I was reading about converting the aerostar spilndles to have the explorer brake setup. I tourque the wheels to 100 ft lbs and torque in 20 lb increments to the final torque and i still have warped rotors. I was wondering if the spindles on 95 and newer ranger/explorer would work on aerostars both for 2 and 4 wheel drives. My aero is a 2wd, so i was wondering if the 2wd would work. Same question i wonder is for the 4wd system would the 4x4 ranger/explorer setup work on 4x4 aerostar. Please help me out here. This is my only vehicle and i just want to get this resolved since the warping is upsetting us

 

What year is your Aerostar? Ford recognized the problem with its undersized brakes in 1992, when they switched to directionally vented rotors. They also introduced their heavy duty rake fluid for trucks to reduce boiling from overheated brakes. It was cheaper for them to source new rotors and fluid than to re-engineer the brakes. Check out the ridiculously tiny rotors for the Aerostar compared to other cars that weigh much less:

https://plus.google.com/photos/11555...67774490549511

I haven't installed my new Aero rotors yet, but I will have to soon. The last set I got was over 10 years ago, and they are starting to warp on my extended length E4WD van, which weighs over 4000 pounds. But the current rotors were a major improvement over the previous two sets I had, and were a cheap fix that outlasted the original non-directional rotors. Many places sell the same rotor for all years of Aerostars; this means they're selling the non-directional design, which they really shouldn't. If anything, they should be selling the matching directional pairs for all years, just for the improved safety and performance.

But I'm about to replace the old rotors on the Aerostar with the new high performance models in the picture. They're made by Brake Performance in Chatsworth, CA. Their premium slotted and dimpled rotor set will cost about twice as much as the typical Aerostar rotors, but it will be much easier and cheaper to get them than trying to adapt spindles from other cars to fit. There is one other consideration if you do manage to adapt bigger brakes to your van. If you have 14" wheels like I do, they will probably not fit over bigger brakes. So you will also have to also get bigger wheels, which is not a bad idea anyway.

I'm already using the 13" rotors in my 87 Mustang (which I upgraded with the 96 Cobra brakes in 1998), and I am very happy with how they work over the "stock" Cobra rotors. But then, I expected a major improvement just changing out old pads and rotors with new.

Remember to install the directional rotors such that their vent slots at the top point backward. Cooling air is thrown out by centrifugal force, and if you install them such that they "scoop" air with the vents pointing forward, they will actually impede air flow. It turns out the Performance Brake rotors have engraved L/R part numbers on them, so its' easier to tell. (I have no interest in that company, I just love the way their products have worked for me.)

 

New pads and rotors installed this afternoon, drove around a little to burnish the pads. Will do some heavy braking tests once the pads are smoothed out. The picture sequence starts here with the old rotor:

https://plus.google.com/photos/11555...67774490549511

Unfortunately (or fortunately), found that the boots on the upper ball joint and the CV joint cracked. Their repairs will have to be done next weekend.

 

After a weekend with the new brakes, I have to say that they do work much better than the old ones, but that's to be expected. There is definitely more bite in the new rotors, but there's also more control of braking force, probably because there is more bite. And so far, no noticeable fade after repeated hard stops. We'll how they survive long term.

 

For those needing new brakes in the near future, the company I got mine from is having a "sale" on their brake kits:

Performance Drilled & Slotted Brake Rotors

The kits including their premium rotors and pads are cheaper than what I paid for just the rotors a few months ago, and installed recently:

https://plus.google.com/photos/11555...67774490549511

Since the stock brakes of the Aerostar are so deficient, I went with their top of the line dimpled and slotted rotors. They do work very well, obviously much better than stock.

I'm only a satisfied customer, and have no other relations to Brake Performance.