Just made a deal on my new family truckster / tow pig.
Found it listed on FB Marketplace and got a message to the seller within the first thirty minutes of the listing and was there later the same day to go over it and give it a test drive. 2009 Expedition Limited 4WD with 93k miles, HD tow package with 9200lb tow capacity powered by the 5.4 Triton V8. Incredibly clean interior with power everything that actually works. Exterior is another story with a few scuffs and scratches and some paint bubbling on the rear deck lid and the hood as is endemic with these models and their failure to paint and/or prime these aluminum panels correctly.
I was quick to jump on it because it was sold by the original female owner, never used for towing and was priced about 30-40% below market.
Seller disclosed an issue with one of the HVAC blend door actuators up front behind the dash. Test drive suggested that the front passenger brake hose is clogged as it pulls hard to left under braking.
Took it to the local mechanic they have used since new and had him do a pre-purchase inspection today and so I could review the service records with him. Up on the lift we saw no rust, no leaks, all struts, rotors and pads in fine form. He ran down service history and the only notable points were an auto trans flush at 67k and a lifetime of 3k synthetic oil changes.
Once my check clears I'll be picking it up and taking it home. Buying from out of state so when it goes in for PA inspection I'll have them replace all four brake hoses.
That will leave me with a fun project digging into the dash to replace the blend door actuator and then my first adventures in paint and body work to fix up the horrible rattle can job they did on the rear decklid.
Future planned upgrades will be heavy duty brake pads, brake controller and most likely replacing the Ford Sync system with a more modern head unit.
The service floor mat in the interior picture is from the oil change and air filter service they had done in July before listing it for sale. The local mechanic that did the PPI refused to take my money and said he's made plenty off of all the regular maintenance work he's done for them on their 3 Fords.
This was their third Expedition and they replaced this one with a new Eco Boost Expedition so clearly didn't have any owner experiences that turned them off of it.
Apparently the paint issues I'll be dealing with on the rear decklid are the result of filiform corrosion.
If any of you have any hands-on experience with it and can recommend techniques, primers, fillers, I'm all ears.
Dig it. I looked at these a lot before buying a pickup. Looks like you got a good one.
We had a nice '04 XLT in Oxford white, really miss that vehicle, actually.
Picked up Blackie on Friday night and drove it home from Jersey to PA without plates. Drive home was completely uneventful but my gas stop before I hit the road was funny. NJ is full serve by law, I pulled up with my passenger side to the pumps as all of my other cars fill on that side and the attendant looked at me like I was high and told me that he'd be happy to fill the tank just as soon as I pulled around with the driver's side to the pumps.
Nav, phone and radio work great on the Sync gen 1, but Bluetooth audio would pair, but volume was so low/overamplified that it was unusable. Once I got home, I went through the absurdly painful process of installing a Sync update, which of course didn't end up fixing the Bluetooth audio issue at all and required all manners of hijinks to find the download, edit some of the files in the download and figure out how to format my USB drive as FAT32 with master boot record from my Mac.
Title transfer, registration and new PA plate obtained on Saturday and its already seen dog and kid duty and a run to Home Depot for hose clamps.
Hopefully will be able to drop it off for state inspection and emissions tomorrow. Going to try a new local shop and if they seem reasonably decent, I'll have them replace all four brake hoses from the hard lines to the calipers which should clear up my funky pull to the left under braking. If not, I guess I'll be learning all about the ins and outs of front caliper rebuild or replacement.
Once the brakes are figured out, I need to get my blend door actuator motor ordered so I don't have to listen to the stripped gears behind the passenger side dash every time I start it.
Only other near term modification in sight is replacing the Sync with modern double DIN touch screen headunit with CarPlay, Bluetooth, etc so I never have to deal with 11 year old embedded Windows software updates ever again.
Happily accepting recommendations for the headunit replacement if anyone has one they particularly like for somewhere under $350 ideally.
I'd like to keep/integrate with the existing backup camera and steering wheel controls if possible.
While is normally go with Crutchfield apparently Best Buy offers free installation so I may take my chances with that.
Towed my race car in an enclosed trailer with an expedition many thousands of miles. Great choice.
I sold mine at 265,000 miles.
In reply to Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) :
That's great to hear. Blackie is going to do double duty. On the towing front she'll probably be towing a two horse trailer now and again and eventually an open car trailer. On the family front, cold weather duty and probably some grocery getting from Costco now and again.
Blackie gets dropped off for state inspection and new brake hoses to the calipers tomorrow. Once she comes back it's going to be time for a thorough exterior detail.
Going over it inch by inch will be a good chance to find any body and paint issues that need attention beyond the known aluminum corrosion issues on the hood and rear hatch.
