Expensedition
Well-Known Member
I finally took the plunge and traded in my beloved 2014 Ford Expedition Limited for a 2026 Tremor. My 2014 was the best vehicle that I ever owned since she never let me down. Some people thought I had bought a new vehicle when looking at the gleaming paint just weeks before I traded her in. My 2014 was a beast in fact that was her name "The Beast" with the 5.4 Triton engine, the last year for Triton, and mine was a gem, no issues, Mobil one from day one. I did hate to give up the power of knowing how to fix anything on my ride for the new networked based automated product we all must finally capitulate to buying but I knew that my 2014 could only last so long before body corrosion would be an issue.
The new 2026 Tremor is amazing, and honestly it didn't take long to get over all of the funky things they did to make it lets say non-organic: The shifter dial slightly out of reach (Damn I miss my grip shift where my right hand naturally fell as I sat in the driver seat), the strange almost aircraft type steering wheel that does not easily (at first) spin back to center as you loosen your grip, the all digital I/O where you have no gauges, very few if any indicator lamps and very few buttons or knobs, and the two touch pads on the steering wheel? WTF, but you get used to all of this, fast, and one thing that served to make all the unpleasant stuff fade away are the seats that are incredibly comfortable. Eventually, you get to realize the layout is near perfect, which took me three days to feel it.
So now I am going over the entire vehicle and looking for faults and prepping for preservation. Before I bought this truck I crawled under it in the showroom and found the good and the bad. In this post I will show you the first bad item. The brand new vehicle (11 miles) had scratches on the frame that look like manufacture or transport scratches in the paint. The scratches are located adjacent to the transfer case (see Fig.1) on both right and left sides. a similar set for scratches are found about four feet aft in the same area. Perhaps there is a gripper in the plant that holds the frame during assembly that has some rough surfaces on the clamps (Ford should address this). I have already cleaned, prepped and painted these marks since rust will take root fast on any bare steel.
Looking around under the Tremor, nearly everything is painted except for the driveshaft, front axles and engine/drivetrain parts (Differential is painted!). I am getting ready to undercoat my Tremor but first I have to paint the driveshaft and any other thing I may have missed.
My new "Beast version 2.0" is really growing on me. I will post more as time allows.
The new 2026 Tremor is amazing, and honestly it didn't take long to get over all of the funky things they did to make it lets say non-organic: The shifter dial slightly out of reach (Damn I miss my grip shift where my right hand naturally fell as I sat in the driver seat), the strange almost aircraft type steering wheel that does not easily (at first) spin back to center as you loosen your grip, the all digital I/O where you have no gauges, very few if any indicator lamps and very few buttons or knobs, and the two touch pads on the steering wheel? WTF, but you get used to all of this, fast, and one thing that served to make all the unpleasant stuff fade away are the seats that are incredibly comfortable. Eventually, you get to realize the layout is near perfect, which took me three days to feel it.
So now I am going over the entire vehicle and looking for faults and prepping for preservation. Before I bought this truck I crawled under it in the showroom and found the good and the bad. In this post I will show you the first bad item. The brand new vehicle (11 miles) had scratches on the frame that look like manufacture or transport scratches in the paint. The scratches are located adjacent to the transfer case (see Fig.1) on both right and left sides. a similar set for scratches are found about four feet aft in the same area. Perhaps there is a gripper in the plant that holds the frame during assembly that has some rough surfaces on the clamps (Ford should address this). I have already cleaned, prepped and painted these marks since rust will take root fast on any bare steel.
Looking around under the Tremor, nearly everything is painted except for the driveshaft, front axles and engine/drivetrain parts (Differential is painted!). I am getting ready to undercoat my Tremor but first I have to paint the driveshaft and any other thing I may have missed.
My new "Beast version 2.0" is really growing on me. I will post more as time allows.
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