So I have been searching and searching all of the previous lift threads and I have a few questions for those that would be willing to help me out. For simplicity purposes here is what I have currently:


I have a 01 Excursion with the 7.3 diesel. It currently has 196,000 miles and the leaf springs haven't been touched. I bottom out on every speed bump, my bump stops have "disappeared", and the steering wander is terrible. I put new Bilstein 4600 shocks on it 5 years ago, added a Hellwig rear anti-sway bar and Ride-Rite air bags.


I tow an 8,000 lb TT a few times a year but my wife uses the Ex almost daily as her main driver (at least until we get a mini-van). Since I need to change the front springs without question, I figured this would be a great time to change the rear springs, as well. My goal would be to help with the wandering and handling problems of the EX and get a lift from anywhere between 3-4".


I have been in contact and read over some of WE3Zs posts and really like the look of his lift. He has a V-10 Excursion with modified X codes in front and modified B codes in the rear with the F-350 3.5" blocks. He has reported he got 3 7/8" lift in the front and 4 1/2" (I believe) in the rear. He has a decent rear to front rake on his Ex almost a little too much for my desire so I might add one less spring to the modified B spring.


One of my questions is if I do the modified X codes in front, I am assuming the 7.3 will not give me the same 3 7/8" lift in front due to the extra weight. What would be the consensus out there on how much a 7.3 would gain from the modified X codes?


Depending on the answer to the previous question, what would be the best way to get approximately 3 1/2"- 4" of lift to the front of my Excursion? Maybe add one more leaf to how WE3ZS modified his X code springs (I believe he added the overload spring from his old stock Ex springs)?


I am debating on what shocks I am going to go with (either the Randho 9000 or the Bilstein 5100), but I think this time I am going to try the Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks this time around. So just to verify should I go with the F-250 shocks in the front or go with the Excursion shocks designed for a 4" lift? And what about the rear shocks since I know the Excursion stock size have a little leeway?


I am trying to lessen some of the down time so I am wondering what size U bolts or what specs would be recommended. I have a friend that can make them at his shop.


What is the consensus on using dual front shocks and a dual front steering stabilizer on the Excursion? Is there any benefit?


What about using the Hellwig sway bar? Will I need to buy the end links to lower it a little?


I know I probably wouldn't need them with the B springs on the rear but will the air bags still work without any modifications?


I know everybody is busy and I appreciate the responses.


Lincoln

 

Hey Lincoln, thanks for the kind words.
Just to help make this a little more clear I do run modded B codes with the F-350 tapered blocks as well as 2 sections of my old traction bar cut down to add to the pack on each side. Those two traction bar sections add at least 1 1/8" to the total lift, so taking them out of the mix will lower the finished product by that amount.
You can see those traction bar sections just above the tapered blocks here.

 

Thanks again WE3ZS for the reply. I was thinking I might take out one of those add-in sections in order to lower the rake a little as I want mine to appear closer to "level". I guess the real question would be is how much lower the 7.3 front will be on the modded X springs? As I mentioned, your front is at 3 7/8" lift but that is with the V-10. That is kind of the hang-up right now.

 

I have the triple front shock kit dual steering stabilizers and a helwig front anti sway bar as well as the rear is helwig that helped some but I think I need my steering tightened that's a good thing to check hope that helps

 

The 7.3 is about 300lbs heavier than the v10 (920lbs vs 620lbs).

Personally, I don't think that much weight will have a huge effect on stance. Maybe 1/2". I think you are on the right path with everything you listed.

I would think the factory F250/350 shocks would be a better match than those listed for a 4" Excursion lift. Lifts of that height can often come with bump stop extensions which will allow the manufacturer to use a smaller travel shock, possibly bottoming out before your axle hits the factory stop. I don't know the answer to this question 100%, but that is just the first thing that comes to mind.

 

Wow... Why? That must be like riding on concrete.

 

The triple shock kit was on the clearance rack at summit I think it handles better but I did the sway bars at the same time

 

There is a thread (maybe up in the tech folder?) where we listed our "lift" and the gain we got from it. I am sure there are some 7.3's in that thread. I will look around for it here in a couple of minutes.

Also, my "lift" is around 4-5" and I am still running stock length Bilstein shocks with no problems.

 

For what it's worth, I really like my Rancho 9000's. The adjust-ability is pretty niffty, but I have just barely scratched the surface of the adjustments right now.

Ben, when you did your modded ATS X-codes, what did they do? Was it an add a leaf like the C's?

 

Yes, I had ATS over-arch two leafs and I added one to each front set of ATS X Code Replacement packs.

