I don't tow anything. I do have a little left-to-right road wander. I already tightened the steering box. What is the best of the mods to use to correct this?

 

While the inherent steering wander found on most 4x4 Excursions is exacerbated by towing, it's not limited to only when you tow.

I'm pretty confident in saying all of the questions you have about the Excursion steering wander problem can be answered by the collection of links dealing with this problem, located in the following thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/789595-attn-dup-steering-wander-search-results-for-you.html

Stewart

 

I first tightened my steering box and then installed the Fabtech dual steering stabilizer and that cured my wandering problem! The dual steering stabilizer made the biggest difference though!

 

I had the same issue as you! I was ready to trade the thing...............it was that bad! I couldn`t even keep it straight. and when towing it was dangerous!!!! I found this forum and the recomendations to install the Hellwig rear sway bar. the best money I ever spent. it was a nite and day difference. I can now drive comfortably for hours with our 32' TT without fatigue. and nontowing, well it handles just like gocart. albiet a 7500lb gocart, but you get the idea!

 

Do a search on Road Master Active Suspension or Land Yot Radius Arms. If it is spring wrap causing your wandering, either will remedy it. Have you check your ball joints? They are known t wear and can cause handling problems.

Eric

 

Check you tires and tire pressure, I say tire because if you have D rated ( Load Rating ) tires the sidewalls have more give as compared to E rated tires.

 

Have you changed the ball joints recently? I changed mine to Moog greaseable ones and they were stiff as hell. I've driven it about 400 miles and it's back to normal now.

 

I note that some folks are really recommending Hellwig sway bars, and others swear by the Roadmaster Active Suspension. Which one does the best in terms of the wander issue mentioned here?
Also, if you install the RAS, does that mean you do not need to change to the B code spring?

 

helopilot
Good questions. I have a 04 4x4 with a V10. It was stock when I bought it and I experienced the wandering problem. After reading about it on this forum, I bought the sway bar and installed it. It helped a good bit, but was not what I was looking for. I compared the Land Yot's vs. the RAS and decided on the RAS because for me, it was easier to install. That cured all of my wandering. Would it have done it alone if I installed it first? I don't know. Could be somebody in here has installed only the RAS and has some feedback?

 

Do you happen to have a link to this?

 

Sway bar and RAS do different things the sway bar prevents body roll and the RAS prevents spring wrap and increases the leaf spring load.

 

Well, My X only has 35K miles on it, so I don't think anything is worn out. I think I'll try the Helwig, because that sounds like the best first try for non-towing. The spring stuff sounds like it is a fix more suited to tongue weight driven wander.

 

The rear axle "wrap" contributes to the vagueness we all have felt as "wander". The Hellwig is a first step, but "B" springs on rear would also more firmly anchor the rear axle in the proper alignment with the truck centerline. I used radius rods for the same purpose.

Another surprising thing I learned on my truck (at only 65K miles), was that the factory ball joints were big contributors. Replacing these, along with tie-rod ends and track bar, totally eliminated wander. I've never had to tighten the steering box.

The rear air bags on mine are for load only. They did not help with wander.

 

Nope. It's a problem exacerbated when towing, but it's not a fix for tongue weight driven wander only.

It's a fix that eliminates the problem. A permanent cure.

The RAS and Landyots radius rods have been proven to be fantastic problem solvers for the Excursion Wander, but neither of them permanently removes the problem, because the stock springs are still used.

Stewart