I have an 03 X with 7.3 diesel. Bought it with 58k on it & it now has 84k on it. Since the day I bought it I have had problems with it wandering all over the road while diving, towing or not. It reminds me of being on the AutoTopia ride at Disneyland, you know were your car is on the tracks wandering all over the place slamming back & forth into the rail. I also have a clunking noise that sounds & feels like it is coming from front drivers side suspension. It seems the worst when turning while the suspension is compressed, like pulling into my driveway. Cant help to think they are related, but maybe not. I have been reading a bunch of treads & it seems to be a common problem with no consistent answer. It is under warranty & I have taken it back to the Ford dealer at least 7 times in the last 18 months to have it fixed. Every time I get it back they claim to have "found the problem", but don't. So far they have replaced the tie rods, drag link ends, sway bar bushings, hubs and checked & torqued every nut & bolt underneath the thing. The brakes & tires were nearly new when I bought it & I have replaced both again since. Ford said the shocks & alignment were fine. None have fixed the problem, drives same exact way & makes same sound. Last time it was there the head mechanic told me that all 4x4 X's just drive lousy & there's nothing I can do about it. Time before that another mechanic told me that the noise was one of those mystery clunks that will probably never be found & not to worry about it. From what I have read the only things left are the ball joints or to gut what seems to be a crapy stock suspension with an aftermarket kit? Is there somthing I am missing? Is the dealer giving me a line of BS until my warranty runs out? Or did I just buy a big heavy duty diesel vehicle with a noisy suspension that drives poorly? My wife doesnt even like driving it anymore cause its so hard to handle, what a waste on the DVD system & stuff for the kids. Hope you can shed some light.

Thanks, Rick

 

Hi, i have a v10 01 x 4x4, i believe the mystery clunk is the body to frame mounts which are right under the driver and passenger floor, there are more throughout the vehicle, but they creak and clunk, i have not changed them yet, i had them loosened up and lubed and retightened,that made the sound go away for a while, as far as the wandering, i can't seem to get a clear answer either, i've done new tires,shocks,steering box,ball joints,steering damper,pump,checked ,aligned,greased, it seems better each time,but the more i drive it, it still moves around on the road, my wife will drive mine,but says it is a handfull
Gixxxer

 

Tractor rick

Clairify what you are driving, Pickup or Excursion. Also have the ball joints ever been replaced with greaseable ones.

Be prepared to get a ton of advise on the wandering issue. I have been dealing with it since I bought my Ex. 4 months ago. A friend has been working on his Ex. for close to 2 years.

If you are in fact driving an Ex. most professional alinement shops will tell you the suspension was grossly underdesigned for the Soccor Mom Crowd and not for towing. A "Stealers" hands are tied by Ford not to admit this so they will never be able to help.

 

I am driving an Excursion. I have replaced just about everything but the ball joints. I think even a soccer mom would have trouble driving it comfortably. It wanders even when I'm not towing. I beginning to agree with the poor factory set-up thoery myself.

 

Considering the mileage the first thing I would do is have the ball joints inspected. Odds are they are going to need replacement but lets make sure before going further.

So far I have replaced the shocks with Bilstiens, the only shock that is worth putting on any truck. I have replaced both the front and rear sway bars. You will see a lot of comments the the rear is the one to do because it is notisably lighter than the front. I did both to reduce roll while turning if it helps the wandering so be it.

Given these 2 modes the truck does tracks much better while driving without a trailer, time will tell on the trailer.

You will see a lot of comments suggesting radius rods and or spring replacements to the Super Duty springs. There is clearly a problem while towing of the rear axle becoming a steering axle during a high speed turn. This is referred to as spring wrap, the springs change lenght sise to side as one compresses. I can not comment yet as to weather or not the heavier rear sway bar will be enough to bring this problem within acceptance or if I well hae to lock down the rear axle.

I have had comments that the caster angle is a big contributer to the the wandering problem. It is factory set to reduce the problem of the knucles binding while turning. You may want to have the caster angle checked and set closer to the pickup settings. The noise you are hearing may be related to this also.

Keep in touch

 

FWIW ...
On my '01, when I installed a Hellwig rear anti-swaybar, it helped a lot with body roll, but did nothing for the wandering issue.

 

Do most of the guys having wandering & clunking problems have 4x4's or is this a problem in 2wheel drives also?

 

Tractorrick- I have a 2000 Excursion with the 7.3 and I am dealing with the exact same issues as you are.
When slowing down or loaded turns (especially off road) I get a solid clunk that feels like it is coming from under the drivers side by your feet.
I did read a post about the wandering of the steering that mentioned adjusting the steering box, but I have yet to do so.
The dealer you are dealing with sounds like they don't know their bung hole from a gopher hole. I would try another dealer or call corporate.
On the clunk, I was thinking it might be a u-joint (nope) or engine mount (nope). I just got a recall notice on the cam sensor so I will ask for a QUOTE on the noise while it is in for that.
In the mean time I am trying the body mount theory and lubing them- also check into replacing them.
Let me know what you find out!

 

I'm not even sure if the ex has these and can't go out and look at mine right now because I have a baby sleeping on my shoulder. My explorer had two bars coming off the front axle going back to brackets mounted on the frame. Those bushings were bad to wear out and cause the complaint you are having.

 

I agree with that.Had same syptoms .At that milage ball joints and casters is a must.Ball joints are dryed out and worned out so they have some play.
Had also mounts noise but it wasn't that loud.

 

Crawled under the beast to check on a few of the things you guys mentioned and can't find anything obvious. Then I looked to the passenger side to see a dribble trail or gear lube from the axle housing.
I see the motor mounts are in a real bear of a spot to get at them. Anyone ever have one break on them?
When I was moving to Montana recently and manuvering the truck to a pump at the gas station I head a LOUD "POW" in the same area I get the clunking now. I was towing a 20' trailer with a load distribution hitch that weighed approx 7500LBs. Any thoughts out there on this?

 

motor mounts,spray some lubricant on them and it should fix poping for a while,
loud pow=ball joints , on mine that's what it was.