Most married guys too!
Or at least visit occasionally...

 

While I am enjoying Stewarts "lecture", (really I was, saved me from having to search the Tech folder as I always thought I needed a new steering box to fix my wander), I searched for 5 years to find my 2005 6.0. It already had studs and a Sinister EGR cooler (which went bad and I have since deleted), It was a 1-owner EX and the only reason the guy was selling it was due to a divorce. It was well maintained, even had royal purple in it since factory. Had 159k on it and I paid $16k for it.

Was my first diesel and with alot of research and info here on FTE, I have a pretty decent handle on the 6.0 now, even able to help others with what I have learned. I have been nervous a few times not knowing much about the 6.0, but I have always been happy with my purchase and would do it again in a heartbeat. I also tow a 5000# trailer a few times a year and never know it's back there, where my 2007 f150 struggled with it

-The Great

 

I bought a 03 Ex with 232K 2 owner miles (approx. 100K each). The suspension felt better than my (sold) 00 Ex V10 with 100K miles and I got it for a song and dance. The truck started and ran good but had cold start issues (rough idle and smoke) that went away when warmed up and oil leaks. I spent a good amount of money fixing those issues that were the result of worn parts and sensors under the hood. Once fixed it ran really good (tuned also) and can get up to 23 mpg. Now 10K miles later I feel the suspension getting worn and am looking at more $$$ to address that.


I wouldn't be scared of buying a high mileage vehicle but I would make sure it had its scheduled and preventive maintenance done. In my case the worn parts cost more than the well known issues of the 6.0L which incl the oil cooler, EGR cooler (mines deleted) and the head gaskets which were not bad on mines but I had done as preventative also. In the end I would have been better paying more upfront for the really well taken care of one although to be honest anything mechanical has risks of failures and at least with mines I have peace of mind knowing the work done was done right (diesel specialty shop).

 

I now have gone through the tech stuff. LOT's of good info. Thanks to the contributors.

It appears this wander thing is pretty complicated.

Quoting from one of the responses:

"I've read a bunch on this topic...and have probably written some too...

It is VERY apparent that no ONE issue can be completely tagged as causing wandering.

There are a number of factors that CAN contribute to why one Ex is perceived as bad over others that have NO indication what so ever from a handling/wander/sway perspective that is...

In no particular order here's what I feel are some of the major contributors and many of these are needed in combination I believe...

- Rear springs
- Tire pressure
- Ball joints
- Tie rod ends
- Sway bar bushings
- Lack of rear sway bar
- Shocks
- Improper WD setup
- Lack of WD
- D range tires
- Driver sensitivity (i.e. one is more sensitive to the issue?)
- Steering box
- Front end alignment (i.e. CASTER in particular has a HUGE spec range!!!) from factory
- Driving speed
- Terrain
- Weather (wind)
- Road conditions
- Driver habits
- Trailer loading (i.e. light tongue)

As you can see there are a LOT of items that CAN contribute to sway and some are a combination of items...so diagnosing the issue can be VERY VERY difficult for sure...

...Now the 'wander' for unloaded vehicles simply driving down the road...well that may be more driver sensitivity or more possibly the combination of tire pressure (i.e. too high) and a poorly designed steering box...but those ball joints are also a KNOWN problem on our trucks which certainly can cause front end stability issues that cause constant steering corrections which can be called 'wander'.

So I truly believe that the 'wander' issue is a VERY complex and mostly misunderstood issue. Not saying it isn't real...I think it IS a real phenom...I just think that when one person speaks of 'wander' it is likely not what another person is calling 'wander' which further complicates the issue.

My $0.02 for today! Joe"

 

Did I miss something? Don't see that the OP has even posted anymore. It's like a hit and run

 

You are on it, the RN was just a plant trying to cause dissension amongst our ranks.

 

I like how she posted once, her original inquiry, then bailed. It's almost like us diesel folk scared her off.

Odd, I can't imagine any one of US could do that. Maybe Apoc with his raving madness with his 5.4, or a certain gas powered somebody who I believe is on permanent vaca.

 

We have a great group of guys here who love to help.

It really only gets a tad complex when other factors such as condition of equipment, age (worn components) modifications, tow set up and equipment, etc come in to play. But generally speaking, the main underlying cause for the 4x4 Excursion Steering Wander is caused by the OEM front and rear springs Ford used. It woulda been a lot better had Ford just used the F250/350 springs instead of setting the vehicle up to appeal to soccer moms.

For gosh sake these basties are really just enclosed Super Duty trucks. What the heck was Ford thinking when they didn't follow a proven path.

Joe is a well respected and highly regarded Excursion brother who used to own an Ex, but since he sold it, he rarely visits anymore and we miss him. But back in the day, he was THE go to guy for tow/trailer setup for anyone wanting help getting their Ex dialed in.

That said, time (many years) and many, many, many users who have upgraded their springs since this problem was first being identified (back in 2005) and then slowly addressed for the first few years, have proven that now, 9 years later (and 6 years since Joe posted that), the base cause for the problem lies in the type of leaf springs Ford used for the Ex.

Drive-by posting.

No dissension. I take responsibility for getting csurp agitated. He doesn't know me like most of you guys do so he took my post in the wrong vein. It doesn't happen often (misunderstanding like that), but when it does, there's only one common denominator, that's me.

Stewart

 

No worries. It's an internet forum.

I found the Super Duty section very helpful when I was buying and upgrading my F-350.

 

beautiful ford excursion