Toobsluver
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• Waretown, NJ, USA |
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• Registered on 10/24/2005 |
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• 36 posts |
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 Posted:10/24/2005 08:24 |
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PLEASE HELP!!!!
I have a 2000 4x2 Excursion 7.3 Diesel. I dont understand why every bump I hit feels like it is a giant pot hole! I replaced the shocks like 5 or 6 months ago with Pro Comps in the front and Rancho 9900 in the back with a 10 way adjuster on them. Every time I hit a "small" dip in the road it is like I bottom out and my truck slams hard! I do have air bags for towning purposes and I dont know if that is the problem. I was having a rough ride when I first bought the truck a little over a year ago and I thought I actually made a good choice in shocks but they are not helping. I need to get this fixed. What do you guys recommend or what do you think is going wrong? I have tried almost everything adjusting the Rancho's and changing the pressure in the air bags and that hasn't helped or seemed to work.
Also my next step is getting new tires which I think I am due for. Since I do some towing with my truck and I mean I tow a car trailer to a race track maybe 10 - 20 times out of the year, it's not light duty towing. I wanted to know what is recommended for tires? Also whats a good load rating to go with? I was planning on going with the Goodyear Fortera Triple tread tires but their load rating is D and currently I have E on the truck. I was thinking of going to a 17 inch rim. There are places out there with some good package deals on tires and rims. But will 17inch rims sacrafice my smooth riding that I am looking for? If so then I will stick with 16 inch rims.
Pleas help me!!!!
Thanks
Luke
White 2000 Ford Excursion
7.3 PSD 4x2
Super Chips Super Tuner
K&N Filter
4inch turbo back exhaust from Magna Flow
(Soon to install Hellwig Rear sway bar)
Air-Lift Heavy Duty Air Bags
Fun Stuff
PS2, 1200 Watt Amp, 2 12' subs in the barn doors. Pioneer Avic N2 Navigational DVD player. 2 Flip down rear monitors. Second row captains chairs.
http://home.comcast.net/~punisherracing |
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E. Long
 
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• Subscriber since 1/1/2001 |
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• Atlanta, GA, USA |
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• Registered on 1/23/2001 |
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• 2,229 posts |
• 1 Vehicle
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Posted:10/24/2005 10:15 |
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Hi Luke,
Welcome to the site.
Typically, 2WD Excursions ride smoother than 4x4 Excursions. Before doing any other suspension mods, and since you've stated that you probably are due anyway, I would start with new tires. I had Firestone Steeltex tires on my X previously and they rode hard as a rock. I now have BFG Rugged Trail T/A tires (replaced by Ford due to the Firestone recall) and they are great but probably not appropriate for your 2WD Excursion. Hopefully others can chime in on their tire choice for 2WD X's and then we can go from there.
-Eric
'67 Galaxie 500 - 390 FE, .030" over, FE to AOD adapter, disc brake conversion. The Daily Driver.
'00 Excursion - 7.3L PSD, LANDYOT Gen-II Radius Rods, Factory Tech Valve Body, 200K+ miles and going |
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Toobsluver
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• Waretown, NJ, USA |
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• Registered on 10/24/2005 |
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• 36 posts |
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Posted:10/24/2005 10:23 |
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Thanks Eric Let's hope so I need to make a decision on tires very soon! I have 6 nails in one tire and about 2 - 4 in the others from some damn kids! 
Thanks again,
Luke
White 2000 Ford Excursion
7.3 PSD 4x2
Super Chips Super Tuner
K&N Filter
4inch turbo back exhaust from Magna Flow
(Soon to install Hellwig Rear sway bar)
Air-Lift Heavy Duty Air Bags
Fun Stuff
PS2, 1200 Watt Amp, 2 12' subs in the barn doors. Pioneer Avic N2 Navigational DVD player. 2 Flip down rear monitors. Second row captains chairs.
http://home.comcast.net/~punisherracing |
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LANDYOT
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• Subscriber since 11/23/2003 |
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• Newport News, VA, USA |
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• Registered on 7/15/2003 |
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• 1,110 posts |
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Posted:10/24/2005 18:56 |
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Are the air-bags deflated to their minimum? I've heard several complaints online about the ride being much too firm with the lowest PSI setting. One fellow on another forum devised a method to enlarge the volume of air connected to the bags. He plumbed-in one of those portable air tanks with the idea that even though the PSI is low, the dampening effect could be softened simply by providing more volume of that lower PSI air. He later reported that it worked. If I ever get air-bags, I'll consider a similar set-up.
Also, do you have your adjustable Ranchos set at the lower end of the scale? Many have said the lowest setting (full counter-clockwise knob rotation) provides a better ride.
