New member here

[mikegigabyte]

2003 XLT 4.6

Here are some crappy pics of my truck, later I will get some ones when im off roading it. Wagg bumper in the back and in the front, rear tail light guards also. Just installed the winch last week, that was a nightmare. Some cheap driving lights on the bumper and smaller off road lights on the rear bumper for backing up.
Billet gas door
I painted my Robbie Gordon wheels, the aluminum stained too much so the satin black matches the brake dust. Paint has been on for over a year and no chips yet, did a good job cleaning them and used an etching primer on the wheels so maybe that helped.
Ordered a front leveling kit so hopefully it will help with the tires rubbing in the fender. Should of never got the wheels that stick out past the fenders, when hauling heavy loads it causes the tires to rub on the outside fender, luckily no damage yet but I dont like when it rarely happens.

Been using a superchips programmer and k&n filter, for smog reasons I went back to stock, tuning and filter and really saw no difference in performance. Did keep the flowmaster muffler on though. I had been using the programmer and filter since I got it and it still drives the same stock, but not sure about the mileage if that will get better. May leave it stock for a while just to see.

 

[LightningExpo]

nice looking truck, you should look into that fusion paint that everyone talks about and paint your gray trim black to match, along with nightshades on your tail lights to give it a blackout lookout. love the off road look very nice

 

[davesexplorer]

Looks good definitely paint that gray trim. I have the same front brushguard... not sure if I would trust a winch mounted on it though, much less using it to pull.

So the programmer didn't make much difference for you? Hmm I was debating on whether to pick one up or not.

 

[mikegigabyte]

Been thinking about doing the trim black, is it easier to remove the panels to paint. Thats my biggest concern as the front and rear bumpers will be a project to remove. The side panels did fade couple years ago and I threw a big stink at the delarship and got them to replace them for free, but had to pay $80 for labor. Black would definitely look nicer. Will the fusion paint hold up under normal conditions, if prepped properly? Does the trim need to be sanded before paint?

Any links for the black out lights, ive seen pics of them and looks cool.

Im not too concerned about the winch bumper, its all solid and welded one piece, my old explorer had the bolt together type. Already dragged a saturn with it on asphalt for a test, bumper didnt move or flex at all, the bumper did come with small support bars at the top that tie into the frame near the radiator right under the hood but I am looking into adding something else into the frame also.
Did it mostly for looks, but it does work too.

I was using my superchips programmer for 87 octane, maybe for 91 it would work better but even 6 years ago gas was too much to even try, and now its definitely too much. One downside to my programmer, its vin locked so unless someone can hack it I cant even sell it because its locked to my truck.

Just got in the front 2.5" leveling blocks, hopefully get them in this weekend, looks to be harder then I thought but im sure I can do it.

 

[davesexplorer]

Been thinking about doing the trim black, is it easier to remove the panels to paint. Thats my biggest concern as the front and rear bumpers will be a project to remove. The side panels did fade couple years ago and I threw a big stink at the delarship and got them to replace them for free, but had to pay $80 for labor. Black would definitely look nicer. Will the fusion paint hold up under normal conditions, if prepped properly? Does the trim need to be sanded before paint?

I sanded before applying the fusion, well and cleaned the panels really good. I didn't remove the panels, you dont have to. Just mask off the areas around all the panels and put some newspaper around it. As long as you dont go insane with the rattle can you'll be okay. I put 3 coats on my bumpers/sides and they held up through my abuse for about 2 years before showing some rock knicks, scratches etc. The nice thing about it though touch ups are easy and blend just fine. Not as good as professionally painting them with automotive paint but I tell you what I get asked more about it than I can remember.

Any links for the black out lights, ive seen pics of them and looks cool.

Black out lights? Like my headlights? They came stock with mine, NBX, FX4 and Limited's came with the black background headlights as far as I know.

