Has anyone seen a coil over setup converted or bought aftermarket performed on an Excursion? Not intrested in lifting it, need to maintain a close to stock height, no more than a 2" lift.

 

I think Fabtech has that setup for the SD so one would think that they have it for the Ex--check their website...but I'm sure it'll be serious $$$.

 

The coil over kit they offer appears to only fit Superduties, I will call to see if this will fit an Excursion. They don't list that kit under the Excursion availability. It looks like a 8" lift though. Thanks for the info.

I wonder how difficult it would be to convert to an '05+ Superduty setup (If one could find the parts other than from a dealer)?

 

Front clip is totally different on the 05 versus the pre-05 & Excursions. Not worth it to do. Lotsa cutting and welding.

I know Kelderman Air Ride has a front airbag kit that produced minimal (& adjustable!) lift and improved ride compliance.

 

I put 2006 axles and suspension under my 2000 Excursion. Most of the coil kits you buy from companies will lift your truck by several inches. With the stock F-350 parts, my truck only sits as high as a Super Duty. I moved the front axle over an inch forward so i could fit 35x13.5" tires without any lift.

You'll need an air chisel and torch to get the huge stock rivets off of the donor truck. You'll need to drill only a few holes, almost all of them are already in place on your Excursion. Like it was made for it. You'll have to open up a lot of holes to a larger size as well.

While you're at it, grab the steering gear because it will turn much tighter. You'll like going to coils. Front driveshaft will require zero mods. The rear will have to be modified, flanges for the 1410 and 1350 double cardian joints will need to be the same. There is a larger pilot on the new rear axle. Brake lines will also take a little work to adapt. Let me know if you need help, i can be a little more specific.

 

Why did you want to switch out the rear axle? Did you do it to maintain the stock braking system for the '06 style? I thought they were the same running gear in the back.

 

Larger brakes, the 16" stock wheels will not fit. That's why all newer trucks come with 17" wheels as the smallest option. I didn't want to mix and match wheels front and rear.

The bigger brakes are a worthy upgrade. Also, the axle is a bigger, stronger Visteon 10.5 instead of a Sterling 10.25. So it is truly a 1 ton. It has a limited slip as well, but that's kind of a joke when you really need it.

The lugs were diferent as well. It annoys me to not be able to swap wheels and lug nuts around so i made sure everything would work the way i wanted.

 

Sounds like a sweet ride - do you have any pictures of your upgrades and the finished product? I take it the frame widths are similar between your Ex and an '06 Superduty?

 

All Super Duty pickups and Excursions from '99 up share a very similar frame with similar mounting holes. The bucket and coil setup is basically like the 2 wheel drives, even the Econoline vans. I just added a more recent photo to my gallery.

 

I was totally wrong with my earlier post!! It is great to have ingenious folks like yourself here on this forum!

 

Did you convert the electronic/vaccum 4x4 system back to part time (lever actuated) or have you maintained the stock setup? In your experience could an '05+ Superduty 4x4 suspension be converted to work on a 2wd Excursion? I would think the frames are relativly the same. The reason for the question is I want my final Excursion product to basically have the same suspension setup as an '05+ Superduty but have the durability of a real part time 4x4 system with Warn Locking Hubs and a lever actuated transfer-case (Similar to NP205 or equivalant Borg/Warner). If I am going to convert that much, I could save me some money and just get a 2wd.

My other concern is switching to a manual transmission - I don't think it would be a big deal if I could find a donor with all the goodies I need (we'll a manual trans donor will be harder).

I am planning on getting a V10 Excursion and going with a bi-fuel setup. I have been looking to get a home CNG fueling station that will liquifies natural gas and compresses into the vehicle fuel tank using residential natural gas. V10's put out more than enough power and if I can fuel it for cheap - who cares about the gas mileage. I theorize with a V10 and a manual trans I can get an unloaded Hwy MPG of 16 or better. I would prefer diesel but the cost of diesel is so volatile and you don't know what the future holds for it. Going with a bi-fuel setup gives me the option to run natural gas or gasoline. With some cheap upgrades you can get a V10 to put out an excess of 500 horsepower.

