Hello everyone -

I'm looking for an Expedition to be my second vehicle (a VW GTI VR6 is my daily driver) The Expy will be used mostly to haul stuff for the house and 2 or 3 times a year to tow a small box trailer (I'm guessing 1500 - 1800 lbs empty) with one or two Harleys in it. So, max load towing would be about 3300 lbs. Trips would be relatively long-distance - from Ohio to Texas & back or from Ohio out west & back. I'm only looking at Expys with the tow package, but I have a few questions and will appreciate any advice you can provide.

First - I know that the tow package adds a transmission cooler and wiring for the hitch. What else does it include? Is the final drive ratio different? Or was that a separate option? If the tow package doesn't have different gearing, what should I look for?

Second - do ya'll think that a 4.6 will be strong enough for the weight & frequency of towing I'll be doing? Or should I only search for a 5.4?

Third - any other input / suggestions of what I should be considering?

Thanks much!
Jim

 

Well, 3300lbs isn't a huge load. I'm not sure whether the gear ratio is a affected or not by the tow package. My '97 has 3.73 in it with a 5.4 which has the tow package. My brother has a '97 also with tow package but he's running a 4.6 with 3.55's. What years are you looking at used? IMO the 97-98 4.6 lacks the HP to move a load other than itself. I'd look for a 5.4 in those model years. The 99 and up on both engines got a HP increase of about 25-30hp I THINK. Somebody with more knowledge may jump in here and help out with that one. If you were going to be towing in hilly or mountainous areas, I would want the 5.4. Are you looking for a 4x4 or a 4x2? I'm not as familiar with what engine/gear ratio's that come on the 4x2 models but there are a lot of folks here that are....

 

BigC --

Thanks much for the reply. Most of the Expys I've looked at have been '97s or '98s. There's actually now one particular Expy I'm looking at ... it's a '98 XLT 4X4 with the 4.6, tow package, and the 3.55 gearing. And yeah, I had learned of the hp and torque increases with the '99 model year. Just not sure I can spend what it takes to get into one ....

I may well be towing in some hills - depends on my routes to Texas and out west, I guess, but I can't rule it out.

There seems to be such a huge difference of opinion about which direction to go ... some folks in these (and other) forums say that the 4.6 is fine, others say "Don't even try it." I'm really confused ... I truly appreciate your input, BigC ... hope some others throw theirs in, too. 'Course that may just confuse me even more, eh?

Jim

 

Jim,

I hear ya, it's hard to go for a test drive and test out the towing capabilites of what your buying. Maybe they'll let you keep it overnight so you can try it out with towing? If you do buy the 4.6 then I'd keep it out of overdrive when towing when on hilly terrain. If you do find it to be a problem, you could try a chip to improve performance as well as a catback exhaust system. Together you can usually net at least a 20hp improvement if not more. The down side is most chips require premium fuel which is gawd awfull expensive right now. Be aware that if you buy something as old as a '98, that the shocks would need to have been replaced at 60k as well as a transmission fuid change, transfer case fuid change and the serpentine belt should be changed too, oh yea and battery not long after. If your buying from a dealer, look at those tires twice as well. Usually they'll change them out if they think it will seal the deal.

I would say that the 4.6 seems to require less maintenance than a 5.4 and it's slightly easier to work on. They have a pinging problem however which has been addressed many times in the engine section of the drivetrain forum. Good luck with your decision!.... I know how agonizing it can be.

 

BigC -

Thanks for the ideas to improve performance - I had actually already talked to a shop about doing an intake and exhaust.

Thanks also for the info on what I'll need to take care of, maintenance-wise. Sounds like I'll be keeping a friend of mine who's a mechanic busy. The truck has just under 50K on it now. And the dealership has already put new tires on it ... I'm just hopin' they'll come down on the price a bit since it's not an EB.

I'm leanin' heavily towards this truck ... I asked the dealer if they have the service records and if I can talk to the former owner to make sure there were no recurring problems or anything. It'll soon be in my driveway if all checks out well ....

Jim

 

Jim,

Wow, for a '98 with such low miles that's awesome. And if it makes you feel any better, the 4.6's seem to have less catastrophic failure that the 5.4. The spark plug launching thing seems to occur, if it does, in the 5.4 rather than the 4.6. The '99's and up seem to have more problems than the older models too.

If I had it to do over again, I'd buy the same thing but I'd put the screws to them over getting all of the 60k maintenance done for you. I didn't and I regretted that. Of course I did all the work myself. It's just a hassle to do some of that stuff and you shouldn't have to when you spend that much for a vehicle anyway. Good Luck!

BTW, I don't like the fenders on the EB's anyway.

 

Drive a 4.6 and a 5.4. I guarentee once you have done that, you will not consider anything but a 5.4.

 

both the 4.6L and the 5.4L got a good boost in hp in mid '99

I say get a 5.4L regardless, you could easily spend $1k plus on mods for a 4.6L (chip, CAT Back and intake) and not even be a match for a stock 5.4L

 

All -

Thanks much for the input. Probably to the chagrin of those who recommended the 5.4, I went ahead and bought that '98 XLT 4WD with the 4.6 I'd been looking at. Yes, I can definitely feel the difference in the engines when I drive a buddy's F-150 with the 5.4, but I think that the 4.6 will serve my needs just fine. The kicker for me was that this was a 1-owner vehicle and I actually got to talk to the former owner and ask about accidents / problems, etc. All of the other Expys I'd looked at were lease returns - no chance to talk to the former owner to determine if there were any recurring problems, etc.

Again - thanks much for the input! I may be back for intake, exhaust, & chip recommendations!

Best,
Jim

 

Congrats Jim! Its an awesome truck!