Front discs perform better. No arguement from me. Rear discs versus rear drums - ehhh? I suppose so, but I've never had a problem with drums in the rear. One reason I think they are going with discs in the rear is ease of assembly when building rear ends and cars. I know they are offered as an upgrade but remember they used to charge more to replace disc brake pads than replace drum shoes for some reeason and we all know which are easier to replace. I still think the rear drums make for a better parking brake. Just my thoughts and I can be persuaded to believe otherwise.

And, given the choice, I'd take the four wheel drums over having the distinguished Senator at the wheel.

 

Hey Mcoom we can have a discussion. I have 4 vehicles 2 with all discs and 2 with drum rears.. They all stop about the same.
My point about the discs is that in a racing trim with really hard pads the discs will out preform drums. No doubt about it.
But for street use with the pads that we must use so the vehicle will stop with cold pads... there is no difference in distance to stop.
What I meant about the stopping distance was from the year of the rear discs and the year before. You will notice in the original specs that the vehicle does not stop in a shorter distance. Yes I do have an opinion about it and my opinion starts from me being a tight SOB! I just like to keep my money in my pocket.
I do not mean to intimidate you, just to warn everyone that reads these posts that the 800+ will give a very poor return, excepting the pride of ownership.
Another thought is how easy and cheap it must be for the factory to install discs over drums. Lots fewer parts and no adjusting at all..
Do not get me wrong If I had a choice of 2 vehicles and the difference in them was rear discs... I'd go with that one. But if the difference was 800+ and discs...nope thanks a lot.
I am sure you are not alone in wanting the rear discs or the guys that make them would go out of business.
peace brother
Big JIm

 

I'm quite certain that the main reason they're taking cars to 4 wheel disc is for the reputation and look of them. I mean, come on... you can't paint your drums! That would just be silly! That aside, people *feel* safer with disc brakes because they think they're better. They might feel safer with those buttons that hook you up to some agent that gets you to emergency personnel even though they own a cell phone and even their five-year-old can use it. They feel safer with an alert button that tells them they're about to back into the garage door again... all things that don't actually make the car better, but give the driver some sense of peace of mind. This is what I sense is happening in the car market anyway.
I personally really like this kind of discussion, because it gives you lots of different insights on an issue that maybe you've only read one side of. Personally, I have no problems with my rear drums. I don't tow things often, though, so I might feel otherwise if I did. But for an extra $800... I think I'd rent a U-haul... You know, as long as the wheel were in the trunk and so were he, I wouldn't mind too much being in a car with TK behind the wheel... Oh, and I've also heard of some people using (or trying to use) Explorer brakes on a Ranger. I guess it's worth looking into, since that investment is STEEP! Good luck with that!

 

Hello everyone...

Maybe I can shed some light on this issue...

On my 95 Ranger I changed out the factory 7.5 for a Explorer 8.8 31 spline with disc brakes.

In my book the disc brakes are way better hands down. When you need the breaks they are there. I had problems with my rear drums locking up in the crappy Ohio weather.

What I did as far as the propotaion value to accept the rear disc is nothing. I had 4 wheel ABS. The computer adjusted for the more flow to the rear for the disc. Personally if you already have the 8.8 29 spline axle just go to the local junk yard and find yourself an 8.8 with disc. Then take the backing plates and calipers. Everything else you can get at the local parts store.
Doing it this way will cost you alot less then 800 bones.


Oh and btw...D-ranger...NICE STRONGBAD!!!

 

Cube......Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts!
Nice first post.
We are pleased you have chosen the best source for Fords!
Enjoy FTE ….
See you on the boards.

 

Big Jim is right. A modern front/disk, rear drum set up will get the job done under the conditions most of us drive. Converting drum to disk sounds like a fun project, but not for $800.
Dono

 

I just replaced my rear drums with disc brakes from SSBC (A114 kit with slotted and plated rotors). I also replaced the stock brake hoses with SS hoses. At the present time I have about 220 miles on the truck. The pads are standard issue from SSBC though I am thinking of switching to EBC's "green stuff" pads or Bendix Titaniums.

The kit certainly looks nice but I have to say that I'm still hoping for a greater stopping improvement than I have seen so far. The pedal is a bit soft and the emergency brake definitely doesn't hold as well. That's because I still don't have full contact between the rotor and the pads. The wear pattern on the rotor indicates that the pads had only about 1/2 of an inch of initial contact. As I continue to put more miles on the brakes, the contact patch expands. Part of the break-in process is putting up with squealing and some brake shudder. I am told that this will go away in time when the break-in process is complete. I was told that this would take somewhere between 500 and 1000 miles. We'll see. I was also told that the pedal response would firm up too.

Because the E-brake bottoms out before the pads can put enough pressure on the rotor to stop movement, I have had to install two brake cable shorteners. I found them at NAPA (BC400A).

