Not only have I searched here, but I have scoured the entire Internet for a definitive guide for Ford rear axle dimensions. There is scattered information available for older axles, specifically 9" and 8.8" up to about 1996. But I cannot for the life of me find the measurements of these three width dimensions for all 8.8" axles:

• Wheel mount surface (WMS) to WMS
• Flange to flange (backing plate)
• Spring perch to spring perch

Have I missed it somewhere? I'm trying to find out how the 1997-2003 8.8" compares to the 87-96 in these dimensions. I know they differ in wheel lug patterns (5x135mm vs 5x5.5"), but I cannot seem to find if other dimensions changed on the later axles. The reason being that I'm trying to find out if I can swap a later disc brake housing to my 96 Bronco without changing the track width or having to cut and weld shock mounts and spring perches. I'll deal with the lug pattern issue later, but for now I'm just trying to find out what the housing differences are. Any help would be appreciated!

 

Does anyone have any of these measurements? The Explorer and Ranger 8.8s are well documented on other websites, but I cannot find anything on the full-size trucks and vans. Thanks for any info!

 

Looked, no luck. Seems odd......

You already searched for Disc brake conversions...

https://www.littleshopmfg.com/ford-7...r-disc-brakes/

https://shop.broncograveyard.com/88-...uctinfo/32375/

https://dufftuff.com/product/rear-di...-e150-to-2006/

 

Yep, those will work, but I'm trying to find a solution that uses factory parts. Very surprised that nobody has these measurements anywhere on the 'net.

 

JMO, just keep drums..... Parking brake issues with rear discs are a pita.

Serving suggestion.

Or get one with the electric park brake out of a late model F150. Ooops....6 lug, never mind..

The last years of the E150 used rear discs. Any chance that whole setup is a bolt on to your axle? I would think that would be "the kit" if it did.

Grasping at straws.....

 

I cut and welded shock mounts and spring perches from a 1996 Explorer rear axle to put in my 2005 Ranger. It has been wonderful for the last 10 years and 80,000 miles with no issues with parking brake and none of the drum problems that inevitably arise. I want to do something similar on the Bronco project for the same reasons. I bought the backing plate/caliper mount set up from a 2004-2006 E150 van, but it's got some oddball mounting flange pattern that doesn't match up to any 8.8 I've ever seen, so unless I find one that has enough meat to redrill the flanges to match that pattern, or just cut the flanges off and weld on new ones, that conversion is out. It's too bad, too, because just those years (04-06) use 13" vented disc brakes but it's on the 5x5.5" pattern of the older trucks and Broncos. It *almost* works! But, it's oddball stuff, and limited to just a few years so that parts may not always be available.

So that's why I'm interested in finding out what would be needed to swap a 97-03 rear axle. I think they are probably the same width (or very close), but I'm not really interested in chopping and welding shock mounts and spring perches if I can get away from it. If it's just an axle and rotor lug pattern difference, I can probably work around that by either ordering a set of custom axles drilled to the 5x5.5" pattern, and redrilling (or slotting) the rotors to match. But still, I just can't figure out why these common measurements aren't available anywhere. Crazy!