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Thread: The Airliner

  1. #1
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    The Airliner

    Well, it looks like I am just about complete with the Miata other than basic maintenance so I have shifted some of my focus towards my Expedition. I am about 5 to 6 months from it being paid off. 2005 XLT 4x4 with power folding third row and towing package.

    I love how comfy it is and long drives are great in it. I will be documenting my build for a comfortable cruiser and I do apologize if I go out of order as I don't have many pictures and I haven't done much.

    So on to the build......

    Sep 2013- Front Grill

    I couldn't stand the gray grill on the front and decided that I needed a black grill. I had seen numerous Expeditions on the road that had the black grill so I decided to paint mine. Plastidip to the rescue. I think it turned out pretty good.
















    Feb 2014- The Winter Storm

    So this happened.











    Freaking people don't know how to drive in the snow here and was driving in the middle of the lane and ran me off the road. I thought it was going to roll when it when into the ditch. My face was heading towards the passenger side window and then flung me back when it landed. Town of Cary Maintenance workers saw me in the ditch, asked if I was ok and if I had a cell phone and then drove off. Nice. A guy in a orange Jeep must have been looking for people to pull out because he circled around a couple of times before stopping. He hooked up a nice tow strap to his hitch and to my front tow hook. Mine in 4x4, his in 4x4 and we were able to get it out of the ditch. I assessed the damage and my passenger side taillight was busted and a piece of my rear bumper was broken off. The truck tracked straight and drove like normal. Damn, this thing can take a lick.

    Found a taillight at a local junk yard for $35. Good, because the red and clear tape on the taillight was not working well. Fixed that. My rear bumper was bandaged and drift stitch was placed on the rear. This is temporary until I can spend some money on it. For some reason, Andy (Pyromonkey) loves the drift stitch and threatened to hurt me if I removed it.










    Aug 2014- The Inevitable

    So I had been getting an intermittent misfire when slightly accelerating and going up hills. I had not replaced the spark plugs since I first bought the truck and I had a feeling it was the plugs. The problem is that with the 2004-2008 Expeditions (and other trucks), Ford had this wonderful design where they used 2 piece spark plugs and the plugs would fuse to the head of the modular engine due to carbon buildup. When removing the spark plugs, the plug would break in half and leave the center electrode in the engine.

    This is basically what it looks like:

    0.jpg

    My truck was at 113,000 miles so after 6 months of putting it off and researching, I figured what the hell and got everything ready to do it. My uncle, who has a 2004, had the Lisle Tool for removing the spark plugs.

    Here is the tool:

    50268d1312162469t-brand-new-lisle-spark-plug-tool-imag0014.jpg

    I ordered my plugs from Rockauto and prepared myself for the worst. I expected to break all 8 plugs. I did not have $500 to give to the dealer and that is a minimum. I have read people paying almost a grand because of broken plugs.

    Well as I get started, the first one breaks. Great. Used the tool to remove the remaining piece. Tool worked great, by the way. Put anti-seize on the threads and on the body, careful not to get any near the electrode. Ford recommends this to prevent any carbon build up on the body. Went to work on the second plug and that breaks also. Even better. Continued on. Third plug came out without breaking. YES! Things are looking up? Nope. The remaining 5 break.

    Here is the carnage:



    They get my middle finger. One plug even broke into 3 pieces. At least, next time will be easier.

    So, that is where I am so far. I have done a couple of other things that I will get pictures of and put them here. I have plans just to make this thing snow capable and comfy on long trips. It's pretty much there but I will add my own touch.
    Last edited by tsingson; 12-20-2014 at 01:11 PM.

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    Agent☣Orange (01-13-2015),Phatmiata (01-13-2015),Pyr0monk3y (12-20-2014)

  3. #2
    Supporting Member artcentermiata's Avatar
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    Wow Ford... Really? thats just an idiotic engineering laziness fail...

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    tsingson (08-12-2014)

  5. #3
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    I'm just glad that it's done and over with. Truck runs smooth as hell and kicks you back a bit when you stomp on it.

