Thinking to get an expedition ssv

[Gerben]

I'm looking at buying a 2021 expedition max ssv, 100.000km
Is there anything i should be aware of with these units?
It doesn't have the center console
And no leather seats but hey the price is right

Does anyone know if the seats in the ssv are less comfortable than let's say the leather seats on a limited?

 

[DieselMonk]

Any pics? Column shift? I would look on top of the roof for antenna mounts / holes plates…
I would check for the transmission, upgraded thermostat and the usual …

 

[GlennSullivan]

The other thing to consider with SSVs is the mileage does not properly represent total use. What you need to consider is these vehicles go out on shift and do not get turned off for the entire shift. Traffic stop: vehicle running, accident: vehicle running, domestic incident: vehicle running, coffee stop, vehicle running. Total engine hours can be double driving hours or more and idling for long periods is generally not good for engines.

 

[bb37]

My first Expedition was a retired SSV. It was a 2002 with about 35k on it when I bought it. I sold it at around 125k. No major issues.

At that time, SSVs had cloth front seats, vinyl 2nd row seats, and no 3rd row seats. It also had a rubber floor mat and no console. Other than that, it was an XLT.

As mentioned above, 4th gen SSVs have a column shifter for the transmission which you've probably already identified since you know it doesn't have a console.

There may be holes in the roof where antennas were mounted. Or, they may have simply removed the antennas and left the antenna mounts. The mounts are probably NMO mounts which are about a half inch tall and have a thread that's about an inch in diameter. If the NMO mounts were properly installed, they are nearly 100% water tight. You can get NMO caps if you want to dress up the bare mounts.

I would ask to see the service records. If the vehicle has been in a fleet, it was probably well maintained according to the factory maintenance schedule.

I think there's a way to see the idle hours on the vehicle. Extended idling qualifies as "severe service" so hopefully that was taken into account in the service intervals.

 

[Gerben]

Good point about the antenna holes, i will look.
Yes it's a column shift

I did check for the engine hours already
At 10500km the hours are 1800 whereof 298 idle hours, thats not bad is it?

My 2016 f150 bought at 196000km it had about 3000 hour whereof 600 idle if i remember correctly

I owned a 2013 f250 gas before that, it had 190000km with 6000 hr wherof 2000+ idle hours, now that's pretty high right?

 

[Gerben]

btw. I would really like to get a center console for this vehicle, any of you guys that have tried that?
I called scrapyards for a console out of an F150 but nobody has them, I can get one from a US made company but they are quite pricey, especially once I figure in the shipping and conversion rate to CAD
are there other options?

 

[Trainmaster]

You can get the folding jumpseat out of an f-150. It mounts where the console would go and folds up as an armrest with cup holders and two storage compartments. Looks great in an SSV. Here's one in my 2023.

They are often sold as new pullouts on ebay. Make sure you get the two brackets and the seatbelt buckle and and are buying one from an "extended cab" pick-up. The single cab ones have the seatbelt mounted on the rear wall and you don't want that.

 

[Gerben]

You can get the folding jumpseat out of an f-150. It mounts where the console would go and folds up as an armrest with cup holders and two storage compartments. Looks great in an SSV. Here's one in my 2023.

They are often sold as new pullouts on ebay. Make sure you get the two brackets and the seatbelt buckle and and are buying one from an "extended cab" pick-up. The single cab ones have the seatbelt mounted on the rear wall and you don't want that.

Great to know! Is that jump seat from a certain year f150? I've been looking at both consoles and jump seats, but most of them are out of 09-14 f150's
I'm kind of leaning towards the console because they have way more storage, do you by any chance mind to check if your 2023 has mounting holes in the sides of the driver and passenger seat for mounting the console?

as for mounting the jump seat, are all the bolt holes already there in the vehicles floor?
Do you have to pull aside upholstery?
I'm a cabinet maker, not very handy with automotive stuff

 

[JimW]

More information here.

2024 Max XL Fleet Front bench seat

Awesome, glad to see someone else take advantage of this since it's not offered from the factory with the bench.

www.expeditionforum.com

 

[Trainmaster]

Gerben, I have a cabinet shop too. The jumpseat I bought was out of a 2024 Crew cab F-150. I believe most of the late models are the same. Look for a newer one. Just make sure it's from a truck that had some sort of back seat.

The jumpseat brackets are the same brackets needed for the OEM console. The have holes for the jumpseat bolts as well as the console bolts. Sometimes those holes are not threaded. If you buy a console, get the brackets with it. If you install a console, you'll also need a snap-on trim piece that connects the console with the lower dashboard. And you will have to power the accessories on the console with some sort of wiring harness. You may have to move the USB port and Cigarette lighter to the console, which would also require this harness work.

The SSV has a column shifter. An OEM console will have an opening for the dial shifter. There may be an F-150 part to add a bin where this hole is, as some F-150's come with consoles and column shifters.

Looks like you have some research ahead of you.

Of course you can always choose an aftermarket console which would save you some of this work but not look original.

 

[Gerben]

Gerben, I have a cabinet shop too. The jumpseat I bought was out of a 2024 Crew cab F-150. I believe most of the late models are the same. Look for a newer one. Just make sure it's from a truck that had some sort of back seat.

The jumpseat brackets are the same brackets needed for the OEM console. The have holes for the jumpseat bolts as well as the console bolts. Sometimes those holes are not threaded. If you buy a console, get the brackets with it. If you install a console, you'll also need a snap-on trim piece that connects the console with the lower dashboard. And you will have to power the accessories on the console with some sort of wiring harness. You may have to move the USB port and Cigarette lighter to the console, which would also require this harness work.

The SSV has a column shifter. An OEM console will have an opening for the dial shifter. There may be an F-150 part to add a bin where this hole is, as some F-150's come with consoles and column shifters.

Looks like you have some research ahead of you.

Of course you can always choose an aftermarket console which would save you some of this work but not look original.

I see what you mean, i was hoping to avoid the front part of the center console, because like you said that would result in having a hole from the shifter
The aftermarket ones are very expensive i think I'll get a jump seat, that gets me the 9th seat if I'd ever needed it
The center consoles I've found so far on Facebook are like this one

 

[Gerben]

You can get the folding jumpseat out of an f-150. It mounts where the console would go and folds up as an armrest with cup holders and two storage compartments. Looks great in an SSV. Here's one in my 2023.

They are often sold as new pullouts on ebay. Make sure you get the two brackets and the seatbelt buckle and and are buying one from an "extended cab" pick-up. The single cab ones have the seatbelt mounted on the rear wall and you don't want that.

Random question, did your seat come with the belt buckle? Mine has the belt but not the buckle , i was assuming that would be part of the seat, but received it without
My seat is a 2024 f150 seat

 

[Trainmaster]

Mine came without the fixed buckle "socket" also, but I didn't notice until after mounting it. I found a $15 one on eBay. The few I see are often pricey. Must be a common problem.

I suppose the outfitters use them with whatever they do to the trucks as many jump seats are sold without them. I believe mine came from a 2024 also.