Compared to stock, As in stock when it was worn out right before you installed a new setup or stock when it had fresh new parts ?

also, You do not need to remove the sway bar to see how it handles, in fact you only need to remove 1 bolt.
remove the passenger side bolt that connects the link to the bar, zip tie the link up to the frame and drive it.

you can literally do this in under 30 seconds and drive your vehicle over the same stretch of road with and without for a direct comparison.

Fwiw...I undue the passenger side for this test so when I am pulled over on a country road I am not sticking out in the road while unbolting it.... I will have the owner drive the same little test course until they can differentiate with and without even though they do not know which way I have done it... then they decide which way they prefer even though they do not know if the bar is hooked up or unhooked. I call it my blind sway test.... try it and decide for yourself.

 

I did the sway bar already (today) then drove the dragon https://tailofthedragon.com/ noticeable difference to me. This road is not for trailers.... prohibited. When I get back to FL I'll try more with the TT.

increase understeer for sure

 

I’m not sure if this has been brought up before on any thread, but what about full air suspension, no leafs or coils, just air bags, like the Kelderman system or the system from Airbagit? Has anyone here ever tried those systems? What would be the pros and cons? For starters the first obvious con would be price.

 

now that is THE test track to beat all test tracks for sway bars. Got a chance to drive it back in the early 90’s , That and CA Hwy 1 on the coast to big Sur are amazing roads.

So with all those turns did you prefer it with or without the rear sway bar ?
to add another element to your test, do an around town test and you sit in the 2nd row while somebody else drives.

 

i would love, so much so I am looking for a RWD 5.4 to buy CHEAP to build as a project and my plan is to do a version of the Airagit suspension, I don’t think $2k is unreasonable for what it is, but I can build my own using better joints for a bit less.

if somebody wants a full bag setup either of those would be Bitchen.

 

Well... going downhill there was definitely more plowing while hard braking. Glad I use Timbren in place of bump stops ... uphill, mucho better-er.... but physics playing a part there. Went of road a bit and less rocking for sure.

Next I'll back off the RAS without the sway bar attached.

 

if by “plowing” you mean understeer then yes, that is exactly what a sway bar does and the only reason people should be adding one. A rear sway bar is used to decrease understeer. But as you noted the draw back is the loss of ride quality with the rocking back and forth, since the sway bar is essentially keeping the suspension from moving the feeling you get is that jarring back and forth. Off road that jarring is more noticeable since the action is usually more abrupt but it is doing the same thing in turns, keeping the suspension from soaking up the road irregularities.

Since the Excursion is not a sports car expecting it not to plow into turns is a bit unrealistic but you can tune a good bit of it out while still not using a sway bar, Wider tires, and or more front air pressure less rear air pressure will achieve similar reduction in understeer.

if you want to continue testing, try dropping you rear pressure 5 psi and try some turns, then increase the front pressure
assuming you have stock size tires and typically run the psi recommended on the door placard of 50 front 55 rear try flipping that to 55/50

A word of caution, if your GvW is at or near GVWR then you will want to keep the rears at 55 to support the weight, but I doubt you are running twisty mountain road sucks in your Excursion sports truck at full weight

oh ya......that plowing or understeer if you will is happening both uphill, flat and downhill, you likely just noticed it downhill because of the additional weight bias on the front, either your understeer is not to bad so as to not be noticeable on the flats or you just didn’t notice it enough to mention. Tunning is fun Nice work and thanks for the report.

 

honestly, I got tired of reading Camo's posts. TLDR to prove he's right and more knowledgeable over all of us.

But to answer your actual question. I have run F codes. And I ran B codes. I ended up doing the Modded F and Modded B codes on 2 different Excursions. Both V-10's.

I spent $150 to lift my 2002 Excursion with F codes off a 2005 F-350 with <100,000 miles. They worked great and the ride was better than the OEM G codes. With almost 4" extra lift (inserted leafs from the G codes...ie modded leaf pack).
I spent $45 to lift my 2000 Excursion with SDTrucks "B Codes". those were used from a 1999 Dually that'd seen hard life as a service body truck and plow truck. Again, they rode better than the OEM G codes. Only 2" extra lift (leafs from OEM G codes again, just fewer were used)


Junkyard, Craigslist, Facebook parts work. They're cheap and work just fine. Camo likes to throw money at stuff. It works for him. Some of us prefer to use tried and true methods (and cheap lol). Plus, I really like using OEM components wherever possible. I've lifted every single truck I've ever bought. Used BDS, Procomp, Rough Country...etc. They make okay products, but I learned the hard way I absolutely hate Procomp leafs replacements. They ride like crap. BDS leafs weren't bad, but rougher than I expected. And Rough Country is all in the name lol. Factory has always given me the best ride. I haven't tried ATS leafs yet. But based on this forums feedback, they sound top notch.


The F codes are essentially just the 2005-2007 version of B codes. The numbers (spring rate) are virtually the same. I personally would buy a F or B code that had the best price. And not worry about the tiny differences. So many ways to skin a cat here to get a great handling Excursion, and you don't need to break the bank to do it. I can lift anyone's Excursion for under $500 using quality components that will last the life of the vehicle. And will solve almost every single complaint every Excursion owner has about tracking, axle slap, and overall driveability. A good scrounger can do it for even less. I have a thread around here somewhere that compiles all the various leaf and shackle combinations with ride heights. I'll dig it up and post for your perusal

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...easurents.html

 

Lmao if you think I post to prove I am more knowledgeable then you. I post because I enjoy sharing my experience with others in an area I in fact know more then most about, but just because I know more about it then somebody doesn’t mean their opinion isn’t valid or appreciated.

