Greetings All,

New to the forum as well as ownership of an Excursion (although I did own an '01 F250 7.3L). The Ex is a 2000, 4x4, 7.3L, with almost 186,000 on it. Runs great.

The heart of this post: I've got significant "wander" in my steering, often without steering at all, and it can be tricky getting it to go exactly where I want it to.

My main purpose for this thread, is to see what recommendations I can gather to help address my concern in the most cost effective way possible. I know there are many threads on this issue, as I have spent hours on them already, most recently on the "Comprehensive..." thread.

How I will use the Expedition - This will be our overall family vehicle, as we now have plans to fill the last remaining empty seat through efficient family building. It will be used on regular trips, as well as vacations pulling a ~4,000lb TT.

Part of my plan is to gain 3-4" of lift, in hopes of being able to run 33" equivalent tires. I am guessing that will play into the method of tightening the steering.

I also plan on putting on an aftermarket 5" exhaust, which may interfere with sway bars that may come as a recommendation.

Lastly, and most importantly, I can handle small modifications/repairs on my own, but anything on the scale of working on suspension is way outside of my knowledge/skill/tool set, and I will need to be able to hand my plan over to a mechanic, which I didn't see in any of the threads I read up until now. If you can help get me on target, I'd appreciate it.

I've gotten a few really helpful bits of information from folks in various other older threads on here, but all of them advised me to share my concerns in a new thread.

Hailing from the Spring Grove area of Pennsylvania, for any of you other Keystone-rs on here.

-Chad

Also, I really love this color, but the paint is a bit rough. going to need some extra attention soon.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...of-caster.html

 

Castor adjustment (as MECDAC noted) and new springs (X and modded C from Junior at ATS) solved my seriously bad wander issues.

 

Mark,

Thanks for the link. I'm not sure if I focused on the wrong classes in school, or what, but reading that whole thread just makes my head spin. If I go to my mechanic and ask him to max out the castor, he'll do what needs to be done, right?

Chad

 

StreamOn,

If I tell my mechanic that I want the X and C or V and B suspension, will he be able to do that, or will I need to provide more concise instructions because it deviates from stock Excursion parts?

Chad

 

I would tell the shop you want 5degrees of caster and they should be able to accommodate. As far as the codes on the springs...my experience is they do not know the codes.

 

ATS springs in PA. Talk to Junior. He will hook you up with what you need. He has done it for so many on this forum alone, we have lost count.

Leaf Springs and Suspension Parts by Auto and Truck Springs

They are just south of Harrisburg in Souderton.

Correction: Souderton is above Philly. Not under Harrisburg. Sorry.

Oh, and 5" exhausts don't do well under an Excursion, unless you like listening to it rattle against the frame rail. Stick with a 4".

 

Congratulations Chad! Subscribing to this thread for information gathering.

 

sounds simple enough. Thanks for the info.

 

Will talk to Junior. That isn't far from me in reality. Also noted that 5" is no good. Will 4' exhaust interfere with a sway bar?

 

Unleashed,

I recognize that Ex from when I was hunting Craigslist in the York area when I was looking for one to buy. It looks really good. Congrats.

Chad

 

Neither a 5" or 4" exhaust will interfere with a sway bar. It is the frame rails and heat shields that get in the way of a 5". I put one (5") on mine, and my wife made me take it out. Was making too much noise, and I couldn't get it adjusted so it wouldn't rattle. I tried.

My bad on ATS location. They are just north of Philly.

 

Chad, the guys above have already given you good info with the 5 degrees of caster to reduce the wandering steering (you will also need to have all of the front suspension and steering linkages checked for excessive wear) and Junior at ATS for new springs to address your lift desires. But just remember that the factory 265/75R16 tires are about 31.6" tall and 33"s should fit on a stock suspension. I think 285/75R16 run about 33" and some folks here are running that on stock wagons.
Check out this suspension modification thread before you commit to anything. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...easurents.html


You mechanic should be able to give you the max caster upon request once the frontend components prove to be sound. You might be best off deciding on what springs you want and ordering them to have on hand to give to your mechanic, as most shops aren't very interested in learning Ford's spring codes and we mod them.


Your 4,000 lb TT sleeps your current crew of 7? I'm impressed! Is that 4K the "dry" weight or the actual ready to travel scaled weight?
We use our EX as the dedicated tow rig for our TT, so EXs pulling campers always catch my attention!

 

I had to make a quick decision on this one

 

WE3ZS,

Thank you for all of the info. I had an inkling that the ~33s would fit stock, but I didn't want to assume. All around good stuff.

Yes, our brood of 7 currently rocks out our 27' TT. My two oldest get their own bunks, and my three youngest get the big bed[table conversion]. When our last bundle of surprise comes this spring, I think the kids will all be doubled up on various beds. Still considering a bigger TT, but nobody had grumbled yet, so we have some time. The trailer is roughly 4K loaded, although I rarely get it checked.

Nicmike,

Thanks for clarifying the location. That is a little farther, I'm going to have to see if they ship and what the cost difference would in that vs. going out and picking the parts up.

-Chad