Front stretch .... Moving front axle forward 1"
 

My EX is lifted with 2" shackle hangers & drop shackles, adjustable track bar and X code springs with 35" BFG A/T's.

Tires rub the rear of plastic fender linings, which I have zip-tied and pulled back.

I recently replaced the front bumper with 150# ARB deluxe winch bumper which gives tires plenty of room to move axle forward with adjustable centering pins.

So looking at Add a Leafs, Zero Rate for 4x4 Suspensions from Offroad Design to lift 1" due to front bumper weight and ability to move axle forward.

Think I can then fit 37" without major lift.

Questions:
1. With Mag-high tech diff cover will I have tie rod interference?
2. Do I need new top plates or just re-drill OEM plates? Adjustable Alignment Pin Ubolt Top Plates

Anyone done this?
What else can I expect to change?

I'm not sure if you can re-drill the top plates on an Excursion. When you look at the underside, they are not solid- it's hollowed out with just a ring sticking up with the hole in it. There's no material there to re-drill into. I've not seen any aftermarket top plates for the front, much less adjustable ones.

Can't really help on the tie rod clearance with the diff cover, other than to say my factory cover is about 2-1/2 inches from the tie rod with the wheels s

I recently moved the front axle forward 1" myself actually. I made the offset plates as the Off Road Design version is for 2 1/2" wide springs, ours are 3". I used a piece of 1/4" plate to limit the additional height that would be added. No issues to speak of. I fit 37" tires on X code front springs with home made +1" lift shackles (factory front spring mount location). The top spring "plate" needed to be modified but only with a die grinder to enlarge the hole. I happened to have some F350 upper plates and they are different fyi. I have no info on the aftermarket diff cover sorry.

Thanks for pictures of top plate,

Still studying on this, the off road designs 1" pin alignment block is available in 3" width.

If block goes between the axle and spring, I may not have to mess with top plate ?

You enlarged the hole in the top plate that locates the centering pin? That just defeated the whole purpose of having the centering hole in the top plate and can allow it to move under stress. Plus, you made the wall of the "doughnut" thinner which invites breakage. Seems a little scary to me.

The picture I posted IS an F-350 plate. The only difference between it and the plates on my Excursion is the total height is shorter on the F350 plate because it uses square-shoulder U-bolts instead of the Excursion's semi-round-shoulder U-bolts. The undersides are identical.

Anytime you relocate the point where the leaf spring and axles connects (the pin), you will have to make the same relocation happen at the top plate at IT'S centering hole in order for the U-bolts to be aligned. If you look on PMF's website at the relocation blocks for the rear, they state that you must also use their top plates, installed at the same offset you used with their blocks, in order to line it all back up. The reason they only sell the products for the rear is because the orientation of the U-bolts is different front-to-rear. The front points the U-bolts DOWN, and uses a top plate with integrated shock mounts and shoulders for the U-bolt, whereas the rear is a simpler setup, pointing the U-bolts UP, with no bottom plate at all (the U-bolt actually goes around the axle).

You also have to keep in mind that the Off Road Designs realignment block is for a Chevy, which mounts it's front axle the same way we do our rear axle- which is why it won't work without figuring out what to do about the top plate. That's why their website says "fits LIMITED Ford and Dodge applications," because Excursion and Super Duty don't mount like they designed for.

The other top plates I still have on hand are "webbed" inside, apparently there are multiple versions. The one I used, don't recall if it was the Super Duty or Excursion, already had a relief that worked perfectly with very minor grinding.

When I say I used a die grinder it probably sounded like I removed a ton of material. In fact it was in the thousands of an inch to make fit snug, perfectly fine for a crude fit part such as the top plate. If this was a true "press fit" situation you are correct it would be an issue. The top plate is a cast part with no machined surfaces indicating a spec in regards to fitment. I stupidly didn't take a pic of the one I used. Regretting that now...

So thinking using a plate with pins under top plate.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mre-op25/overview/

These from Summit are 2.5" and still looking for 3" plates.

The problem is that the plate shoulders (where the U-bolt touches) has to be aligned with the axle, so as long as you use relocation plates BOTH between the axle and leaf spring AND between the leaf spring and top plate- it just might work. The only possible problem I can see is if your front springs are lift springs with some kind of a wicked arch, it might move the pinion angle up a little, but I think it would have to be a pretty extreme lift spring to make a difference if you're only moving the axle an inch or so. You just may be onto something here!

I think I found something close to what you are looking at for 3-inch springs...
They are 3/8" thick, so the one on the bottom is going to add 3/8" worth of lift- probably not a huge deal though.
Only downside is it looks like you can only move the axle 3/4-inch with these, but I bet a call to Sky Manufacturing could result in the holes being drilled wherever you want.

Sky Relocation plates