Hey folks, I recently purchased an '01 Excursion 6.8V10 w/ 4WD. The very first thing I noticed when I test drove it is the steering is absolutely wild. I had to drive it with two hands and fight it like I was in the middle line at Talladega in turn 3. I bought it because it was dirt cheap and I figured I could get it straightened out.

My trusted mechanic didn't see anything particularly wrong with it except the tires were a bit old and he thought it would likely need alignment. Rather than have him mess with it, I went ahead and got the tires and got the alignment checked. My tire place didn't even bother to touch the alignment because they saw that there were no issues with it.

This made a huge difference! It turned out that the tires on it weren't quite big enough for an Excursion anyway. However, the steering isn't quite right yet.

My mechanic has taken a second look at it now that we've eliminated tires and alignment. He noted that the steering box is relatively new looking (the Excursion had taken swipe against a guard rail in the snow last winter, so might've gotten broken then). We're thinking about replacing that in case the bad tire setup simply wore it out.

I think he mentioned the bearings looked good, but I'm going to ask him a second time before we put that steering box on it.

I don't think any of these parts are terribly expensive to have replaced, but I'd like to know if anyone around here has some good things to check before we start throwing parts at it. Y'all let me know if there are some things worth checking first.

Thanks!

 

Many excursions sufferer from this and the culprit is often the alignment,
More precisely the caster. Factory spec is a range from 1.5 to 5.5 but even at 2* positive caster the excursion can handle poorly.

So while he may be correct in saying the alignment is "fine" it can still be the cause of a loose or wandering feeling in the way the excursion handles. After you have all the steering parts inspected and worn parts replaced I would insist the caster be set to 5* positive.

Here is a thread discussing it
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post16086297

 

Here is a list I recently posted for another Ex owner of things to have checked out that can cause handeling issues

Unit bearings
Ball joints
TRE's
Track bar bushings
Steering dampener
Steering gear
Steering gear intermediate shaft
Pitman arm
Shocks
Leaf spring bushings
Shackle bushings
Leaf springs
All of those are suspect and will cause the excursion to wander and or exhibit poor handling
____________

 

Looks like a great tip. I'll see if he can do that rather than install new parts. Not sure if he's up to that sort of thing or if I should take it back to the tire shop.

Thanks!

 

It can be adjusted by a mechanic but should really be done by a alignment shop that has the proper tools and equipment to measure it.

 

My casters are already at nearly 3.5. Given some of the other numbers, he didn't feel good increasing that and sacrificing elsewhere.

Based on the condition of everything he also feels the steering box is the most suspect part. I'll be looking into getting that swapped this week.

Here is a printout of the alignment. I have no idea what any of it means. Lol

 

Went through the same thing, bought a 2000 with 133K on it, the steering was a wild ride to say the least…. To fix it: 4 new ball joints, all new rod ends, 2 new wheel bearing hubs, 4 new tires and 4 times of adjusting the gear box. The steering gear box that came on the EX was a 16 month old Auto Zone rebuild. I finally had enough and bought a Red Head box. I couldn’t ask for anything better now… My advice: Keep chasing until you “know” you have all the wear issues fixed…. Some say go OEM on the steering box other say Red Head… Not wanting to start a discussion on this point, but I wouldn’t use a rebuild unless it was from Ford or Red Head… But that me….

 

I almost went back and posted the other night to give you a heads up.
Most/many shops unless they frequently work on 4x4 solid axle trucks are going to do their best to talk you out of 5* if you are within spec.

bit since I am not physically hands on like your shop or mechanic you may as well do the box first since it sounds like it is loose anyhow. At 3.5* it will likely make a noticeable improvement.

 

Joescii,
I to suffered from insane wandering in my ex, I went they the usual tierods gearbox ball joints alignment and it helped but it wasn't right, I started looking into new leaf springs asked about them here and pirate chimed in told me that my understanding of the leaf springs was all wrong and sent me a few links supporting his claims on the caster, bottom line of my post is yes I ended up changing the leafs out and it helped but I didn't lose that wandering loose feeling until I adjusted my caster out like pirate suggested

So take it from someone that has literally replaced everything that has to do with front end drivability as well as all new springs all the way around the truck within the last 3-4 months I didn't get that right steering I was looking for until I had the caster adjusted

 

Interesting point. This shop is in the middle of the city of Huntsville, so they probably don't see enough 4WDs. I might need to find me a shop out in the sticks closer to where I live to get the right love.

Either way, the steering box seems suspect enough I don't mind throwing a new one in. I'm also really glad to know that this is a common problem on these trucks. I was beginning to worry that the wreck that ripped up the front passenger fender was a little worse than advertised.

 

Look on the bright side, now your excursion has a fresh new steering system and should give you many trouble free miles

Glad you stuck with it and got it handeling to your satisfaction, it can get spendy and frustrating but sure is a sweet victory when you get it nailed down.

 

The art of solid axle alignment is being lost, especially at the big box franchise places like Firestone ect. Fortunately there are still guys around who do hot rods, 4x4s and older cars in almost every town. Sometimes it just takes a little asking around.

I agree on the steer gear, you may as well get that fixed sooner rather then latter. I've used Redhead rebuilt gears many times and like the quality of their work. Give em a call 206-364-3333

 

So I finally got the steering gear box replaced, and that did the trick. I don't doubt that getting a legit alignment per the recommendations here would make it even better, but at least now I can drive with my knee while I text and crack open beers.

 

Would a product like this be beneficial as well for steering issues? I just put new 305 70 16s on the ex and it requires constant correction/attention to stay straight at 40+ speeds.

Dual Steering Stabilizer [87490.20] | Rough Country Suspension Systems®

 

No, a steering damper is not going to fix steering requiring constant correction.

You need to fix the cause.