Father-in-law came in with a 1997 Expedition yesterday. It's an XLT 4x4 with the 5.4L (139k miles) and seems to have all of the goodies on it; CD changer, premium sound, power everything, leather, rear air with seperate controls, rear audio controls, etc.

He doesn't ever keep anything for very long, and I went ahead and told him that I wanted first-choice at the Expedition. It's a one-owner local lady-owned rig. We don't know anything about the service history, but so far... No oil in the water or water in the oil. Since I had a 1998 4.6L F150 that put oil in the water, that's the very first thing that I check on these newer cammer-motors...

I was wondering since this was the first year of them and all, is there anything to look for? Any problem areas? Anything I need to take immediate notice of?

I only drive about 8 miles per day to work and back, so the fuel mileage is no problem at all. It'll probably have a total of about 100 miles a week put on it, if that.

BTW, what should I expect in the fuel-mileage department?

Thanks for any insight!

Nightrain

 

10-12mpg. Check the vacuum lines, the windshield seal, rad hoses/fittings for leaks over cyl 3 &4, look for leaks around the corners of the heads, TC lockup in OD at 40 and scan it for codes. Other than these specifics I cant think of much beyond the normal check points, if your really ambitious you could pull all the plugs and see if any were spit out and helicoiled.

 

I've got pretty much the same rig you are considering, though I bought it with about 105k miles on it about 4 years ago. I haven't had any major problems.

With 139k miles on the rig you are looking at its pretty much a crap shoot. If its been maintained the engine and tranny are probably ok, but wear and tear items like ball joints, alternator, starter, etc are probably getting pretty long in the tooth.

Since I've had mine I've replaced...

Ball joints, alternator, rear axle seals, brakes (front and rear), front wheel hub assemblies, sway bar links, AC compressor.

Wow, now that I've listed them it looks like I've done quite a bit to it, LOL.

But its a 10 year old vehicle with more than 170k miles on it now, I expect things to break and so far it has still been a lot cheaper than paying the note on a new one.

I had confidence enough with it to put 7000 miles in two weeks a few months ago on a cross country vacation (even drove it to the top of Pikes Peak).

I've gotten anywhere from 12-15 mpg.

 

It has a check engine light on right now, but he hasn't run it by the parts store yet to figure out what it's all about. I'm doubting that it's anything at all, but you never know...

It's going to be a few months before he gets ready to part with it, so that should give us both plenty of time to check it over good for defects.

And then again, you never know... In that time, I might decide that I don't even want the thing. But, she sure is nice, and for $5k, who could really say no?? I would be going from a plain-jane 1985 (yes, even for an '85, this thing is stripped) F150, so ya'll can tell just what an upgrade I'm getting.

But, on the other hand, when things start breaking, this 'ol 6-cylinder is going to be alot cheaper and alot easier to fix. But, then again... We might as well live a little, right?

Thanks for the insight, ya'll. I really appreciate it.

Nightrain

 

a gas station

 

lol @ Gevans17...

I heard that, bud!

Nightrain