Project Aspen...

[1955moose]

Usually but not always the internet Motorcraft stuff is not OEM Ford. But still works better than the other made in China/India garbage that's floating about. Id install everything but the coils. OEM Ford coils usually last the life of vehicle. Save the coils for when you get a misfire. Be sure to torque the spark plugs, very critical to get tightness right. Too loose they spit out, too tight, and same scenario. Around 16-18 ft lbs is right. Good luck. Now you know why they call BMW, bite my weenie! Great cars, but not cheap on maintenance.

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[Cbatzer5696]

Alright Small update for everyone, Picked up some motocraft plugs and some boots from autozone, Managed to fix the antifreeze leak which seems to have soaked the back three coil packs on the passenger side, and fixed a small vacuum leak while i was at it. The truck still runs on 7 cylinders half the time tho!! :-( My guess is either a coil pack is toast or a plug is fouled but she will run on 8 sometimes. the problem is.... the previous owner put anti-seize on the springs in the boot, and not on the plugs!!!!!!!! I CAN'T GET the plugs OUT... I think its time for a shop to give it a try as I don't wanna screw the heads up... Whats I'm hoping is the miss is being caused by a now fouled plug but nothing ever seems to go that smoothly! I will post an update here shortly and if the weather allows I hopefully will be swapping interior door panels and installing the stereo etc etc etc etc Hope you all had a great thanksgiving!!

 

[Cbatzer5696]

OK big question for you guys, on the passenger side of the intake manifold almost direct center there are 3 vacuum lines that all join at this circle shaped piece, one line i know for sure runs to the PVC valve while one runs around the from of the engine into the engine somewhere over in the front, the third i don't know, But what is extremely odd and I'm now worried about is the fact that i pulled one of those vacuum lines and it had liquid in it, possibly antifreeze where could this come from??? I'm wondering if part of the engine running like a dog is caused by the vacuum system having liquid in it....

My BMW died so I am having to use the expo to get to work, Driving on seven cylinders in a vehicle thats known for shooting plugs is quite nerve racking, btw, @1955moose I like to think BMW stands for "Bring my wallet" as my serpentine belt snapped and somehow killed the water pump, power steering lines, and idler pully.. the cheapest of which is the idler pulley at a small 75$ for a small wheel and bearing

 

[Cbatzer5696]

And yet another update! (im just trying to get this thing to run while my bimmer is in pieces!) Replaced a few boots and coil packs last night! (the far back one and the second one back on the passenger side) she ran beautiful for a bit with some shudders every now and then (would my tow-haul switch being broke and possibly shorted do this?)) but this morning on the way to work she started running on seven cylinders at stoplights and when accelerating (half the time she would kick back into all 8 about half way through accelerating) the boots did their job as there was no liquid in the spark-plug wells, buttttt one of the plugs that plugs into the coil over plug looks bad, i have a picture to show but i have no cue how to upload it!!! so tonight i will replace the other two boots and coil packs on that side and try to repin a new plug on that coil pack? I wonder if that spark-plug is fouled and needs to be replaced before she will run right.........



Also I want to apologies for my terrible spelling on all these posts!!!

 

[Cbatzer5696]

She runs!!! So The antifreeze leak coming from the T on the intake side of the heater hoses dripped and managed to knock out 3 coil packs. Numbers 2, 3, and 4. The boots never got wet though! So I replaced all three coil packs and the boots respectively and I'm back on all 8 cylinders. The project is on hold right now as this thing is now my daily driver till I get the bimmer fixed, but at a hefty 16mpg I have a lot of motivation to get the 528i running again. Till then ill post with all sorts of little updates as I research more and more things about this expo!! If any one has any ideas on how I can get this thing to stop driving like a boat in a hurricane I would be most great full!!!

 

[Cbatzer5696]

Just a Small but needed update, Life happened and my parents vehicle died so they have been using the Expedition. Currently it has had its brakes replaces, shocks, sparkplugs, coils/boots, and a few other small things. We still need to get the door panels swapped and a few things like the blend gate for the front hvac etc. I got an email from the forums here and it reminded me to come on and update you guys! once The parts come in for the scion I will be going back to finishing this project!

 

[Cbatzer5696]

I really am Awful about updating this forum and Even worse at taking pictures. But a lot has happened to the Expo sense my last post. The brakes, shocks, front and rear sway bars, Headlights, turn signals, Tail Lights, and any bulb on the truck, have all been replaced and are all brand new. 99% of the interior has been replaced with new used components out of the three parts Expo's and most of it is in really good condition. The Dash wasn't replaced as that is a project I did not want to undergo, I will just touch up the color in the spots where its turned black. The steering wheel still needs to be replaced as well as the center bench seat. I have no motivation to do carpet just yet and the headliner is in ok condition. But this truck really is coming along very well. I am working on replacing the running boards with tan ones off the 02 Eddie Bauer as they look better with the gold trim and I replaced the front grill/Trim with chrome as it looks so good with the Chrome brush guard I have waiting to go on.

My issue is my front passenger frame where the bumper bolts up is bent to hell, I have pictures of that if I knew how to post em. What I think happened is the previous owner managed to hit concrete or something with the front passenger tow hook which bent straight down causing the frame to bend in that one spot right behind the rear bolt of that tow hook mount. The frame behind it is perfectly straight so its nothing bad to anything on the truck EXCEPT where the bumper mounts, I'm thinking a jack and a torch??? jack up the truck from that tow hook just enough to put all the weight there and heat the frame till it straightens out.

My list for this truck is shrinking. The main things left are that bumper issue and the exhaust.

Sadly though the Truck is now a father/Son project as I recently purchased an 03 Navigator and gave him the Expo...