Looking To Buy Expedition, Any Suggestions??

[Guest]

Ok all new to the Expedition forum but I am sure yall can help me with this. Am going to be buying an Expediton in about a month and wondered if anyone had any advice for me. Good years, bad years, things to watch when inspecting. The 97-99 ones seem to be falling in my price range, probably the EB model but if not definately with leather. Would also like 4x4 for the extra height. So any advice you could give would be muchly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

i just bought a used 99 EB 4x4 a few months ago. I would make sure it has the 5.4 liter engine and I would go with 1999 or newer because of the extra horse power. They increase the HP by about 20 from 98 to 99. Oh, make sure you have the running boards if you get the 4x4 because the step in height is pretty high.

 

[Guest]

Well if I get the EB it has the running boards I assume. What I really would like is a 2000 with the silver or black wheel arches but they are falling outa my price range. Wonder if I found a good 2000 XLT if I could add the arches? Thanks for the horsepower tip, didn't realize that. Every little bit helps in a heavy SUV. Been reading about blown head gaskets in the 5.4, have they fixed that in the 99+ models?

 

[Guest]

As far as engine goes, what part of SC do you live and what do you plan to do with the expy? I recently bought a 2000 xlt with the 4.6 and have been very well pleased. I own a powerstroke so any pulling I need, I do with it. I drove both, and in everyday driving in the peidmont of NC, I couldn't really notice the difference.

Also, finding a EB without leather is going to be difficult. Why do you want the EB? Extra options? Looks? I went with the XLT because of the price difference. It has all the major options of the EB, but without the outer trim. Interior is the same with the exception of rear vent windows that open, MPG/trip computer, and the heated/memory seats. My wife's limited explorer had the MPG and seats, kinda wished the expy did, but the price was unbeatable.

Yes, stay above the 98 year, 97 had steering glitches that ford changed in 98 and hp improvements as already stated for the other years.

BTW, I saw a 2000 Lincoln Navigator (sister to expy) on ebay today for $15,500. What a steal!

 

[Guest]

Prcrboy we live on the coast and travel a lot. I have friends that have F150's with both the 4.6 and the 5.4, they both agree that the 5.4 is a better all around engine. It doesn't have to try as hard to move all that weight. We do plan on buying a camper so 5.4 is probably the choice. I do want leather since I find the fabric very hard. I would like to get a XLT to save some cash but love the look of the 2000 with the silver or black finder trim. So if its possible to buy the fender trim and install on a 98+ that would be great. Is that possible? Thanks for the heads up on the steering, making a list here to narrow it down.

 

[Guest]

Yes, you can. As a matter of fact, the one I bought was silver. I haven't yet put the fender trim on, but do plan to. The running boards are black, so any trim that is black would look great. I installed vent shades and a bug deflector both black and they look great. The only item that I have added that isn't black was the rear air dam. I bought a new one from ford and ordered it to match factory color. It was $120 no matter what color, the silver still looks really good and helps keep the dust and dirt offf the back window.

For the money, the XLT is the preferred choice, however, shop around. I found a EB for just $1000 more than my XLT but it was red and I've owned too many red ones already.

 

[PaulC]

Ford used a steering box that was very light and quick for the Expy from the 1997 introduction to about halfway into the 1999 model year. Some owners found it too twitchy, and Ford introded a box with a heavier feel in response. It's not really a problem, but takes a little getting used to if you are used to driving another truck.

The quality of Expy steering feel is HIGHLY impacted by front tire pressure. Once you go over the recommended pressure, the steering will be very twitchy.

 

[Guest]

as a tip, you may want to look in the Atlanta area for a used expy. You can go to AJC.com and look in the classifieds. They have alot of them for sale. I ended up driving over to Atlanta to get mine. As a price comparisonI paid 15.5k for a 99 4x4 EB with every option on it except towing package and it had 65k miles.