I’m doing my rear leaf spring swap and the lower leaf is hitting my exhaust. 2000 ford excursion 7.3l.

 

That's odd. I just did my mod B a couple months ago. 2000 7.3 Ex no issues. Factory exhaust.

 

Is your exhaust factory? It almost looks aftermarket or it was replaced and missing a bend there where it hits.

 

I was able to slide the bottom leaf over and get it cleared and once everything was back to the right height, it has 4-5” clearance. I just finished up v codes In the front and b mod in the rear. I will post another picture with it all back together so everyone can see it.

 

With the air bags, you could remove the thick bottom leaf.

 

use an abrasive wheel chop saw and cut it shorter

 

Air bags! Nice! Good to see.

 

yes that’s was an option. I got it cleared and it seems to be fine. I drove it this am with no issues.

 

just saw the air bag.

as noted above, remove the bottom leaf if you are still running a air spring. dont know who spec’ed out your suspension design but you are way over sprung for any payload the ex could possibly handle.

without that “overload” spring the 7 other leafs puts you right at 420lbs inch spring rate which will allow you to exceed GVWR plus the air bag
and you are still oversprung.

a more ideal setup would be the 5 leafs from the F250 which would put you at about 330 lbs inch, then use the air spring to adjust spring rate to match the given payload ( use level ride height as your guide )

 

So I need to either remove the bottom spring or take the bags off?

 

I tow a #9500 TT. I used the bags with the stock springs. Now I will probably never use them with the modded B springs. They are just there with 5 psi in them. If I need to do something different, please let me know. No one spec’d my suspension. Just reading this forum and what the ex to tow better. My wandering was really bad with the just the stock springs and bags.

 

you don’t “have” to do anything if you don’t want to but the way it is now you have enough spring rate to haul a dump truck around. but some people want to do that so to each their own, just saying it is way over sprung for any purpose within the GVWR.

as far as wander is concerned, that spring rate may somehow be masking it to an extent but certainly didn't cure what was causing it. personally I would have rather cured the cause of wander and built a more balanced and rate appropriate rear suspension. but that is just me.

 

I have the same setup in my Excursion. I followed the mod-B recipe by adding the two new leafs from the Ex springs to the F-250 springs.

It may very well be way overspec'd for what an Excursion can tow. However, even when empty I don't feel that it rides any worse than a pickup of the same era. And it's nice, if I need to move a trailer, either my own or someone else's, I can plop it down on my truck and it will take it without a problem. I've had to move a couple heavy trailers around before, and I didn't have to worry about tongue weight being an issue. Overall, I'm happy with the results and performance. I agree that it's probably not what every Excursion owner would want, but it sure makes for a capable vehicle.

As for the ride quality, I pretty much hated driving my truck at more than 55 on the highway when I first brought it home. With the stock suspension, it just felt soft and squishy. I didn't trust it at high speeds. I don't remember if "wandering" is the term I'd use to describe it, but it didn't inspire confidence and I don't think that adding the weight of an 8000 lb RV would have been a good experience. In addition to the rear mod-B codes and C codes up front, I added an adjustable Hellwig sway bar on the rear and bilstein shocks all around. With these changes to the suspension, it rides much firmer and I don't hesitate to drive it on the highway at 80 or 85 if I want to.

I've been coast to coast with it 3 times, with a bunch of side trips in between now both loaded and unloaded. I like the setup I have now. It works well for me and the truck does what I want without any complaint.

 

Well said and I must agree. Ive got nearly the same setup, 2001 7.3 with X/modB codes and I love the ride, feels just like it should and handles some weight with ease.

 

Well!! I just took a road trip to Charleston which is about 340 miles from home and what a difference. I have V in the front and modded b in the back with bags at 5 psi. I am more than happy with the ride. I stayed at 75-70 mph with no issues and wandering what so ever. If you are wanting to do it do it. I got my leaf springs for $20 each at the local yard.