So i went to this guys house so our dogs could play. Most amazing dog i've ever met. Fetches gas cans, pick axes, throwing knives out of the trees, etc. Super nice guy. Had a lifted F-350 in the driveway. He'd just swapped in a V-10 with dual nitrous bottles. We got to talking.

I told him how bad my suspension was & he asked me if i had a grand. I was like, probably not, why? He said, wait here, you'll see. What he showed me is a 2006 F-350 parts truck. He took me for a ride in his other, doing 80 mph in a tight, windy, rural neighborhood. What a ride! The suspension was unbelievable. He jumped it & pounded through some muddy spots behind his house. I was blown away.

The guy is a master fabricator, works on heavy duty rigs, builds motorcycles in his livingroom. He said he can swap the '06 suspension under my truck in just one day. He has no fear about taking the plasma or welder out & making it ride perfectly. I'm psyched. I'm gonna try it.

Has anyone else done this? Any tips? Coming with 18" Alcoas & tires. He even has the 28 gallon midship tank we can sling under there. Hope he's got the newer mirrors with the turn signals too since mine is a 2000. He's trying to get rid of his junk.

Turning radius should be decreased by a good 6 feet. We're gonna swap in the Dana 60 & i believe Dana 80. Will have bigger, better brakes too. Man, my truck rides like a tank right now. Especially compared to the coils. I had no idea the newer trucks rode so well. I told him we may have to box the frame, no problem.

Any tips or suggestions?

 

I've made 3 trips to the shop when we were scheduled to do this suspension conversion. He's only brought the rear end so far. His truck keeps breaking down. The rear axle is a Sterling 10.5 3L73. So it has a factory locker, posi, whatever it is. When i turn the axle flange, both wheels turn. Yes, it is a flange, the driveshafts will be swapped as well. Mine cluncks anyway. I'm going to wait until summer & build my own WVO tank. Still planning to swap dashes & mirrors. I've spent so many hours waiting at the shop, it is almost becoming unbelievable that this project will ever happen. We're going to weld everything to the frame. It will be permanent. He's gonna sand blast it to get a good weld. Also gonna undercoat it afterward.

There was a 2000 Superduty at the shop getting ball joints last weekend. There was a huge pile of rust under each side. Amazing amounts of rust. Unbelievable. New England is harsh. He would have been better off just buying the axle out of mine. I may have sold my wheels & new tires already. If i don't sell the axles soon, i may ship them back to the farm & throw them under my dad's '52 Power Wagon M-37 Weapons Carrier.

I'll update if & when this suspension ever gets done. I'm still looking forward to the improved ride, handling, brakes, & turning radius.

 

the question is, where are you getting the 06 parts? from his parts truck? just trade yours in and get what you want.

 

they don't sell what he wants.

 

true, he needs a donor truck.. he will be better off trading for a new one. i think the guy he is talking to is feeding him a bunch of crap. he may be a fabricator, but unless he gets another truck to get the parts, its a no go for him..

 

i think he will be using the 350 parts truck. they no longer make new excursions and he may not want a 05 with the 6.0.

 

i know, the only way to go is the 05. waste of time, money, and another truck. would you destroy a good f350 just to have something that he will hardly even notice the difference anyway? i wouldn't. a big NO in opinion..

 

If you want to get rid of the 60 when your done I know cumminpwr11 is looking for one...

 

My truck is a 2000 with the 7.3. I'm actually planning to swap in my '94 Cummins this summer. Too many problems. The guy with the parts is a heavy duty machine repair main. He beats the snot out of his trucks. Seriously destroys them, then builds what he wants. A true wild streak. He's about to get a 2006 Dodge Cummins.

He currently has 3 '06 F-350s, only one is still driveable. The other two he's already torn down to almost nothing. Just skellatons. He's keeping a few parts, axles etc as spares for the monster he's building.

Just blew up a rear end last week while going 105 mph. Got the truck sideways on the highway, flashing the belly to the other drivers. I've never met anyone who drives this hard, not even close.

