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soulsedge

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Back here again after a long hiatus. once again looking at an expy after having a bad time with my old 2002. (i ended up buying a 1969 mustang) lol.

I'm looking at a 2008 this time. All the bells and whistles, priced fairly low for Canada....but for good reason. The rear subframe that is kinda welded up on the rear floor, that the rear most body mounts go into, is rusted away on one side....the other side is fine. But those very same "subframes?" on both sides are rusty too near their fronts (almost above rear suspension).

I understand i can probably get somebody to fabricate some kind of C-frame in there, but is there any aftermarket parts available instead for this replacement? What in the heck are they actually called? There is also a crossmember that goes the width of the truck, between the rear body
mounts, id likely change that while in there if i knew what part it was, etc.

I have not bought it yet, but for 5,000'ish Canadian, I figure its worth the repair! Will only be using it for camping basically. or am i wrong in this thinking?

Attaching pics. =)

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GlennSullivan

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IMHO it did not develop rust in just those areas shown in your pics. The entire frame and all connections to suspension and body components are most likely also compromised. You can probably find the parts you need using a combination of wrecking yards and NOS parts, but you will spend a lot of time and money. If it were me, I'd spend a little more and find one that is less needy.
 
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soulsedge

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Only problem is. Here in Canada, unless its newer and significantly more expensive....they all are like this on the east coast. heh. Just to varying degree's (kinda like what you said)

I have been debating trying to find something in southern u.s. but i dont know the cost to transport one up to say, maine? But even the ones i find in the south under 10k $$ are like 200,000+ miles. This one is 190,000 Km's. So just barely over 100,000.

I also looked at new frames. I'm not sure if its a scam, but new frames for these appear to be about 3grand? But i dont think that includes the bad part of this body...because its really the floorboard subframe? i think...not the frame itself, the frame itself on this thing is immaculate, oddly enough.

I dont mind the work btw. I know my limits and this is right on the edge of it. lol.
 

GlennSullivan

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Only problem is. Here in Canada, unless its newer and significantly more expensive....they all are like this on the east coast. heh. Just to varying degree's (kinda like what you said)

I have been debating trying to find something in southern u.s. but i dont know the cost to transport one up to say, maine? But even the ones i find in the south under 10k $$ are like 200,000+ miles. This one is 190,000 Km's. So just barely over 100,000.

I also looked at new frames. I'm not sure if its a scam, but new frames for these appear to be about 3grand? But i dont think that includes the bad part of this body...because its really the floorboard subframe? i think...not the frame itself, the frame itself on this thing is immaculate, oddly enough.

I dont mind the work btw. I know my limits and this is right on the edge of it. lol.
I also looked up the frame cost both new and used, thinking that might be a possibility. As you said, new was around +/- $3000 and also found some used at +/- $850 or so. My concern with that route is you are not just looking at the frame, the body mounts and underside are shot and although you did not show pics of other components, I would bet suspension, hard lines (Brake, P/S, ETC) all have issues as well.

There are quite a few used Expy's in the northeast for sale now, none of them cheap, but that is the used car market these days. Some are very low mile SSVs (Police /Fire). You would of course need to get detailed underside pictures.
Northeast Expeditions

As far as southeast US Expys, there are very few 4WD in southern states, most are 2WD and of course the shipping cost.
Southeast Expeditions
 
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soulsedge

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It's actually not the Main frame though. The main frame is perfect....with zero holes, its all thick and rugged just your typical surface rust you can wipe away with a finger nearly. I went thru that part with a fine tooth comb, stabbing everything with a screwdriver. LOL!

It's the part that the rear body mount contacts at the top of it (that subframe/crossmember) that attached to the floorboard.


With that said, are Lincoln Navigators fairly comparable to expeditions? Seems to be quite a few of those that are reasonable down south! Where abouts would you start looking for non-rusty cars? North carolina? Florida? Lousiana?
 

GlennSullivan

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It's actually not the Main frame though. The main frame is perfect....with zero holes, its all thick and rugged just your typical surface rust you can wipe away with a finger nearly. I went thru that part with a fine tooth comb, stabbing everything with a screwdriver. LOL!

It's the part that the rear body mount contacts at the top of it (that subframe/crossmember) that attached to the floorboard.


With that said, are Lincoln Navigators fairly comparable to expeditions? Seems to be quite a few of those that are reasonable down south! Where abouts would you start looking for non-rusty cars? North Carolina? Florida? Lousiana?
I would start in FL, LA, TX, GA and SC. You should look at the Carfax history of the vehicles to make sure they spent the majority of their lives down south and they have clean titles with no water, flood or accident issues. The 2010 - 2014 Navigators have the same powertrain as the same year Expys.

My 2011 Expedition was purchased new in NY, spent 3 Years and 40,000 miles there, with minimum winter use (Tahoe was our winter go to and the underside reflects that).

Then moved the truck to South Florida in 2014 and has spent the last 9 years here, used from November to April. Currently 63,000 miles and the underside is very clean. Of course it has had the typical issues of blend doors and shocks which were fixed and now the paint on the rear aluminum hatch is starting to blister, so I will need to have that repainted. But all in all a very good solid truck that drives and rides as good as my 2017 43,000 mile Expy.

They say when looking to purchase a used vehicle, buy the best possible low mileage, well maintained example that you can afford and in the long run you will save a lot of money.
 

Trainmaster

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Don't waste your time an money on junk. Save your money until you have what it takes to buy something sound. Throwing a few hundred a month into the bank will get you a better truck than buying rotted junk and throwing money into that.
 

Modelcarguy

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Run, don’t walk, run away as fast as you can. Find a clean ‘08 if you can…
 
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soulsedge

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well i took all of your advice. found a very very clean Lincoln Nav in NH. From florida. couldn't ask for better underneath. Completely clean, only issue is it has the battery light symbol on in the odometer part.

Frame doesn't even have surface rust.
 

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