I'm on my third Excursion, all 2001 Limited 7.3 models. All three have had the same issue with the drivers seat. The seat bottom bolster gets crushed and sits noticeably lower on the left side. Same with the seat back bolster on the left side. It's reasonable to understand that as we slide out of the seat exiting, the foam seems to crush and break down excessively fast.

I had my front seats re upholstered about two years ago using the original foam, then about a year ago had the shop go back in and replace both seat bottoms with new OEM parts. The only thing available were the passenger side but with a small modification made one of them fit the drivers side.

I have the truck at another upholstery shop to see what they can do and at the same time recover the steering wheel. One of the careless mechanics who worked on my truck had abrasive palmed gloves and wore the surface of the leather in places making it look dirty. The fix for the steering wheel vs the mechanic is an easy fix with a temporary cover, but I can't understand why the seat is having this issue.

It's getting uncomfortable driving while sitting on an angle. Has anyone come up with a remedy for this?

 

That's a great question, and I'm going to be reading any answers with great interest because I've been wondering the same thing.
I have the same issue with each of my excursions, even the one that was just redone a couple years ago, similar to your situation.

 

this is common to all vehicles.
my '01 Suburban looks like the rats have been chewing on the left edge of the driver's seat.

 

Seat Shop in Texas offers a better cushion called durafoam. If that’s not the correct name of the product, it’s really close. I’ve been using it for about 3-4 years now and it hasn’t crushed down yet.

 

Picked the Ex up today from the upholstery shop. He added about an inch of foam to the seat bottom outer bolster area and about 1/2" to the seat back bolster. I trust the opinion of this guy and only wish his shop was closer. He explained a few things, first, my lumbar adjuster was broken and needed to be replaced. He tried fixing it but was only able to freeze it in one location. Second, the factory foam is SH&T! After only a year, it's broken down and lost its firmness. Added to the fact that it sits on the seat frame rail, it gets crushed from the narrow rail underneath. Additionally he said the leather seat cover bolster panels were too narrow causing the stitched seams to be too high so the cover doesn't fit the foam correctly on both the bottom and seat back. He did the best he could and it looks good but not correct.

Now my plan, to obtain a new lumbar adjuster, a new seat bottom cushion, probably the Durafoam from The Seat Shop, and instead of buying new seat covers, have the upholstery shop make new ones with premium leather. He said the leather he can get will be thicker and more durable. New seat covers from the source where my existing came from are about $500. Add installation and they come up to ~$900 per seat. He quoted me $950 per seat with him cutting and stitching the leather. Maybe he can use leather throughout instead of using vinyl around the sides of the bottom and the back of the seat back. Recovering both seats so they match will be necessary and installing the lumbar adjuster will require the same amount of work on the drivers side. Do you like how I've just justified spending another $2K on new front seats? lol

His work on my steering wheel is exquisite!

This evening I ordered a new lumbar adjuster. Although discontinued, there are a number of them still available around the country. Part number - 8C3Z-1565501-A

Now to see if the Durafoam is the way to go. Any opinions on this, is there anything better on the market? If I'm going to spend this much dough, I want it done right with the best materials so I don't have to do it again for a number of years....

Only one small detail that didn't go right as if the above isn't enough. I had new cruise control buttons to install. The left "On" button activates the horn and with head headlights on, only the On & Off buttons illuminate excessively bright. The right side "resume, coast, etc" are inactive. I called the shop and have to drive another 20 miles to have him look at it. The old switches worked before. It's impossible to wire them up wrong so something is going on. If we must, I'll have him put the old switches back in.

Here is what I have now...

 

Went back to the upholstery shop and he got right on my cruise control switches. Apparently when he installed the airbag he crushed a couple wires by accident. He soldered them together, taped them for insulation and protection. Now it all works great. I drove after dark and the lettering glows nicely and my cruise control works as expected.

 

That steering wheel looks awesome!

 

I contacted The Seat Shop about the Durafoam seat bottom and as luck would have it, they only make it for the 2002 - 2005. The website is a bit misleading. So with that said, hopefully the upholstery shop can take my 1 year old seat foam and modify or support it somehow so it lasts longer. I’m very disappointed in The Seat Shop not having a better product for our earlier Excursions. Especially when you consider there were more 2001 models sold than any other year.

 

That's strange, my ex is a 2000 and I just used their foam in my seat within the last 2-3 years. What is the difference between the year models?

 

The 2000 and 2001 have a different seat bottom pattern than the 2003 to 2005.
Also The Seat Shop doesn’t offer seat covers with the “Limited” embroidered on the seat back. Something to do with licensing they say.

I will have to just use the Ford seat foam that I purchased a year ago when I have my front seats done again. I just got a new lumbar adjuster to replace the broken one.