Excursion front end

[keno]

My 00 Excursion 4x4 with 7.3PSD current miles 11950, has had continual
sterring and suspension problems since almost day 1. Main complaints are
Sterring is non responsive, difficult to keep going down the road straight
and very soft suspension ie.. hit a bump and the shocks rebound for what I
think is a excessive amount of time.

Whats been done so far at,
1500 miles, alignment, balance tires, adjust sterring gear

4000 miles, replace bad drag link and 2 leaking hubs, new brake
pads(contaminated),alignement, 2 new shocks

7500 miles, alignment, drag link, replace R hub leaking again replaced with
updated version

11750 miles alignment and tech says another bad draglink(loose on both ends
he says).

I bring it to another tech I know at same ford dealer(different shift) and just ask him to
confirm , he says drag link is fine it needs a new gearbox because there is
to much play in wheel and if he adjusts it more it wont go down the road
right, something about that it wont return back to center from a turn
correctly?? Im not sure what he means by that.

As of now these items have not been done but are sceheduled. But anyway
what should I do guys, Is there anything that I need to do b4 it hits 12,000
miles(I dont think so, but I want to confirm) And I DO NOT ABUSE THIS TRUCK
AT ALL, OR 4 WHEEL DRIVE at all.

I think this is excessive front end problems and I want to get it fixed once and for all. These alignments every
3 months is ludicraus., and 3 bad drag links whats with that. I dont even
know what drag link does. And how 1 guy says bad drag link and another tech
says no its the sterring gear , who do I believe?

Any thoughts, and besides for these problems the truck has been a good truck

Thanks




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KenO
00 Excursion XLT 4x4,7.3PSD Loaded, A Pillar Guage set,PPIII,Overhead entertainment system,3M hood film

[excurstroked]

keno,
I am not sure about the drag link situation or the lack of steering response. But as far as the bouncing, you may want to consider buying new shocks and not OEM. Look for posts on Rancho,Edelbrock or Bilstein. The first time I got the X up to speed on the highway and hit a good bump it scared the bejesus out of me. The stock suspension leaves a bit to be desired and new shocks make a tremendous difference. In addition to that you may try to upgrade the steering stabilizer. I totally understand where you are coming from, it is way scary to not feel in control of these behemoths while going down the road hope this helps.
Dave

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'00 Excursion XLT 4X4 PSD 3.73LS , K&N,WD,lighted running boards, overhead console/computer, leather,Edelbrock IAS,Hellwig Rear sway,Rancho RS5000 stabilizer, SPA Dual gauge EGT/Boost dash mtd, cd/6 cd changer, DEI Python 1500 ESP w/remote start and shutdown timer. And last but not least 4 Firechickens