johnboneske
Full Access Members
Electric vehicles will never be the permanent answer. Lithium Ion is running out, charging and discharging a battery isn't as efficient as a gas engine, plus the grid can't handle all that load of electricity.
Why are 1st generation 5.4 Expeditions so reliable?
- Thread starter Machete
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
Electric vehicles will never be the permanent answer. Lithium Ion is running out, charging and discharging a battery isn't as efficient as a gas engine, plus the grid can't handle all that load of electricity.
hammerg26
Full Access Members
I have heard of plenty of others on a couple of forums with 250k+ on the Ecoboost motors.
I am hoping it is the same as my grand dad taught me “Take care of your tools and they will take care of you. “
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Boostedbus
Full Access Members
The 3.5 Ecoboost makes max torque at 2500 rpm vs. 5.0 Coyote at 3850 rpm. As a matter of fact it even has a shorter stroke than the 5.0 Coyote which means it has
Slower piston speeds per rpm. So in reality it actually doesn’t have to work as hard as the Coyote does to make power.
OP
OP
Machete
My Rig. 2000 EB 4x4 5.4L
I don’t know this to be true but the eco is dependent on turbos for their power. This in addition to direct injection is not my cup of tea. To each his own but for a truck a small v6 w forced induction to make power is a gas and weight saving strategy.
I’ve seen Ford service techs interviewed and asked which engine they prefer and is better and all chose the 5.0 over the eco.
Boostedbus
Full Access Members
I get it, to each their own. I love my V8 ‘s also. Just stating some facts about the Ecoboost that some don’t realize. I have a customer I work for that just bought a new 2018 2.3 4cyl Ecoboost Explorer. He replaced his 2014 2.3 Ecoboost Explorer because the electric steering went out and they wanted too much to fix it. It had 392,000 mi. and the engine still ran fine. Now I know he runs a lot of highway miles, but that’s still pretty good in my book. Let’s hope the 3.5 Ecoboost holds up as good. He never had any turbo problems either, just as most turbo diesels don’t either. I’d take my chances with an Ecoboost before I would with GM’s cylinder deactivation system. Also had a customer that had a Cadillac 4-6-8 back in the day,same concept, it was always in the shop. Maybe GM figured it out this time but that 4-6-8 Caddy engine was a disaster.
JExpedition07
That One Member
They aren’t building them quite as good now. The manufacturers have been cutting costs and corners while increasing prices fast. IMO they peaked on certain aspects of engine build quality in the 2010ish era for half tons and passanger vehicles. Now the main concern is making it lighter and more fuel efficient to meet these crazy standards that can’t be achieved. The 6.2 V8 in the super duty which isn’t subject to CAFE standards is vastly different from engines that are. Then again reliability is what it’s made for......Still has cast iron engine block and metallic parts vs aluminum and plastic parts. Just an example:
5.4 (Cast iron Block, Aluminum valve covers, Steel oil pan)
5.0 & EcoBoost (Aluminum block, plastic valve covers, plastic oil pan)
Not to say the new engines are bad, they are good. Just showing some of the cheap.
5.4 (Cast iron Block, Aluminum valve covers, Steel oil pan)
5.0 & EcoBoost (Aluminum block, plastic valve covers, plastic oil pan)
Not to say the new engines are bad, they are good. Just showing some of the cheap.
rhogan308
Member
411,000 on mine. 2002 EB 2WD. All original. Daily driver.
Canaris
Member
586,000 miles on my 2001 xlt 2wd.
OP
OP
Machete
My Rig. 2000 EB 4x4 5.4L
What year 5.4?
blue oval guy
Well-Known Member
3 valve motors have cam phasers (not needed) a more aggressive EGR pumping into the intake and a few other things all in the interest of running "cleaner"
My 2 valve 04' has 188K miles and runs like a champ, i have had since it had 14K miles and the only failures i can think of were ignition lock cylinder, vaccum hose tree, power window switches and door latch innards (kids always playing with doors and windows) Nothing engine or powertrain related. Meticulous service and maintenance using only Motorcraft parts has played a role I'm sure..
My 2 valve 04' has 188K miles and runs like a champ, i have had since it had 14K miles and the only failures i can think of were ignition lock cylinder, vaccum hose tree, power window switches and door latch innards (kids always playing with doors and windows) Nothing engine or powertrain related. Meticulous service and maintenance using only Motorcraft parts has played a role I'm sure..
