Some basic things you can do to make small improvements to the Aero's stock brakes:

1. Get some HD rotors made for 1992 and later Aeros (and Explorers); they have directional vents using curved vanes, and will work better than the straight vane version used in the earlier Aero's. Make sure you install them correctly, or they will be worse than the straight vanes. They work by throwing air out from the center, and the curved vanes provide a straighter path for the air. So you want to install them such that the vanes point backward at the top.

2. Get the best metallic pads you can find. Some people say ceramic pads work better, but I have no experience with that.

3. Use Ford's HD truck brake fluid. There were some years' of Ford's trucks that also had inadequate brakes, and instead of re-engineering the brakes, they sourced a fluid that had higher boiling point. This will be more fade resistant than most DOT3 fluids.

To make major changes, you will have to modify the spindle to accept a different caliper. The stock setup has part of the caliper slide cast into the spindle, so it's impossible for you to install a different caliper to accept a larger rotor, which is what you really need to do to gain significant braking power. You will need to mill off the caliper slides, then somehow make a mounting for another caliper, like from Wilwood, as they seem to have the most number of different mount and rotor configurations. You need to set up the mount so that the caliper ends up in a position that will allow one of their rotor hats to place the rotor into the right position when it is bolted onto the hub. But if you can adapt a caliper from a more readily available vehicle, the parts will be cheaper. Then what you need to do is to resize the master cylinder so it applies the correct leverage when you push the pedal. Hopefully, the stock RABS will continue to keep the rears from locking up.

It can be done, but you will have to experiment, probably using parts from the scrap yard. But most of us just do not have the machinery needed to do it.

 

Its hard to find the vained directional rotors or at least I can only find one side..I went to 3 places and even though it says L&R I got one angled and one straight..Go figure.
I think its a supply and demand thing...Oh and if you do find them the vanes point to the rear...What he said...



Dick

 

I think one of us is confused here... I'm trying to find a bolt-on conversion to disc brakes fron the stock rear drums. What you wrote sounds like you are refering to front brakes because you mentioned spindles. To me that refers to the front end which I am pretty sure was always disc on the Aeros.

I have not had the Aero I bought as a donor in the shop where I can take it apart and look at it. However, from what I remember, it has a plain straight rear axel with a flange on the end of the tubes. I also have a '99 Explorer I bought for a donor for another project. The disc brakes on the rear of it are fastened to that type of flange. Unless there is a great difference in the axels and/or the axel flanges in terms of size or position, it would seem that a conversion would not be all that difficult.

As for the RABS, it will be eliminated and I will use a Ford propotioning valve like was used in earlier 4 wheel disc systems. That should eliminate the worry of the rear brakes locking up or having to re-size the MC. They sell after market valves but finding one in the junk would brobably be cheaper.

I have RABS on a '93 E-350 long wheel base diesel van. That is the one thing I can truly say I hate about it. It has been a pain in the butt since day one. If it wasn't such a big deal I would do away with it. I have had the van since it was new and I have learned after 256 K miles to live with it. The problem is you have to think about it when you drive it or you will get in trouble in a panic stop. I'm old school and I learned to drive on ice and snow before they came up with all this ABS brake stuff and I learned to compensate. I suppose that younger people who never drove anything without ABS need it and like it but I don't care for it. I have noticed that today's generation of drivers use the brake pedal like an on/off switch. They just have no concept of proportional control.

Later Man...

 

I would stay with drums. they require less pedal force to get the same breaking force. Plus the rotors get all pitted and rusty on the rear...At least in the NE.


Dick

 

Ouh yeah, now we have semis with EBS (full electronically controlled sysytems) and I see that young drrivers have more dangerous issues if there are some faults in EBS system and when one cheap ABS wheel speed sensor is bad they loose control.... Old drivers who towed 2 trailers with direct air brakes w/o abs never had these problems if ABS/EBS is not OK

 

Dick,
In the case of this particular project, there is not much of a chance of that happening unless you leave it set outside for months on end without driving it. A few miles once a week elimintes that problem. I would much rather deal with that possibility than brake adjusters. Over the years that has been the main problem for me with drum brakes. Disc brakes don't use or need them.

As for braking force, I don't buy that. My F-350 has discs all the way around and is heavier that my E-350 with drum rear brakes. I have always kept the brakes in top notch condition on the E-350 but it doesn't come any ways near to comparing with the all disc F-350, and the E-350 is a special ambulance package with 4" shoes.

