Haz anyone tried taking their front bumps stops off? I found an old article regarding bump stop clearance and the 2000 Excursion? Said you need 4 inches of clearance between axle and stops said stops hitting caused wandering know not a reAl solution just wondering

 

Mine have been gone for years with no problems, but I put on a mini spring pack lift for about 2 extra inches way back when too.

 

Mine removed themselves. No difference.

 

Seems to me there's nothing good that could come from not having bumpstops... at minimum you'll have metal to metal contact when you hit a big something. At worst, you're letting the springs travel further than they were designed for, which could break the spring (usually at the worst possible moment). Why risk it?

 

The factory bump stops in the front only had less than an inch of clearance when new. No they don't cure any wander!

 

I can't believe some peoples are still on there, mine have been gone for 10 years, not saying I would take em off, just saying not having them hasn't been a problem for me.

 

Well I wondered about the spring travel aspect...and I wondered if part of the problem was that they don't travel enough??

Apparently from others it doesn't help at all so my bubble is bursted

 

What he said...

No, from my understanding the springs were intentionally soft to make the ride suitable for a larger demographic. A mother of 4 driving a minivan then jumping into an Excursion might feel like it rode 'too much like a truck'...so softer springs = 'cushy' ride.

From my reading steering wander seems to be either a combination of soft springs up front and in back, or the back axle being able to twist under braking and/or acceleration (depending on who's thread you read).

Most solve the problem in one of two ways:

1. Shackles up front...gaining clearance for the front axle but not really adding any capacity to the front, so the 'bounce' of the front is still there. OK if you like your current ride, but not OK if you want to have a firmer ride.
2. Upgrading front springs and upgrading springs and/or changing blocks on the rear springs.

I personally went with the V Code front springs (if memory serves I have a bit over 2.5" of travel on the front springs before the bump stops hit) and with modified B codes on the rear (tweaked the B codes, kept the stock blocks and added Air Lift bags).

The absolute cheapest 'fix' is shackles up front and blocks in back...but I have read a post or two that it gives you clearance but doesn't really address the wander well. Some say adding a rear sway bar helps.

The middle ground is V's up front and modded B's in back (stock blocks). Gives a little bit of lift and more capacity/eliminated my steering wander completely.

The top of the line is full lift, track bars, etc. etc.

If you can find V codes/B codes for a good price, that's my personal recommendation. The lift isn't much (some don't think my rig has a lift at all and the wife says it's at the upper limit before she'd complain about getting in), but I have much more capacity now and the ride while stiffer than stock is still softer than a 5.4l F250 4x4 truck we use at the FD. I only added the bags since I tow pretty heavy and pretty often to keep the sag away on the rear end.

 

The bump stop compresses when contacted. The spring doesn't travel any less it just lands on something softer. No harm in not having them unless you Baja all the time.

 

Edit:0ops wrong thread

 

Mine are gone. @ $70 from Ford....kinda lost though...their site shows 3 different types and 3 different prices yet when you click on them they all show the same part number and cost at around $32. Am I the only one who thinks the only reason they got smashed out was bad shocks letting the spring travel that far to begin with? Seems most obvious to me. Mine=222000 miles and factory shocks...wife's Tahoe=145000 miles and factory shocks! Seriously...60,000 miles you replace REGARDLESS! That's why this stuff gets so expensive on used vehicles...we pay dearly to do the stuff right to correct those who were too cheap and ignorant to take care of their #1 possession when they should have...what a tragedy. Did get my Hellwig end links. Just don't know about the bumpers for the cost...I haul off road to camp and stuff but no true off-roading.