2 replies to this topic

[RollingStone]

Greetings all.

 

I'm new this this forum, admittedly, somewhat out of desperation.

I've lived in Norway since 2002 when I came with my family and my 1999 Ford Expedition 4x4 5.4L (Eddie Bauer).

I love this car as it has suited hauling my family (3 daughters) and wheelchair around for the past 18 years.

However, this car does not love me so much when it come to Norway.

Maintenance has been a nightmare, and fuel prices, well, I think all on this forum are not dealing with the most economical vehicles..

 

Long story short, I had occasion to take a 5 week holiday in the US in 2015 with my daughters & I has access to cheap shipping to/from (relatively so) of my vehicle.

So, I shipped my car in advance of our holiday, drove 5000 km with them all over the place, and then left the car behind for a "rebuild" before returning.

New motor, new most everything under the hood actually, lots of Suspension/infrastructure, some rust/body work on rocker panels, and took the liberty to upgrade to some expensive Project LED headlights, Tail lights, running boards, wheels, tires, and installed a Bull-Bar (aka. Nudge bar, aka. A-bar)... had some seats re-upolstered, and did a general overall bringing the car current with stereo, rear camera, the lot.. I was very satisfied with myself and the result & think I have one of the best looking 1999 Ford Expeditions in Norway (probably the only one )... for 200k NOK (end to end project, with shipping) I had pretty much a new car mechanically.

 

Then came EU control this month... I was so confident this would be the first time I'd pass with flying colors... 

Well, I had a guy in new chap in NAF who (inspite of my 15 year history with them) decided to just run my car through the ringer.

I discovered (to my chagrin ) that my headlights (and taillights) were not "E-marked" & thus, not legal.. 

And sadly, while a major company distributing 10 000's LED headlights in the US, they didn't distribute to European Market, and thus, didn't have the right documentation.

$1000+ lost by the time I get back and install the old, dim, headlights.. what a bummer...

Then he cited my Brushguard (something not uncommon in Norway) as ALSO not being EU certified.. something that apparently changed in 2007, so if I had installed it 10 years ago it was OK, but now it had to be from an EU approved supplier..  The list of things goes on & on, and is pretty infuriating, really..

He cited me for not being able to find the VIN number on the chassis (something non of his predecessors the previous 15 years had ever mentioned).

 

So, finally, to my question (sorry for sob-story):

-- Does anyone know out there of "EU" certified suppliers of aftermarket products (lights, exhaust, performance, suspension, trim/bumper, grill, etc.) for Ford Trucks/SUV's ??  

 

There are literally 100's of these suppliers in the US, and I think also Australia, but I'm struggling to find one with parts that would fit an 1999 Ford Expedition in Europe ?

 

Thanks for listening & advice 

Shawn

 

[sub03]

I'm sorry to hear about your problems with the EU-control. They're famous for making problems and headache for the owners of US-cars in our potatoe-country.

I always connect my sidemarkers and amber parkinglights on my amcars, so I've had a couple of heated discussions with the uniforms over the years.

I've been pulled over for my US light setup, but it seemed to be OK when BMW and Volvo introduced the same setup a couple of years ago.....  

 

If your lights are DOT/SAE marked they should have been approved. I think the regulations was softened a bit some years ago. 

Here is a link to lovdata.no. Take a look at §28-1, 3b)

 

https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/1994-10-04-918/KAPITTEL_28#§28-8

 

 

For the brushguard I guess you're doomed. I suggest you remove it and reinstall it after the EU.

 

I acually had the same problem as you when they didn't find the VIN-number on the frame on my Suburban. The VIN behind the windshield is not good enough for our car experts at vegvesenet. The VIN also needs to be stamped on the frame/chassis of the car. I had to go to my local vegvesen office so the could look at my car and issue a piece of paper, which stated that my Chevy-dealer had permission to mark the VIN on the right side framerail.

 

Good luck and sorry for my highschool English....