Hey Guys,

I was not going to do this because i was going to get a F350 but i think i will wait for the new ones to come out before i get one, after seeing the Tonka in person at the Detroit auto show.

This is what i got:
-Stillen front and rear cross drilled rotors and Stillen metal matrix pads
-Front and rear Hotchkis Swaybar kit
-Bilstein rear shocks

The brakes and swaybars cost me $1175 shipped and the Bilstiens were on clearence from www.truckperformance.com for $53 each. so for just under $1300 i should have a completely new feeling 2000 expy w/4 corner LLS. It is my 60,000 mile present to the truck.

 

Wow, you bet it'll be different! You have got to let us know what it's like! Especaily the front bar and the brakes!!

Mine's got just over 35000 miles and I've wondered about the brakes but they look fine. I can't find anything I need to do. Hmmm.......I'm still considering electric fans but we'll see. It'll start warming up soon so I'm sure I'll shift gears and start "playing" with the boat. Not much to do for performance without huge piles of $$, but I am thinking about having the props worked! I guess that'll have to do.....

 

Hey FR,

I had the factory front rotors turned and put new pads on and then the rear rotors were warrentied by ford for heat cracks and i had new pads put on the rear at about 34,000 miles. My truck has about 60k on it now and i am starting to notice decreased brake performance and a bit of wheel shake when stopping. I choose the Stillens becuase i ran then on my 5.9L Grand Cherokee and they were great. They lasted about 30k on the ZJ because i ran 33 inch tires and about 400+hp. With the ZJ i ran Addco front and rear "armored car" swaybars that were only supposed to be availible to the armored car companied but i have a friend that found the part number and ordered 2 pairs of them one for my ZJ and one for his. they were really fun to play with once i put the suspension back to stock and ran 285/65R16 pirelli scorpions zeros. i could actually lift the inside rear tire off the ground when pushing hard. i think the expy will benefit greatly from the shocks and swaybars. i can't wait to have everything on.

 

Hey ScottyBones-

Your upgrades sound great. My Expy is due for brakes in about 5000 more miles. Thanks for the info!

A question about the shock upgrades. Might there be an issue with upgrading only the rear shocks? Or, does the LLS require you to upgrade your Expy this way? The upgrades sound great (I did the same upgrades, no LLS but 4x4, but with different products, see sig), and I was just curious why you chose to stick with the OEM shocks on the front.

 

How hard was the conversion if you did it?

To change the subject, Jeff where did you get the underseat locking drawer, and how are the cross terrains holding up?

Thanks

 

Jeff,

The 4 corner LLS is a bitch to work with. There is no aftermarket shock availible for the front becuase they are a air shock. they increase and decrease pressure in the shock which then changes ride height a small amount(very small is any). so the only option i have with that is the OEM Ford ones at $125 a pop. now Bilstein markets their rear shock for the 4 corner 4wd LLS only. so it is built and valved for the airbags in the rear.

 

Scottybones,

I was under the impression that anti-sway bars were only available for the rear of 4 corner LLS 4x4 Expys. At least that is what Hellwig states on their web site. The rear bar looks very easy to change. How hard is the front bar to change?

Let me know.

Thanks.

 

ScottyBones-
Thanks for the education. I had no idea that Ford made the LLS so difficult to upgrade. You'll be VERY pleased with these suspension upgrades. It makes the Expy responsive and more stable.

s76drvr-
The CrossTerrains are holding up extremely well. I love these tires. I am biased towards Michelins in general. They have always served me well.
As for the under seat drawer, I had to install under the front passenger seat. With the XLT, the driver seat is powered and has no room for it underneath. I purchased it from Performance Products (www.performanceproducts.com) for $145.95. This installation was a breeze.

 

ProStart:

There is nowhere that says that they will not work with the 4corner LLS. from every suspenison part i have seen for the expedition they always make it clear if it does not work with the LLS. Also another thing is about the expys with 4 corner LLS, the front suspension is the same as any other 4x4 expy. the only difference between and expy without 4 corner LLS and one with is the shocks. the shock have a little air hose coming off the top that hooks into the compressor. now the only purpose for the air shocks is the tighten or loosen the ride, for example lets say you are towing a trailer with a 1000 lb tongue weight now the rear airbags will inflate to a higher PSi which will inturn make the suspension compensate for the extra load. and making the ride stiffer. now if there were not air shocks in the front then the rear would have a stiff suspension and the front would be like it was stock. which would make the nose wallow and dive into turns. this is why they have air shocks in front, but if i upgrade the front swaybar i am not going to do anything to the suspensioo other than make it stiffer in the turns. so the air suspension can only make it better when hauling a load.

Hope this made some sense.

 

i just posted a few questions in another thread i would like you to read.