I undertsand why poeple voice their opinions on this issue but unfortunately they miss the point of the post. I specifically wrote the post to inquire about conversion and not if I shouild or should not convert. therefore I think it is quite apparent that my primary interest is how to convert and with what available components. I have already made up my mind what I want to do. Now it is a matter of how, not if I should. Hopefully this will clear the matter up and make for less confusing replys that are more to the point regarding my initial questions.

Ny nature is such that you probably will never see me post a should or shouldn't I do something thread. For the most part all my posts are in regard to asking if something has been done and how it was done. Other than that I will occasionally reply to a thread if I have a definite answer for something. The one thing that really turns me off on these forums is when someone says, "Well I don't know but..." and then goes on to express an opinion based on no real knowledge of the subject. That is not the case here, but it is still rather annoying to get opinions instead of factual answers. It's a lot better to get no answer as opposed to a wrong answer. Not getting a reply will not hurt my feelings.

Having said all the above, I feel that I should also point out that none of my plans are carved in stone and they are subject to change based on a number of factors including accounts of actual experience of others here on the FTE. In other words, if you have done something and had good or bad experience with it, I consider that info to be worth factoring into a related decision on my part.

I also understand that most guys on here don't build and design stuff from scratch or using parts and components that are readily available. However, that is what I do. I guess I'm always thinking outside the box and that is sometimes hard for most people to understand. The best way I can describe my particular situation is to tell people to click on the link in my signature and go take a look around.

OK, I have rambled on far to long now so I'll end this. Hopefully it will help people to understand what I'm looking for when I post any sort of inquiry.

Later Folks...

Later Man...

 

Dave,

We are mostly a collection of DIY'ers trying to pass around some collective knowledge in an effort to keep our vans in driveable condition at minimum expense. Some do this out of necessity, others purely for personal enjoyment. We are not fabricators and don't pretend to be. The level of expertise you seek would be best found on hot rod sites. That said, to toss out some possible crumbs of assistance, here is nice article on Ford rear ends from the Ranger Station. The Aerostar uses the same axles and there is mention of disk brake applications on certain Ranger models. Also, there is a Ranger forum on FTE which may be of further assistance. Ford Ranger Axles - The Ranger Station

(BTW: There is a great Italian restaurant on the WV side of the bridge.)

 

Dave,

My last post was about how to improve the braking performance of the Aerostar by modifying the front brakes, in response to someone else's question about how to do it. This happens to be one of my pet peeves about the Aerostar; its HORRIBLY inadequate brakes. My extended 4wd version weighs over 4000 pounds, yet it comes from the factory with brakes smaller than the ones that came with my 3000 pound Mustang, which was JUST inadequate. Improving the rears, whether by getting better shoes or converting to discs, will only make very minor improvements.

I believe in a previous post, I already mentioned about checking the rear axle flanges to see if the rear discs from an Explorer will fit. I'm thinking that the axle shafts will be of different lengths, so they may not just swap over without modifications. I have never found such Explorers in my local scrap yard, or I would have tried this swap myself.

 

OK Aero-C,
Now were on the same page... I tried to be specific and emphatic about my position on this and just about all my posts for that matter. There was no intention to insult or upset anyone. However, it's really kind of difficult to achieve the goal of getting my point across without upsetting someone. I guess this explains why I'm not a diplomat.

I do understand and agree that builders and fabricators are few on the Aerostar forum. About the greatest concentration of them are on the '48-'60 forum. However there isn't a lot of Aero knowledge there or on the hot rod forums, several of which I belong to. The problem is that the Aero just isn't a sought after vehicle for those who bulid amd modify. I will take a look at the link you posted. That is the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Thanks...

Check you PM's...

Later Man...

 

Hi XLT,
I just answered a post from Aerocolorado and in part is also a response to you. Beyond that I wanted to say that I was apparently confused about your second post as to it being an extension or elaboration of your previous post. OK, now that's out of the way.

I don't know where you live but if you are anywhere near a Pull-A-Part yard you can go online and check their locations and inventories. It seems most of them have Explorers.

I do appreciate your input on the front brakes because I agree with you that they should also be improved. As heavy as the Aero is you would think they would have beefed up the brakes a little. They have the potential of being loaded heavily.

Later Man...