Hopefully I have given enough info below that one of you fellow ford drivers can help.


It all started when I began to complain about the spongy ride of my LLS. Then I had to buy a new battery. Replaced the battery and OH MY GOD. The difference in the ride and power and how the engine even sounded was incredible. I know a battery cant do those things, so dont call me stupid, but it did reset something in my rig that made everything cool again. Well that lasted about 5 days.....

Then it all went downhill again, started idling rough, rode like crap and sounding like it was missing. Well i unhooked the battery for a few and then re drove it. BAM, back to goodness. Well I am not a mechanic but hey something told me that this was not right. Someone suggested that when you fix something yourself, pride takes over and you feel good therefore your ride is better. Not in this case.... Hooking up a battery is not what I call a major accomplishment.

So every couple of days I would go out and un hook the battery and have a good riding truck for a few days.

Well enough was enough. I never told my friend about it..... But I was going on vacation and turns out his truck was going to be in the shop. So I offered mine to him. I unhooked the battery and "reset" whatever is wrong, gave him the truck and said I would see him in a week. Well a week went by and he returned my Expo and looked really nervous. Said he thinks he busted a shock or something cause the ride was horrible the last three days. I explained what was going on and it wasnt his fault. I even "reset" the truck and let him drive it again, he was amazed.

So I know its not in my head. Something is wrong with my Expo.

Here is what it does when it goes bad, the ride is like a 74 caddie, bounces all over the road at the slightest bump, when it is "reset" the ride is firm and tight, almost no body roll. When it is on the bad side it the body roll almost feels dangerous.

Sound of the engine is like it is missing, yet "reset" it and it sounds great. Also has great power when freshly "reset". When it goes bad it takes more pedal pressure to keep the expo moving at hiway speed. When you rest it I can spin the tires, when it is bad, not a chance.

So as you can see Ford guys and girls, there is a serious problem with my truck. With your help I can salvage it and keep the thing, which is what i want to do.

I know there has been questions of the GEM and leaking windows. A) How do I find/Replace the gem? Is it something the dealer should do since I dont even know what a GEM is? Should window replacement come first? And see if that fixes everything? OR is it just a lost cause, trade it in and let some other helpless sould deal with it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ramphog


99 EB Expedition 87,500 miles, No modifications 5.4 Liter

 

Anyone out there?

 

Any codes come up? You can have a code without a check engine light. Autozone will scan it for free. I bought a code reader from Harbor Freight Tools for $39 and it works fine.

 

Check engine light on ?? What codes ?? Unhooking the batt. every few day will not solve any problems and perhaps might make matters worse !!

 

Ramphog, you just described my '01 Exp. I swear my problems started when I had to get a new battery, and opted for a cheap one. Every test says the battery is good, except mine drains frequently overnight. I did have the leaky windshield. Just had it replaced, so don't know if it still leaks. Just reading these posts about the GEM, so haven't gotten that far yet.