You guys were right. The 2003 X's do come with the sway bar. The bar on my truck is about 3/4" in diameter while the Hellwig (which I got before I read the replies) is 1 1/4" in diameter. Has anyone replaced the stock unit with the Hellwig? Will the extra 1/2" make much difference in stiffness?

 

I replaced mine with Edelbrock IAS's and have been pleased with the improvement.

 

Nanuke,
it's not just that I'm from teuxs,
but bigger IS better in this case...
Thicker bar typically means more resistance to twisting...

I'm also thinking of replacing my rear one with the Helwig since I recall how much improved it made my '02...

And with the stock one on my '03 I still get the sensation of too much roll when I corner at anything above a crawl...

IMHO, worth the trade...

(And you could always sell your stock one on ebay)

 

I finally got to put a few miles on my new 03 Ex this weekend. I busted my hip 2 days after I bought it on 9/3 so it's been sitting in the garage with 300 miles on it.

One of the roads I had to travel 4 times this weekend (twice in each direction) is pretty twisty but 55mph. After reading all the posts here, I was expecting to have some handling problems so I was almost paranoid about it. The truck handled well, though. I was able to take all the curves at 60-65, just as I could in my 01 Chevy hd2500 CC PU, which I always thought was a great handling truck. The first time through, I was kind of shaky. Too much time on my back reading posts! The other 3 times I relaxed and it went great. On the straighter roads, I was expecting it to wander but it tracked very well with very little input.

Getting to know the truck more is nice, too. It's very nice. I miss some of the stuff from my chevy like the outside dimming mirrors, not having to turn the cruise on before engaging it, not having to remove the headrests before folding the center seats forward, etc. Fairly minor stuff, though. We're slowly adjusting to each other and I think it'll be a good fit.

 

Driving around home here, I found myself going increasingly faster around curves, it really handles o.k for such a large vehicle.
But when going down a dirt road, the think bounces all over the place, beats me to death, HATE it. I know I need new bushings up front ( ihave the Clunk) but the back bounces like crazy,,...
Guess Ill have to try some new shocks eventually, Until then I'll keep the dirt roads to the escort wagon..L

Ron
00 Excursion Limited 4x4 V-10

 

Just a heads up, jdadamsjr, that light you have in your hitch allows for rust to develop. I know first hand. I took mine out the other day after leaving it in for a couple months to a year or so, and I found some mild rust that could have been worse.

 

That "bouncing" you feel is the rear axle suffering from a common ailment known as spring wrap. The spacer blocks between the axle and the leaf springs aggravate this problem, too. The solution is a device to keep the rear axle in a controlled arc. I fabricated & installed a set of radius rods for my Excursion, and the ride is so much smoother now. In fact, if I had installed the radius rods first, I would not have bothered buying replacement shock absorbers .... would've left the OEM units on there.

 

Thanks !
I noticed that just this weekend when I had to pull my trailer...
It was a stocking stuffer from my safety concious wife but it's out now....
I guess if they can't see this big beast when coming up behind it, they SHOULD be off the road

Will anything in the receiver stop the moisture from evaporating ?

 

Actually, the shorter the horizontal sections, the greater the amount of torque transmitted to the other side. Longer bars absorb more of the input load (as a bending moment), but transfer less to the other side.

The primary function of an independent rear end is to prevent a camber change in the other tire when one tire is displaced by a bump or dip. An anti-roll bar actually helps maintain traction when this happens by transfering the torque load from the displaced tire. It doesn't really have any negative impact on the "independence" of the rear end.

This is a great idea! I had wondered if such a solution might work. If you can post a photo or two your setup that would be great!

 

The extra half inch will make a huge difference in torsional stiffness between the two bars. Assuming each bar has 1/16" wall thicknesses, the torsional rigidity (polar moment of inertia) for a hollow circular bar is Ip=0.0981746(Do^4 - Di^4), where Do is the outer diameter, Di is the inner diameter and "^4" indicates "raised to the 4th power".

The 3/4" bar's torsional rigidity is 0.0981746 x (0.3164 - 0.1526) = 0.01608

The 1.25" bar's torsional rigidity is 0.0981746 x (2.4414 - 1.6018) = 0.08242

Therefore, the larger bar is 0.08242 / 0.01608 = 5.125 times as torsionally rigid.

 

Ok, Ok I'm convinced. I will switch out the sway bars this weekend and report back. 76 econoline, I appreciate the work you put into the diameter question. Thanks

 

76econline,

We could mince words, but a longer bar would transmit more torque because of its greater leverage. Bars with shorter ends "feel" stiffer. Agreed, the ends do absorb a bit of that torque via bending, but the bars that feel the most stiff are large diameter with short ends. We could go further and make aluminum bushings and use rod-ends, thereby eliminating all the movement allowed by rubber or polyurethane bushings ... but that would be a tad bit extreme for this overgrown station wagon.

Independent rear suspensions? I agree with your explanation, but I can guarantee that if you raise a vehicle and let both rear wheels dangle in the air, when you raise one wheel, the other wheel will raise some, too, though to a much lesser degree ... all because of the sway bar. Take the sway bar out, and they are truly independent.

Great idea? Thanks! But which one? The rear axle radius-rods, or the front panhard rod suggestion? I've done the radius rods (have pix), but have not attempted anything (yet) with the panhard rod. I forget the proper name for it, but there is a panhard rod design that has a rotating plate attached at the center of a solid axle, and two bars attached at opposite ends of that plate, with both bars attaching to opposite sides of the frame. It's an ingenius design that keeps the axle centered throughout its up and down motion. Note that while that design is ingenius, it often makes it very difficult to work on the hogs-head ... and often adds a lot of unsprung weight.

Thanks for your input on my comments,
Ken E.

 

Sorry Ken, but your understanding of how an anti-roll bar works is flawed. A longer bar does not transmit more torque. It absorbs it as it bends. Take a look at this photo from my SCCA C-Sports Racer.



The anti-roll bar system transfers torque between the two rear uprights via the bar and a pair of drop links. The bar passes through two mounting blocks which are sleeved and lubed to minimize friction and movement. Rod ends on either end of the drop links do the same thing for it. The adjustment clamp slides the upper end of the drop link fore and aft to make the working part of the bar either shorter or longer. When the bar is longer, we call it 'softer' because the bar bends more and transfers less force to the other tire. Conversely, when the clamp is nearer the curved part of the bar, the now shorter bar goes stiffer and transfers more force to the other tire.

Same thing goes for bars attached to our beloved Fords. If the part of the bar going forward to attach to the frame is longer, it will be softer than the same thickness bar with shorter arms.

Remember what I wrote, "The primary function of an independent rear end is to prevent a camber change..." I didn't mean to imply that nothing else occurs. Besides, there are several other components besides the anti-roll bar that interconnect the two sides of an IRS. The bar is just one of them. The term 'independent' in IRS simply means that the two tires can move up and down independently of the other. It isn't anything magical and isn't even inherently superior to a live axle under most modern road conditions.

I was referring to your use of radius-rods. I'd really like to see your pics.

You are describing a "Watts Linkage". I had one on my late model back in my dirt track days. Far superior to the panhard bar, as it totally eliminated the sideways jerk than the bar could give the rear end.

 

Related Question: Does anyone know when the '03 X got a rear anti-roll bar? We have a February '03 production with no anti-roll bar on the rear axle.

 

You have the 4x4 or the 4x2 ?
I know my April build 03 4x4 HAS a rear bar...
and I know my '02 4x2 didn't have one...
I think because of the extra few inches of height on the 4x4 they decided to put a marginal rear bar on there... not as thick as the hellwig, but it is a bar