JExpedition07
That One Member
All of them from 97-14’ throughout the different generations have cast iron block, aluminum valve covers, and steel oil pans.
Now on the newer engines many of these parts are plastic instead for cost and weight savings. They only use the durable cast iron block and metallic pans and covers on the 6.2L V8. Most have light weight aluminum blocks.
My 07’ with 5.4L 3V is a great vehicle. I have 171k miles on her now and it runs like new. Upkeep is the key.
Last edited:
1955moose
Full Access Members
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2014
- Posts
- 6,004
- Reaction score
- 1,351
586,000 miles, Canaris, I think your the mileage champ! Is that the original engine in your 2001?
Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk
Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk
Canaris
Member
I am on my second one.
The 1st Gen were list as "top 10, longest lasting vehicles", along with the Crown Vic and Lincoln Town Car. Ford rewarded new buyers by getting rid of the Crown Vic and Town Car and putting in a crappy '3 valve' v8 and later a turbo V6 in the Expedition.
If it ain't broke don't fix it. But society and companies can't adhere to that for many reasons. We've had a 2000 Expedition with a 5-4 for about seven years. Bought it with 193,000 miles on it and now it has over 250 and is still a great running truck. I have had and worked on so many 4.6 is in town cars I've lost count so they are my preference.
After having a town car for a daily driver for about seven years I decided I wanted to go back to an SUV so I decided on a navigator I wanted leather and they are more plentiful than expeditions with leather. I ended up driving around 250 miles away to get a southern nice rust-free one but I decided I had to have it 03 or 04. I would not have an 05 because of the 3 valve engine and I would not have an 06 because of the new ZF transmission. It actually upsets me that the Expedition and Navigators don't have the 4R100 transmission. My Excursion has that and it's the best ford transmission ever in my opinion.
So I got a near-mint condition Navigator with 117000 miles on it for $300 under Kelley Blue Book. It wasn't a steal but it's absolutely rust-free and the underside of it including frame rockers lines hoses everything looks like a 9 to 10 month old vehicle compared to everything else around here.
I only buy old stuff and the cheap price range for cash so I will have to skip over a lot of these newer ones and all the junk they have creayed in their annoying boredom to change things and the push for fuel mileage. As someone stated, I don't need or expect a huge SUV to get 25 miles per gallon. I am thinking in the future I will seriously be considering one of the newer explorers if the engines and Transmissions are not problematic. I like the look of them and they have the same seating capacity although it's a little more snug I guess as the larger Expeditions and Navigators. The dumbest thing Ford ever did was put the center console in The Navigators and make it a seven instead of eight passenger. Completely stupid I cannot figure out why they couldn't make a seat that you can sit on but the top part folds down to be an arm rest with two cup holders. The seat option for jumper seat does fold down with the rest of the seat but it's not really designed to just flip down & be an armrest or be convenient. If I had more time this will become my pet peeve and I would make one myself just to make it the perfect height. The only thing the center console is good for is putting two liters of pop and milk in so they won't fall over.
But overall I completely hate it. It cast now I'm one passenger capacity and it makes it almost impossible for both rear seat passengers to get in from the same door. Sometimes passengers might like the division with both having an armrest but other times passengers want to be able to actually be closer to each other or sit next to each other in the rear seat like they can in a town car. It seems 03-06 95% of them have the center console but now it seems you see a lot more of the newer ones with a jumper seat. Who makes these decisions,? What market research? Do you think anything's changed in a few years? Of course not. It should have been the other way around with the console being an option. Or get some cool Asian designers involved and make one that does all three. It's a seat with the top that folds down for an armrest with cup holders and the bottom folds up to have a solid storage box below that instead of just having air underneath of it.
After having a town car for a daily driver for about seven years I decided I wanted to go back to an SUV so I decided on a navigator I wanted leather and they are more plentiful than expeditions with leather. I ended up driving around 250 miles away to get a southern nice rust-free one but I decided I had to have it 03 or 04. I would not have an 05 because of the 3 valve engine and I would not have an 06 because of the new ZF transmission. It actually upsets me that the Expedition and Navigators don't have the 4R100 transmission. My Excursion has that and it's the best ford transmission ever in my opinion.