It is true that the Excursion never came with coil suspension in front. They retained leaf springs as always, never took advantage of the new technology. I figure this is because Ford was already planning to phase out the Ex so it wasn't worth changing things along the assembly line.

There are aftermartket kits to convert to coils, but they cost a few grand. I'm doing all of this for less than a kit. Axles, tires, wheels, & miscellaneous parts. The hardest part will simply be getting the guy to sit still long enough to get it done. That is honestly what i believe will be the hardest part of this whole deal. If i can't get him to gather all of the parts & keep an appointment, i'll pass on this whole deal. I'd much rather get it done. Should be one of the best riding Excursions ever made.

 

Well, when i showed up earlier this week, he was just getting started using the plasma cutter to cut out the whole front end. Using no eye protection he got some metal in his eye. He was picking at it for hours with tweezers. It was disgusting, i won't go into further detail.

The other mechanic who was there helped me finish. He cut the frame at the transmission crossmembers & we disconnected everything under the hood. We pulled out the entire front suspension, engine, & transmission out in one big chunk. Used a Bobcat to move everything around. That was most of a day's work right there.

Don't know how long it will take for the guy's eye to heal. I'm hoping we can do the conversion later this week. Its dragging on & on with nothing done. Too bad Ford never sold this suspension on the Ex from the factory. Its amazing how much better the coils ride & handle than leaves.

 

Yeah, if he has an extra dana 60 laying around, I am looking for one at a decent price!!!

Thanks for the look out Turboale. I have not forgotten about you! lol

Chris

 

Sorry guys,

The '06 Dana 60 is already slung under my truck. All it needs is some custom radius rod brackets & an ABS sensor. My old Dana 50 is up for sale, as is the 10.25. The truck is looking good. Sits at least 2" taller even in the front.

Ordered new tires & wheels that should show up some time this week. Front driveshaft bolted right in. Most of the holes were already in the frame for the buckets so there was little fiddling around for fitment. I will need to have some rear driveshaft work done. Also need some new brackets welded in for my hydraulic steering ram.

The one bolt hole in the crossmember for the old panhard rod bracket lined up, but 4 other holes had to be dilled to mount the new one. Had to get help for that stuff. Otherwise, i've done almost everything by myself so far. Needed the most help just trying to swing the axle around to get things to line up. I'm doing it outside in front of a shop in their driveway. At least i get to use their tools.

I've added pics of the axles to my gallery. I have new pics on my camcorder of the new suspenions with my old tires & wheels holding it up, but have yet to swap them onto my computer. I don't yet know how to add pics to posts. I hope to have this thing done by the end of this coming week.

 

Dana 50 front axle? What do you want for that? Do you ship? I am out in Las Vegas NV.

Thanks

Chris

 

Hi Chris,

I do need to sell it but i don't know what its worth. Also, just a week & a half before i was gonna pull it out, it started having some kind of problem, a vibration that would come & go. Seems either a wheel bearing or possibly a hub is going out.

Also, the hubs have never turned. 4 wheel drive has always worked extremely well, but i could never turn them by hand. It does have brand new Moog ball joints with less than 4k. I run AMSOIL, the gears are 3.73. I'm hoping to be able to sell the front & rear together. I'm pretty sure the shop has palletes, i should be able to ship them. I need to sell the front Bilstein 5150s & Hellwig Sway Bar as well.

 

Well, I was looking at going to dynatrac for a rebuild kit to strengthen a dana 60 (if I ever found one) and I know that the 50 is similar to the 60, so if the kit will still work, I only care if its straight. Although I really like the fact that you told me whats could be wrong with it. I see dana 60's going anywhere from 250-900 on ebay, and junk yards are in the same range.

I am more worried about shipping costs. Your sig says east boston. If the deal is right, I might just have to save for the shipping.

As for you other stuff. I might take you up on the hellwigs also. Please findout shipping. I have a dodge dealership that you can ship to if it has to go to a business.

My zip is 89141 and the dealership is 89102.

Thanks
Chris