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Got Bob back from getting resprung. With the 2* caster wedges the shop got both sides' caster over 5*.
Before the V's were installed the distance from center of hub to wheel well on the front was 22.5". After it was 24.5". On the rear with stock springs it was 24". With the C's it is now 26.5".
I like the ride, but too early to tell on the steering. I think it's better, but not perfect. Maybe my expectations were too high?
Well, after 175 miles today I can say the wandering issue is still there. The Ex rides so much better, but I've still got the wandering to conquer. Will try different link settings on the rear sway bar and mess with tire pressure. Will also take another 1/4 turn on the steering box. I'll get it eventually.
Great news is we we went over a bump today that would have smashed the bump stops with the old springs. Never hit them with the new ones 👍
Started to install a new rear view mirror with backup camera. In my fruitless effort to track down the reverse trigger wire, I pulled my overhead console. The black/pink wire that plugged into the old mirror actually does give me power only in reverse. I pulled the console in an effort to see where it goes.
That is when I went down the rabbit hole. The buttons for the display in the overhead never worked because the whole thing would push in with no resistance. When I took the console down I found this:
Two of the three screw hole locations were broken out. Decided I needed to fix it while it was apart.
Used big blobs JB Weld Kwik Plastic to make new mount locations. Threaded in the screws while it was still putty like. Hopefully it holds!
One of the reading light buttons was also not working. The switch was completely split apart.
The switch works like a ballpoint pen, but since it was split open the spring was missing. Glued it back together with JB Weld Plastic Bonder. Because it was one of my projects I had to glue it twice as the rotating thing in the middle that makes the contact didn't rotate. 2nd time it worked fine. Hopefully it all works tomorrow.
Will continue the rear view backup mirror install tomorrow...if I can find the reverse trigger wire.
Common issue on the mounting holes breaking. Plastic in these things is reaching the end of its lifespan. Getting very brittle in its old age. Gotta be super careful taking things apart anymore...
The steering/wander issue in these rigs is just one of those things. Everyone fights getting new leafs, but it cures so much of the problem immediately. Then you finish up with the supporting mode/fixes
Your "rust" pics made me laugh. I too used to think that was rusty. But then last year I met Northern vehicles. I miss Texas rust
Would you say that your wander improved any after the springs and increased caster? On my previous X, the springs didn't seem to help. My thought was that the center of gravity was then higher. For some reason, the X I have now I can drive with one finger. I'm thinking just from the passage of time that it should be aligned but I'm also scared to mess with it. I may find out what the specs are on it now when I have it done
I haven't done a spring swap, but mine has no wanderlust at all. When I do finally get the springs done I'll let you know if that changes, and I expect it will. Wasn't there a bracket to help relocate the drag link a bit? I'd think that one part alone might be required for swapping to the upgraded springs?
If the wander did improve when I did the spring swap, it wasn't by much. Playing with the tire pressure has shown some improvement.
Originally Posted by Watcher58
Would you say that your wander improved any after the springs and increased caster? On my previous X, the springs didn't seem to help. My thought was that the center of gravity was then higher. For some reason, the X I have now I can drive with one finger. I'm thinking just from the passage of time that it should be aligned but I'm also scared to mess with it. I may find out what the specs are on it now when I have it done
So, on to the backup camera and mirror install, started yesterday. The existing mirror had a bubble in it (half the mirror), and didn't auto dim any more.
First step was to drill a hole for the camera wire and install a grommet. Also needed to drill a hole in the license plate. I put a plastic doodad in the plate so the cable wouldn't rub on the medal edge.
The mounting screws are supposed to come in from behind the bumper to make the camera harder to steal. I could get the bottom screws in just barely. There is just no room to maneuver in there. After a few hours of frustration and a few choice words, I gave up and put the top two screws in from the open side. Still needed the contraption shown to get the nut on the screw. Mounted plate camera. The bottom two screws should secure it well enough. If I ever have to change this plate I'll figure out how to take the bumper off. After endless searching under the dash for the mysterious black/pink backup trigger wire, I checked the wires from the kaput auto dimming mirror. Low and behold, one of them was black with pink stripes and was only hot when in reverse. Bingo!