 

I'd say you're well on track for a proper setup. Get in touch with Junior on here from ATS, he's their rep on FTE. Lots of us have had great success and experience running with their products. A recent quote I got from him (swapping up from V/mod-B to X/C-XL) included all new u-bolts and everything. Shipping down here to Texas PLUS all parts, including springs, was well under $1000. I really wish I had found him prior to going the route I did initially.

For dual shocks, IMHO I'd say go for it IF you get proper valving. Your run of the mill setups will be a smidgen harsh around town but work great at freeway speeds and big bumps. Right now I have 5100 Bilstein singles all around custom valved from CTPerformance and they're great around town, but can't really keep up at speed or on serious bumps. I'll be swapping for duals from CT sometime this year.

Rear bags should be just fine with the B-mods, springs are the same width and length, just slightly more arched. I would keep them, I recently helped a buddy move and had to drag his crewcab Duramax... My rear end was sagging so low I had to load the truck on backwards just so I could steer and stuck to backroads and low speeds for safety. Combined weight was well over the TT you tow occasionally. Whenever I yank the Chevelle around on a 2100lb trailer, I barely dip in the rear. However I still plan on putting bags back there just for piece of mind and in case I need to tow heavy in a hurry. If you don't tie anything but your TT, I'd suggest looking into the RAS setup as it helps both towing and unladen regarding roll, passive rear steer via axle wrap, etc.

 

Thank you all again on your responses, please keep them coming. As I mentioned I am still going back and forth between the Rancho 9000 and the Bilstein 5100. However, in looking at prices, are the Ranchos really worth the extra $20 dollars per shock?


Would this be the best Bilstein part #'s then:


Bilstein 33-187297 2" Lift Front Shock Ford F250/350
Bilstein 33-236964 3"-5" Lift Rear Shock


I didn't come across a part number for the 5100s for a non-lifted Excursion.

 

Thanks KRAZEE MATT for your response. I don't know too much about ATS Spring but would the consensus be they are equivalent to OEM springs? I remember the debacle from another thread about SD Springs and some unintentional incorrect labeling, etc. I am not crazy about paying the extra $$ for OEM but also want to make sure everything is done right.

 

If you work with Junior, ATS's rep here and tell him EXACTLY what you want, he will make sure that is what you get, SD Truck Springs has ALL of their springs misrepresented by using Ford's code letters on softer springs. Thumbs up to ATS (and Junior!) and thumbs down to SD Truck Springs.

 

This spring swap reference chart my help with your spring selection.
This is my Spring cheat sheet complied from various posts here on FTE mostly from old posts by bruce1954 and Monsta.

The following only applies to 4X4 EXs, the 2X4 rigs have coil springs up front. All EXs came from Ford with G code rear springs, the V-8 EXs all came with B (front B code is much different than rear B code, confused yet?) 4100lb, all V-10 EXs came with C code fronts at 4300lb and all PSD EXs had D codes at 4700lbs.
All the other codes discussed come from SuperDuty trucks (they came with springs that don't suck from Ford.)
Spring........Capacity.....Rate lbs/".....Max travel.....V-10 change.....PSD change
B (V-8)......4100lbs.......330 lb/".........5.02"...........-0.25".............-0.66"
C (V-10)....4300lbs.......350 lb/".........5.01".............0.00"............-0.37"
D (PSD).....4700lbs.......380 lb/".........5.14"...........+0.33".............0 .00"
S codes.....4000lbs.......370 lb/".........4.34"...........+1.22"............+0 .88"
T codes.....4400lbs.......390 lb/".........4.63"...........+1.42"............+1 .11"
U codes.....4800lbs.......410 lb/".........4.89"...........+1.60"............+1 .32"
V codes.....5200lbs.......430 lb/".........5.13"...........+1.77'............+1 .50"
W codes....5600lbs.......450 lb/".........5.34"...........+2.77'............+2 .52"
X codes.....6000lbs.......470 lb/".........5.54"...........+2.90"...........+2. 68"
W codes are from F-450s and X codes are from F-550s and other SD trucks with snow plow prep.

The above spring info has been gathered from posts here on FTE by "monsta" and "bruce1954".

So according to my trusty old spring cheat sheet above it looks like you should expect to see .22" less lift from X codes with a PSD vs a V-10, I would assume about the same difference using the WE3ZS X code mod (B code top overload added to the X code pack).
According to my handy dandy calculator that means you would see about 3 21/32" of lift using my front setup based on my 3 7/8" (3 28/32")results with a V-10.