 

The 2006 axles i used have manual hubs. Even though the vacuum hoses connect, the **** on the dash does not activate the hubs. Very expensive to buy auto hubs from Ford. Dynatrac was planning on working on a kit for the +05 axles. I think that is what you would want to use if you need to upgrade your hubs.

It should be no different for you to convert from 2x4 to +2005 4x4 suspension if you use all of the parts from the donor truck. I recommend the Ford New Venture 271 transfer case, it is stronger than a New Process 205, even though it is chain driven. It is the best transfer case from the factory for a one ton truck. I'm not sure if any aftermarket companies make a unit strong enough for such a big truck. Atlas told me they did not have anything.

16 mpg is optomistic with a V-10. My PSD got 11 mpg empty. If i were you, i would install a '94-98.5 Cummins 5.9 12 valve and convert it to run on waste vegetable oil. Converting from a V-10 is the easiet.

Diesels are far more flexible as far as what can be used for fuel. WVO is also a free fuel because restaurants have to pay to have it disposed of. A diesel on WVO or biodiesel can be cleaner than a hybrid if you add water injection (also free) to reduce NOx. You can fill your tank anywhere, for free, get around 20 mpg, and be environmentally ahead. Not to mention a Cummins will run circles around a V-10 for a fraction of the cost and complexity it would take for a V-10 to make 500 rwhp.

 

Thanks for the advice. I love the Cummins Diesel, in my opinion the best light duty diesel around. It just seems when I put pen to paper and look at the cost diffrence of aquiring the parts or donor vehicles, rebuilding and or upgrading the engines - I seem to find I save 1,000's by going with a V-10. Don't think I don't care about the enviroment, but saving the enviroment isn't my main concern in using Natural Gas. It is the cost savings. Plus I have the ability to switch between the two diffrent fuels, if I can't find a CNG station out in the sticks, I can fill up with gasoline. Biodiesel is way expensive right now, and gathering waste food oils seems like a messy hassle to me. I am all about convience.

What kind of mileage are getting in your Excursion with a Cummins? I presume you are running an automatic? Did you stick with the stock Ford trans and adpat it to your Cummins or did you go with something else? Did you make your own custom motor mounts or buy them aftermarket?

 

The Cummins 5.9 is actually a medium duty engine, rated to a GCVWR of something like 66,000 lbs. The Isuzu Duramax and Navistar/International Powerstrokes are light duty engines.

My truck is at a shop in MO right now so i can't comment on fuel economy yet. As shown in my signature, i stuck with the automatic. I bought quad engine mounts from autoworldmt.com. Excellent craftsmanship, though i haven't been happy with everything from them. I used a destroked.com kit to mate the engine to the transmission and that so far has been the only flawless part of the conversion.

I was recently talking to a guy whose brother in law drives a 90s Dodge. He gets 28 mpg in his 1 ton pickup. It dynos around 550 hp. Going 40 mph, he can blip the throttle and spin the tires. A guy i used to know got 25 mpg towing or unloaded and he drove with his foot all the way in it full time. Another local farmer who delivers hay has documented that he gets about 32 mpg. Not possible with a gas engine working that hard. A gas engine won't last long under that much labor either.

Considering the fact that a Cummins can last over a million miles, it all suits me just about perfectly. Plus, i got tired of all of the electrical stuff on my PSD. I liked wiring up my own exhaust brake and using potentiometers for more ICPs and timing, but overall, the computer was a headache. I decided to go back to driving a machine.

If i ever run a gas engine again (which i can't even imagine doing after owning a diesel), i would want to do what you are doing. Great benefits by converting a gas engine to propane, though you are limited by availabilty of natural gasses and costs of them depending upon where you live.

When i left Boston, B20 was cheaper than #2. 50 cents of cost for #2 was state and federal taxes. Dyno diesel is cheaper to make than gasoline. It is all government that is hiking the prices. E85 is not a promising future. Better to convert like you're doing.

 

I purchased A used 01 excursion that came to me with 20" wheels. Was this an option available that year ? I read a poster in the Super Duty Forum mentioning 20" whls on his 01 Harley Davidson Edition Super Duty . I have no idea when the wheels were first on the X . I assume they are Ford Mfg. Wheels . Thank You.