If I had it to do over again, I think I would have replaced the hoses and upgraded the front rotors and pads and left the drum brakes alone. Unfortunately, getting the information I have now is almost impossible because so few people have done this mod and are willing to report on them. Lots of posts about "I'm gonna do this . . ." and very few with concrete experience to report.

 

Houckster,

Thank you for sharing your experience with the kit, that definitely makes me feel it isn't a good way to go. I hope it works out for you. I find that brake pedal firmness issues are usually fixed by bleeding.

-Jim

 

Thank you for sharing HOUKSTER. Suspicions have been confirmed by you..
I have been thinking about brake upgrades and have come to this..
Lets say the rear brakes supply 20% of the braking force and ANY upgrade to them will be a maximum of 25% increase in the rear braking. This would equal to a 5% overall braking increase! I wonder where the 5% would be felt? In any case it would only be a small amount of the overall braking even if my thinking is incorrect..And I am not known for my thinking..
I wish the best for ya HOUKSTER.
Big Jim

 

The easiest way to get disc brakes in the rear is to go to a junk yard, buy an explorer rear end, throw it on and there ya go. On newer rangers with the 4 wheel ABS....the propotioning valve works just fine. If you have an older ranger there is a work around for it. You can get an explorer rear end for pretty cheap at a junk yard.

 

I think to add just a bit of additional perspective, my expectations for the disc brake system may have been a bit unrealistic. I was expecting a substantial increase (severe bruises where the seat belt crosses me) in braking power but the payback may rather be more resistance to fade and more reliability under difficult braking conditions. I hope so anyway. Directional stability has been very good on the one somewhat hard stop I had to make.

With regard to the soft or low pedal . . . I bought some Power Slot cryogenic rotors and they state on their instruction sheet that a low pedal may be experienced on some vehicles until the pads are fully seated. I think that's probably it because the people who did the work on the Ranger know what they're doing and they told me that this might happen. We're still going to bleed the rear brake system though because we've still got one more SS braided hose to install. One of the original SS brake hoses was too short. At that time, we'll make the call whether to install one the EBC "green stuff" pad sets.

BTW, when upgrading the rotors on a 2004 Ranger, be sure to check the diameter of the OEM rotors. Both Power Slot and EBC list a 11.2" rotor but my Ranger (FX4) has a 12 inch rotor so you have to order the rotor for the Explorer.

I'll update this post after I've got a 1000 miles on the brakes or if something significant happens before then.

 

You want disc brakes that will throw you through the window (or bruise your hips with a seat belt) find a way to adapt a set of DB's off of one of those mid 70's LTD's. My folks had them on their station wagon and boy would they stop that barge in a hurry.

 

004 the limiting factor in braking a vehicle is the tire and the surface it is rolling on! All modern brakes will slide the tires on regular pavement. SO nothing you do to the braking system will make the vehicle stop in fewer feet unless you also install STICKY racing type tires that will grip the pavement tighter. In fact just the STICKY tires prolly will make for quicker stops all by themselves.
We are talking about what might be referred to as PANIC stops here. In other words the maximum stop that a vehicle can make.
Because of the tires/pavement being the limiting factor very few if ANY "brake upgrades" can do much at all.
Big JIm

 

Must of been those racing slicks the old man had on there.

 

I myself did get the rear disc conversion kit from SSB, and yes it did cost almost $800. I had a local shop install it for me while also putting in a used LSD on my 7.5" rear (all new bearings, etc.). The mechanic that installed it told me he had to clearance some of the springs and spacers to make it align properly, etc., but otherwise it was a true bolt-in.

The Explorers and Rangers share the same master cylinder and proportioning valve (at least for later models near my 99) so no change was needed or recommended by SSB. This seems to work as advertised for me.

I myself was never pleased w/ the stock brakes on my 99 Ranger for daily driving so this brought me to this decision. I had cleaned the drum tensioner screws, etc., on the stock rear and manually adjusted the brakes and it seemed to work better. I was just never pleased w/ the brake performance.

So far the rear disc work alright. No, I am not totally sold on this kit but it does work somewhat better than the stock rear drums. I guess I can't have Lightning like handling from my Ranger w/out some serious cash.

I have not had to deal w/ any maintenance issues yet on the rear brakes so I hope the pads are easy enough to find. I believe in reading the documentation that came w/ the kit that the calibers are either Mustang or Continental stock units so the parts should be readily available.

Now for my $.02 cents worth. In retrospect I wish I had just spent the money (probably less than what I did spend anyway) to buy a new/used 8.8" from an Explorer w/ disc and install that. I currently don't have a welder so I went w/ the kit (the shock mounts and spring perches must be reworked for a Ranger vs. the Explorer setup).

I guess my only question now is why hasn't Ford made rear disc an option for Rangers. Unless they just added them, they haven't been available yet they are standard equipment on Explorers, Expeditions, and at least options on F150s. I guess they still view the Ranger as cheap transportation for someone wanting a truck and that the consumer wouldn't be interested.

Good luck.