I was looking around Firestone's site and notice they have thier complete replacement spring/airbag system for the superdutys. It uses soft springs and airbags to give a better ride.(in theory anyway) You can even deflate the bags and drop the bed several inches from the normal height. So, that made me wonder; would it be a bad idea to use airbags to lift the back of my Ex? I'll be installing v-codes shortly so I'll just need just a little lift.

No, I'm not trying to save $$ and not buy the blocks, I just thought it was an interesting idea. I could see it being a problem if you're air system went out. But the truck would still drive, just look funny. So, would it work? Would the ride be stiff because of the pressure to lift the truck? My wife drives the Ex to haul the kids and she doesn't want worse ride quality. I guess the worse thing that could happen is try it and then have to buy the blocks anyway.(either way I'll be putting on airbags)

Here is what I was thinking:

- firestone airbags
- maybe remove anti-wrap leaf (I have radius rods)
- install a compressor and tank
- either auto level control or have controls in the cab
- probably install all new shocks at the same time, mine are getting bouncy

The only reason I was looking at removing the anti-wrap leaf was to give me a little more sag if I deflated the system. The only reason I'd do that is for hooking up trailers, but I don't think it would give me enough drop to get under the hitch so it's probably not worth it.

 

I was intrigued when I saw this Ex on Ebay with the airbag lift:

Ford : Excursion - eBay (item 350444801513 end time Mar-25-11 14:06:53 PDT)

They have been trying to sell this for a long time. The pictures show it with bags deflated and inflated.

 

I have V codes in the front and air bags in back, I only put 10 to 20 psi to level it, and it does'nt affect the ride to much. If you put more than that in it gets pretty stiff.

 

Cool, thanks for the info woodhead. That's what I was wondering. I'll install the V-codes and see how much lift I need and go from there.