So I got a near-mint condition Navigator with 117000 miles on it for $300 under Kelley Blue Book. It wasn't a steal but it's absolutely rust-free and the underside of it including frame rockers lines hoses everything looks like a 9 to 10 month old vehicle compared to everything else around here.
I only buy old stuff and the cheap price range for cash so I will have to skip over a lot of these newer ones and all the junk they have creayed in their annoying boredom to change things and the push for fuel mileage. As someone stated, I don't need or expect a huge SUV to get 25 miles per gallon. I am thinking in the future I will seriously be considering one of the newer explorers if the engines and Transmissions are not problematic. I like the look of them and they have the same seating capacity although it's a little more snug I guess as the larger Expeditions and Navigators. The dumbest thing Ford ever did was put the center console in The Navigators and make it a seven instead of eight passenger. Completely stupid I cannot figure out why they couldn't make a seat that you can sit on but the top part folds down to be an arm rest with two cup holders. The seat option for jumper seat does fold down with the rest of the seat but it's not really designed to just flip down & be an armrest or be convenient. If I had more time this will become my pet peeve and I would make one myself just to make it the perfect height. The only thing the center console is good for is putting two liters of pop and milk in so they won't fall over.
But overall I completely hate it. It cast now I'm one passenger capacity and it makes it almost impossible for both rear seat passengers to get in from the same door. Sometimes passengers might like the division with both having an armrest but other times passengers want to be able to actually be closer to each other or sit next to each other in the rear seat like they can in a town car. It seems 03-06 95% of them have the center console but now it seems you see a lot more of the newer ones with a jumper seat. Who makes these decisions,? What market research? Do you think anything's changed in a few years? Of course not. It should have been the other way around with the console being an option. Or get some cool Asian designers involved and make one that does all three. It's a seat with the top that folds down for an armrest with cup holders and the bottom folds up to have a solid storage box below that instead of just having air underneath of it.
This goes along with what I've been hearing and saying about I'm afraid the longevity of engines is going to take a dive into the toilet here. I guess I'll just have to keep my old stuff a lot longer and hope I can get another good quality wave in the future.
I was very skeptical of the 4.6 when it came out with this crazy almost bicycle chain super long looking timing components and an extra camshaft that wasn't needed but they panned out to be far superior to the 5.0 it replaced. Luckily, now we have so much more awareness with forums like this much better than what we had word of mouth and personal friends and family experiences in the old days.
On another note, Ford better watch out because I'm not loyal to any brand. I've always been a GM guy at heart but I've owned more Ford's than GM's.
The last couple of years of Toyota 4Runners are looking awfully nice. They've gotten big and fat and look just about like my navigator. Give me one of those in black or silver with black leather and I'd be just as happy. Maybe happier, because I wouldn't have to worry about the air suspension issues.
I don't want a dinky crossover at least not as my only option. Lots of different types of vehicles have their place and I always have several sitting around. I want my big SUV because I want it to hold seven extra people if need be and have a nice big tall mean stance.
Now when I make a trip across country to buy a vehicle I take one of our high fuel mileage vehicles. My son has an 05 Saab that somebody gave us and is an exceptionally good condition it just has almost 200,000 miles on it. We've already had it on several longer distance trips and it runs like a dream and gets 30+ miles to the gallon.
It's dinky and would be terrible if you had four people going but for just a tool box and another driver it's perfect for picking up vehicles or just getting somewhere.
I guess I got spoiled I having 3 full size Chevy Conversion Vans in a row. When my kids were babies and growing up all of our family trips were in these.
The best of them only got 16.5 miles to the gallon but the huge room inside and being able to move around was excellent.
My wife could hop out of the front seat and pop right into the back to check on the baby in the car seat in the second row captain seat. I think the reason we have to have third row is so on trips somebody can hop in the back and take a nap.
We took one trip in a four-door sedan that was a company car and free to use so we did from Ohio to Texas and it was not nearly as enjoyable as having a van or an SUV with extra room.
Now I hear these companies are going to stop making normal sedans. GM just got major heat for announcing it but Ford already quietly announced it previously from what I heard. That seems hard to believe as entry-level cars and young people love the four doors and the hatchbacks. It would be odd if Honda and Toyota for the only people making four-door sedans. It's sad already that when you pull into a parking lot almost every vehicle is a 3/4 size SUV in the majority of them the same two colors.
