Thinking about buying an EL
 

Hey guys. I'm peaking in over from the Excursion forum. My Excursion is a little rusty and I'm not sure how long its going to go before the transmission goes.

Anyway, I'm looking at something a little newer to haul me, my wife, and four boys under 8 camping. My third boy was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) a year ago. His 'cure' date is set for July of 2018. Right after he gets to ring the bell and be declared cured, we are celebrating by taking a camping trip out west. So to my point:

I'm looking currently at a 2010 Expedition EL XLT. I'm not interested in all the fancy Limited stuff. I need a dependable, reliable family hauler that can tow a travel trailer (hybrid) with a GVWR of 6000 lbs. My excursion will do the job, but I would need to throw more money at it than its worth to make it viable for that trip. Here's the link if you wanna check it out:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...1514/overview/

I think I remember from researching that it has the tow package by identifying whether or not it has the 7-pin connector on the hitch. From what I can tell this one does. Unfortunately, there's not alot of EL's available in my price range near me, or within 150 miles. Most of them have over 100k miles. Tell me, is this going to be a reliable, dependable hauler for me and my family even with that many miles? I'd like something like this to last us 10 years. I hate buying vehicles and I like to drive things till they fall apart.

This would probably be a dedicated tow vehicle for now, possibly a daily driver for me in a few years (wife won't give up the mini van). I drive a 2002 Camry daily to work (again, till the wheels fall off).
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Are there any issues I should be on the lookout for? I know the excursions pretty well, but not the expy's. We will be towing the hybrid in the mountains out west, and some of the rolling hills here in ohio an surrounding sates. Will the 5.4 have the guts for that?

So tell me, what say you?

muj0,first off sorry to hear about what you're going through with your son. I have 4 kids as well and I can't imagine the worry you must have. On to the Expedition decision. I was in a similar situation where i was wanting an Excursion,but had Expeditions in mind too. I test drove an 01 Excursion 7.3 and I liked it but it rode like a 3/4 truck. The wife and kids weren't to keen on it so I found a 08 Expedition El 4x4,5.4 XLT with 100,xxx miles on it and decided to drive it as well. I was immediately pleasantly surprised on the comfort this thing has. It drives very nice, extremely quiet in the inside, and has enough power for towing. Mine is Black with black leather interior and is an 8 passenger like the one you are looking at. Mine came with the heavy duty tow package so it included the 7 pin and 4 flat. I haven't pulled anything really significant in a mountain like setting but I am sure it would do just fine ,especially being its a hybrid camper you are pulling. As far as reliability goes, I had to reseal the rear end differential ,do front brakes, and change plugs in mine, and I have owned it for over 2 years. I did take the middle jump seat out of mine so that my kids could pass through to the back easier. I have two in car seats still ,so folding the second row with a car seat in the middle could be done but was just easier this way. You may want to consider a 7 seat option if your kids are in car seats or do what I did for now. I also installed Husky Classic liners in all three rows to keep the carpet clean and cover the area where i took the middle seat out,they fit great. Overall, I am extremely happy with mine and we take it a lot on family and local trips. I get 15.6 m.p.g. average and I daily drive it to work 40 miles round trip , 5 days a week.

Common things to look for on the Expy's would be: the rear hatch paint bubbling inside and out
07 and older black spark plug boots would have the two piece plug known for breaking when removing
passenger floorboard getting wet from condensation from evaporator when running a/c.

Good luck with your decision and i hope this helps.

EL experience
 

Hi muj0,
I wish your son all the best for a speedy and complete recovery.
I have an 08 EL with the towing package and all I tow is a utility trailer but it has more than enough power even with 7 people and a full load in the truck and the trailer and a box on top. We have driven up into the mountains around Big Bear CA fully loaded and were able to cruise uphill in excess of the posted limits.
I have some bubbling paint on the hood and rear hatch, but it is in small patches. I keep a good coat of wax on the truck to prevent more paint problems but it is kept outdoors and the clear coat on the hood is getting thin, so look for paint issues on the hood.
Watch out for the air suspension models - I have that and it works great but I did have to replace the compressor.
the truck has been reliable and comfortable and it should last for a while. I only have 75K on it but I don't have any major issues.
Good luck.

The paint issues on the tailgate, hood and/or roof are something you will find on every 2012 or older 3rd gen Expedition out there. It's worse on some than others, but they all have them. The '13s are just starting to show at this point. It seems like you'll get 3-5 years before the paint issues become really apparent. Ford's TSB 16-0028 acknowledges that the problem affects '14-16 models as well so no one with an Expedition is escaping these problems. If you're under the 36K/3y warranty, you can probably get Ford to fix it. Otherwise, you can live with it or take them to small claims for what is clearly a manufacturer defect. Many others have done so and your odds of winning are very good. Better yet, if you notice it prior to the sale use it as a bargaining chip to get the price down and then it won't sting so much when it gets bad later on.

Mechanically, the same issues that are common among all 5.4 Tritons are common with the Expeditions. VCT solenoids (less of an issue on 10+ as I believe Ford revised them in '10), cam lifters, exhaust manifolds, oil leaks, etc. The number one tip for keeping these trucks going though is a simple one: Check the oil often (as in every 1K miles), add as needed, and change it in a timely fashion.

We just bought a fairly low mileage Navigator L (cousin?). I hope ours lasts a long time too. They are fairly robust and the 5.4 is a great motor. We also were wondering about the towing capacity but since towing is infrequent, it isn't too much of an issue for us.

I believe the capacity of the L/EL is 6000 (standard) and 9200 (weight distributing hitch on trailer).

Enjoy it if you get it and best of luck to you and your family.

The EL/L is rated to 8,900/8,700 lbs.

4x2: 9,200
4x4: 9,000
4x2 EL/L: 8,900
4x4 EL/L: 8,700

Don't forget to subtract out the weight of whatever is inside the vehicle (people, luggage, etc). There are still plenty of trailer options at that point, but if you want a big one you're largely limited to the ultra-lights. We're shopping for a new trailer and aiming for something around 5K lbs dry weight.

I used to drive the Excursion as a daily driver, then upgraded with an 11 Expy.

Now the Mighty X sits most of the time and the wife uses the Expy as a daily driver. I am stuck on a company truck. (GM)

The X has the V-10 and can haul anything, while the Expy I find struggles. Drove with a 14ft empty enclosed trailer (extra height) into a fairly strong wind and found it struggling.

Not to say that it is not capable, but not the same. Hauls the SXS on a 10ft flat trailer with no issues.

While we enjoy the Expy, we still take the X on camping trips, as it still has way more interior room, shoulder, leg room. Plus my X sports a large alum basket on top for extra things, that is full when we go camping. (seven kids)

The Expy is no X, but you will enjoy it and it is a capable vehicle, just be aware you are going a step down. You will enjoy the smoother ride in the Expy for sure.


Good luck.

K9education,

Thanks for the correction! So ours is a 4x4 = 8700#.

Works for me.