Air ride Expedition suspension question?

[JCMatthews]

Anyone know how the front of an air ride Expedition lifts? Is it the shocks? If so can I put on longer air shocks if I do a torsion turn and a spacer in the rear? I'd like to get and 1 1/2" to 2" more lift on it and still be able to have the vehicle raise in 4 lo, or is 2" all you can get out of an IFS front end?

 

[camp'n_hunt]

strutmasters.com

Well there's conversion kits around to take out the air ride system, so i would guess you could put that in with taller coils. Try to find a local spring maker, they would be able to make a coil spring to give you more lift from the spring.

as for hom much lift in IFS, well most IFS lift kits over 2" are relocation kits and move the dif with brackets away from the frame. If you want to go big then go with a solid axel swap.

 

[JCMatthews]

I don't want a sas, I want a few inches for a larger tire. I was just wondering if I do the torsion keys, if when I put it in 4 lo if my system will be able to still raise the front another inch or two.

 

[SuperCal]

I had a '98 and the front air ride was part of the shock, i was able to get a little more ride height out of it by cranking the torsion bars a bit and tweaking the ride height sensors on a bit.

 

[JCMatthews]

I had a '98 and the front air ride was part of the shock, i was able to get a little more ride height out of it by cranking the torsion bars a bit and tweaking the ride height sensors on a bit.

What did you do to "tweak" the sensors?

 

[SuperCal]

What did you do to "tweak" the sensors?

Mine had the 4 wheel air setup, so on the rear it was just a matter of loosening the sensor where it monted to the frame tab and sliding it down til i got the ride height i wanted. On the front i had to redrill the mounting holes for the sensor to drop it down. Why they have a slotted adjustment in the rear and not on the front is a mystery to me. The anount you have to move the front sensor isn't linear to the amount of lift you want since its far in on the control arm. I did it a while ago but if i remember correctly it worked out that about 1/2" = to about 1.5" lift...

 

[JCMatthews]

Are there photos or a guide to help with such a tweaking? I am a little new to fiddling with my Expedition. Will this make it ride higher when it self levels, then still give me a few inches in 4lo? I's love that. I don't want much just a little room.

 

[SuperCal]

Are there photos or a guide to help with such a tweaking? I am a little new to fiddling with my Expedition. Will this make it ride higher when it self levels, then still give me a few inches in 4lo? I's love that. I don't want much just a little room.

I dont know if there is a guide out there but i knew about the sensor thing cuz i worked for ford for a while and was able to look through all the shop manuals, parts listings, and anything else that i could source info from at the time. If I still had the truck i would take pics for you but i traded it in 2 years ago (love my new truck but still miss it). Basically the rear has a slotted mount (if u have rear airide) and the front i just redrilled the mount on the sensor, it was only on the left side arm on mine. You will have to adjust your torsion bars to support most of the initial load at the new ride height otherwise the aircompressor will be running a whole lot. Hope this helps, any more questions feel free to ask

 

[JCMatthews]

If and when I do this, how much more lift will I get when I put it in 4 lo? Will the airbags and shocks give much more? Understand I can't break our good car or I will be sleeping in it. I am trying to get a little more without too much expense, or modification.

What do you mean slotted mount?

 

[SuperCal]

If and when I do this, how much more lift will I get when I put it in 4 lo? Will the airbags and shocks give much more? Understand I can't break our good car or I will be sleeping in it. I am trying to get a little more without too much expense, or modification.

What do you mean slotted mount?

the change in lift when you go into 4lo shuld be the same as before the mod. once you move the sensors the computer will just assume that is the regular ride height and go from there. the change is tottaly reversable so if you dont like it its easily undone... as far as the slotted mount goes, that was only on the rear. when you climb under there you will see the sensor going from the axle housing to a mount on the frame, the frame end is slotted so you can change your ride height easily by just moving the mount up or down in the slot. (word of advice, properly support the body of the vehicle because playing with the sensors can and will make the truck move up or down unexpectedly, best thing to do is shut off the air ride via the override switch by the pass side kickpanel then turn it back on to see if you moved it enough). the front sensor requires re-drilling the hole to move it, dont remember if i drilled the frame side or sensor side.

 

[JCMatthews]

SuperCal I checked out the rear sensor, it looks pretty straight forward. I am going to give this a try and see what I come up with. You said you think that 1/2" inch in the front was all you moved the sensor? One more question. Did you replace your torsion keys? If not, do you turn them a little more upward to get a little more lift?

Edit: Can you tell me what my rear axle would be? I drive an '01 Eddie Bauer with the air ride. Is 10 3/4 right?

 

[SuperCal]

i didnt replace the torsion keys, just adjusted them a little. on the air ride expedition they dont support the whole vehicle weight, just act kinda like an overload spring. the rear can be either a 9.75" or an 8.8" depending on the options (ex: towing package... etc). the 9.75" has an elongated sorta shape to it, the 8.8" is kinda like an oval with the ends flattened out...