I told them I wanted 5* caster. They only got it to 4. Handles better but far from on rails. I think I need to tighten up the steering box a smidge. Brakes are infinitely better now though.

Too early to tell yet on the shocks. I like the ride but really have nothing to compare it to.

 

Hmmmm,

Have you measured from the center of the wheel hub to the bottom of the fender arch ? I'd be curious if or how much your springs are sagged. Post up the measurement for all 4 corners of you have them.

How did they get it to 4* ? Balljoint adjustable cams or leaf spring wedge shims ?

Just my opinion but 3.5* is a min setting for comfortable straight line stability. 4* should be decent, 5+ will be rock solid.

 

Also, what air pressures are you running ?

 

I haven't checked the air pressure since I brought it home. The tire and alignment guy said he filled it to the placard in the door. Caster adjusted by adjustable bushings.

I just measured the hub center to wheel arch: fronts were both 22.5", and 24" each on the rear. Both sets of springs look flat...no arch at all.

 

I love this thread, I am not quite (actually not nearly) as prepared to do many of the things done here...just venturing into replacing my own alternator at this point since it appears to be going bad.


We have a 2001 7.3 with about 240K on it. It has a banks 6 shooter I think on it, a 4 inch lift and an aux fuel tank installed (owner before last ran a veggie set up in the main).


I recently blew the HPOP and had that replaced, a couple of injectors replaced, and few other dealer repairs since I bought it about a year ago.


Which leads me to the question. As I start trying to get in front of instead behind the maintenance on this rig is there a thread or good list of things to do? I am particularly interested in things to do better that are going to get done anyway. For example since I need to replace the alternator should I be replacing it with something other than a stock? Since I was replacing the HPOP should I have had a different one installed than stock?


Purpose is reliability over capability over power. Family transport...maybe light towing on occasion.

 

New 6.0 radiator showed up today. It was packed like a 6 year old did it.



I should file a claim I suppose?

 

I'm relatively new to this myself. I've done a lot of the things I'm doing because I just read a lot of the threads on this site. I'd start a thread basically stating what you said in your post here...trying to get ahead of maintenance, etc. I've found the members here to be very helpful. I'm like you, I want a dependable ride that I will occasionally tow with. I'm replacing a Toyota Tacoma that has been 100% reliable with my Ex. I'm a bit apprehensive about it so like you trying to get in front of the potential problem areas.

 

Thank you. I will do that. Good luck. Particularly with that radiator. return?

 

I would certainly return that trans. cooler. No bueno.

 

Ouch! Send that sucker back!!

 

10-4 on the psi, I'd confirm just to be 100%

Ride height and caster.

From this thread and my summary on post 146 you can see the measurement was 23 and 24 when new, a little bit of spring settling or sag is normal and 1/2" on the Ex is about where I would draw the line,
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post16534525

If you read and followed the 5* caster thread then you are aware that as the front leafs sag you loose caster, while I can't be certain my guess is that 1/2" of sag is contributing to the reason why they shop could not get more then 4*
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post16086297

I say contributing because I don't think 1/2" would equate to 1 to 1.5* of caster so it may have been a availability of cams or a camber/ caster issue.

If you have the before alignment specs I'd like to see them.

Moving forward, what to do ?

If it were me, I would replace the front springs and shoot for 24" ( and inch over stock ) to make it level. For towing I would add air bags to keep the level when loaded.

Once you have the ride height set you can realign and get your 5 to 5.5* of caster by either new alignment cams or leaf shims.

 

Anyone have that link to the 5* caster thread handy?

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1423437-steering-wander-corrected-5-degrees-of-caster.html#post16086297

First link in the tech folder in the suspension section.

 

My new water pump...oh wait, that's not a water pump. Got someone else's box. Guess I just wasn't meant to get up and running this weekend. Sigh.

 

I haven't posted in a while. Mostly because I haven't successfully accomplished anything in a bit.

So, last week I broke the thermostat housing bolts. Ordered a new water pump that got shipped somewhere else. Replacement on its way.

I decided to tackle my non-locking lift gate. Got everything apart fine and replaced the actuator with an eBay one and cleaned and lubed the mechanical parts. Things locked up fine for a half dozen times and I buttoned everything up. Then a few tries later it didn't work again. Now when using the key there is a "catch" when trying to lock it. Took it all apart again and noticed that one of the latch cables looks mis-routed (like it had been replaced before). Also the plastic cable end fitting wasn't staying in the notch. I figured heck, I'll just replace the end fitting with the aluminum ones like I did for the drivers side barn door. Problem is this cable design is different and I managed to booger it up. I then find that I can't just get a replacement cable, I need the whole assy.

Ok, so while waiting on all my other replacement parts, I decide to tackle the headlights and managed to break off a plastic connector tab on a turn signal wiring harness.

Hasn't been a great Excursion fixit week...

Since the weather is nice today I'm planning on tackling the front sway bar bushings and links. It will require some rust removal, conversion coating and painting. Hopefully this goes better!