Guest Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Hey guys, I just got my hands on a '97 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer Edition, one owner vehicle in fairly good shape cosmetically. Mechanically it had a stripped spark plug thread on #7. Paid some guy that works on police cars to fix it using a thread insert, set me back $250. Anyways, I was curious about a few things. #1) fuel economy, real life specs not the EPA crap. #2) self leveling air suspension mode of operation, is it supposed to come on everytime you start the truck? How loud should that compressor be? Any tips will be appreciated. I got a hell of a deal on this thing, so I'm so far pleased. My '05 Kia Sedona gets us a miserable 14MPG from its V6, thats horrible. So if this Ford yields similar fuel econmy I'll be fine, its bigger and more powerful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dred_85.5_TSI Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Ask NudeLobster, Not sure what year his family has but I think it is similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Compressor is loud and comes on when it wants to. Fuel mileage is less than epa estimates. When the airbags (suspension) go out they are expensive to fix. It's ok if you like suvs. Used to have one in the family. A 98. Threw a rod and we junked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 All I know about em is that I used to sell the used air bags for $150 a piece and we couldnt keep enough of them at the wrecking yard. Never owned one, but I know about the air bags going out. They sell aftermarket replacements or refurbished OEM units. This one the compressor comes on at start up, have not heard it come on any time after. I was just curious if it releases the air when you turn off the truck and that is why I hear it at start up. Or if its that the bags are leaking when it sits? Drove it 40 miles today and compressor did not come on during the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NudeLobster Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 We have a 2001 Expedition XLT AWD 5.4L and with the AWD we get 11 city, 15 highway. ours is all-time AWD or locked out 4x4. I'm sure yours on 2wd mode will be better on gas. No stripped plugs yet, we just did plugs at around 100k miles (now about 110k) New struts and the thing is a tank. The driver rear door lock likes to act up and stop working with the key fob. On ours, not only does it not lock with the key fob, but you can't open the door from the inside even when it's unlocked. I've talked to many expedition owners at work when I see them and they all seem to have problems with that door's lock. Also, the front edge of the hood and front bumper will rust/corrode/peal. They all do All negetives aside though, I love that thing with a passion. It's comfortable, holds tons o s**t, never gets stuck, and never dies. I found out the tune up we did at 100k was the first one since we got the truck. It's just never shown any signs of giving up or problems. -Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanta Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 The airbags just naturally decompress. My 05 Crown Victoria LX Sport, everytime I started it the compressor would go. More so during cold weather than warm weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig87 Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Watch the heater hose for leakage into the rear two cylinders causing miss fires. 97 should still be spark plug wire no cop. They all eat lower ball joints. Never buy a used air suspension compressor. Otherwise it's a f150. Should be damn near bulletproof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technology Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 I had a '98 2wd with the 5.4 and got around 13 to 14 mpg in the city and 17 to 18 on the highway. Eddie bauer edition, no airbags. The coil on plug coils were starting to go bad. I had to replace two of them in quick succession before I sold it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Good stuff to know guys, thanks. Its a 2wd, hoping to get 14mpg city if we baby the throtle. Its coil on plugs. I don't worry about the coils going out, I can grab entire sets of coils from at least two of my wrecking yard customers. The one thing I do worry about is that some dumb person may have changed plugs on it and there maybe other plug threads at the brink of stripping. I was gonna change all the plugs, went to remove one and it on there so freaking tight I decided to leave them alone. Something tells me they all have been way over torqued. Thats the common reason why these fords experince stripped plug threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTTY Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 (edited) Changing the plugs is a beeatch on these engines and hope the previous owner used anti-sieze on the threads , i just replaced all the coil packs on mine at 165,000 miles and it made a big differance in performance, hauls arse and 16mpg , and as Craig 87 mentioned that damn heater hose on mine let go and took out two of the coil packs and one injector , a big ol mess , mine is a 2001 F-150 with the 5.4 , a real workhorse i hope will keep on ticking for another 100,000 miles , best truck ive ever owned. Edited April 23, 2012 by SOTTY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technology Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Yeah, the plugs and coil packs are really hard to get to. The engine is halfway under the windshield. One time the alternator went bad, that got repaired, not too hard to replace, and the battery terminals needed to be replaced. Check those. And Ball joints. Ugh, what a pain in the butt to fix those. Once I did, it was like driving a new truck though. I couldn't stand the poor mileage, which is why I sold it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Sotty, agreed those coils are a pain to get to. I may just save myself the headache and remove fuel rails to get easier access, Im not paying another $250 a pop for thread repair. This thing was well cared for by original owner. Its brand new shocks and other suspension components. Not one drop of oil around the engine or trans. Tech, this thing does have some miles on it and I'm hoping those ball joints were replaced when they did the shocks. Otherwise I'm a gonna have to pay to get them done. I' m too busy to wrench on my onw cars now. I also get home pretty beat from work, the last thing I want is to service the cars in my household. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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