Finding the reverse trigger up top instead of under the dash changed my approach from what I originally planned. In addition to the backup trigger, there was also ignition on 12v power and ground. Now I was just going to run the camera wires to the overhead console and connect camera and mirror wires up there.
I put the camera cable in wire loom and ran it up the driver's side frame rail. Zip tied it to existing wire runs.
Ok, I was a retard and failed to take a picture of the hole I drilled in the floorboard, the grommet I put in, and the silicon I sealed the hole with. I drilled near the seat, close to the edge of the body. Right where it would be covered by the kick plate cover. About here...
I used a wire fish to pull the wire up through the left side of the dash, and eventually through the A pillar. Wire above dash, before going into the A pillar.
Wire out the top of the A pillar. Trimmed off the wire loom and tucked the cable under the front of the headliner. Pulled wire to the new mirror under the headliner an into the overhead console hole. Connected everything up and it worked! Of course it was the 2nd try. My first try I didn't have a good connection to the camera power wires. When done I wound up all the wire and tucked it above the console frame.
I left the wires intact so if needed I could connect to a double din stereo. The reason I went with the mirror instead of the stereo was that I just naturally look at the mirror when backing up. I still hardly look at the stereo screen in my Honda when I back it up, over a year of ownership.
I wouldn't even guess how long this took. At least 8 hours. If I did it again, maybe 2. I had considered paying someone to do this. I'm sure whatever they charged would have been worth it.
Ok, I was a retard and failed to take a picture of the hole I drilled in the floorboard, the grommet I put in, and the silicon I sealed the hole with. I drilled near the seat, close to the edge of the body. Right where it would be covered by the kick plate cover. About here...
Here's where I drilled my hole back when I did this to my rig. Looks to be about the same place, yes?
If the wander did improve when I did the spring swap, it wasn't by much. Playing with the tire pressure has shown some improvement.
I went to 50 in the front and 55 in the back. I don't tow. We've thrown out every concept one could think of about causes of wandering. Once any obvious mechanical steering part issues-i.e. Tie rods ball joints, etc have been remedied, I feel like it comes down to the right alignment with the right steering gear. My worst wanderer was the 05 before this one and I did springs, new steering gear, Hellwig anti sway bar, etc etc. To me, it's always been about what I consider normal road movement which has to be over corrected with a top center dead spot in the steering. It's like the X moves in this zone, then you try making a "Normal" correction which ends up causing a big steering wheel corrrection
Here's where I drilled my hole back when I did this to my rig. Looks to be about the same place, yes?
Stewart
Stewart, I'd say it was almost identically located. Some things I saw online had people punching holes in the rubber plug back near the brake pedal. That didn't seem like a great location...
It didn't seem quite complete with the wire hanging out there so I added the wire cover. The previous wire cover was broken beyond use. This Gentex one clips onto the mirror and tucks up into the headliner.
Over a month ago I tried to set up Torque Pro on an android device. It was less than successful. I didn't play around with it again until this evening. After deleting all the pre-loaded PID's, I picked some of the "standard" PID's available for the 7.3 PSD. They worked this time. I used the TFT, Boost, EOT, GPS Speed, and Battery Voltage PID's that were already on Torque Pro.
Big question is what formulas did they use? I have no idea if the Boost is accurate, and there were two options on Transmission Fluid Temperature to choose from.
I took a nice little 30 minute test drive. With 80* outside air temp my transmission never got above 140*, my engine oil hit 201*, and my Boost got up to about 16psi at WOT. I don't know how those numbers compare to others?
I went with the longer version of the Arkon iPhone 7 holder. It bolted right under the seat mount bolt and fit my 8" Samsung Galaxy Tab A perfectly.
This Hennessey Takes the Expedition Tremor's Off-Roading Capability to the Next Level
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