Hey guys,
My wife and I just traded in our trusty 2004 Explorer XLT V8 on a 2010 Expedition XLT. We have 3 kids (2 in car seats and a 10 year old). We just simply outgrew our Explorer (no 3rd row makes for a loooong drive). My wife's work qualified her for the X plan and we got a pretty good deal on our Expy (we were $8k upside down on the Explorer ) and with a small amount of money down, we didn't carry over any debt.

We ended up getting a Sterling Grey XLT 4x4. I really wanted a black one, but our dealer couldn't find one. At first, I thought I wouldn't like the grey (our Explorer was Birch Silver), but its just a darker silver metallic.

Our salesman was a little on the ignorant side, however. He said that it came with the tow package, but it just has the Class IV reciever. I wanted the 3.73s (our Explorer the tow package), but I guess the 3.31s are fine. Do any of you guys have the 3.73s? I couldn't find conclusive evidence that the 3.73s had the limited slip differential. Some sources said it had it and others said it was non-limited slip.

Anyways, we are very happy with it. I am impressed by the 6 speed auto. I wish my 2006 F150 had it. The ride is smooth and it handles well for a 5900 lb beast.

Is there anything I should be wary about on the 2008 and up Expys? Our Explorer was very reliable (had 1 issue with a bad wheel bearing and that was it)and served our family well, but I'm excited to own an Expedition now.

Cheers,
Dan

 

nice to see you in here...the Dark Side of FTE.

the 07+ Expy doesn't have any Limited Slip available at all. the EL's come with 3.73 gears standard, and they are part of the Maximum Tow Package.


There are 3 different tow packages.

Basic - Class IV Hitch, but no wiring plug
Tow Package - Class IV hitch, 4 wire trailer plug...medium duty trans cooler
Heavy Duty Tow - Class IV hitch, 4 & 7 wire plug, heavy duty trans cooler, 3.73 gears


I'm a little annoyed that mine only has the mid towing package and is 4x2...but then again I bought the very last one on this Island. so my choices were extremely limited. it was either buy it...or nothing

I love my Expy however. Just rolled over 4,800 miles today and the 2nd best Ford I've ever owned...behind my Stang of course.



not sure if you've looked at 'em much, but the 2007+ Expy is basically a 2009+ F-150 with a bed cap. The motor, trans, differentials, entire front suspension...all the same. So you can do alot of the same mods.

I've been considering a 1" leveling kit for mine...or 4x4 shocks for that 1" of height. that way I can stuff 34" tires in there and have the wheel well filled up.

 

Never heard of "basic" and "tow package," just HD tow or not. I thought they all came with the Class IV receiver and the 4 pole "Boat trailer" wiring.

If the trucks lacks the round 7 pole "Bargman" connector (to the right of the rule in the photo below) it lacks HD tow and is rated at 6000 pounds, no more.



HD Tow should also be listed on the sticker and invoice.

No limited slips on standard Expeditions. I thing you need the special police or limo option book to get one. Traction control eliminates the need for one.

-- Chuck

 

Yeah, it looks like we have the "basic" package. Oh well... How does your Expy go in the snow without limited slip? I haven't had a vehicle with traction control since I had my '99 Cobra, and it was pretty useless unless you wanted horrible wheel hop. It stayed off unless I forgot to turn it off...

In the 3.5 years we had our Explorer, I only used 4WD twice. It had the 3.73s and limited slip. That thing was unstoppable in the snow. I'm just worried that the Expy will be hindered by its weight and open differential.

I have already thought about mods LOL. The wife told me that she wants an exhaust on it. Our Explorer had a 40 Series Flowmaster on it. It sounded like a big Mustang. We bought it from the dealer like that. It seems the previous owner was a bit of a car guy too hahaha.

I really want to put the smoked Limited headlights on it and maybe get a primered grille and paint it to match the body.

The dealership gave us a 2010 Limited with 65 miles on it as a loaner while they went and retrieved ours. Man, I got used to the heated/cooled seats and the electric retractible running boards. It had a sweet stereo too. It had every option. I was kinda sad to see it go back LOL.....

 

I agree. I want to paint the grille myself.

 

check eBay for a grille

I've seen them go for under $200 painted on there.


The PTM on mine flows very well.

 

I wouldn't worry so much about the open diff since you the 4x4 package. My 2004 Expy is a 4x2 with the 3.73.1 LS axle. Had the LS axle not been available in '04, I would have gone with the 4x4 model.

If your real concerned about towing, get tranny cooler and brake controller, you'll be fine. Enjoy!

Tim

 

Dang Tylus, that is one sexy Expy! Thats why I wanted a black one... Heck, my truck and Mustang are black, whats one more?

Yeah, the body colored grille and the smoked headlights really bring the front end together. The newer Expys look good no matter what the color. I keep browsing Ebay for Expy grilles, but the stock ones are kinda hard to find.

I'll have to grab some pics in a few days. Its supposed to be 68° on Saturday! Thats pretty strange for Nebraska, considering we already had our first snow on the 10th.

Anybody have aftermarket DVD players in the headrests? My 10 year old son won't stop bugging me about a DVD player hahaha (he really liked our Limited loaner Expy; well maybe the dropdown DVD player). Ford wants $1600 for the pair, which is crazy.

I'm sure it will be fine in the snow.... It will probably never see a trailer hahaha. We just bought a glorified minivan (don't tell the wife LOL). Oh well, she loves it....

 

I think you will be fine with the 3.31. That 1st overdrive/5th gear keeps the six speed trannies from ******* it in 6th. I really dig how these things shift and lock the torque converter through 4th, 5th and 6th gears and not just in the top gear as old school trannies do. This is really noticeable when driving 25 - 35 MPH. Same goes for the 6th to 5th downshift at high speeds...no annoying converter unlocking/slipping.

FWIW, we have 20s with the 3.73 rear, which is probably overall gearing that is close to your combination.

 

I did notice when I first drove it, it was 100 times smoother shifting than my '06 F150. I haven't had a chance to get it out on the highway, but I bet its butter.... It seems to know which gear is better for the situation. Now if I could just pry the keys from my wife's hands LOL