Tires? Most anything is an improvement over the OEM Firestone rubber. |
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Scott Stover
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• Fayetteville, NC, USA |
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• Registered on 4/16/2004 |
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• 354 posts |
• 1 Vehicle
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Posted:10/24/2005 20:51 |
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My 4x4 does the same thing, but I know that my front springs are shot, and will be replaced in Jan/Feb timeframe with V-codes and rear add-a-leafs. My Pro Comps are working well, but when I max out the shocks the bump stops let me know that they are doing their jobs....sounds like your gonna break something....our fine Fayetteville NC roads make sure of it!! But like Landyot said, bags set to a low psi setting will ride rough. My Michelin LTX A/T's are stiff tires, but they also "give" alot for a LR E tire. Thats about all the input I can add!!
Scott
2000 X 4x4 V-10 4.3 LS
K&N
Gibson Catback
"Custom" Kickplates |
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Chainsaw
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• on the Chattahoochee River, GA, USA |
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• Registered on 9/30/2005 |
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• 9 posts |
• 1 Vehicle
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Posted:10/25/2005 10:11 |
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Am I missing something or do 2WD not have the same bump stops as 4WD. I put '03 bump stops on mine, it made a big difference. |
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Toobsluver
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• Waretown, NJ, USA |
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• Registered on 10/24/2005 |
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• 36 posts |
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Posted:10/25/2005 10:44 |
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Well the bump stops I had to take off because of the Air-Lift Air Bag systems went in place of the bump stops. I have tried all the settings on the shocks and low and high pressure settings on the bags. Air-Lift recommends that you dont use more than 10 pounds of pressure or less than 5 psi in the bags. I have used as much as 20 and 25 but there is no difference if anything it feels worse with less air. I might have to call airlift. Is it possible to get a bad pair of shocks?
Thanks
Luke
White 2000 Ford Excursion
7.3 PSD 4x2
Super Chips Super Tuner
K&N Filter
4inch turbo back exhaust from Magna Flow
(Soon to install Hellwig Rear sway bar)
Air-Lift Heavy Duty Air Bags
Fun Stuff
PS2, 1200 Watt Amp, 2 12' subs in the barn doors. Pioneer Avic N2 Navigational DVD player. 2 Flip down rear monitors. Second row captains chairs.
http://home.comcast.net/~punisherracing |
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Chainsaw
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• on the Chattahoochee River, GA, USA |
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• Registered on 9/30/2005 |
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• 9 posts |
• 1 Vehicle
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Posted:10/25/2005 12:23 |
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Luke, it sounds like a bad shock, this bottoming is it in the front or back?? |
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jscarb2
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• MANTEO, NC, USA |
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• Registered on 10/25/2005 |
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• 10 posts |
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Posted:10/25/2005 12:27 |
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| Quote: | Well the bump stops I had to take off because of the Air-Lift Air Bag systems went in place of the bump stops. I have tried all the settings on the shocks and low and high pressure settings on the bags. Air-Lift recommends that you dont use more than 10 pounds of pressure or less than 5 psi in the bags. I have used as much as 20 and 25 but there is no difference if anything it feels worse with less air. I might have to call airlift. Is it possible to get a bad pair of shocks?
Thanks
Luke |
i think the max. on the airbags are 100psi not 10 psi at least mine are. i run mine at 40psi when not towing to just level out the rear sag. i have a 2wd also. i used the bilstein's all the way around verses the rancho's but i herar they are ok also.
my biggest improvements so far are bilstein's all the way around,helwig rear swaybar(cant even tell you how much this helped),ride-rite airbags,radius-rods coming, and for stopping drilled and slotted rotors with ceramic pads. these items are a must for any excursion in my opinion! i am getting ready to put 24" rims on mine in january so i wanted to get the braking and suspension right before i put $5000 in rims and tires on it. do a search or pm me and i will give you a link with lots of useful info. |
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Toobsluver
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• Waretown, NJ, USA |
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• Registered on 10/24/2005 |
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• 36 posts |
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Posted:10/25/2005 14:14 |
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| Quote: | | Luke, it sounds like a bad shock, this bottoming is it in the front or back?? |
It's the back. I just called air lift and they told me to put in 25-20 psi. I dont know why they tell you to put in 5-10 and then I call support and they tell me different. Also they are sending me a new compressor for free. The one I have doesnt seem to be filling the bags as fast as it should.
Luke
White 2000 Ford Excursion
7.3 PSD 4x2
Super Chips Super Tuner
K&N Filter
4inch turbo back exhaust from Magna Flow
(Soon to install Hellwig Rear sway bar)
Air-Lift Heavy Duty Air Bags
Fun Stuff
PS2, 1200 Watt Amp, 2 12' subs in the barn doors. Pioneer Avic N2 Navigational DVD player. 2 Flip down rear monitors. Second row captains chairs.
http://home.comcast.net/~punisherracing |
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