Maybe eventually people will start demanding style again we will get some variation.
The last couple of years of Toyota 4Runners are looking awfully nice. They've gotten big and fat and look just about like my navigator. Give me one of those in black or silver with black leather and I'd be just as happy. Maybe happier, because I wouldn't have to worry about the air suspension issues.
I don't want a dinky crossover at least not as my only option. Lots of different types of vehicles have their place and I always have several sitting around. I want my big SUV because I want it to hold seven extra people if need be and have a nice big tall mean stance.
Now when I make a trip across country to buy a vehicle I take one of our high fuel mileage vehicles. My son has an 05 Saab that somebody gave us and is an exceptionally good condition it just has almost 200,000 miles on it. We've already had it on several longer distance trips and it runs like a dream and gets 30+ miles to the gallon.
It's dinky and would be terrible if you had four people going but for just a tool box and another driver it's perfect for picking up vehicles or just getting somewhere.
I guess I got spoiled I having 3 full size Chevy Conversion Vans in a row. When my kids were babies and growing up all of our family trips were in these.
The best of them only got 16.5 miles to the gallon but the huge room inside and being able to move around was excellent.
My wife could hop out of the front seat and pop right into the back to check on the baby in the car seat in the second row captain seat. I think the reason we have to have third row is so on trips somebody can hop in the back and take a nap.
We took one trip in a four-door sedan that was a company car and free to use so we did from Ohio to Texas and it was not nearly as enjoyable as having a van or an SUV with extra room.
Now I hear these companies are going to stop making normal sedans. GM just got major heat for announcing it but Ford already quietly announced it previously from what I heard. That seems hard to believe as entry-level cars and young people love the four doors and the hatchbacks. It would be odd if Honda and Toyota for the only people making four-door sedans. It's sad already that when you pull into a parking lot almost every vehicle is a 3/4 size SUV in the majority of them the same two colors.
Maybe eventually people will start demanding style again we will get some variation.
In regards to the second Generations not being as durable as the first, what normally happens is when they change something and they have design flaws or durability issue they will make a few revisions until they get them tolerable or the aftermarket will invent some parts to solve the factories poor design issue.
It seems with all the cam phaser problems right now we're in the learning stage but if somebody will come out with a foolproof tensioner and foolproof gasket design with a high quality chain and guide set and a fix for whatever the problem is with the phasers, this could be a moot point once the front end has been fixed. I've seen videos and stuff and some people say that the stock tensioners are the best ones and everyone has different opinions on things.
It seems with all the cam phaser problems right now we're in the learning stage but if somebody will come out with a foolproof tensioner and foolproof gasket design with a high quality chain and guide set and a fix for whatever the problem is with the phasers, this could be a moot point once the front end has been fixed. I've seen videos and stuff and some people say that the stock tensioners are the best ones and everyone has different opinions on things.
JExpedition07
That One Member
Our trucks are full size SUVs by the standard. Thing is the Expeditions and Tahoes have stayed the same size while other vehicles have grown.
According to the specs an 18’ Explorer is wider than my Expedition by about a half inch. The wheelbase is almost identical when parked next to one. The new Explorer May have been slightly longer overall than my expy and according to ford the Expedition (gen 1-3) is narrower than the explorers. Ford also shows the new Expedition being roughly 5-8 inches wider than the 3rd gen Expedition. Some 4th gen owners said ford started to cheat on the measurements and measure mirrors unfolded to cheat and make it seem bigger. But I can’t verify.
I’ll take a body on frame full size truck based SUV with a V8 any day over these bloated monstrosities. They are just cars on steroids and can be made super big with their low center of gravity.
According to the specs an 18’ Explorer is wider than my Expedition by about a half inch. The wheelbase is almost identical when parked next to one. The new Explorer May have been slightly longer overall than my expy and according to ford the Expedition (gen 1-3) is narrower than the explorers. Ford also shows the new Expedition being roughly 5-8 inches wider than the 3rd gen Expedition. Some 4th gen owners said ford started to cheat on the measurements and measure mirrors unfolded to cheat and make it seem bigger. But I can’t verify.
I’ll take a body on frame full size truck based SUV with a V8 any day over these bloated monstrosities. They are just cars on steroids and can be made super big with their low center of gravity.
Last edited:
Similar threads
