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Ford SuperDuty V-Code Leaf Spring Installation on a 2000 Ford Excursion

The Problem...

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IMPORTANT: Your front OEM u-bolts for your leaf springs may be different. I ordered replaceme...

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SuperDuty V-Code Stamping: 3C34 ADA R 249 6

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SuperDuty V-Code Leaf Spring part number: 2C3Z-5310-HA

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Remove the lug-nut wrench from under the hood of your Excursion. We'll use the end with the rubber t...

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Pry off the lug nut wheel cover.

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Before jacking up the front end, I measured the height from the ground to the top of the wheel well....

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This install covers the passenger side leaf spring. When jacking up the passenger side, position you...

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Since we'll need to jack the truck up and lower the front end, I jacked the front end under the axle...

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With the vehicle secured on jack stands and your floor jack still maxed out under the front axle, no...

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With the wheel removed, we can now remove the lower shock bolt. We need to disconnect the shock so w...

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With the lower shock bolt removed, you can compress the shock as much as possible to get it out of y...

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With the shock disconnected, we can now remove the nuts on the u-bolts. My u-bolts actually turned o...

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All 4 u-bolt nuts removed.

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Slide the u-bolts out from the top. They pull out quite easily.

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All 4 u-bolts removed. Notice the round mark on the bump-stop from the rubber stopper. This is from ...

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Lift the bump-stop off of the leaf spring.

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Here are the new u-bolts (left) and my original u-bolt (right). Notice how my original u-bolt is mor...

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Unfortunately, the front leaf spring eye-bolts are not easy to get to, so you have to remove the cor...

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There are three 13mm bolts holding the bracket in place. Using an impact wrench makes easy work of t...

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5574 hits | 73.63 KB | Posted: 1/21/07
The top 13mm bolt for the bumper corner support bracket is in a tight spot. You'll have to resort to...

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Next up, remove the nut from the rear eye-bolt of the leaf spring. Simply punch the bolt through the...

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Prepare to spend a lot of time on this step.

As you can see, I pulled out the Bernz-O-Matic propa...

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I couldn't fit my impact wrench in this space so I had to resort to using a 1/2" ratchet on the bolt...

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Success! Before you go pounding this bolt out, you'll need to remove a support bracket on the front ...

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This photo is actually from the driver's side -- but it applies to the passenger side leaf spring ey...

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Fortunately for us, this bracket is simple to remove with a 3/8" ratchet and an 8mm socket. It's som...

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With the support bracket from the previous step out of the way, you can now punch the eye-bolt out f...

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Before we drop the front axle, we must disconnect the way bar. If we don't, the sway bar will preven...

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With the sway bar disconnected from this side of the front axle, the axle can now have full range of...

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Now it's time to lower your floor jack. Keep lowering it until the axle separates from the leaf spri...

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The blocker beam on the front of the Excursion was blocking my ability to drop the leaf spring compl...

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Position 2 jack stands under the blocker beam so it doesn't crash to the ground when you unbolt it. ...

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Unbolt the nuts from the 3 bolts on each side of the blocker beam.

Tools Needed:
21mm dee...

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With the 5 bolts removed from each side, you can separate the blocker beam and facia from the front ...

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Lift the blocker beam bracket out of the holes in the blocker beam.

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The coast is finally clear to remove the leaf spring. You can use your 3-lb hammer to knock it out o...

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New leaf spring (left) and old leaf spring (right).

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New leaf spring (bottom) and old leaf spring (top). There doesn't appear to be a significant differe...

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Reinsert the eye bolt in the front of the leaf spring first (save the rear bolt for the next step fo...

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The shackle won't initially line up with the leaf spring. No problem, proceed to the next step.

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[i]Sorry to switch angles -- this is from the driver's side, but it still applies to the passenger s...

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Reinsert the rear bolt and tighten.

Tools Needed:
24mm socket (nut)
21mm socket (bolt he...

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I also wanted to show this bolt from the driver's side angle as well. You may run into the issue whe...

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Jack the front axle back up with your floor jack. Hopefully the stud in the new leaf spring will ali...

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Reinstall the bump-stop/u-bolt plate. The notch in the bump-stop lines up with the nut on top of the...

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Reinstall the u-bolts and tighten with the new nuts (discard the old nuts). Hand-tighten at first, e...

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Re-attach shock with lower shock bolt.

Tools Needed:
21mm socket (for bolt)
15mm socket ...

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5737 hits | 71.42 KB | Posted: 1/21/07
The completed install! There's actually room for spring travel again.

Conclusion
This pro...