011 EL Limited Power running board motor replacement

[BigOleFordFan]

Well, I've read all the posts & watched the videos about cleaning & lubricating and protecting the hinge points etc, which I was already doing previously, but now my driver side board is stuck in the down position. The board itself is in really good condition given it's age, so I'm gonna just replace the motors, rods & brackets

My local dealer says the motor is shot, and would gladly replace it, but the boards, motor and rods come as a kit, which would run me about $2500 per kit installed.... ummmm NO.... me not doin that !

So I have sourced the motors, brackets and rods, but I'd really like to know what I'm getting myself into before I start removing the old ones...it APPEARS that it should be a fairly straightforward process with just a few bolts and such, but I've learned not to take that for face value....

Can someone please walk me though the process or link me to a YT video that shows the actual removal/installation procedures and/or any gotcha's to watch out for ?

TIA

 

[superfordfan]

I had that issue last summer and I looked at places like Oreilly's, Autozone, and amazon and was able to purchase just the motor by itself. I ended up having to purchase the motor from Amazon because they were the only ones that sold the motor for the EL, the others only carried the motor for the standard Expedition. The problem we had was that our boards kept opening and closing regardless of the door being closed. It was a real pain going down the road when the running boards kept dropping and closing. I suggest trying amanzon. We paid somewhere around $80 for the motor and had a buddy who worked at a Ford dealership install it for $20. It took him about 20 minutes to do it.

 

[BigOleFordFan]

I had that issue last summer and I looked at places like Oreilly's, Autozone, and amazon and was able to purchase just the motor by itself. I ended up having to purchase the motor from Amazon because they were the only ones that sold the motor for the EL, the others only carried the motor for the standard Expedition. The problem we had was that our boards kept opening and closing regardless of the door being closed. It was a real pain going down the road when the running boards kept dropping and closing. I suggest trying amanzon. We paid somewhere around $80 for the motor and had a buddy who worked at a Ford dealership install it for $20. It took him about 20 minutes to do it.

Thanks for the reply.

I already have a source for the parts, but still wanna know how to actually do the work & if there is anything unusual that I have to be prepared for, like special washers, nuts, spring-loaded actuators, or special (dealer/mechanic-only) tools required etc

As I said, after looking at it, it APPEARS to relatively simple, but I learned the hard way that that is not always the case until AFTER I start taking things apart...

 

[princered72]

I replaced mine also and sourced the motor from Amazon. Buy the motor with the bracket attached. It is much easier to replace. I did it both ways and had a time trying to get the old motor off the bracket.

 

[OrlandoExpyOwner]

Your assumption is correct. It is fairly straightforward. I have only replaced the motor by itself. But as stated above by princered72, it would probably be easier to replace with a new motor with the bracket already attached. I had some difficulty trying to get the wedge back in place. If you are replacing the motor only, my suggestion is make sure you note the direction and positioning of the wedge when you remove it.

My next suggestion is review YouTube videos, which I believe you have already. If memory serves, here’s what I did. I went into the settings and set the running boards to extended. Then I removed the running board. I believe it was only two screws in the front and two screwed in the back. Then removed the rod running from from front to back. Next I unplugged and removed the motor/mount from the frame. Then I removed the old motor and attached the new motor to the original mount. I can’t remember when I removed the wedge. But I’m pretty sure I could not put it back in place until I had reattached the motor/mount to the frame. Everything else was simply reverse of taking it apart.

I may have missed a step or two. It has been almost a year since I replaced the motor. I went very slow and it probably took me less than two hours, including fiddling with trying to get the wedge back in place.

Hopefully this helps.

 

[OrlandoExpyOwner]

There are no perfect, step by step videos. But here are a couple of videos I watched to get the general idea.

How to fix power running boards yourself.

I show you how easy it is to replace these motor hinges on the power running boardsWater pump herehttps://amzn.to/3B3D8aleBay intake here $68 as of 8/1/22htt...

youtu.be

2010 ford expedition EL right step running board motor replacement

The bushings were a wire mesh may have been replaced by the previous owner. I believe the long wheel and short wheelbase use the same motor, they are the sam...

youtu.be

It looks like the person in the second video did not remove the running board. This makes it much more difficult, in my opinion.