And be honest, you don’t like reading my post because of the time my opinion differed from yours and you tried to rally the troops behind your bully tactic saying I was an idiot similar to some other past me,bet on FTE and it back fired on you when Stewart stepped in and told you that you were barking up the wrong tree that indeed I knew what I was talking about. Anyhow, simple solution, dont read my post and or post up and share some of your experience to help fix others their issues.

 

I can’t find any post where I got slapped down there Camo. Just 3-4 posts 2yrs ago where we disagreeed on spring rates. Got a link?

i did offer ideas and help. And I answered the OPs original question. There’s only a few people in this forum who have ran F codes. We’ve been successfully correcting Excursion suspension issues using factory components for years using Junkyard parts without issue. I bow down (seriously, not joking) to your knowledge on caster/camber/toe knowledge to correct tracking and return issues.

 

Like many folks I started building junkyard spring packs in high school ( early 1980s ) simply because I couldn’t afford store bought ones even if they were available, ( and back then not much was available ) Hell my first desert races were on junk yard spring packs, my first brand new excursion was on junk yard spring packs, it is fair to say i learned the ropes by building junk yard spring packs and I still go the junk yard to build them ( just not very often any more ) so I have no shame in running them or building them that wasn’t my point about junk yard springs, The point about them is if you are going to pay retail for a spring pack then it makes more sense to buy a spring pack that is better or at least offers additional advantages as in the case of the procomps by removing the block then a junk yard pack and in the case of the ATS offering they are also less expensive . But like I have said a few times, if that is what you want use go ahead and buy the ATS springs, it’s no skin off my back. I am just letting people know of the advantages that are available should you want to make your Ex a little bit better then it would be otherwise.

id still build a junk yard pack for an excursion but I would not built it as many do with a spring rate that far exceeds the GVWR like the typical Mod/B as that is pointless when you can build one that matches the intended payload because it is simply going to work better. It’s been my Experience here on FTE that the primary consideration is ride height, and when the springs rating it considered it seems to be misunderstood. my intentions really are no more then to make people aware that by making certain changes they can also make the suspension work better rather then making changes based on misunderstood info that ends up not working as well as it could.

The perfect example is using a X code, why use a spring that has a 470 pound per inch rate with a weight rating of 6000 pounds, that spring was made for snow plow trucks that also come with the “snow fighter 60” that has extra heavy duty C’s and thicker axle tubes to accommodate the additional payload, the the Excursions Dana 50 has a 5200 pound weight rating.

People do it because that is the one they know about that gives them their desired height, however you can use a 430 pound per inch spring that is closer to the correct spring rate that just happens to cost less and give a similar height..... yes the procomp 22210 I don’t give 2 F’s about procomp or hold them in special regard but it is a better suited spring then the X code, oh and it cost less, So while plenty of people love their X codes and they in fact ride ok, you can also save a few bucks AND make your Ex work just a little bit better then it would have with the higher rate X code. A huge deal ? Not really, do I do it to prove I know more then you ? Hmmmm, maybe I do

 

do you have all these spring rates saved somewhere?

I personally agree with what you are preaching, someday i want to replace my springs but i want less than 2” lift

 

If I was building my EX today, I would most likely go with what Pirate has recommended with the airbags for my typocal use of towing heavy. But I built mine several years ago with a FREE set of X/Bs, so my entire new spring setup only cost me $69 in new U bolts from the local heavy truck spring shop made while I waited. I'm cheap, with tons of other projects that always are in need of available cash, so this setup has worked for my over those years and nearly 40K towing miles (will be over that mileage before we get back home) but I'm sure the other setup would ride better and hopefully with the right bags handle the weight from the big TT.

 

"I don't post here often, but based on the advice from this forum and ford-trucks (thanks to all) I swapped to V's and F's this past weekend (2005 XLT V10 with no other mods). Definitely improved the ride - no more jarring the steering wheel out of my hand when going over bumps. I also gave the steering box a quarter turn. These 2 mods definitely helped the wander and tightened it up, but I don't know if it completely got rid of it. We'll be doing a 17 hour trip to Minnesota at the end of the week so I'll know a little better soon (no trailer).

Based on a post over at for the rear swap I added the 2 bottom leafs from the Excursion pack (not the antiwrap bar) to the F's. This gave me about 1.75" lift in the rear. I was concerned about the V's in the front with the V10, but it rides fine - and also is about 1.75 higher. So I kept the same rake. What I found doing the rear springs this way was that the factory bolt that goes through the leaf pack was too short, so I made another one from a grade 8 bolt. The factory U-bolts will work, but they're a little close for comfort - really should have about a 1/4" - 1/2" more thread to work with. All the stock hardware in the front works fine.

With a helper and air tools, the swap took about 5 hours. I removed the front bumper and driveshaft as suggested (and recommend). Lightly heating the big leaf spring bolts to loosen the thread locker is also definitely recommended. I found the hardest spring to do to be the passenger rear. You have to contend with the tailpipe and AC lines, and there isn't room to use the air tools. Overall though the job was a piece of cake. Thanks to all who have documented this swap."

I made the above post way back in 2007. I still don't post here often but thought I'd add to this thread that I still love my V's and F's - lol.