Top 5 Must Do's for new Excursion Owners
Written by: E. Long
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Last updated January 8, 2005
Introduction
Congratulations on the purchase of the best, all-purpose vehicle around! You will find your Excursion is very versatile and will be an absolute pleasure to own for many years. As great of a vehicle as it is, there are still some things that could use improvement on a stock Excursion.
1.) Improve ride quality with aftermarket shocks
The OEM shocks on the Ford Excursion are less than adequate. There are simply no if's, and's, or but's about it, the OEM shocks need replacing. New shocks will run anywhere from $40/ea to $150/ea, depending on how outrageous you go. The easiest, first step of improving the ride quality on the Excursion is to upgrade to aftermarket shocks. Rancho, Bilstein, and Edelbrock are great aftermarket options, and there are other brands as well. Anything but OEM!
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2.) Improve handling with a rear anti-sway bar
After a couple weeks of driving, you'll notice that the Excursion feels like a really wobbly vehicle when you turn corners, switch lanes, enter/exit highway ramps, pull into your driveway, etc. Ford started including rear anti-sway bars on 2004 Excursions as a result of this. But for 2000-2003 Excursion owners, you have no such luck. (There may be a few late model year 2003's with rear sway bars, be sure to check!) All Excursions come with a front anti-sway bar. Hellwig is a great aftermarket rear sway bar and can be purchased through Summit Racing or JEG's for somewhere int he ballpark of $135 including shipping.
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3.) Bigger windshield wipers!
Ford, in its infinite wisdom, equips stock Excursions with really short windshield wipers (both front and rear). Upgrade to 24" wipers for your windshield and an 18" wiper on the rear for increased viewing area during the rain and snow. Bosch makes both a standard and premium-grade wiper in these sizes -- available at any local parts store like Napa, Autozone, Pep Boys, etc.
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4.) Remove the roof-rack sliders to save your paint
The roof-rack sliders on every Excursion will scratch the paint on your roof over time. Remove them when they're not in use to preserve your paint and to prevent rusting where the paint is rubbed away.
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5.) LANDYOT Radius Rods
If you've done items #1 and #2 and are stil not happy with the way your Excursion handles over bumps, daily driving, and highway driving, then you may need a set of radius rods to prevent axle wrap and rear-axle-induced steering.
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