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    kung fu jesus (08-12-2014)

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    Individual-1 ☚ ☻ ☛ Agent☣Orange's Avatar
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    That's a cool ride. I helped one of my friends up north pimp his out. I remember the spark plugs being a big issue with him too. I took a look at it and said no freakin' way.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    tsingson (08-12-2014)

  9. #5
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AgentOrange View Post
    That's a cool ride. I helped one of my friends up north pimp his out. I remember the spark plugs being a big issue with him too. I took a look at it and said no freakin' way.
    What's his name? I may know him from the forum. But once you do the plugs once, they should be all good to go from here on out. I have the overhead monitor already and I have 2 headrest monitors for the third row. I also have a Pioneer Nav/DVD unit in the front so it does have some good entertainment. I got an inverter from my dad when I went to visit last month so I will be looking at installing that so my daughter can use one of her consoles in the truck on long trips.

  10. #6
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    Alright, small update. Gearing up for the upcoming winter, I had to get some new tires. My Nitto Terra Grapplers were shot. They were loud as hell too.

    Here is a shot of them:




    I had been researching tires for a while and finally settled on a set of Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10s. Reviews for them were great and a lot of people loved them in the snow and their price point. Sold. It was a good thing that I got them put on this morning. Snowflakes started falling as I was waiting. Nothing accumulated so no fun but I know it will be coming. I will try and get pictures up of the tires later.

    Here are some photos of them from the web:
    71ahs6cBeHL._SY355_.jpg

    163_0710_04z+hankook_test_drive+RF10_tires.jpg

  11. #7
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone wannafbody's Avatar
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    Ford really screwed up that spark plug design.

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    tsingson (12-20-2014)

  13. #8
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    They did. Luckily, the new design is all one piece. And putting a little anti seize on the body (avoiding any area near the electrode) will drastically decrease the chance of carbon buildup fusing the plug to the head again.

  14. #9
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    Finally am able to post up pictures of the tires on the truck.








    I did manage to pick up some new wheels from a guy on the Expedition Forum. He lives in Winston Salem and he met me in Greensboro at the Coliseum. He was taking his kid to the Monster Truck Rally, I believe. I was able to score some 2010 OEM 6 Spoke Expedition wheels for $75. For all 4. Could not pass that up. The wheels were pristine. He had them on his truck for 10k miles before doing a slight lift and adding wheels and bigger tires. I will probably head that route in the future as well, minus changing the wheels. I had them put on today after work. Local used tire shop put them on for $60 and did the work in 20 minutes. I was impressed.



    I really like the way they look.

    We are supposed to get some white stuff tonight and early in the morning so we will see how my drive to work goes. Kinda excited but I will stay to the main roads after the whole debacle of last year.
    Last edited by tsingson; 01-13-2015 at 10:34 PM.

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    kung fu jesus (01-13-2015)

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    Super Moderator atank's Avatar
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    They do look good.

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  18. #11
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    Thanks Anthony! I have been driving this thing around for the past couple of weeks now and it's just so comfy. I also like how a full tank of gas for it is now about $48 as opposed to the $85 before.

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    Ninja Messiah kung fu jesus's Avatar
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    Nice! I bought some OE takeoffs from an Acura RDX and put them on my wife's Pilot way back when. They were larger, but the design was cleaner and it looked great.

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  22. #13
    Admin / Pit Boss / Miataholic Phatmiata's Avatar
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    I miss the room and stuff I could haul in my truck. If they could only make a truck that gets 40mpg I'd buy one. Until then I've sworn off tucks.

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    Man, Expeditions are nice. I had a lifted Mountaineer up north in Washington and thankfully the spark plugs were easier to get to. But really, with those platinum plugs in a trusty 302, there wasn't any reason to mess with them for the first 100K miles.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    tsingson (01-14-2015)

  25. #15
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    I will hopefully have this one slightly lifted before winter next year. Small 3/2 leveling kit.

    On a different note, there was no white stuff on the ground. Saw that there were accidents out there but nothing on my way to work. There was ice on the running board of my truck so getting into my truck was more dangerous than driving to work.
    Last edited by tsingson; 01-14-2015 at 08:06 AM.

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