At 105 mph, 2008 Expedition loses power

General Discussion
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121

Governor Corzine used bad judgment regarding the speeding SUV’s and he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. He broke NJ law by not wearing the seat belt. He lost a lot of time out of office recuperating and the Lt. Governor filled in a did as good or better job than Corzine. NJ voters rejected him in the last election and I believe the SUV crash played a large role in his defeat.

This whole thread is about the OP’s poor judgment and his defense of same. Can’t vote him out of office, and can’t reason with him. The word of someone at FORD that the SUV is safe at 105 is now the final word - not.

122

Neither “Corazine” nor Corzine was driving.
His specially-trained state trooper was behind the wheel.

Do you know of any governors who actually drive their own vehicles?
(Aside from Sanford of South Carolina who has to drive himself to his illicit trysts, and former Gov Spitzer of NY who had to try to hide his path to the “Cat House”.)

123

“the Lt. Governor filled in a did as good or better job than Corzine”

Actually, NJ will have a Lt. Governor for the first time when Kim Guadagno is sworn in, along with Chris Christie. One of the ongoing issues for many years has been the practice of putting the NJ Senate President in the Governor’s seat whenever the Governor is out of state or incapacitated.

As a result of this unusual practice, it was finally legislated that NJ should have a Lt. Governor. However, you are correct that the Acting Governor, NJ Senate President Richard Codey did do an excellent job and seemed to be very popular. I can tell you that he is a very nice, personable man, based on my limited contacts with him.

While Corzine was very unpopular, I really don’t think that the accident had very much to do with it. Voters have notoriously short memories, and I seriously doubt that many of them recalled that accident. Corzine’s unpopularity had much more to do with the fact that he was not able to undo the incredible damage done to the state’s finances by Christine Todd Whitman, and then perpetuated by her successor, Jim McGreevey.

The upshot of Christie’s victory (which was the result of his promise to cut taxes) is that just a few days ago, he issued a classic “weasel statement”, in which he said–in effect–Gee, I didn’t know that the state’s finances were THIS bad. Of course, since all of the state financial information is available in public documents, that statement indicates that he is either incompetent to read and interpret those documents, or that his campaign was based on lies, pure and simple. I think that the latter scenario is more likely.

Now, he says that he will not be able to cut taxes in his first year (not a surprise to anyone with a functioning memory of how these problems began), and his most recent statement on the topic was, “I hope to be able to cut taxes by the end of my first term”. Trust me–his first term will also be his last term, simply because of the incredible damage done by Whitman and McGreevey that is almost impossible to undo. Of course, since Christie knew this, that makes him just the latest in a long string of liars.

124

“Still, suppose someone accidentally cuts you off.”

There is a police cruiser dashcam video of an officer speeding to an emergency.
Vacant four-lane road in the country, center median, I recall.
Oncoming vehicle turns left right in front of the clearly visible cruiser.
Fortunately there were no oncoming vehicles. Officer evades by veering left into northbound lanes and passes behind the turning vehicle. Don’t know how he got back onto his side of the road.

In my own experience, I have had people change lanes from right to left into my lane right in front of me, apparently having not first looked.
Some women react as though they have dyslexia.
Others want to stop but freeze and their vehicle carries them forward through the intersection, even though were are out in the middle of the intersection with lights and siren. They look at me apologetically like: ‘I want to stop but I can’t.’

I’m always ready knowing the unexpected surprise of an EV can startle people.

125

“Perhaps my biggest concern when high speed driving.
a car ahead may see you in his mirror but NOT realize your approaching speed.
Then he pulls out to pass and – you are now faced with an immediate obstruction with, perhaps, a 60 mph difference in speed ?
The same as attempting to stop from 60mph to zero, but now your faced with the momentum of high speed which negates and side to side maneuvers. DUDE !”

That’s why you don’t do this with any vehicles around.
You can’t make high speed quick maneuvers in a D.Parton SUV.

126

If you need to regularly exceed the speed limit to do the job, your doing it WRONG. Contract with an air courier or other means. Your putting the rest of the public in danger with this crap.

127

The embedded system in the engine control module has specific instructions to limit the vehicle’s speed. There are aftermarket ECM’s that do not have this restriction which you could purchase. There are also kits that will allow you to hook a laptop up to the ECM and modify this system not to limit the speed. Google the topic.

Having said that, there is nothing on this vehicle that was engineered for driving at such a speed, never mind faster, not the suspension, not the brakes (kind of important by the way). T rated tires were not designed to drive at this speed for a sustained periods of time. You would need to go with Z rated tires. But even if you did that, the engine and transmission are not going to withstand this for long. Worse, the vehicles basic aerodynamics make it very unstable at such speeds, even under perfect road conditions. So, either the car won’t hold up, or you’ll kill yourself (and hopefully no one else). So, problem solved.

