Advice on resurrecting my Expedition

[Colmes]

Hey everyone! New to the forum but not to cars. I used to drive my mother's old 1999 Expedition with a 5.4L Triton when I turned 16 before eventually purchasing my 2017 Ford Fusion Sport in 2020.

The truck has been in my family for a long time now and I love it dearly even though it's been awhile since I drove it. She was running nicely (with the exception of a clogged heater core) after I bought my Fusion in 2020 until about 2022, when I gave it to my little brother to use since he needed a car and I didn't use it much anymore. Long story short a spark plug ended up blowing out on him, so he and his friend decided to try and fix it on their own. After ripping apart the cooling system and unplugging the fuel injectors for God knows what reason, he left it sitting in a field for a month or two before eventually asking me if I wanted it back.

They delivered it on a flatbed to my place and it has sat since. I am a little ashamed at myself for not having fixed it for so long now but I have decided now is the time to work on it again since I have the money and ability to.

My question to all you good folks before I start tearing into her and looking for big issues is what I should know to look at after sitting on concrete for two years. I see it everyday and I am confident that no pests have made their homes inside her. I also am going to manually turn the crank to make sure the engine isn't locked up, drop the tank and clean it of the old fuel, and also drain and replace the coolant and oil. The battery and tires will also be replaced once I get the engine running. Is there anything else I should look for?

Thanks y'all. I'll prolly run into some snags here and there and I'd certainly appreciate help from anyone who is willing to offer it.

 

[whtbronco]

Sounds like you still need to deal with the plug issue, and maybe replace the other 7 plugs. If the blown out plug has been out for 2yrs now you may have some corrosion in the combustion chamber on that cylinder, an inspection camera will let you see. I'd check for corrosion on the injectors connectors as well. Check all the coolant and vacuum hoses. Swap the fuel filter.

Unless you know when the other fluids were changed and it wasn't too long ago now is a good time to change those as well. Transmission and filter, power steering, brake, differentials and transfer case if it's 4wd.

 

[JerryT]

Need to ask your brother more questions about the blown out spark plug. Did the engine overheat then blow? Was the spark plug just loose and vibration caused it to back out? Did he install it incorrectly? Cross threaded?
You could have a bad piston ring, or internal engine damage. Why did he tear apart the cooling system? Thermostat? Head gasket?
Get the engine running first and the rest of your ideas are easy fixes. I have a 98 Expedition my wife purchased brand new in 98. Everything on it works. I recently installed new shocks and tires and it runs like it’s brand new. Good luck.

 

[EngineerMike]

IIWMI'd definitely do 8 new plugs, but ditto on figuring out what "blew out" a spark plug really means before diving in. I always to the plug boots or tubes when I do plugs, they are a wear item