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My Ford Explorer died last year leaving me without a truck to wander the mountains with. So I just bought an Excursion and I'd like to upgrade it to handle the forest roads. Here in the middle of the Central Valley we don't get much in the way of snow, but that quickly changes as you go up in elevation. I've been doing my research over the past month, and had some experience getting it stuck up towards my cabin (currently under 6' of snow). So far, the Excursion doesn't seem quite as capable as my old Explorer, but I'd like to change that.
Current Specs:
V10 2005 Limited Excursion with 4wd
Upgraded sound system
3.73 rear diff gearing
315/75r16 Wrangler Duratrac tires
4" lift
Bilstien Steering Stabilizer
Current Problems:
The hubs don't auto-lock. I just had them re-lubed and the o-rings replaced today, but still don't seem to be auto-locking. The local shop is gonna look at the vacuum system and hopefully figure something out.
Front tires always rub the leaf springs in tight turns. I didn't see anywhere else mention this for 315/75r16 tires, so I'm mentioning it here.
Each time I've taken it on forest roads in snow, I've quickly started spinning a wheel or two. Places where a friend's Subaru gets through. I'm itching to get the Excursion performing better so I can take it through deeper snow with chains and make use of the 4" lift.
https://www.justdifferentials.com/AR...p/arbrd140.htm
I was looking at the TrueTrac LSD for a while, but after reading way too many forum posts all over the internet, I think I'm convinced that I should just go for an ARB air locker in the rear differential despite the cost. It will be a predictably open diff under normal highway driving until I'm on a forest road somewhere and need some traction. And from what I can tell, the ARB air locker is one of the best (or the best) option for traction in deep snow on forest roads. If I bought a TrueTrac now, I'd always just be itching to upgrade it.
Since I'm in there getting work done I may as well replace the gearing that has 150k miles on it.
Open Questions:
Are all of these parts the right ones? I'm planning on buying them and taking it into "The Chop Shop" to get them installed professionally. I'd like to get the parts list right the first time.
Should I get an air locker installed in the front also? Or an LSD? Or is that just overkill?
If I want to be ready for an air locker in both front and rear, which compressor should I get installed? Will the basic ARB compressor work with both diffs and the occasional tire inflation?
Should I stay with a 3.73 gear ratio? I have a trailer and 35" tires, but in general I don't do hauling.
Last edited by mailseth; Mar 5, 2019 at 12:17 AM.
Reason: Mention local conditions
1. Wander, Landyots are not going to fix your wander, they are just going to put the rear springs in a bind from their poor geometry. Your wander is most likely caused by a worn out suspension and or steering component and most likely not enough caster. Read the 5* caster thread in the tech folder. But before you even get to the alignment find the worn out parts, typically a bad unit bearing ( wheel bearing ) and or the steering box. Also make sure your air pressure is correct. 50 front 55 rear.
2. The trutrac is a great LSD , obviously the ARB is a great locker. I have ARB front and rear and despite doing thousands of miles a year of off-roading seldom use the front. The ARB compressor is a decent unit for your purpose.
3. Definetly do a gear change with the 315s
4. I suspect your Ex has poor traction due to the lift you have but without seeing it hard to say for sure. With too stiff of springs the suspension doesn’t flex which makes the inside tire lift or at least unweight,( common problem with the stock rear springs ) with open diffs this is the tire that gets the power and in the snow easily spins. With a proper set of springs such as the procomp 22210/22415 and a good set of shocks this is minimized ( not to mention the improved ride ) also make sure your air pressures are correct.
post up a few pics of yout suspension so we can see the setup.
The guy that I bought it from said that he had the ProComp lift professionally done when he had suspension replaced in the past year. (I'll double check with the receipts he gave me.) He also had a professional alignment done. Wander was with both the old wheels and the 35s I put on, so I don't think it's the tires or the pressure. So I guess that leaves a bad unit bearing or steering box?
What would you recommend for a new gearing and why? I've read posts all over the place for what the new gearing should be with 315s.
I'll see about some photos when I get it back from the shop that's looking at the auto-lockers. Above-mentioned receipts are in the glove box.
Do you have the spec sheet from the alignment ?
factory spec on the caster is 3.5* +/- 2*
That means that it is “in spec” anywhere from 1.5* to 5.5*
The Ex was delivered from the factory with about 3.5* and from trial and error setting them up with everything from 0 to 7* and fixing at least a dozen wanderers I can say with certainty that anything less then 3* they will wander.
gearing.... Ive never done a v10 as 7.3s are my thing but you can run the numbers using a gear calculator, however 4.56 sounds about right for a v10, why, to get the RPM’s in the power curve. With stock 31” tires and 3.73 at 65 you would be turning 1700 rpm, with 35’s that would drop a few hundred rpm...you need to get the Rpms back into the power band.
you didn’t say what pressures your run just that you tried 2 sets of tires... 50/55 just like the label on the door jamb says.
post the pics of your springs “procomp lift” only tells us who made it, they have at least a dozen ways to lift a superduty and not all of them are good.
How old/worn are your tires? Duratracs are great tires for snow and mud; I have studded Duratracs on my plow truck. Throw some chains in the truck for really bad conditions; at leadt gives you peace of mind knowing you have the available. Maybe reduce your tire from 315 to 275 for the rubbing issues.
I’m running 35”s with about 5” of lift and a rear sway bar with nothing else but making sure the front end is tight and my rear pinion angle lines up with 4” tapered rear blocks.
Listen to the Pirate about suspension stuff, he knows one or two things there.
