Alright, I've been spinning my wheels for a week now searching this forum trying to understand the options and trying to put a package together of what I need to do a 4" lift right on my 2000 Excursion. Everything I read seems to add to my list of choices, not decrease them. I've finally realized that I won't get it until I get into it, however, I don't want to dismantle the rig only to realize I've bought the wrong stuff, or not enough stuff. I just need to understand the full scope of parts I need before I get started. There's nothing I hate more than a project that has to stop and wait for parts I didn't realize I needed. Here are some of my considerations:

- I want to wind up with 35" tires. My most demanding use is going to be the heavy snow we get around here.
- I want to change the diff ratio to 5.33.
- At 300K miles, I imagine there's stuff under there that doesn't even require questioning - just needs to be replaced or rebuilt. Thoughts?

I found the following link which gave several options for the 4" lift. What am I looking at here? Does any of these choices address what I hear people talking about V-codes and B-codes?

Suspension lift kits - Ford Excursion

 

The short answer is NO, none of those options are involving the V or B code springs. The various "letter Code" springs all refer to Ford's factory rating and identification system, these letter codes are important when we go searching for donor trucks to pull the springs from for swaps to our EXs. The EX was given springs that had the big wagons sitting nearly 2" lower than a similarly equipped Super Duty pickup of the same year, Ford wanted to make them more "civilized" and allow them to fit into more residential garages.
Many of the 4" options offered in your link state that they include a "mini pack" to add to your stock front leaf springs, with 300K+ miles I would avoid that option. By now I'm sure your factory leaves are plenty tired and a complete leaf spring swap on both front and rear would be the direction I would take.
This is a front spring cheat sheet that I compiled from info posted by other members here in the past;





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".







To fit 35" tires on a rig that sees mostly on road use you will need about +1.5" to +2" of lift over the factory ride height. For an EX that sees a good deal of flex offroad another inch or more would be a good idea. Recently fellow member Hink10 mounted up new 35" tires on hid PSD EX with V code front springs and has report no clearance issues with that combo, your V-10 rig should get another 1/4" more lift from the lighter gas engine. The V codes retain a very similar ride to stock without the frequent bottoming out on the bumpstops. For a another 1"+ or more of lift the W and X codes are a good option, but expect these heavier duty springs to make the EX ride more like a truck.
With any lift of 4" or under you shouldn't need a dropped pitman arm or track bar bracket, however an adjustable track bar is a good idea to finely adjust the centering of the front axle with the new taller springs.
For the rear springs the most popular pickup springs for EX swaps are the Bs and Cs, with a few guys here also using Fs and Ps which are very similar. The rear leaves from '99 through '07 SD pickups will swap under an EX with just a few "mods". The most important thing is to remove any top mounted overload leaves as the EX doesn't have the frame brackets for them and the overloads can damage the rear AC lines on the EX if left in place. Once that is done it's up to you to decide if the typical "mod" of adding the shortest 2 (or just one) EX leaves, or the taller F-350 blocks (or both) is wanted or needed to get the finished ride height and front to rear rake you want. The BEST resource to research for that decision is to read and take notes from the excellent suspension mods measurement thread here. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...easurents.html
If you do go up 4"-ish I would include new longer shocks in the plans and look into longer brake lines. The Russell and Crown braided steel sets designed for a 4" lift are popular options around here.
So for a complete 4 corner spring swap you would need:
Front leaf set
Rear leaf set
4 new front U bolts
4 new rear U bolts (U bolts are single use items and if adding leaves from stock new measurements will be needed for the new combo)
4 New shocks (Ex rears mount differently at the top than SD pickups)
1 Adjustable track bar
New brake lines (the EX uses a 5 piece set of hoses)
Other possible things to consider is that sometimes the spring to shackle bolts get damaged/destroyed in the removal, so new hardware may be needed. The new height may put more strain on the vacuum lines to the front hubs, now is a good time to replace them. If you have a rear sway bar (anti-roll bar) it may need longer end links to correct the geometry for the new lift.
If you are looking for all new parts for this project I would recommend giving "Junior" (Bobby) at site sponsor ATS springs a call Leaf Springs and Suspension Parts by Auto and Truck Springs he can set you up with exactly what you want and all the needed hardware for very fair prices, he has several very satisfied customers here on the forum.

 

Whoa!

Now see...there's some meat to chew on! Cleared things right up!

I hadn't considered that maybe the current leaves needed to be retired.

Thanks for the solid push-start. I'll go get to work.

 

I'm always happy to help other folks spend their money and have them lift heavy things!
There are lots of guys here with experience respringing these big wagons, so plenty of help with any questions you may have along the way.
Good luck and keep us posted.


You mentioned 35"s and 5.13 gears, that will be a very deep 4.63 effective ratio! Are you towing heavy? 4Lo.com :: Tire Size Change, New Gear Ratio Calculator

 

sometimes. I may wind up setting it up as a snowplow as well, although I have a '62 F100 I wanted to set up for that.

 

im in the process of assembling an old man emu kit for my 7.3 excursion. I am looking into the additional parts that i will need (break lines, sway bar end links ex) the lift is ment for an f250 netting a total of 4.25 inches of lift rather than the 2.25 specified by the company due to the 250s being 2 inches taller stock than the EXs. My question is will i need a longer drag link? And if so where do i find them? Im having trouble locating sway bar links as is😬