FordExcursions.com Forums

LANDYOT · 2005-10-21T16:49:27-06:00

The GEN-I and GEN-II radius-rods have been well-received by Excursion owners here at SuperMotors, as well as from other forums, and I must thank y’all for that. A few folks have gone so far as to say they’ve probably saved some lives by preventing loss of vehicle control. This has all been very good, but the GEN-I and GEN-II radius-rod designs are not quite how I’d like them to be. In the future, and depending on the amount of interest I receive here, I may develop and offer a weld-on radius-rod kit. This new design would be how I originally planned to put them on my truck before I gave thought to offering the radius-rods to others … before I made them a mostly bolt-on design. The proposed design would require welding hinge-tabs to the front spring perch, which in turn requires unbolting and dropping the forward end of the leaf springs so the leaf spring bushings will not melt while the tabs are being finish-welded. The proposed weld-on kit would be available at a lower cost than the bolt-on kits because I will not have to fab, fit, and weld spring-clamp assemblies, and the square U-bolts would be eliminated. If you think you’d prefer this style of radius-rod kit, please let me know by posting a reply here, or by dropping me an e-mail. If a substantial amount of interest is shown, I will build them. Regardless, I will build at least one set to install on my Excursion. Furthermore, if you already have a GEN-II radius-rod kit installed, and are interested in upgrading to a weld-on kit, let me know. I may offer a retro-fit kit to upgrade the GEN-II from bolt-on to weld-on.

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Ford Excursion Forums > Ford Excursion V8, V10, and Powerstroke > Excursion Discussion

The radius-rods I want on my truck ...

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VX23Hokie

• Leonardtown, MD, USA

• Registered on 1/7/2006

• 3 posts

Posted:1/7/2006 21:19

Id much rather have the welded design. I just sent you an email.

GM1

• Gig Harbor, WA, USA

• Registered on 1/11/2006

• 2 posts

Posted:1/12/2006 15:46

i have a fairly stupid question. my '04 x has rear air bags for towing. hence, the ride level tends to change depending upon the tongue weight of the tow. how do the radius rods deal with height changes? thanks, sounds like i would prefer the bolt on's myself. something i can do in my driveway. gm

edited 1/12/2006 15:47

LANDYOT

• Subscriber since 11/23/2003

• Newport News, VA, USA

• Registered on 7/15/2003

• 1,110 posts

Posted:1/12/2006 16:09

First off, WELCOME to the forum!!!

Quote:

GM - That's not a stupid question. The radius-rods will continue to keep the axle at a controlled distance from the forward pivot point ... will keep the rear axle in a controlled-arc. There may be some "bushing squish" involved, but that's why they're there ... to avoid the problems of having a hard, rigid connection. If the radius-rod connections were too rigid, then metal fatigue, ride harshness, and other undesirable aspects start coming into play.

Now I have a question for you. If you have air-bags installed, why don't you regulate the amount of air pressure in them to compensate for various tongue weights? Doing so would maintain your Excursion at a level attitude while hitched-up. And that's the one attribute that makes air-bags so attractive to those who tow with a lot of tongue weight ... that they're adjustable. Pump 'em up when hitching up, then let the air out when unhitching. Having a portable or onboard air compressor makes the adjustments fairly easy.

Quote:

sounds like i would prefer the bolt on's myself. something i can do in my driveway. gm

I believe I already sent you an info-pack. The installation instructions are all there so you can make the decision of whether to DIY or pay a 4x4 shop to do it. If you don't have the radius-rod info-pack, send me an e-mail, and I'll gladly reply with it.

edited 1/12/2006 16:10

GM1