looking into buying a 98 expedition

[huffer81]

hey guys new member looking into buying a 98 expedition, anything I should be on the look out for?

 

[JDMitchell]

I just bought a 97 last month and I have been putting quite a bit of money into mine. Look out for the trailing arms (rear control arms) they tend to rust since Ford didn't coat them with a quality product, so the paint bubbles and salt and water get in and rot them out. I am also making a new track bar since mine is doing the same thing as my trailing arms.

Ball joints are another area that might need attention.

If it has the air suspension check that everything is good with that, there are quite a few people that have either switched to a standard coil spring or have gone to an aftermarket air setup to upgrade the stocker.

Check under the dash and see if there are any signs of moisture or previous leaks since the fuse panel and GEM are prone to getting a little bit of water on them and causing electrical headaches from a leaky windshield seal.

Coil packs are another thing that are common to go bad, but those are fairly inexpensive.

 

[Expeditionary]

either dont buy one with an air suspension, or get the seller to take 500-700off the price, and make sure you have time after work and on weekends. Coil springs are the way to go F*** air bags

 

[alexhozee]

Ball joints
tie rods, rubbers can be cracked and durt and stuff can get in.
Wheelbearings
brakes
cop's is hard to check, if it's running good it's ok but the next day you can have trouble with one of them.
Check where the car had service and what is done to the car, all fluids etc. and sparkplugs and cop's, you don't wanna have a plug spit out.
check all electronics.
I always check under the car, flashlight and down under the car. oil leaks, rust and hidden damage you can check here.

Good luck and if you buy it, have fun!!!

 

[sdaviddr]

brake lines and brake hoses.Check rear hose going to rear end housing and check at the rotors where it goes from steel line to rubber hose and back to steel.check front and rears.my were rusted where the rubber and steel meets.

 

[sdaviddr]

and at the front driver's side wheel well pull back the rubber flap and look at the brake lines coming out of the ABS unit

 

[hazzardgarage]

exhaust manifolds,a/c compressor,abs,listen for the typical "Ford" slight knock. I bought mine (Expedition,Eddie Bauer edition) and has all of this crap wrong with it.....so far. Good thing I got it for 2,700 with 139k. Also the positive battery cable goes bad.

 

[aussie]

Definitely check behind the passenger side head for an oil leak. Oil leaks from the head (but it looks like a possible valve cover gasket leak) down onto the tranny and starter. Ford has a tsb for this problem and the fix involves new headgasket.

The other high dollar fix I would look or listen for is rear end noise. Listen for rear end bearing or gear noise. Ford also has another tsb for this.

These are the problems I had to deal with when I bought my 99.

Good luck.

 

[Eric]

My buddy has a 98 and has problems with the GEM module, so check for evidence of any windshield leak and dripping on the GEM, which is attached to the fuse box I'm told.