Im not too concerned about the winch bumper, its all solid and welded one piece, my old explorer had the bolt together type. Already dragged a saturn with it on asphalt for a test, bumper didnt move or flex at all, the bumper did come with small support bars at the top that tie into the frame near the radiator right under the hood but I am looking into adding something else into the frame also.
Did it mostly for looks, but it does work too.

Nice

I was using my superchips programmer for 87 octane, maybe for 91 it would work better but even 6 years ago gas was too much to even try, and now its definitely too much. One downside to my programmer, its vin locked so unless someone can hack it I cant even sell it because its locked to my truck.

Just got in the front 2.5" leveling blocks, hopefully get them in this weekend, looks to be harder then I thought but im sure I can do it.
I did the daystar kit and I had to get a shop to help me out with getting those springs out and putting in the poly spacers, also had to CUT my OE shocks off as they were a rusty mess. You should have a cake time compared to me just throwing some spacers on there.

Lookin good man, we need more 2nd Gen off-road oriented expeditions!

 

[mikegigabyte]

The spacer blocks were a breeze for the front, and I never did anything like that before. Highly recommend them for a fast and easy front lift. Super fast shipping too. Are the rear shocks the same type of mount as the front, wonder if that kit would work on them, may jack up the back and take a peek later.

 

[LightningExpo]

if you want to black out your taillights the product is called nightshades. i think i payed 11 bucks for the can. what i did for mine was first remove your lights, then i wet sanded them just to make the paint stick a little better, cleaned them off real good. next you just spray it on in thin light coats until you get them as dark as you want i think it recommends no more than 3 coats and then just spray a clearcoat over them. the directions on the bottle just say to clean them off and spray them but i think a light wet sand really helps. the clear coat is not required either but shines them up nicely. just make sure when your spraying them that you look it over in the light to see if youve missed any spots because the red will show up.

 

[mikegigabyte]

Took some better pics today.

 

[TexasR.N.]

Mike,
That is one sharp ride. Can you post some pics and info on your winch and how you mounted it? Also, where did you get the grill guard?

Craig

 

[2003 Black XLT]

hey mike nice expy, not sure if you received the PM I sent you; I wanted to know what size wheel/tire you're running.

 

[LightningExpo]

what kind of rims are those? they look great

 

[98EXPY 5-0]

I have no experience with your specific programmer, but I have always read that the VIN locked programmers could only be used on a new vehicle if you returned yours to stock configuration. Then it unlocks the VIN.

I was using my superchips programmer for 87 octane, maybe for 91 it would work better but even 6 years ago gas was too much to even try, and now its definitely too much. One downside to my programmer, its vin locked so unless someone can hack it I cant even sell it because its locked to my truck.

I have to use Premium gas in my Dodge or it knocks under heavy load. I was really pissed about it because of having to spend more. But then I did the math. I have a 35 gallon tank. Premium is usually 30 cents more that Regular. So to fill up the tank from complete empty (which it never is) is only $10.50 more, and when gas is $3 a gallon, it's already over $100 to fill it, so at that point $10 isn't that big of a deal.

IIRC the EXPEDITION has a 24 gallon tank. So with regular ($2.70) it's ~$65 to fill. Premium ($3.00) is $72. So the question is, do you think the added performance is worth $7 per full tank? Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. I just think it's funny when people will drive across town to save 3 cents on a gallon of gas, especially when they only put in $10.

 

[ELVATO]

Haha, yea. A lot of times, running a 93 tune will save a litle on gas. So using 93 ends up being around the same, assuming you can keep your foot out of it

Just saw that you only ran 87 octane. You should try 91/93 octane, and see if you like that.

As for the trim painting, I've used Fusion, but wanna try either using black trim paint or trying to sand smooth and PTM the trim (probably going this route.) The door trim is apparently held by 9 top clips, 4 lower clips each. The fender trim (the small front and rear pieces) are apparently held by 2 screws each. The bumpers I'm not too sure, but if it comes down to it, I'll remove the bumpers and tape them off. It can't be any worse that my current Fusion job.