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2008 Limited power running board replacement motor?

zerodevil

Explorer Addict
Joined
March 24, 2008
Messages
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City, State
Anchorage, AK
Year, Model & Trim Level
2008 White Limited V8
Hey guys, I've been loving my Limited explorer for the last three years. Unfortunately my first issue has finally arrived. both my running boards are having difficulties. I suspect that the mechanisms have never been cleaned and maybe corroded, but I felt it might be prudent to replace the motors while I have the boards pulled from the vehicle to disassemble, clean, and lubricate. I can't find a ford part #, or an aftermarket replacement anywhere online. Does anyone know of a compatible motor of decent quality? I'm not afraid of paying a bit of money for them, I suspect they will get harder and harder to find as the years go on.
 



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I am afraid they do not sell the motors separately, but rather the whole running boards assembly for about $2k for both. Even if you had a motor, to get it out is close to impossible. The board brackets are made of some type of alloy that breaks very easily. The motor shafts are pressed in and seized by now on yours, thus slow or no movement.

I tried to fix the boards on our 07 EB, and I ended up buying OEM fixed board set from a salvage yard for $ 150.

Power running boards are as nice as power third row seats, when they work. I did same thing on my 06 when one side died, just got the whole manual bench from a wrecked EB for less than a cost of one motor.
 






I'll have to keep my eyes on my local scrap yard then. My local dealer wants $1850 per side for the assemblies. The motors are fine for the moment, I can hear them humming away, but the boards were sluggish, but would move when lubricated, for a short time. I suspect the pins are just corroded/dirty and in need of some love.
 






There are plenty of salvage yards in MY/NJ area fortunately. I found mine in perfect condition form another Eddie Bauer and just bolted them on in 30 minutes. The only thing you'll need is few M8 bolts since the fixed boards have 3 support points while the power ones use just 2. But the holes are in there so you just put the bolts through and 13mm nuts.
 






My driver side running board never retracted from the day I bought my Limited about 2 years ago. The passenger side still worked. If you turn them off from the driver information center it's only temporary and they will turn back on. My solution that I found was to pull the fuse with the passenger side door open so both sides just stay out now.
 






What Explorer PL said. Those things are brittle when rotted. My 90lb daughter stepped on the passenger side board and the whole thing collapsed.

I bought my Merc used and they were frozen in the down position. I pulled them off and now running with nothing.
 






The fixed-position boards on my XLT are pretty sturdy. I'm kind of glad they're not the retractable type.
 






I pulled the driver's running board off of my Mountaineer and tried to get it working and didn't have any luck. With the motor cover off I can easily twist the board in and out. Neither of the mechanisms seem resistant enough to cause any issues. I cleaned everything, made sure the bearing in the cover was moving freely and greased it, but when I plugged it back in before I bolted it back on to test it, it didn't do anything besides sluggishly move through about 1/8 of the travel and then stop.
That would lead one to believe that the motor is bad, but I dunno. I'm not so well versed in inspecting electric motor internals. Looked fine to me. Might pull the passengers side off and mess with it. Motor shouldn't be burned out on that one.
I'd really like to get them working.
 






I'm glad I have a 2009. No power boards to worry about!
 






I leave my boards up all the time. I'd cut them off but I don't want the frame to show that much:sawzall:
 






I pulled the driver's running board off of my Mountaineer and tried to get it working and didn't have any luck. With the motor cover off I can easily twist the board in and out. Neither of the mechanisms seem resistant enough to cause any issues. I cleaned everything, made sure the bearing in the cover was moving freely and greased it, but when I plugged it back in before I bolted it back on to test it, it didn't do anything besides sluggishly move through about 1/8 of the travel and then stop.
That would lead one to believe that the motor is bad, but I dunno. I'm not so well versed in inspecting electric motor internals. Looked fine to me. Might pull the passengers side off and mess with it. Motor shouldn't be burned out on that one.
I'd really like to get them working.
I got the driver's side board working by bolting it back on and having someone open and close the door while me and a helper assisted the board up and down through its travel while lubricating periodically. I've been using CRC white lithium grease, CLP Break Free, and a 50/50 mixture of ATF and acetone. I've been using the atf/acetone mixture sparingly because I'm concerned of the effect it'll have on the plastic bushings/seals on the hinge pins. I feel like it definitely does the best job of seeping down into the hinges and freeing things up though.
After quite a few up/down cycles and a lot of lubrication, its working pretty good. Action continues to get quicker and smoother as it's used more.

Not having as much luck with the passenger's side board. After soaking it down with the atf/acetone mixture multiple times over a week or so I unbolted and removed it. I then removed the motor cover so I could clean and inspect the internals, and wind the board in and out by hand to break it free. More resistance in the hinges, particularly the front, than the driver's side board. I attribute this to it probably being stuck down for longer than the driver's due to being used less frequently, giving the hinges more time to rust together.
Plugged it in to test it and it moved maybe halfway through the travel then stopped. Bolted it back on to try and free it up more by helping it through its travel and it wasn't wanting to do anything. Open the door and the motor would buzz for a second but the board would stay in place, not even wanting to move with assistance. Got it to work after messing with the motor for a bit, but was only able to assist it up/down less than 10 times before the motor stopped cooperating again. Not sure what's up with it. I think something's wrong with the motor or associated electronics. It was free enough to come down on its own, albeit very sluggishly, before the motor stopped cooperating.
I think the thing to remember though is that it doesn't take much resistance to make the motor stop. They're probably designed with a pretty sensitive limit switch to keep from pinching or smushing any body parts that end up in the way. No movement doesn't mean dead motor.
 






expedition or navigator motors will work, i bought a set off amazone for 150.00
the motors are backwards though,
the left motor will fit on the right board
and the right motor will fit on the left board.
I also swapped the out the output shaft.
the electrical plug fit perfectly.
if your board is running in reverse, spin the motor cap on the rear of the motor,
that will make the motor spin in the opposite direction,

works 100%
 






photo

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20200123_152757.jpg
 






expedition or navigator motors will work, i bought a set off amazone for 150.00
the motors are backwards though,
the left motor will fit on the right board
and the right motor will fit on the left board.
I also swapped the out the output shaft.
the electrical plug fit perfectly.
if your board is running in reverse, spin the motor cap on the rear of the motor,
that will make the motor spin in the opposite direction,

works 100%

Can you provide a link to the motors?
 












Thanks.
 






My 2010 Mountaineer has the fixed-position boards. Guess they did away with them. The fixed are very solid.
 






The power running boards on mine are very solid. I am not a small guy and I have never felt any flex in them when deployed. I do like them because they lift up and give a good bit more clearance than the fixed ones I have had in the past. Plus, I like the look of them (or the lack of a look) when they are tucked away. Mine work fine but I want to archive these links in case I need motors in the future.
 






Little late on the reply, excellent find my dude. Thanks!
 



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Ps.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by spin the motor cap?
 






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