil, like what you would get on a hand soap dispenser but larger.
It had a screw top to secure it to the container of oil but it was too small for the Amsoil top... so I'm laying on my back, under the car, it's freezing in the garage, one hand is holding the clear plastic tube from the pump in the fill hole while the other hand was reaching back over my head trying to pump this really thick oil up and in while trying to not dump the oil over. I didn't have much leverage to pump the pump so I'm straining and pumping and my arms tired after only a few pumps. Switched hands a few times and kept going. What worked best was to actually lift the oil container with the pump up and pressing the top of the pump handle up against the frame to get the pumping action. I could do this with two hands while still keeping the tube in position. Took about 2.75 qts, give or take. Phew!!
Going to tackle the front tomorrow but bought a drill pump from Home Depot with a few thread adapters. Hopefully that goes smoother. The front doesn't have a drain plug so I'm just planning on sucking it out. We'll see how that goes.
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Gruz7
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Thanks for the info Bob! Mines going on today!
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Vancouver Bob
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Thanks for the info Bob! Mines going on today!
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That’s exciting! I’m sure you can’t wait to get it done! Is he going to drill the holes and paint the areas affected by the welding for you or will you need to do that yourself?
Drilling the holes took some effort and I probably didn’t do a very good job keeping everything aligned and drilling straight holes. I drilled the holes on the bumper with the bumper off and then drilled the holes in the frame with the bumper on. Somewhere I didn’t get things just right. I think that’s why the bumper isn’t quite where I want it. At some point I’m going to remove all the bolts and see if I can get it positioned back the way I want it and then see how far off my holes are. If you’re like me you’re going to get really goog at taking the bumper off and back on
. Thanks for sharing the pics!
Gruz7
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No prob! And yeah we’re drilling holes and welding the nuts onto the inside of the frame rails so I don’t have to make a hole in the side of the frame to fit a wrench inside and hold the nuts. I’ll be priming and painting everything while it’s here I have my chassis paint and everything so that’ll be nice and easy and then bedliner for touch-ups on the actual bumper.That’s exciting! I’m sure you can’t wait to get it done! Is he going to drill the holes and paint the areas affected by the welding for you or will you need to do that yourself?
Drilling the holes took some effort and I probably didn’t do a very good job keeping everything aligned and drilling straight holes. I drilled the holes on the bumper with the bumper off and then drilled the holes in the frame with the bumper on. Somewhere I didn’t get things just right. I think that’s why the bumper isn’t quite where I want it. At some point I’m going to remove all the bolts and see if I can get it positioned back the way I want it and then see how far off my holes are. If you’re like me you’re going to get really goog at taking the bumper off and back on
Thanks for sharing the pics!
Should be all done in a few hours besides making everything prettier. Really glad you had the idea to make the brackets on top and bottom bigger and use 8 bolts.
Thanks as always Bob!
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Vancouver Bob
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Great idea to weld the nuts on the inside.. The guy that welded my bumper had the same thought but I wasn't ready to commit to the bolt position... or maybe that's just me having commitment problems
.Hey, is that you in the one picture with the truck on the lift or is that the welder?
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I still need to do something about the flap underneath the radiator. My first thought was to just pin it up to the bottom of the bumper with some of those plastic push pin things but I think I'd like to get a skid plate of some sort up there. Did you have any plans for that?
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