128

The embedded system in the engine control module has specific instructions to limit the vehicle’s speed. There are aftermarket ECM’s that do not have this restriction which you could purchase. There are also kits that will allow you to hook a laptop up to the ECM and modify this system not to limit the speed. Google the topic.

Having said that, there is nothing on this vehicle that was engineered for driving at such a speed, never mind faster, not the suspension, not the brakes (kind of important by the way). T rated tires were not designed to drive at this speed for a sustained periods of time. You would need to go with Z rated tires. But even if you did that, the engine and transmission are not going to withstand this for long. Worse, the vehicles basic aerodynamics make it very unstable at such speeds, even under perfect road conditions. So, either the car won’t hold up, or you’ll kill yourself (and hopefully no one else). So, problem solved.

Thank you for your comprehensive post.
No plan to change the governor. Ford set 105 mph maximum for a reason.
The end of the downgrade was not far.
Easy on the suspension, no brakes - no sustained speed - coasted down to 55 mph and exited.
I was most concerned about drive train stress.

Now [Change Oil Soon] displays. Recently changed oil looks, feels and smells fine.
Must I change it?

129

130 posts and the only thing that has surpassed 105 MPH (so far) is the OP’s mouth…

130

130 posts and the only thing that has surpassed 105 MPH (so far) is the OP’s mouth…

Yep.
So must oil be changed?

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Sooner or later, the phone WILL ring again, and you will, once again, get to test the speed governor on the Expedition… But the waiting must test the patience of even a fireman…Until then you can make practice runs over to the video store, check the tire pressure, top the fuel tank off, and keep this thread going FOREVER…

132

No I don’t. They should have their concubines meet them at the governors mansion like Prez Clinton did. No muss, no fuss. Oh wait… They’d still get caught cuz those specially trained state troopers can’t keep their mouths shut.

133

Robt, I would disregard the light as far as “changeing” the oil. Change your oil according to your owners manual. If you are spending more than 20% of your time over 75 mph then I would use the “severe duty” or “extreme service conditions” schedule.

134

“Yep.
So must oil be changed?”

My opinion is that you should change the oil, change the subject and slow down when you are driving blood runs.

Because blood runs thinner than oil… :slight_smile:

135

This is a discussion that reinforces a key reason for success of Car Talk and related activities. Many of us (myself included) have too much free time on our hands !

136

Do they have helicopters or fixed winged aircraft in California? Seems like that would be the quickest and safest way to get blood from point A to point B, sort of like they do on television.

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Helicopter was on a mission or weather was too bad for it to fly.
Denver has had a blizzard while outlying areas were clear and dry.

Fun weather in Denver:
Northbound side of a street can be soaking wet while southbound lanes dry.
Wish I had a camera to take photos of such stark contrasts.

In my usual black turtleneck and trousers I was sweeping a chimney.
Vigorously brushing the flue from atop the chimbley, in the warm air and bright sun I became hot and sweaty.
Then a cloud blocked the sun and wind came up. Temperature dropped 30 degrees in 10 minutes.
I descended chilled and shivering.

138

Robt, I would disregard the light as far as “changeing” the oil. Change your oil according to your owners manual. If you are spending more than 20% of your time over 75 mph then I would use the “severe duty” or “extreme service conditions” schedule.
Either I did not document the mileage or forgot where I wrote it. (I was called on an urgent, not emergent, bloodelivery just as I cleaned up the newspapers under the vehicle after changing the oil.)

Also was relying on the readout to indicate next oil change. I reset it.
Only a small percent of the time does this vehicle speed.
My usual driving is gentle accelerations and coasting decelerations and usually 50 to 55mph on interstates always in the RIGHT lane. (55 minimum when 75 mph speed limit.)

139

Robert Gift:
Your continual replies defending your ability to safely drive at 105 mpg are mind boggling.

It’s not a matter of if, but when fate will kick you in the butt.
It will win. You just don’t know when it will decide to.

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Robert Gift:
"Your continual replies defending your ability to safely drive at 105 mpg are mind boggling.

It’s not a matter of if, but when fate will kick you in the butt.
It will win. You just don’t know when it will decide to."

Naah.
Ain’t no such thing as fate.

Just as Ford guy said, a single powered coast down a downgrade to 110 mph on dry, smooth vancant interstate, is no big deal.
Why does Ford not set their 105 governor lower?
You should warn the police department which wants to increase Ford’s governor speed.