mechanic wants me to get rid of expedition

[Speed 330]

I’m $10k all-in, to include CAPEX, new engine, and addressing every mechanical and cosmetic write-up. I now have a solid EB truck that I would take anywhere. Far less than a year’s worth of payments on a new one. Of course I did all the work myself. It may have been twice that if I paid some joker to do it.

Same here love it well maintained last forever 235 going strong

 

[texasscot]

I’m $10k all-in, to include CAPEX, new engine, and addressing every mechanical and cosmetic write-up. I now have a solid EB truck that I would take anywhere. Far less than a year’s worth of payments on a new one. Of course I did all the work myself. It may have been twice that if I paid some joker to do it.

This. Depreciation on new vehicles totally eclipse repair costs. When my 5.4 gives up, currently 261,000 miles, I’ll be doing the engine swap.
Recently, I hit a deer at around 60mph. I got new headlamps from the internet, and visited the pick n’ pull in San Antonio for a front passenger door and the front clip, including the main front plastic structural element that mounts the headlamps. I guess I’m all in $400.
The only part I’m concerned about is the common fuel tank leak that I think has come back. I’m not sure how to permanently fix that.

 

[Bob Lewis]

I brought my 03 5.4 EB to the shop so that he could look at the fuel gauge, which was reading a quarter off after he replaced the fuel pump. He calls me the next day to say that the water pump is bad and that I need to replace the water pump and thermostat, and quoted me 1100 dollars. He also said that the head gasket was causing high pressure in the cooling system, which he thinks caused the water pump to fail and the induction manifold (which has been leaking since 2020) to leak. Furthermore, he said that at 270k miles, things are just going to keep breaking, and that he isn't going to service the vehicle anymore, and that I should sell it as is and buy something else.
I've had the car my whole life and am willing to put as much money as it takes to keep it running forever.

My question is two fold: is it possible to keep the car on the road to a million miles
And ballpark how much would it cost to preventatively replace everything that is prone to fail
(he also said that this car should be a local errands runner, but I want to be able to confidently take it on the road in the summer, every summer I put 10-12k on it visiting national parks)

Find a different shop!

 

[cloudmech]

In addition to what others have said, at this age, plan on replacing vacuum and other hoses. The oxidation from the sunlight and ozone degrades them. I have an 2003 model with only 115k miles on it. My vacuum hoses have just been falling apart all over my vehicle. I also happen to know that the design life in the 1990's for all of the climate control hoses was 10 yrs, so I knew it was coming.