315s are pretty close to 35", so those mated to the 3.73 gears must be just about horrible as far as performance is concerned, 3.73s with the stock 31.6" tire's is "adequate" for a big wagon like the EX. The factory optional 4.30 gears were recommended for heavy towing applications as they push the RPMs up into the power band for the V-10, its only a few hundred RPMs but that's where the power lives. The sweet spot effective gear ratio for these motors is between 4.30 and 4.56 for the best performance and still retaining decent fuel economy (decent for a V-10 of course ). So with 35"s you would want a set of 4.88 gears that would give an effective 4.30-ish ratio (actual would depend on actual tire size, my 35.28" tires and 4.88 gears calculate to an effective 4.39). Without getting into an expensive semi or full custom super or turbo charged system, deeper gears are the single biggest performance improvement that you can do for your V-10, it made my tow rig feel like a completely different (and better) vehicle.
Get the Hellwig rear sway bar kit. I put it off for 18 months after I bought mine and finally just did it. The difference is amazing! It drives so much more naturally and the highway manners are so much more tame. It's a completely different truck and I fell in love with it all over again. Best value of anything I've bought for it so far.
With a proper set of springs such as the procomp 22210/22415
I'm completely dissatisfied with my BDS setup I've had for 6,000 miles now and am considering going this route; any particular reason to not find a high-arch rear leaf set that allows a person to run without the lift block? That was one of the main reasons I went with BDS in the first place was that, but the springs are ridiculously stiff. Edit: have seriously been considering a full custom set of leafs from Alcan once I get the rig set up how I want it to and get an exact weight from each corner.
Originally Posted by pirate4x4_camo
and a good set of shocks this is minimized ( not to mention the improved ride ) also make sure your air pressures are correct.
I know from posts of yours I've seen that you are running some custom valved shocks, any recommendations on off the shelf that work good without the custom valving and the required R&D that goes with that? Not afraid of going the custom valved route, just don't want to have to start from zero on a set of shocks.
Need this thing to be a smoother ride if I'm going to convince the wife to keep it as the main family rig moving forward.
Thanks for the replies everyone! So, a new sway bar instead of radius rods and 4.53 gearing?
I just got back from the shop working on the auto lock hubs. They said the vacuum is sealed, the hubs work when vacuum is manually applied, and the solenoid works. But it seems to be a problem with the controller module not sending a signal to the solenoid. I guess I’ll just get used to turning the hubs?
I see no evidence of suspension work beyond the lift kit in the paperwork. So maybe it could use new springs? Here are a few photos. Let me know if there is something else you’d like a look at.
I'm completely dissatisfied with my BDS setup I've had for 6,000 miles now and am considering going this route; any particular reason to not find a high-arch rear leaf set that allows a person to run without the lift block? That was one of the main reasons I went with BDS in the first place was that, but the springs are ridiculously stiff. Edit: have seriously been considering a full custom set of leafs from Alcan once I get the rig set up how I want it to and get an exact weight from each corner.
I know from posts of yours I've seen that you are running some custom valved shocks, any recommendations on off the shelf that work good without the custom valving and the required R&D that goes with that? Not afraid of going the custom valved route, just don't want to have to start from zero on a set of shocks.
Need this thing to be a smoother ride if I'm going to convince the wife to keep it as the main family rig moving forward.
start a new thread so we don’t derail getting Mailseth sorted out.
cut and paste this post plus get hub to bottom of fender arch measurments front and rear, pics of the springs, shocks and pitman arm track bar would also be helpful.
but quick answer...the Procomp 22415 gives a 4” increase in ride height and removes the rear block.
off the self shocks
Front 24-185545 Bilstein 5100
10” stroke
Rear 33-236964 Bilstein 5100
12” stroke
Thanks for the replies everyone! So, a new sway bar instead of radius rods and 4.53 gearing?
I just got back from the shop working on the auto lock hubs. They said the vacuum is sealed, the hubs work when vacuum is manually applied, and the solenoid works. But it seems to be a problem with the controller module not sending a signal to the solenoid. I guess I’ll just get used to turning the hubs?
I see no evidence of suspension work beyond the lift kit in the paperwork. So maybe it could use new springs? Here are a few photos. Let me know if there is something else you’d like a look at.
Get your current wander/handeling issue sorted out BEFORE adding any additional parts such as a sway bar to your setup, the more springs ( sway bars are a spring ) the more complicated it is to differiante what is doing what and get sorted out.
when I tune a vehicle I start by removing all sway bars and steering dampener, get it handeling as near perfect as possible and then add any additional devices as required, On the Ex, a well balanced setup doesn’t need a front or rear sway bar and even if you do add one they do nothing for wander, a rear sway bar is used to reduce understeer or reduce body roll if you do a lot of twisty mountain road driving, their effect is negligible on straight flat highways where your wander is prevelant and in fact make the ride jarring side to side around town.
Back to your current setup, yes the rear spring looks to be stock, however a better pic is required so I can see more of the rear spring, trying a pic from the driveline looking out and from the axle forward all the way to the spring hanger.
while you are under there can you measure the aluminum block and the factory block. It appear your rear lift is provided by the addition of the silver colored block
also, we need the measurments from the center of your hub to the bottom of the fender lip both from and rear.
With 4* of caster we can rule out a lack of caster, I need to look up so s other toe/thrust angle settings
did you get a chance to check the front wheel bearings and ball joints ?
jack up the front axle so the tire is off the ground a few inches and use a large pry bar between the ground and tire... even a slight wiggle is a bad sign....and I mean a tiny wiggle so be be diligent.
). So with 35"s you would want a set of 4.88 gears that would give an effective 4.30-ish ratio (actual would depend on actual tire size, my 35.28" tires and 4.88 gears calculate to an effective 4.39). Without getting into an expensive semi or full custom super or turbo charged system, deeper gears are the single biggest performance improvement that you can do for your V-10, it made my tow rig feel like a completely different (and better) vehicle. 
