1999 4.6L Expedition
#1
06-19-2014, 02:25 PM
1999 4.6L Expedition
I have a 1999 Ford Expedition with a 4.6L engine. I purchased it used in 2003 with 38,000 miles on it. This thing has been a tank! It currently has 302,000 miles on it and remains my daily transportation.
I wanted to offer my experience with one issue I had this past winter so that it might save others some time. First, I do all the routine maintenance myself, but any other repairs are done at my local Ford dealer. The Ford dealer gives me a 12mo/12,000 mile warranty on all repairs they do. Sure, there is maybe a shade tree who might have a cheaper labor rate, but none that I am aware of who offer to back up their work with more than a 30 day warranty. The dealer also gave me a 2013 car to drive while mine was down.
My heater began to give issues of not heating up properly. My first suspicion was a heater core issue. I scheduled the repair and took it into the dealer. The real problem became an almost 2 week process of elimination to find the root problem. Keep in mind, nothing was replaced that did not need it. The root of the problem ended up being the water pump. The impellers on the water pump were worn down to nubs and moving little, if any, coolant through the system. No check engine light, no elevated reading on the temperature guage, nothing to hint at the water pump was failing, except the heater blowing cooler.
The process of elimination caused the replacement of the heater core, heater door, thermostat, water pump, and radiator. The dealer went above and beyond at keeping me in the loop at every juncture of the process. I was allowed to inspect each replaced part and even kept a few of them. The water pump sits on a shelf in my shop and is often a source of conversation when others are hanging out with me there.
I should also mention that this is one of the very few times this vehicle has given me headaches. AT 302,000 miles, it still runs and drives great! I use ethanol free fuel in it. The costs is a little more, but I get almost 4mpg better fuel mileage than with 10% ethanol fuel. Ethanol free costs about $7 more a tank full and gives me 100-110 more miles between fill ups.
I wanted to offer my experience with one issue I had this past winter so that it might save others some time. First, I do all the routine maintenance myself, but any other repairs are done at my local Ford dealer. The Ford dealer gives me a 12mo/12,000 mile warranty on all repairs they do. Sure, there is maybe a shade tree who might have a cheaper labor rate, but none that I am aware of who offer to back up their work with more than a 30 day warranty. The dealer also gave me a 2013 car to drive while mine was down.
My heater began to give issues of not heating up properly. My first suspicion was a heater core issue. I scheduled the repair and took it into the dealer. The real problem became an almost 2 week process of elimination to find the root problem. Keep in mind, nothing was replaced that did not need it. The root of the problem ended up being the water pump. The impellers on the water pump were worn down to nubs and moving little, if any, coolant through the system. No check engine light, no elevated reading on the temperature guage, nothing to hint at the water pump was failing, except the heater blowing cooler.
The process of elimination caused the replacement of the heater core, heater door, thermostat, water pump, and radiator. The dealer went above and beyond at keeping me in the loop at every juncture of the process. I was allowed to inspect each replaced part and even kept a few of them. The water pump sits on a shelf in my shop and is often a source of conversation when others are hanging out with me there.
I should also mention that this is one of the very few times this vehicle has given me headaches. AT 302,000 miles, it still runs and drives great! I use ethanol free fuel in it. The costs is a little more, but I get almost 4mpg better fuel mileage than with 10% ethanol fuel. Ethanol free costs about $7 more a tank full and gives me 100-110 more miles between fill ups.
Last edited by Jaxunman; 06-19-2014 at 02:31 PM. Reason: spelling
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