New old Expedition owner

[Noitidepxe]

I posted in February that I bought an '04 while visiting my snowbirding brother and sister-in-law in Daytona Beach. Since I had a flight booked to return to New Jersey I left it there with the intention of going back down in March to drive it home. I did that, diving it back on the 28th.

I decided, given the virus situation, to drive straight through if I could and sleep in the Expy if I couldn't. I was able to make it the whole way without a nap, leaving Daytona Beach at about 9:30AM on a Thursday and getting home at 3:30AM the next morning. I believe the Expy is the main reason I was able to do it in one shot, for me (extra tall) it's an exceptionally comfortable vehicle. The only glitch was the cruise didn't work. I made it with 2 gas stops, the 480 mile range is very nice. I was getting 17 to 19 mpg at the speed limit, FYI it's NOT a 4x4 and has the tow package so a 3.73 ratio. It ran flawlessly in every sense, except of course the cruise.

In the time I've driven since I got home I'm reminded why I loved my 2001 F-150 Sport 4x4 so much. The dynamics of this generation of Ford trucks appeals to me. It might not be a nimble handler but it certainly feels solid and I've very pleased given it's age and miles, 182,000 when I left Daytona Beach.

Last weekend I had a look at the cruise. I'd done research and noted that there are 3 fuses to check and the brake switch. I also saw that a lot of owners of this vintage Expy were able to fix their cruise by cleaning the contacts on the switches. I found a test procedure for the cruise in the service manual which I tried and it failed when I pushed the 'on' button so I figured I'd start by checking the fuses then move on to the switches. Fuses looked good so I pulled the switches, a pretty easy process. I cleaned them and put it back together. Next day I took it for groceries and, on the way home, tried the cruise. After fiddling with it briefly it caught so I figured an extended drive home was in order to test the cruise and it performed flawlessly. I may have gotten lucky with this purchase, time will tell.

 

[Aspen03]

Nice easy fix! They are definitely comfortable for the age of the platform. I wonder what it was like to hop in one of these nearly 18 years ago when they first went on sale? It had to be mind blowing given the previous options in the suv segment.

No way I could drive straight through like that. I have no patience for driving and it wrecks my back though that's due to an accident where I was rear ended. 4-500mi is about my limit. On a trip to central ohio last week i averaged just a hair shy of 17mpg that's in a 4wd EB trim. 2wd was selected though. I made it from west of indy to columbus and back and didnt fill up for another 2 days. Impressive for 3 tons and 220k miles.

Tires and pressure make a significant difference in handling on these beasts. My in laws run an LT tire on their 03 and it is a little more responsive w the stiffer sidewall and higher pressure though at the sacrifice of ride quality. With enough time/$ there is likely an option that comes close without much sacrifice. I'll be due for tires around winter and in starting research for some nice all seasons though I may stick with what is on now as I have very little complaints, just curious if better options exist.

 

[smith627]

Glad you were able to fix your cruise control. We have been very fortunate with our 2004 Expedition 5.4 4x4 with mostly highway miles.
The only time our cruise control quit working is after I picked it up from our local shop after getting a couple heater hoses replaced near the firewall.
I found where the technician had failed to reconnect the linkage after putting everything back together. I guess he just overlooked it. I'm retired and it doesn't get driven as much but I just hope we can get 300,000 miles out of it.

 

[Donald Bell]

Put a 2.5 inch lift in the front and take off the stock 265/R70/17s and replace with 285/R70/17s and this baby will ride so much smoother and handle way better. I'd say put on some A/T tires the grip is well worth is and I've seen a reduction in sway on the highway as well! What I also thought helped was replacing all my suspension components front/back as well and I always run my tires a couple pounds above the suggested psi because as we know with truck tires air let's out the tires naturally for some reason so I can stand to loose a few pounds and still have a solid feel to my ride. My tires suggestion was 50 psi I'm running 53 psi though!

 

[RNPIII]

Glad you were able to fix your cruise control. We have been very fortunate with our 2004 Expedition 5.4 4x4 with mostly highway miles.
The only time our cruise control quit working is after I picked it up from our local shop after getting a couple heater hoses replaced near the firewall.
I found where the technician had failed to reconnect the linkage after putting everything back together. I guess he just overlooked it. I'm retired and it doesn't get driven as much but I just hope we can get 300,000 miles out of it.

I have almost 600,000 on mine... only real resign flaws are the plugs.. I change mine ever 35K and the timing chain guides-they're plastic... I replaced mine with high performance aluminum after the last failure.. Happy Trucking!!

 

[Noitidepxe]

I have almost 600,000 on mine... only real resign flaws are the plugs.. I change mine ever 35K and the timing chain guides-they're plastic... I replaced mine with high performance aluminum after the last failure.. Happy Trucking!!

You have the 4 valve engine?