Leaf Spring Center Bolt size?

[chpierce]

As I continue to work through the steering/handling issues on my ex, I want to play with some tapered shims on the front axle to adjust caster.
I went to put in 2 degree shims last weekend, but the thickness of the shims (about 3/16" at the pin location) are about equal to height of the head of the leaf spring center bolts.
I'd like to buy some longer leaf spring center bolts, so that I can adjust the height of the axle pin end of the bolts, but short of disassembling my truck to measure, I can't find out the bolt diameter. Does anyone know the diameter of the bolt, the diameter of the head, and the length of the bolt? I'd like to pre-order a couple of different sizes before i dive in again next weekend.

Any help appreciated,

Carl

[Beast]

I think they were the larger size. Its been so long. Actually I was on the rear. Anyway, I reused the u bolts until I was satisfied then installed the new ones. Just a heads up since you aren't suppose to reuse u bolts.

[caryt]

Unless something is very wrong your castor is fine handling problems on the Ex are well known and stem from Ford using the wrong springs and either no rear swaybar or to small of one. Read the tons of V and B code mod's and 30mm rear swaybar's posts.

Cary

[chpierce]

Cary,

No disagreement on the basics. When I bought this truck, it was white knuckle beyond belief, without a trailer. I was actually scared to drive it. Probably why I got a good deal on it. I bought this truck to tow an enclosed car trailer, so I want to seriously dial in this truck. I have a 2004 Expedition as a comparison point, and while I don't expect the Excursion to achieve the handling of the Expedition (lighter weight, independant rear), I really should be able to get it in the ball park.
My Ex at this point is about 80-90% of where i want it to be, handling wise. The modified F's and Hellwig are on the rear, the ball joints are all replaced (previous owner, about 7,000 miles ago), the steering box is new (and yielded the single largest improvement), and the V codes go on up front, hopefully this weekend. Bump steer from the front leaf springs hitting the stops hasn't been too bad, but is there, and would only get worse with a wd hitch (hence the V codes). Rancho shocks. New Goodyear tires, presently at 55 front/60 rear, whcih seems to work best for the truck lightly loaded.
My steering, while pretty tight turning wise, is still lame, in my book, as there is no return to center. The steering dampener has been replaced, and the steering effort is low, but the wheels point wherever you leave the wheel. The front end is plain floppy unless you get the wheels pointed dead ahead. I had a shop check where the alignment was at, around 2 degrees caster. In order to try to get some return to center, I want to play with shims, which requires the longer leaf spring tie bolts (also called leaf spring center pins), which is where I'm going. Yes, we can mess with the caster with caster bushings, but that is a big task, compared to the shims, which I have.
I found a shop that has the tie bolts in stock, so I've ordered 3/8" and 7/16" versions, hopefully the pins are one of those sizes. I bought over-length,and will cut to length as needed.
I agree that the leaf springs are a big source for handling problems. The traction bars on this truck were bent down about an extra inch, from the torque put down by the motor (stock 7.3, 4.10 gears). Yes, the rear axle was wrapping. On the front, the bump stops were gone (only stubs left). I put the later model bump stops in, and now I can feel the leafs hit the stops, which makes for funky handling characteristics. But as I noted,
the steering box has made the single biggest improvement, as I can at least steer the truck, instead of chasing it all over the road. I want to see how much the V codes help not only the bump steer issue, but also the overall wander issue (the F codes didn't remove it completely.) Caster shims are also for the steering issue, severalpeople have had success with them. I may even go belt and suspenders, and put Landyots on. Like I said, I want this truck really dialed in for non-white-knuckle towing.
Carl

[caryt]

Ball joing castor plugs are a very easy install..5 mins at best. Dual properly valved Bilsteins up front are needed. You will also need a adj track bar with the V codes. 2* castor..not enough I'd get at least 4*+

[chpierce]

I'll have to look at the caster bushings again, my understanding was that installation was quite a bit more involved.
How much of an issue is the front track bar with the V codes? I've read a couple of posts that it wasn't an issue at the small lift provided by the V codes.

Carl

[DOC4444]

CHPierce,

I dialed in 5 degrees positive caster on the front of my '01 4WD PSD Ex by using both caster shims and Stempf 532 bushings. Easy to install, but a little tricky to get the alignment just right (also used 1/2 degree negative camber).

Even with this setup, the wheel does not really "wind itself straight" if you let go of it, but it is a lot closer to feeling like a normal vehicle.

You should be in good shape when you get the V codes in. I would use 2003 or later Ex front bumpstops or the really short F250 style if you think you are going to be really crankin' on those equalizer bars.

The steering damper does not really matter much with this setup when used only on-road.

I have been pretty happy with the regular (stock ride height) Bilstein Ex shocks, but if you have excessive fore/aft pitching, Cary's 4 front shock kit should cure it.

I also have Landyot radius rods but may be deleting them once I get my modified B code rear springs in.

DOC

[caryt]

Its simple Geometry!!! every 2" of lift will offset the axle 1/2-3/4" this puts side loads on the shackles wearing out bushings and letting the truck dog leg. Can you do it without a adj track bar of cource, doesn't mean it the correct way to do it.

[chpierce]

In between rain showers this weekend, I got the V-codes in.
First things first, the center bolts are 7/16". I ended up buying sets of 3/8", 7/16", and 1/2", so that i would have what I needed on hand. I bought them overlength, and cut them down to match the spacers I put in to take up for the wedges.
On the wedges, I ran the two degree wedges for two weeks earlier, small positive difference, but not much. When i put the V-codes in, I put in 4 degree wedges. Nice improvement. The wheels still don't pull strongly to center, but at least I can feel center while going down the road. I looked at the bushings, I can see how they would be a quick job, and I may go with them to add a bit more caster, while keeping the camber in range.
The V-codes were straightforward, except for the condenser brackets. I was able to do the job without dropping the under ride bumper,or pulling the front bumper. It was a pain to get the bolts for the condenser brackets, just took a while with a regular 5/16" wrench. Next time, I'll get a 5/16" wrench with a built in ratchet, it would make the job a breeze. I actually left the bolts started, rotated the brackets out of the way, Pulled and replaced the front bolts, then rotated the brackets back into position and retightened the bolts. I used a pry bar to hold the brackets against the condenser while tightening.
I dropped the ends of the front valance to allow an impact wrench with a u-joint on it to get at the front leaf spring bolts. A couple of seconds with a torch, the impact gun took them right off.
With the axle dropped, the alignment hole ended up about 3/8" inboard, with the spring fully relaxed, and the axle up against the spring. This makes sense as the axle had rotated, while the spring hadn't. With weight on axle, the centerpin should have been pretty close to dead center, seems like the track bar was well within range.
My only advice for people doing the swap is to do the driver's side first, its more complicated than the passenger side, as a result of the sway bar mount and driveshaft issues. I breezed through the passenger side (aside from multiple interruptions from passing showers), figured the driver's side would be equally easy, not quite. Minor irritation.
I'll try driving this for a couple of weeks before figuring out whether any next steps are needed. From my short seat time, the truck is definitely driveable now, no random excursions to chase steering and wander wise like when I first bought it. Still a small amount of bumpy road wander, but it stays in lane nicely, the wanders are much smaller. Somehow, the v codes do feel like they helped the wander issue, I'll have to think about that one for a while.

Carl