expedition reliability

[Guest]

im getting real nervous about purchasing a used expedition. i hear alot of stories of expeditions being unrealiable (namely head gaskets blowing and transmission problems under 50k miles) and im not the type of person that has lots of money to keep up with fixing a problematic vehicle. please give me any kind of input on this.

also if anybody knows of a place i can find a rear door of a 2002 expedition for a good price please let me know.

 

[PaulC]

Well, let me give you the scorecard for my 1999 Expedition XLT 4x4 4.6:

65,000 miles

Replace spring on transmission 2-3 accumulator valve = $250 (trans would briefly allow engine to race during 2-3 upshift)

Replace starter solenoid = $forget (not expensive)

Replace IAC valve = $70 (engine would not idle w/o pressure on gas pedal)

Replace burst heater hose = $80

The heater hose and solenoid were showstoppers, (prohibiting operation of vehicle)

My father's '99 Tahoe had more problems over that same length of mileage.

The pleasure of owning the X far outweighs the few problems I've had. For some reason the 4.6 seems to be more bulletproof than the 5.4 (fewer headgasket or cylinder head issues), but the 5.4 offers more torque. Both engines are well-regarded however.

 

[Mustang71Lover]

My Expy is still running strong...

My Expedition is a hand me down from my parents who bought it in 1998 brand new. It's a 98' Eddie Baeur Expy. I have 68k miles on her, the only problem we had was, I forgot to press down on the brake once when shifting, and broke the shifter on the shifting column. There have been absoutely no other problems. I know what you mean about reliability problems, and all I can say that the Expedition isn't a Mustang, and if someone races it and races it, straining the Expy constantly, she will break down. No engine can withstand pulling 4850 lbs of metal (plus passengers and cargo) at tough acceleration speeds, and live for that long. Also, make sure that the Expedition your buying has had plenty of regular tune-ups and oil changes, neglecting the engine is probably the largest contributer to pre-mature engine breakdown. If your buying, just research extensivly into the car's tune up history and how the owner drove it.

 

[abbyzdad]

unregistered
mine is a '00 with 37k--no problems at all
neighbor's is a '97 with about 85k--no problems
i have friends who have various years with with mileage ranging from low 20's to over 100k. no one has had any problems that were not owner caused.
the leaking head gaskets you refered to were in models with 5.4l engines--they also had a problem launching spark plugs. i am not knocking the 5.4l, just aware of these problems almost exclusive to them.
also, not all 4.6l are the same. the engines made in the windsor plant have (i'm told) some more duralble internal parts. the romeo has a great record also though.
keep in mind the power train in the expy is the same as the f150 and has years of development and testing behind it in both applications.
prior to buying the expy i had a '97 light duty F250 with a 4.6l--it ran flawlessly for the 60k plus miles i had it. hauling and towing four wheelers or snowmobiles and never let me down.

good luck, brian

 

[Guest]

2000 XLT

I bought my 2000 X used in Jan 2003 with 53k. Since then I have driven it on I-10 between TX and LA. It now has 76k on it. I just got it out of the shop yesterday after an engine swap. At about 75k it started blowing smoke when it would first start. I took it in with only 700 miles left on my extended warrenty. They did a compression test and found 45% leakage on the #6 and #7 cylinders, broken rings. By the way, 4.6 Windsor 8 Bolt Flywheel. After a month in the shop and dealing with the warrenty company I got it back with a new, not rebuilt, Ford 4.6 engine.

I can't speak for the 53k that were on it before I got, but believe me I had to show all them all of the oil change reciepts after 53k. Other than that I haven't had any problems.

 

[Guest]

AWESOME SUV

We've had our Expedition Eddie Bauer 4x2 since we bought it new in 2000. We have had VERY minor problems. We just hit the 70,000 mile mark and nothing major to report. Only annoying problem we've ever had is brake and rotor wear. We moved a year ago from texas were the summers get to 120 and living halfway up a moutain takes its toll on rotors and brakepads. We were told the intense heat caused the rotors to over heat and therefore led to premature wear. But since moveing to Ohio we havent had any problems whatsoever. We did back and forth trips from ohio to texas since we purchased it and its been absolutely wonderful. We love it. Our lease was up in July but we decided to do a buy out. I would recomend buying an Expy to anyone looking at one. We also appted for the 5.4 instead of the 4.6 and I think it makes a tramendous difference in power. Right now only complaint would have to be the gas mileage. Lately gets frustrateing to pay $35.00 for a fill up every couple days. But by far a Great vehicle...Hope this helps