Shocks and brakes
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Freshman User
Joined: Jan 2005
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Shocks and brakes
Well its time to do the brakes on my 04 PSD EX. What upgrades work? I have read on here alot of different things to do, but don't want to spend thousands of dollars. Also time for new shocks. I installed bilsteins a few years ago, but the rears are already shot. I've read alot of guys like the Rancho 9000's, are they worth the money??? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 2
From: Greensboro, NC
I just did the brakes (pads & rotors) on mine. I used Hawk LTS pads front and rear and used Napa Ultra Premium Front and Premium Rear rotors. So far they are excellent. Significantly better stopping ability than whatever the previous owner had installed. I worked with Hawk technical support on whether I should go with the SuperDuty pads and decided not to due to potential for increased noise and dust and only minor improvement overall. They recommended the SuperDuty pads if you were doing a lot of towing and encountered significant grades which I tow almost all on level ground. I'm working on getting a code scanner which can do the ABS valves so have not bled the brakes yet but the fluid is starting to darken and want to get fresh fluid in there.
For shocks - I haven't done them yet but am leaning towards the Rancho's as well. I like the ability to adjust if necessary and like you have heard good things about their overall performance. I have Rancho 5000s on my Bronco and they are very stiff but they handle very well and have lasted so far about 5 years.
For shocks - I haven't done them yet but am leaning towards the Rancho's as well. I like the ability to adjust if necessary and like you have heard good things about their overall performance. I have Rancho 5000s on my Bronco and they are very stiff but they handle very well and have lasted so far about 5 years.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 12,237
Likes: 22
From: Florida
Ahh...the time honored questions of us Ex owners! 
I primarily use my Ex as a tow vehicle...plain and simple.
In the winters I use it to go 4 miles each way to work so I very rarely drive her in an unloaded fashion.
For this reason I opted to save a few $$$ and went with the Bilsteins. At the time when I was looking I got my Bilsteins for about $65 each shipped to my door whereas the Rancho 9000XL's I was looking at were going to cost me nearly $100 each shipped to my door...so I figured the adjustability wasn't worth it for me...now if you do not tow all the time and want the ability to adjust to a somewhat softer ride and if that were my case...I would easily pop for the extra on the Rancho's and not think twice about it!...so it is all personal choice. For me the Bilsteins give me very nice towing performance...I noticed an immediate reduction of body porposing while towing after installing the Bilsteins...they really dampen out the inputs of the tongue on a bouncy road!
But others on here have reported a somewhat harsher ride with Bilsteins...that may be...but for me I seldom drive around without the 1100#'s of tongue weight tagged on the back that it is hard for me to tell...
On the brakes...
I have fought brake rotor 'pulsation' on this Excursion since I got her. The first time the dealer turned the original rotors at 24,000 miles under warranty...that made the pulsation go away but it returned within 3 or 4000 miles. I eventually really heated up the rotors on one descent coming down a mountain pass just outside of Moab Utah when I wasn't paying full attention to what I was doing...got VERY HAIRY to say the least!!!...the pulsation after that incident was horrible...but upon returning home knowing it was time to replace the rotors...I opted to go with a set of Bendix rotors for $40 each up front but I also installed a set of Hawk LTS pads. There is a theory on here that I subscribe to...it is that the pulsation we feel is not a true rotor warpage as it is more of shedding brake pad material shedding and embedding in the hot surface of the rotors causing a 'rough' rotor surface over time...as your pads ride over this 'rough' surface...you feel the pulsation.
Many on here are very happy with their cryo rotors...however for me I didn't want to shell out $150 each for the front axle plus the $75 for the Hawk LTS pads...instead I spent $80 total on rotors and $75 on pads...since then I have logged about 5000 miles on the Ex with about 3000 of that towing thru some small hills in the northeast...thus far the brakes are just as smooth as when I installed them.
My theory is that even if the theory on here is wrong about the brake pad material shedding...I can turn these rotors one time each, buy new rotors and if needed even turn them once each and still have approximately the cost of ONE cryo rotor outlay...sure I have some of my time and labor...but I figured it was worth the gamble...braking performance is excellent with the Hawk LTS and Bendix rotor combo...this is just my $0.02
Good luck,
Joe.
I primarily use my Ex as a tow vehicle...plain and simple.
In the winters I use it to go 4 miles each way to work so I very rarely drive her in an unloaded fashion.
For this reason I opted to save a few $$$ and went with the Bilsteins. At the time when I was looking I got my Bilsteins for about $65 each shipped to my door whereas the Rancho 9000XL's I was looking at were going to cost me nearly $100 each shipped to my door...so I figured the adjustability wasn't worth it for me...now if you do not tow all the time and want the ability to adjust to a somewhat softer ride and if that were my case...I would easily pop for the extra on the Rancho's and not think twice about it!...so it is all personal choice. For me the Bilsteins give me very nice towing performance...I noticed an immediate reduction of body porposing while towing after installing the Bilsteins...they really dampen out the inputs of the tongue on a bouncy road!
But others on here have reported a somewhat harsher ride with Bilsteins...that may be...but for me I seldom drive around without the 1100#'s of tongue weight tagged on the back that it is hard for me to tell...On the brakes...
I have fought brake rotor 'pulsation' on this Excursion since I got her. The first time the dealer turned the original rotors at 24,000 miles under warranty...that made the pulsation go away but it returned within 3 or 4000 miles. I eventually really heated up the rotors on one descent coming down a mountain pass just outside of Moab Utah when I wasn't paying full attention to what I was doing...got VERY HAIRY to say the least!!!...the pulsation after that incident was horrible...but upon returning home knowing it was time to replace the rotors...I opted to go with a set of Bendix rotors for $40 each up front but I also installed a set of Hawk LTS pads. There is a theory on here that I subscribe to...it is that the pulsation we feel is not a true rotor warpage as it is more of shedding brake pad material shedding and embedding in the hot surface of the rotors causing a 'rough' rotor surface over time...as your pads ride over this 'rough' surface...you feel the pulsation.
Many on here are very happy with their cryo rotors...however for me I didn't want to shell out $150 each for the front axle plus the $75 for the Hawk LTS pads...instead I spent $80 total on rotors and $75 on pads...since then I have logged about 5000 miles on the Ex with about 3000 of that towing thru some small hills in the northeast...thus far the brakes are just as smooth as when I installed them.
My theory is that even if the theory on here is wrong about the brake pad material shedding...I can turn these rotors one time each, buy new rotors and if needed even turn them once each and still have approximately the cost of ONE cryo rotor outlay...sure I have some of my time and labor...but I figured it was worth the gamble...braking performance is excellent with the Hawk LTS and Bendix rotor combo...this is just my $0.02
Good luck,
Joe.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 2
From: Greensboro, NC
Good post, Joe. I searched some of your posts and they helped me decide to go with the LTS pads. I completely agree with the material transfer on the rotor vs. actual brake warpage - it can also happen to new pads if the rotors aren't turned or replaced when changing pads. Whenever changing pads the bedding procedure must be followed for those pads. If they don't have a specific one - use the one Hawk provides on their web site.. This allows for proper material transfer between the pad and rotor and significantly helps the long term durability and the braking performance.
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