Has anyone

[Ontariov8]

Hey their just curious has anyone on hear done the explorer rear end swap if so how hard was it to do i've got a blown rear end in my 5.0 ranger and wanna upgrade to a 8.8 and was just wondering how hard it is the local bone yar has a few 8.8 explorer rear ends right now

[Dave]

Malcolm did it but it think it caused him a lot of time and pain to do it. Explorer rear end is wider, requires narrowing, spring pads need to be relocated from the bottom to the top, parking brake cable needs modifing, should have to switch to the Explorer master cylinder. Best to find a 4.0 Ranger of the same year as yours for an easy swap. Think that in '93' the Rangers went to a wider axle so be careful. Internet has a lot of sites to find parts if not available near you. I've used
www.junkyarddog.com
with good sucess over the years.
Dave

[MalcolmV8]

Yeah I put a 95 Explorer rearend into my 92 Ranger so I could get an 8.8", trac lock, and disk brakes. It was a royal pain. Spring perches are on the wrong side and have to be relocated. Shock mounts have to be cut off your old rearend and welded onto the Explorer rearend. Custom brake cables, and custom brake line work will have to be done. Oh and it was 3" wider flange to flange than my Rangers.

[evensteven]

I got a good deal on a Explorer rear, but may not use it only the disc setup, wjich bolts to the ranger 8.8 flange. and maybe just us the ring and pinion, 373. You have to flip the perches and etc.

[GregR]

I got a good deal on a Explorer rear, but may not use it only the disc setup, wjich bolts to the ranger 8.8 flange.

You might want to do some checking on that. I don't think the Explorer disc brakes will fit a Ranger rear.

The Ranger 9x2 rear brakes are the same as the Mustang except for the lug count (the Mustang guys use Ranger axles and brakes for the 5-lug conversion). If I decide to go with rear disc brakes I'm going to try this: http://home.pacbell.net/black306/tech/reardisc.html

Greg

[cgrey8]

Other than the look, what's the benefit to rear disc brakes?

For front brakes, discs experience less brake fade and stop a bit harder, from what I understand. However in the rear of a light duty truck, I'm not sold that rear discs are that big of an improvement unless the truck is going to be used for hauling and towing alot. Also, rear discs require a brake master to support the difference in fluid and pressure they require to benefit fully from them. I think that is why Dave was talking about switching to the Explorer master after a disc brake conversion.

In addition, my mom & stepfather have a 94 Crown Vic with rear discs, and they said rear discs are kindof a pain because the discs are so thin, they warp easily and require turning every 20-30k. They aren't hard on a vehicle at all. After all, they are retired folk.

I'm just curious as to what the appeal is. Is it just that they look better behind open rims?

[MalcolmV8]

In addition, my mom & stepfather have a 94 Crown Vic with rear discs, and they said rear discs are kindof a pain because the discs are so thin, they warp easily and require turning every 20-30k. They aren't hard on a vehicle at all. After all, they are retired folk.

That doesn't sound right. My in-laws have a 93 Grand Marque that I believe is around 100k now and they've never touched the rear disks. They too drive like they are driving miss daisy LOL.

My 95 Mustang got pounded for 115k and only had the rear disks turned once. Not because they were warped, just because I was changing pads.

I'm just curious as to what the appeal is. Is it just that they look better behind open rims?

I don't know about others but for me it was performance. My red trucks brakes are phenomenal. You'd never guess the front disks are stock size. The rear wheels give a surprising amount of braking force.

[evensteven]

I bought some uses 17's and dont want the drum tbashow, I dont mind changing front pads, but when rear shoes, i end up with bloody knuckles and my young kids almost pic up some choice words. Ford offers a rear disc conversion for the 8.8 under #2300-K or something. I called FMS to find out about the kit and the tech said I could just use a 97 explorer rear disc set up and plump in a portionl valve if i felt ti was neccessary. however my rearend fell off the jackstands and bent the caliper bracket' backing plates. ford wants 150 each, the kit is around 320 with new everything. but after going back and forth on the forum here i have little faith in my ford counter persons here. i cant find a junk yard that will see the brackets alone, most want to sell the whole assembly, I think I paid 100 for the explorer 3.73 LS. anyone have them, the backing plates, for sale? [/quote]

[plowboy34]

The main reason for rear disc is they are harder to lock up, not impossible, just harder. You get a lot better braking without the slide.

