Hello, longtime listener, firsttime caller. Proud owner of a new-to-me '01 Excursion XLT 5.4 4x4. Love this thing so far. Apart from the genius door-lock fix and taking care of some undercarriage rust, I don't anticipate doing much except some suspension improvements and a gear basket. I noticed the wandering, the squishy ride, etc., right off the bat. Had planned on a mild (~4") suspension lift anyway, but since reading the Ex forum here a bit, I have learned about the V-Code/B-Code spring swap. What I'm looking to achieve is elminating the soft, imprecise ride on the road and feel confident in mild offroad situations. The truck will be a family road trip vehicle, take me on fishing trips, and the kids on camping trips. It won't see major offroad use whatsoever, just national forest roads and perhaps the mildest of trails to get to one outdoors activity or another.

Can anyone comment on whether your average add-a-leaf aftermarket suspension lift kit from, say, Zone or BDS, will make the Ex a more confident ride? Or will it simply elevate the Ex's current issues four inches higher off the ground?

I have corresponded a tidbit with Cary Towery who is known for his V-Code/B-Code Spring mod parts kits; obviously he thinks that's the way to go, but back of the envelope, looks more expensive. Can anyone compare the two schools of thought having tried both? Also happy to hear from engineers and know-it-all truck nuts.

Thanks for having me, and thanks for sharing insight on here; this place seems nice.

 

doh….. see below

 

you have a lot going on so I will try to answer each above in red

lets look at your current setup.

1. measure from the center of hub straight up to the ottom of your fender arch.
post all 4 of those dimensions and I can give you an aproximation of your suspensions condition and possible cause of wander.

2. next, cheack and post each tires pressure along with your tires size.

3. post a pic of your front shock and bump stop on both the driver and passanger side.

 

I will snap pics/measurements tomorrow and get back re: what's currently going on.

And, holy schnikes, the info about Procomp springs is awesome. Didn't know what to search for I guess. I spent some time reading posts on the ProComp situation, and I'd much rather do that than send off for some non-stock "kit" or be hunting down old SD springs at the junkyard. Really helpful info.

While I'm at it, I've never worked on a suspension before. Doing the alternator and starter on my Econoline is about as deep as I've gone. Is installing new leafs the kind of thing a hack like me could try out?

Thanks again; this info is much appreciated.

 

installing the leafs is a relatively simple task, but I'll caution you that it's a lot of heavy lifting. the springs weigh about 40-50lbs each, and you have to kind of man-handle them into place.

a lot of us have to cut the old mount bolts out of the shackles, so you'll need a recip saw and a long carbide blade to snake in and zip them off. sometimes you have to cut the U-bolts off as well.

 

You want heavy duty jackstands
3 ton floor jack
1/2” air tools
1/2” hand tools
ability to torque to 425 foot pounds
3 foot pry bar
Heavy duty ratchet straps

if yours is rusty you are going to need a whole can of whoopass

you are dealing with 600 pound axles and 100 pound springs that need to be convinced into place.
as a newb diy project ? Its a chore
once taken apart it’s not something you can easily bailout on so be sure you are ready.

 

All very sound advise.

 

I can attest to this. The only bolts I was able tonremove were the shock bolts, track bar bolts and the front spring bolts under the bumper. Everything else I had to cut out when I did mine.

 

In lieu of a whole can of whoopass on rusty shackle bolts:

These recip blades and a can of wd-40 or pb blaster, or a spray bottle of water to keep the blade cool. if it heats up too much, the teeth start popping off and it's useless.

just be attentive to the angle and direction of the blade to make sure that you are ONLY cutting the bolt, and not the frame horn.

I was at least able to spin everything else off with my impact gun