[evensteven]

As for the Grand Marquis, my mother and father bought a 01 new and get like 30 highway. Out of the 4.6L. And it was a closeout year end module at 21,000. If I could make my wife drive one I would get it for her. Her Honda Accord gets that with a small 4 Vtec.

I looked at the website for the Mark VII rear discs swap for a Stang. Would it work for a Ranger, If I decided to keep the 7.5 for a year, budget overruns, and put rear discs, I looked the rear axles bearings for a 7.5 Ranger and the Mark VII are the same, but what concerns me is the distance between the axle tube flange and the axle. How did the E brake work on the Mark VII?

[pdog]

rear discs give a shorter stopping dist and are auto adj. no more brake spoon and adj the wrong way. besides, in 15 yrs ive never seen self adjusters self adjust.

[gorgo]

i did a swap of a 1998 exployer 8.8 into my 93 4x4 and beside the perchs and shock mounts ($50 from summit) it bolted in. i used the u bolt plate from the exployer but because of the 3 in spacer bump stop i had to get longer u bolts. the brake lines worked and the e brake even hooked up to the existing. it took about 3 hours counting the welding of the mounts and perches. didnt even have to change the master or anything else. the brakes work just fine. the shocker was i drained the rear end and replaced the fluid, they want a arm and a leg for the syn. fluid.

[cgrey8]

If I had wide-open rims, I could see the appear of wanting discs in the rear, but with stock rims and even with the rims I'm wanting to get, the drums will do just fine. When I replaced my rear, the drums did upgrade from the 9" thin drums to the 10" drums. The 9" never had a problem locking up the rear tires and pulsing the ABS, but the 10" drums do it noticeably quicker.

As for the adjuster, my adjusters have always worked quite well...maybe that's because I grease the crap out of the threads and all the working parts in the brake system (except the friction surfaces of course). But when I install my brakes, I spoon the adjuster out to where the brakes start putting up resistance. When I replace my shoes, the adjusters are always unthreaded further than they were with the shoes new, so I know the adjusters are working. But then again, as a manual tranny truck, I'm always using the Parking Brake and from what I understand, the adjusters only get adjusted when the P-brake is used. Again, that's what I've heard, I have no clue if that's actually true.

[rngrmat]

I believe that they get adjusted when you step on the brakes while going in reverse. It should, if necessary move one click. The process gets repeated when you brake forward and then brake in reverse again. Think I got this right. Just for the record, I am a disc fan. I agree that the drums are more than adequate since the rear brakes arent doing much of anything anyway. Isn't 90% of the braking in the front wheels? There is no weight in the bed and the weight transfer makes it even less. However, discs look cool through the wheels, and are light years easier to replace. I bought the ssbc kit from summit. It is advertised as fitting the 7.5 but it fit perfectly on my 8.8 It uses the stock brake cables and the installation is a snap.

[cgrey8]

When you have to replace the pads, did the kit indicate what pads to ask for at the auto parts place?

I like the idea of a bolt-on upgrade where all my cables and brake lines connect and everything just works. But the catch is if replacement pads are going to cost me $80 just because they are special pads that can't be gotten anywhere else.

I remember a story my step father was telling me about industrial clothes dryers in a hospital he used to work at used a disc brake to stop the drums. The local parts guy wanted something like $200 or something for a new set of pads, but he recognized the caliper as being a Corvette caliper (he's a big-time SBC guy). So he took the pads to the auto parts store and they found the pads that worked for like $15.

Point is, I wouldn't be surprised if those aftermarket discs use a standard pad, but what I'm more interested is if they advertise what the replacement pad is.